Hotel Holiday Calbis

We stayed at the Calbis from the end of August to Sept for 10 nights as a family of 4. It was our first visit to Dalyan and I have to say I felt the fantastic reviews and hotels photos are all a true depiction of the Calbis.

From arrival it was warm and welcoming. We had assistance with our luggage to top floor family room (helpful when no lift and 2 kids in tow)

Room was bright, clean and spacious. We had a family room which was bigger than we anticipated. However the downside was the main room was bright and airy with aircon, but the adjoining room where the wardrobes were with extra double bed became a redundant bed and dressing room as it was so hot you couldnt sleep in there. There was a freestanding fan but we actually used that in the main room as well as it was more comfortable in this room.

This meant one child had a single bed, and the adults shared the double with our other child. We attempted the other room but it was uncomfortably warm. A 2nd aircon unit in this space would of sorted that out.

However just to say the space is huge I really wasn't expecting the extra room but I though you got a z bed next to the single. It could be different blocks are different styles? Just a shame the lack of air-conditioning reduced the use of the bed.

It also had a lovely long dressing mirror near wardrobe but the lighting was poor in this 2nd room so on an evening when everyone else was showering i couldnt use the bathroom mirror but struggled to do makeup in the 2nd room. In the main room i would of loved a wall mirror above desk or another freestanding as the light was better from balcony here. Again this isnt life changing gripes dont detract from how great the room is but do make a difference on an evening so would suggest consideration here.

The safe was just sitting on the wardrobe it had not been drilled in to secure it. So whilst we used it. We did feel it was pointless as anyone could of lifted it out. Think we had a newly updated room and this has been an oversight?

We were facing roadside which initially we felt a little frustrated by as it's always nice to have a pool view but there was little noise and it actually ended up being a nice quiet location. The cockerall will wake you from across the way which I found quite funny each morning. The odd night I'd hear some street dogs tousle with each other but it was very peaceful. The air-conditioning units can create a bit of noise but that never bothered me but it did bother my husband on occasion.

It seemed all family rooms were upstairs? Unless you just have little ones in a cot i think the ground floor bungalows work well. But for a family with 2 children it's top floor. It wouldn't put me off staying again but I do think it would serve well to consider future enhancements to offer some ground floor family rooms.

I also think although it's very minor and not a complaint but suggestion. There's no TV in the family rooms but TV seems to be available elsewhere. Again a very minor mention won't bother many. Just some days to wind down, if my children needed time out of sun or between waiting for adults to get ready it could of been helpful. If it's offered in all but the family rooms I just find that odd.

Breakfast Self service as expected but even coffee and tea. Think as its 3* that's possibly to be expected? I just personally love a nice coffee and don't like machine coffees. We had taken some of our coffee bags and tea bags so it was easily covered by that. My son liked the hot chocolate in machine.

Milk was always left out on the side I did feel a bowl of ice would be best to nestle milk cartons in. Or a small fridge on the side like room fridges. I Personally don't like warm milk on my cereal, it was fine for drinks though. This was an issue for me as I preferenced yoghurt and cereal and the yoghurt was also room temp/warm.

Selection at breakfast was good but not to all our family's liking. The pancake and omelette station was a great addition and the ladies were great. Some days ques bigger than others and they worked really well to do it speedily. Never bothered us to wait but the pancakes often got a little burnt because they were trying to make 2 omelettes for others at the same time. I did want to ask but i was afraid to seem rude and they worked hard to juggle the stations As we all know children can be picky (and mine actually aren't that picky most the time!) But burnt food is a pet peeve and it was hit and miss each morning as to whether they were burnt or not. Omelette were safer bet and never burnt. But one child only wanted pancakes and melon!

Hot breakfast I barely ate it wasnt my cup of tea. I sometimes had some beans and omelette or they offered fried egg at omelette station too. I did crave bacon though. My husband enjoyed the beans and sausages when available other items were hit and miss such as tomatoe scrambled egg?

I felt the fruit could of had more selection. It suited one of my children as melons his favourite but my daughter loves apples, pears, berries, peaches etc. It was just always watermelon, honeydew I think and grapes. I appreciate seasonal is possibly the reason but pomegranates even? Or a bowl of cut up fruit salad mix would of been wonderful with some granola in the cereal section. They had porridge oats but no way of hot milk? Muesli or granola would of been a better option. Would you consider this?

I managed to get some fruit from local shops eventually but at breakfast she really craved this alongside her omelette (which she thoroughly enjoyed) Overall it suits most but again a few little tweaks as the hot food occasionally changed it would of been nice for fruit to of also. We appreciate you're in a different country and must accept their traditions also.

You can't fault the cleanliness here. It was always immaculate. From the poolside morning clean down, to the rooms, walkways etc. It really is a well maintained hotel and the gardens and lawns are lovely.

Sunbeds/pools all fantastic. Everyone always seems concerned going away about beds (us included) we needn't of been. We eventually after the first day or 2 found a certain location that suited us well. The shades are a good idea but I found they created too much shade and you noticed beds needed moving to accommodate sun moving and shading beds by noon. I appreciate they may need less replacement than parasols but perhaps it's overkill around each and every pool the whole way round- again my opinion but the trees around the hotel are well established and beautiful and provide a lot of natural shade come noon . Everyone likes different amounts of sun but it seemed to get shady very quickly in a good % of spots which wasn't helped by the overhead shades.

Bar was well stocked and really welcoming. We had lunch a few times it was nice, on occasion slow (one occassion not a little slow, like over an hour slow) and that day lots of errors (not for us but others) I think there may have been a staff issue so we did not complain at the time but it made me wonder about why not offer a light buffet lunch for ease to staff? Fresh breads, meats, fruits, chips, meatballs, chicken and salad ? It could be added in advance or paid for daily? Or even if it was only set days.

We felt bar prices were reasonable. The husband and wife team (I'm so sorry I forgot their names) were very friendly and lovely.

The whole hotel has a lovely relaxed family feel.

Although some guests (possibly our error with the time we booked) seemed less family friendly. Not all by any means as we met some wonderful people. But for example we would try a different pool and got the most disgusting stares from an older lady if we dared to try the fresh water pool. It happened multiple times. She would lift her glasses down and stare over the top of her glasses. It made me really uncomfortable. I would often expect the kids to be more quiet and ultimately I put the kids of visiting that pool. Which isnt fair. It's sad as we were all kids once and how can children not enjoy a pool quietly. There is an adult only pool and it felt at times like some adults expected all pools to be adult only.

When you pay the same money it's there to be used and enjoyed and we felt we were always trying to ensure respectableness. But kids are kids and it just left me on edge a few times worried that others were not very welcoming of my children being there. These seemed to be regular guests. Who definitely had an air about them as if we were encroaching on their hotel.

Again wouldn't put us off returning as it was only a select few. But we would try a bit earlier in the season in future. We don't like crazy noisy kids club hotels so we didn't choose that but perhaps if there was some other family's and was in July or August the guests may be more welcoming?

Location was fine for us a nice walk into town everynight. We never caught the hotel bus as 7 seemed to early. If there was a shuttle around 7.30/7.45/8 even it would of been great. But the walk was lovely. Just sometimes tired hot or hungry kids.

Toilets It might be that we totally missed some but the only toilet we located by the pool was the single one at reception. So everyday multiple times with the kids you'd need to go to the room. I've never been somewhere without easier access pool toilets? On occasion we'd use reception toilet too but I was always unsure if you were meant to as you'd be in swimwear.

Bills were easy to check on throughout stay, they do prefer cash but will now accept card. They were happy to accept a combination as we were trying to empty pre paid cards and rid our last lot of cash too. Really helpful.

Overall I think it deserves more s. You see other resorts 3s and the Calbis is so much more cleaner and looks more expensive. Despite a few things I've provided consideration for..none of that caused issue during our stay and are not complaints just suggestions and I would not hesitate returning and I would also happily recommend to others.

Whilst we aren't the type to return to the same place as we like to explore. We would return at some point.

What a wonderful experience staying at this hotel ., very relaxed , super friendly & very comfortable & clean I travelled with my sister and we had a family room - we were very kindly able to change to a pool view after the first night The room was very spacious & the shower was hot & powerful & plenty of open front storage space All of the staff were amazingly friendly & helpful & extremely polite - the manager Ebru was very warm & approachable and super helpful The grounds are beautiful & well kept with various pools to choose from and comfortable loungers - no need to save beds but this doesn’t stop some people from doing it daily at 7 am Breakfast was ample for us with choice of hot food , omelettes , cereal , melon coffee/ tea cold drinks A really nice chilled vibe -we’d definitely return The hotel is a nice flat easy half mile stroll to town on the main road or alternatively a riverside stroll along the quiet end of the river where we saw turtles - into town The housekeeping was very very good & efficient & groundsmen maintaining the gardens regularly but unobtrusively Wish we were still there - I’d definitely recommend this hotel but also want to keep it a secret