Korumar Ephesus Beach and Spa Resort

We came across this lovely modern and spacious hotel, not too far from the centre of Kusadasi, by accident on a previous trip. . With its well-maintained grounds (padel/ tennis courts available to book), ultra clean swimming pools (with an abundance of sun beds) and a sandy beach, we were smitten! Although we had booked a swim-up room (providing “private” access from the room to a shared moat pool) we preferred the buzz of the main pool area. Our room (C-block 3044) was spacious with a comfy, large double bed (made up daily by our house-proud cleaning lady) who surprised us with her ingenious “towel sculptures”. Large bathroom with walk-in shower. The handy mini fridge was restocked daily.
There is ample indoor and outdoor lounge/terrace seating areas and bars throughout. Everywhere was spotlessly clean. There was a fantastic selection of fresh and varied dishes available daily. The choice of delicious food from breakfast to dinner was irresistible (and since our return we’ve been on a diet! ) . You must try the chocolate cake from the patisserie cafe. Helpful, friendly (hard-working) staff - especially our lovely Jet2 rep, Ahmet, who was always on hand to advise and guide us through our 2 week 70th birthday treat vacation. We enjoyed the happy cocktail makers and waiters serving “proper” alcoholic drinks! … and we are looking forward to our next visit!

Stayed at the Korumar for 10 nights, I can honestly say it’s the first holiday I’ve been so underwhelmed I was ready for home after a week!

Accommodation Our room was reasonably comfortable, the bed was quite firm but we slept okay, mini bar basic, soft drinks only which we expected, had to get water from the bars as it’s wasn’t left in the room very often, no milk for tea or coffee but they did provide me with some at the bar. Our shower was temperamental, had to play around with the tap to get it to a good temperature, the shower head broke but they replaced it once I reported it.

Food This is where the boredom started, the grill in the restaurant every meal time served, grilled chicken or turkey, burgers, fried onions, mixed peppers, whole grilled fish and either fries or wedges, another part served almost every day noodles, 2 dishes in a sauce, pasta and either a white sauce or tomato, very plain! Other serving areas are pretty much the same too, meat in a sauce, occasional carved chicken or rib of beef, salads and meats. 2 soups were always available. A bread corner which was very small with one toaster, you needed to put toast through twice on full power, the area gets very congested and people get frustrated! Dessert's look okay but are very bland and repetitive, the ice cream counter is always available on an evening but not at lunch in the main restaurant. To sum up the food was okay but very repetitive, breakfast was always the same, eggs, chips, veg, cereals, salads, fruit, cooked meatd, breads, jams and some pastries. I’d give the food 5 out of 10

Pool snack bar Extremely poor quality food on the buffet, almost always the same and never hot! The ladies who make the Turkish filled bread work extremely hard and it’s about the only thing that was traditional and tasty, they never failed to make it fresh and to your choice if you asked them. The ice cream counter, please be ready to be tutted at and given the occasional eye roll! We were a big group and instead of us all going up we would get 4 or 5 ice creams at a time, this seemed to frustrate them and the staff were very rude, you need to ask for 2 scoops or you’ll be left feeling robbed, no tubs, just cones! After 2 pm the jacket potato and waffle stations open, along with a few other choices, but the theme is always repetitive. We ate out a few times!

Pools The main pool is quite cool, the only way is to just get in and be brave, once in the temperature is bearable, it’s shame as it’s a very big pool but not so many people in it! The toddler/child splash area is extremely cold, you’ll find more use it when it’s turned off, our 2 year old Granddaughter wouldn’t use it when the water was being sprayed! It was also dangerous and no one stopped the many children aged 7 to 10 from climbing up the slides the wrong way and then dangerously taking out small children at the bottom, plenty of lifeguards around but not one supervising the splash pool! We asked if the indoor pool was heated, which it wasn’t but the agreed to turn it on earlier than the usual month of October, this was still cool but better than the main pool and my Granddaughter got to swim and have fun in the water.

Entertainment The team work hard to encourage everyone to join in, the usual water polo, archery, water aerobics, pool games and darts, my elderly parents and mother in law enjoyed the darts and Ozzy made it fun for everyone playing. One thing that became obvious was the bingo, played at the stage area before the show's, this was a money spinner for the entertainment team, at €10 each time per player, prizes were free photo shoots ( which are free) free spa taster (which was free) and several other prizes, Turkish delight, bottle of wine, one free voucher to eat a second time in the Al a carte restaurant, normally €10, a handbag or silver necklace, nothing amazing! we didn’t mind joining in twice but after that we decided to stop wasting money! €70 every other night for 7 people was a little crazy! Also trying to sell t-shirts at €20 each after making you think they are free is a little naughty!

Spa This was really good and very reasonable, we took the welcome package. Turkish bath, a good experience and strangely relaxing, followed by a 30 min massage and a mini facial, this cost €65 and was worth every penny, my Mum who’s 80 really enjoyed it too, they also included my Granddaughter, she joined us and they made her feel very special. My mother in law had the collagen facial at €90, she said it was perfect! 10/10

Bar The Bar staff upstairs near the reception were particularly nice and welcoming, nothing was too much trouble, Firat and the older gentleman worked incredibly hard and never failed to smile, they are a credit to the hotel and give good customer service. The bar staff were generally nice and helpful.

Location The hotel is a little isolated, we hired a car for the day and explored the area, some restaurants in Kusadasi offer a free taxi service if you dine with them, I can recommend Casablanca in Kusadasi, we took the local bus from outside the hotel for €1.2 each, approximately every 30 mins and the restaurant gave us a free ride back to the hotel.

Beach On the beach there is many water sports, jet skis, parasailing, banana boat and more, the beach itself is very soft sand and the sea can look a bit murky as it drags the sand, but it glistens with tiny glittery particles and is clean with no pebbles, just be careful with swimwear as the tiny sand particles get caught in the material and it doesn’t wash out.

Game room A few rides for toddlers and a good variety for older children and adults but somethings don’t work, you get 6 credits for €10

Shopping in the hotel Expensive!

Late check out from room 12 till 4 is €90

The hotel doesn’t have that wow factor like a lot of other hotels in Turkey, but the pool area looks impressive. Be careful as many areas are poorly lit at night and my mum fell over a hose left out around the pool, no warning signs and the tables between the seating at the stage area are not lit another big risk of falling over them, some table lights might help!