The Barcelo hotel is big with around 1.000 beds. It lies close to a sandy/pebbly beach and has a rather large pool. The hotel is a bit run down and should need a refresh. Present repairs are many times ugly done. Staying at the hotel you do not have the five start feeling. It is more like a rather cheap three star hotel. You miss the beauty down to details that you expect from a five star hotel.
Our room was very good (3201). We had a nice see view even though we had not paid extra for “sea-view”. We also had a much larger “balcony” than our friends next door. The room even included a large safety box without extra charge.
Wi-Fi is “only” available in the lobby. “Only” because we were lucky. In our room we had access to the free Wi-Fi from the surrounding hotels. In the bed I had fair access to one hotel and in the bathroom I had perfect access to another. Sometimes you are lucky.
Service varies a lot. Sometimes it is fun and engaged. But most of the time it is sloppy without any finesse. Particularly during breakfast it fails tremendously. You have to yourself try to find cups and cutleries. On the other hand they come and take your plate before you finish. Some of the guys were really nice. But I think this is a management problem. The staff really does not know what a customer expects.
The “all-inclusive” is a joke. A big joke. During breakfast you have to pay to get a freshly pressed glass of orange use. Woa – that is even included in the breakfast on my regular three star hotel back home. Same at the bar. Only 10 out of 45 listed alcoholic items are free. The other 35 you have to pay for. You also have to pay the same price as all other guests, who have not paid for “all-inclusive.
Yes, the “all-inclusive” is a big joke. Even ice-cream is only included a few hours a day. And the included wines are horrible. Much worse than €1/liter Languedoc wines. If you have any feeling for wine – get the €25 bottles from the trolley (not included of course).
The hotel has three restaurants. The big buffet hall and two ala carte restaurants. With “all-inclusive” you can once a week book one of the restaurants. Do that – if you can find a table. The big buffet restaurant is horrible. It is so noisy. Hard floors, hard walls and hard roofs play an important role in this. The restaurant really needs sound insulation in the roof and on the walls as well as some screens. Take a table outside is possible.
The food in the buffet restaurant is varied and there are many courses to choose from. But these are not up to European standards. Far from it. The only thing almost up to European standard are the fried eggs ;-( The food seemed to be a failed try to make Europeanized Turkish food. The vegetables however were very good.
The beach is OK. It is pebbly. Not in the way of a Sussex beach. Here you have nice sand. But on the way to the water you have to cross a stretch with pebbles. They are softly rounded by the sea, so this is not a problem. The problem is shortly after you enter into the water. There is another stretch of pebble that makes getting into or out of the water problematic for elderly or disabled. So take care.
This was our first stay in Belek/Antalya. But we have been to many many other resorts in the countries around the Mediterranean. Compared to these I cannot recommend this hotel. What really drags down the impression is the “non-inclusive”, the quality of the food and the quality of service.
Kjell K
- Barcelo Tat Beach Hotel
