Barut hotels are our favourite. We have stayed in Anda, Arum, Hemera and Kemer so know the 5 star standard of a Barut hotel. We were looking forward to trying Lara and had read great reviews but was so disappointed we actually transferred to another hotel within 48 hours which we have never done before.

Some parts of the hotel building/grounds and rooms look tired however some areas modernised and is beautiful.

Staff generally look miserable and are not very engaging. Queues for drinks at bar. Generally one or two people serving.

There was nothing to do in the evenings for adults until 11pm when the disco at the beach bar starts. No live music to enjoy with a drink. There was a dance show everynight which is great for families and children but not for us.

On a positive, the patisserie is amazing with delicious cakes and excellent coffee. The shower in the room was also fantastic. That's about it :)

We just returned from our first all inclusive holiday in the sunshine of 13 years as we normally pursue adventure and touring trips but there is a real risk we have been converted by this hotel.

The food was a massive hit and we found it manageable to get a la carte restaurant bookings. We visited Akdeniz and loved the chateaubriand as well as the fish started and “inter course” at Sandals. Tirmis lacked a bit of atmosphere. The sushi place was very pleasant and the other nights we ate at the buffet, particularly enjoying the sushi night, the seafood night and the cold sashimi bar. We also really enjoyed the a la carte restaurant breakfast and lunch options as it was really pleasant to mix it up and have some meals in the buffet with wide choice but less socialising and others in a tranquil space with beautifully plated food. For example the breakfast experience at Turunc with beautifully plated poached eggs with smoked salmon or granola bowls as if you are in a trendy city brunch spot. The coffee shop was also divine. Small suggestions would be that the desserts and cakes in the buffet and coffee shop have a 5/5 appearance but rate slightly lower on taste. I think berry flavours on the moussesneed to be more intense and they are all quite generically sweet and taste a bit similar. The ice cream was very nice though. Also in Sandals they tried to fob us off with the less desirable cold appetisers that were non fish based and also tried to sell us wine before offering the all inclusive wine. The beach and pool bartenders were not as good as in the lobby and were often quite surly and sploshed stuff into glasses with inadequate care as to the taste. The lobby bar was brilliant though.

The activities were excellent but the choice caused me to not get enough rest! We enjoyed the aqua aerobics - the instructor was great. We also used the indoor and outdoor gym. The indoor one needs more air con. The sauna was great. Also the squash court, tennis courts and pool table. The evening entertainment was of a high standard. My husband however did not enjoy beach volleyball as much as he might have and he found the animation staff to be unmotivated and not friendly. When he fed this back there was an attempt to correct this, to the hotel’s credit but as you can imagine it was hard for them to achieve it without it feeling forced. The animation staff mainly danced and socialised with each other on the dance floor. And left at 11.00 pm on the dot whether or not the band finished playing which sometimes made the party peter out.

The room was very comfortable and we loved the view over the main pool area all lit up at night. We also enjoyed the beach but I was expected live music and a sax based on other reviews and it was just a dj.

Other suggestions would be to water the grass more as it was a bit dead and brown. But we really loved the landscaping at the lagoon pool which was a gorgeous place to swim.

Although I have made some suggestions to improve, our overall rating was that the hotel is top notch and we would gladly return. We also found the weather very pleasant at the end of October where it is not so hot that you can’t do sport outside or walk around but also very pleasant to swim especially in the sea or heated pools.