Kalamar Hotel

“Incredible views”

The views from the hotel were absolutely incredible! We had a sea view room so it was nice to sit out and watch the stars at night or see the view of Kalamar bay from the balcony or the infinity pool. We had multiple days of diving booked so didn't really spend much time in the room, but it suited… more

The views from the hotel were absolutely incredible! We had a sea view room so it was nice to sit out and watch the stars at night or see the view of Kalamar bay from the balcony or the infinity pool. We had multiple days of diving booked so didn't really spend much time in the room, but it suited us for sleeping. The room itself was big, but not much space to move as the bed took up a lot of space. The bathroom was incredibly small and there was a strange smell coming from it & luke warm water from the shower, at best. Casim, the poolside bartender & chef, was absolutely lovely. Very friendly and helpful. There were multiple options for breakfast & lunch which tasted great!

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“Could be better if they cared more”

Kalamar hotel has its pros and cons, but I feel like the cons are easily fixable, there’s just no one who cares enough to fix them. The location of the hotel is the biggest plus, the view is gorgeous, and the walk to the beach is short, but steep. I don’t blame them for that as it is literally on t… more

Kalamar hotel has its pros and cons, but I feel like the cons are easily fixable, there’s just no one who cares enough to fix them. The location of the hotel is the biggest plus, the view is gorgeous, and the walk to the beach is short, but steep. I don’t blame them for that as it is literally on the side of a mountain. The problems vary from small to medium. There’s nothing completely detrimental, but there are many smaller issues that add up as your stay progresses. The breakfast is mediocre at best. Not that I have high expectations for hotel breakfast. There are cracks in the tiles of the shower, in some rooms the tv’s don’t work, paint is chipping off the bedframe, no cups for toothbrushes, the toilet seat is loose, the lesser used pool is rarely cleaned properly. These are just a few, and like I said, nothing detrimental, but all of these add up to impact the overall experience. One major issue I had personally was the blades on the AC. These were absolutely disgusting, but again, very easily fixable. I feel like there’s incredible potential here, someone just needs to put in the work to realize it.

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“Mediocre, dated hotel with rather nice infinity pool”

Just returned from a 2 week stay at Kalamar hotel which we booked for the location and infinity pool. Let's start with the good stuff: The views across Kalamar bay are breathtakingly beautiful and at night there is hardly any noise as it's further out of town and not on a main road. Hallil the … more

Just returned from a 2 week stay at Kalamar hotel which we booked for the location and infinity pool. Let's start with the good stuff: The views across Kalamar bay are breathtakingly beautiful and at night there is hardly any noise as it's further out of town and not on a main road. Hallil the pool-bar attendant was SO friendly and helpful throughout our stay, serving us drinks and snacks at our sun loungers. The pool bar has a wide variety of food available at lunchtime and prices were cheap. Infinity pool was just the right temperature ie it remained refreshingly cool even when the temperatures soared. The outlook across the horizon is insta-worthy. But really this was the high point of the hotel experience and thankfully were were lucky to have it more or less to ourselves for the first 10 days of the holiday as the hotel was practically empty until we neared the end of our stay. Here's a couple of things that didn't bother us BUT others should perhaps bear in mind: NOT suitable for anyone with mobility issues because the hotel complex is laid on a hillside with a series of terraces all connected with a LOT of steps. There are no ramps or lifts so if you cannot easily navigate steps this isn't suitable - that includes people travelling with small children. There is no kids' pool, and nothing about the Kalamar is geared up for children. (There are a few photos on older reviews of a small oblong pool which has recently been filled with earth and a few bushes planted in it!) Kalamar Hotel is an out-of-town location, we picked it for that reason and we had a hire car BUT it is not comfortably walkable to the main town/harbour (especially not in temperatures approaching 40c!) and even if you wanted to brave it and walk to some of the "local" shops/bars/restaurants you'd have to conquer some very steep hills there and back! The websites give the impression that Kalamar Beach Club is part and parcel of the Kalamar Hotel - but they are two separate entities. The KBC is down the bottom of a VERY steep hill (which our car struggled to get back up afterwards, hence we only went once!) and you have to pay a premium to have the use of sunloungers and parasols at the water's edge. Then you get waiter service from the cafe-bar on site. It is not an actual beach it's just a sunbathing platform with steps into the sea (which is refreshingly cool but too deep to stand - you need to be a confident swimmer and wear aqua shoes.) The hotel itself, over and above the aforementioned detail, was on the whole very shabby and dated.. I have been to Turkey many times so I know the difference between what to expect compared with other countries, but by UK standards this hotel is a 3-star at best (certainly not 4 star.. and I have stayed in many FIVE star hotels in other places where I have paid less.. Turkey is not as cheap as it was 5 years ago it is catching up with Greece/Cyprus/Spain/Canaries etc!) I do not want to be one of those people who posts photos of a hotel bathroom with a bit of tile grout missing, but our "deluxe" duplex accommodation was in dire need of a refurb.. the bathroom door didn't close properly unless you really banged it, the shower was flimsy (and needed re-grouting) the toilet seat was wonky, bath towels were often dry/stiff/rough, there were no clothes hangers in the wardrobe, settee was grubby and not comfortable, the bed was uncomfortable and if one of you turned over in the night the other person felt seasick! There was a fridge but there were no tea/coffee making facilities in the room (we packed a travel kettle and bought mugs, instant coffee and milk from local shop) All rooms open onto a terrace with a great view and there is a small bistro-style table and chairs plus a lovely hammock for each room BUT the terraces are communal ie no privacy. This was OK at the start of our holiday while the hotel was almost empty but towards the end when other guests started to arrive en-masse, it was too noisy. The hotel welcomes visitors from all countries as it should, but it is not particularly popular with British holidaymakers (which does not matter to us) and the staff barely speak any English (again this does not bother us because we have not made the effort to learn much Turkish, and nowadays you can consult Google Translate if necessary!) but without sounding xenophobic I have to say that a lot of the guests from other countries were rowdy and inconsiderate. I don't mean drunken rowdiness but things like constantly being on a video-call with their mobile phone in the pool, or having really loud conversations morning and night, slamming doors etc. In summary, we would not stay at this hotel again and considering how much it cost we were disappointed with the overall standard of the hotel. But KALKAN itself is an idyllic location for a laid-back sunshine holiday if you do not mind the lack of sandy beaches but enjoy the charm of a quaint little hillside harbour town with cobbled streets and a beautiful variety of shops and restaurants that does not attract the Club 18-30 set!

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“3.5/4 Decent Enough”

We'd give three and a half if we could, but not 4. Pros and Cons so you be the judge. We could only get to the hotel at 5 am and we emailed ahead to check this was fine. They didnt charge an extra night or early check in fee for this and assured us it was fine, though noone was there when we arrive… more

We'd give three and a half if we could, but not 4. Pros and Cons so you be the judge. We could only get to the hotel at 5 am and we emailed ahead to check this was fine. They didnt charge an extra night or early check in fee for this and assured us it was fine, though noone was there when we arrived till we called and woke someone up. Room was nice and the sea view was excellent, however due to some local infrastructure issues the bathroom reeked of sewage, not the hotel's fault but not great. They switched us to another room which smelt better but the smell came back and we just dealt with it. Air con was great but packed in on the last day and wouldnt stay on after that. Half board was amazing, breakfast every day was delicious and the food, although there's only 2 options for main, the food was great and was a real money saver on the trip as eating out can be pricey. Infinity pool was beautiful, spent alot of time there with the bar. On the last day of the trip, one of the hotel staff stepped on and broke a brand new pair of sunglasses I'd bought and refused outright to pay for it, which put a downer on the whole thing as I was furious at the time. Compensation at least would have been nice. All in all the hotel was nice for the trip but there were some drawbacks.

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