Melas Lara Hotel - All Inclusive

“Great visit and recommended”

Have just returned from 10 nights at Melas Lara and loved it! We arrived at a grand looking reception and the kids were wowed! Greeted by staff very politely and warmly check in was fast and painless and then we were helped with our cases to our room. The room was a 2 bedroom family roof with... more

Have just returned from 10 nights at Melas Lara and loved it! We arrived at a grand looking reception and the kids were wowed! Greeted by staff very politely and warmly check in was fast and painless and then we were helped with our cases to our room. The room was a 2 bedroom family roof with sea view balcony and lived up to expectations. Main bed was huge perfect for my 6ft 4 husband with plenty of space to hand and fold away clothes. Kids had a room to share with a single bed each again plenty of wardrobe and draw space. The room was spotless and had a free mini bar of beer water coke and Fanta. There as also a kettle coffee teas and coffee mate perfect for a morning coffee on the balcony! We ran out of coffee but reception aren’t shy with handing out more if asked! The mini bar was re filled but again ask if you need more. The pool was huge and we went out of UK school holidays so it wasn’t busy at all and was only the start of the season but the hotel is more of a German hotel I think more English probably go to other hotels from speaking to staff but this didn’t bother me at all I actually quite liked it! There is a smaller heated pool that has 3 sides going in to it, we found most kids were in this area so the big pool was empty half the time was cold but once in it was fine and in 30 degree heat was perfect. Pool area was always clean as was the pool itself. 24 hour bar was where we spent most evenings after walking up and down the streets where there is a lot of shops particularly great if your after fakes! There is a pool bar that serves food at 12 probably the best food burgers chicken wraps jacket potatoes then there is a beach bar serving buffet style meals meats chips rice spaghetti bol and your can order chicken wraps and pizza too. Beach was perfect clean and always plenty of beds available in April! We bought snorkels and went out the end of the rope and saw some great sea creatures! Evening food for kids is the only down side. If you have fussy eaters like my son then this was a struggle chips was the only thing he’d eat some nights and we would just grab him something else while out in a walk but just bear in mind if you have fussy eaters. They never starved and we did expect it. Overall and great stay and would recommend! I visited Turkey alone last year and stayed at the Falcon hotel which was nice for just me but this is in a much grander scale. All staff were friends pretty much but Cihan is by far the best table waiter the hotel has and Musa who ran the darts particularly stood out to us so the hotel is lucky to have them both!

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“Relaxing Winter Break - Great Hotel with Great Staff”

This is our first time in Antalya and we had an excellent stay. The hotel is clean and our room was a good size. The staff are very warm, friendly & helpful. They are genuinely interested in you and willing to engage in conversation. They had a wide variety of food to choose from. There is alwa... more

This is our first time in Antalya and we had an excellent stay. The hotel is clean and our room was a good size. The staff are very warm, friendly & helpful. They are genuinely interested in you and willing to engage in conversation. They had a wide variety of food to choose from. There is always something on offer throughout the day. The patisserie is an added bonus. The hotel amenities are varied and we always found something to do during our stay. They offered a wide variety of activities both for adult and children. Special shout out to Ebru & Arif at the restaurant. They made us feel so welcome. Very attentive and couldn't do enough. Also to Leyla who kept our room clean. A suggestion to management would be to offer a free shuttle service to the city centre even if it's only once a day. This will be helpful for first time visitors who are not familiar with the area. They can orient themselves with what is available and with the public transport system. If a shuttle service is not possible, perhaps the hotel can provide better and clearer information on the public transport sysyem especially on the buses that can take guests to the city centre, information like which bus number, bus stops, the cost of tickets and where to buy them from.

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“Home from home”

This was our 5th visit to this hotel. Great staff and fantastic food. We treat it like our second home. Only the animation team let's it down, no imagination. Beware of ordering a taxi at the end of the street Kemeragi taxi rank, they are total ripoffs, not using their meters and overcharging... more

This was our 5th visit to this hotel. Great staff and fantastic food. We treat it like our second home. Only the animation team let's it down, no imagination. Beware of ordering a taxi at the end of the street Kemeragi taxi rank, they are total ripoffs, not using their meters and overcharging passengers.

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“Nice hotel”

Hotel Melas Lara is an excellent hotel. Would I go here again? Yes, I would. I've been to several hotels in Turkiye multiple times, so I also compare these experiences with others. I've read positive comments about the food, and I can confirm this. It's one of the best hotels in terms of food qua... more

Hotel Melas Lara is an excellent hotel. Would I go here again? Yes, I would. I've been to several hotels in Turkiye multiple times, so I also compare these experiences with others. I've read positive comments about the food, and I can confirm this. It's one of the best hotels in terms of food quality. What sets it apart is that the food in all restaurants is freshly made. For example, during breakfast, the scrambled eggs are genuinely made by stirring many eggs. In most hotels, water is added to a dry mixture. Other dishes are also freshly made, with plenty of variety and delicious flavors. In the main restaurant, there's a different theme every evening. There was also an Asian theme, and for example, sushi was served. If the Japanese had seen this sushi, they would have declared war on Turkiye. It was really poorly made. Tip: stick to the themes where you excel. However, the Turkish theme was absolutely delicious. All dishes were delightful and a showcase for Turkish cuisine. At the pool, you're served and food is made to order. There, too, you get the freshest food. At the beach, food is also made to order, and you're also served. There's also a daily buffet with doner, rice, salads, etc. It's true that the food can often be lukewarm to sometimes cold when eating from the buffet. This also applies to the restaurant. Apparently, they can't keep the food warm. Also, there's not always a sign indicating what each dish is, which can be quite annoying for people with allergies. But as far as I'm concerned, still by far the best hotel in terms of food. The à la carte restaurants provided mixed experiences. The Turkish restaurant was fantastic. Really delicious! However, the seafood restaurant was a disappointment. The fish was overcooked, and the menu wasn't well composed. The view, however, was spectacular. 80% of the staff are really super friendly and they really try their best for you. Very sweet and genuine. 15% just do their job, and 5% are really worthless. The people behind the pool bar never smile. What a huge difference from other staff who work hard and run for you. I love good coffee and saw in the lobby bar that they had a professional coffee machine where you could make ground coffee with the right pressure. I asked if I could have coffee from it. Eventually, I got coffee from the Nescafé machine with the message that both machines are the same. It seemed more like the bartender didn't want to do extra work because as a coffee lover, you can't convince me they're the same. I might not come back to the hotel for this reason. Additionally, I often drank alcohol-free cocktails in the evening. I often had a mojito, and my children had other cocktails. I don't know how they do it, but I never had the same mojito twice. I even got one with alcohol once, very bad! From that moment on, I always tasted my children's cocktails first. But anyway, I've never stayed at a hotel in Turkey known for its cocktails, and Melas Lara is still not known for it. By the way, it wasn't a problem for me that they didn't taste the same every time. I found it a bigger problem that I didn't get good coffee. The service was often quick and attentive. You were served everywhere. The ladies from guest relations are great! The animation team is one of the worst animation teams I've ever seen. They're really so focused on themselves. It starts in the morning with a dance they do every day, and you can see from everything that they do it reluctantly, except for one person who also does it with a lot of passion. The morning gymnastics is a joke. That lady really can't teach. She often speaks through the microphone, but the problem is that nobody understands her. The peak of their arrogance was something I saw with my own eyes. On the beach, a Dutch family was playing volleyball, and children and adults from different countries were joining in. They were really playing nicely together, especially with the children. At one point, two people from the animation team came by and shouted volleyball time. So, they had to make way for the animation team and one other player. That was really ridiculous to see and showed how they're mainly focused on themselves. The ladies who ran the mini club and children's activities were the exception. They were really only focused on the children and always put the children first. I have a lot of respect for how they did it! The rooms were fine and were really well cleaned. Nothing special about the rooms. Maybe that the minibar was filled with bottles of soft drinks. After 2 days, the fizz was gone from the cola, and unfortunately, there was no cola zero. In most hotels, you get cans in the minibar. On the other hand, it's more sustainable. So, for the first time, I didn't use the minibar much. Shampoo and soap were provided. No bodylotion or hairconditioner. The closet is spacious, but you really have too few hangers for the size of the closet. The hotel is otherwise clean. Toilets are constantly cleaned everywhere, so you always have a clean toilet. You can change your beach towel for free every day. The people at the reception are also super nice and like to help you. Checking in and out was quick. I went to the hairdresser in the hotel and it was funny to experience. I ended up with a peculiar hairstyle. Not nicely finished, just amateur work. While I was there, another woman came back because he had cut her hair unevenly. Never again for me; I'd rather go to the hairdresser in the shopping center outside the hotel. The pools were fine. The large pool is not heated, which is a shame because hardly anyone swims in it. Most people were in the heated pool with the slides. There were more than enough sunbeds, and reservations weren't necessary. But just like in other hotels, there's the sunbedmafia here too, who reserve a bed early. However, it's not as bad as in other hotels. There's a relaxed atmosphere at the pools, and there's plenty of space. There are also enough beds on the beach, and reservations aren't necessary. That's really nice. The hotel is not a mega resort like its neighbors. And that's precisely what's so great about the hotel.

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