Xanadu Hotel in Turkey
With the summer holiday’s approaching, Suzanne Cohen suggests looking
to Turkey for a memorable family holiday, as she experienced last year.
Choosing our family holiday
Although Turkey was not on our wish list of places to holiday (due to
its high summer temperatures) we had heard so much about the Xanadu hotel
in Belek we decided to find out more.
With a tight budget to stick to, we were pleasantly surprised to hear
that the all-inclusive resort was actually offering some reasonable packages.
After comparing it to other holiday destinations, we eagerly booked our
ten-night stay, excited at the thought of free-flowing food and alcohol,
as well as ice-cream’s for the kids.
Getting there
The journey time is close to five hours but we were lucky to fly from
Stanstead to Antalya airport direct as many flights make a stop off on
the way. Our portable DVD player kept our two boys entertained and on
arrival at Antalya airport we travelled in luxury to Xanadu thanks to
the hotel’s car service, cleverly filled with cooled bottles of water
to drink.
The resort
Having arrived in the late evening, we could not appreciate the full
beauty of the hotel until the kids woke us up the following morning screeching
in delight. Set amongst beautiful green pine forests and landscaped gardens,
Xanadu is exquisite. Boasting columned walkways and Roman style pools,
the five-star resort is reminiscent of ancient times.
With all sorts of accommodation on offer, we opted for the family room
in a bungalow which consisted of two inter-connecting rooms.
Food
Being an all-inclusive hotel, guests are not short of drink or food and
if you wanted to you could eat all day.
There are various restaurants within the hotel but we opted most days
to dine with the kids by the poolside bar which served a delicious array
of food. Whilst the kids tucked into pizzas that were readily available
we stuck to the salads once we realised what lay ahead us in the evening.
For at night, the central dining area turns into the most incredible
buffet of food I have ever seen. As well as tables laden with every variety
of food imaginable, there is several barbeque stations outside with chefs
offering up different selections of fresh meats and fish.
There is a separate children’s eating area and by far the best bit for
the kids was the endless amount of free ice-creams and slush puppies on
offer.
Activities and Entertainment
Pool games and water sports are aplenty at Xanadu but if you want a bit
of piece and quiet the hotel has a kids club and play area where you can
drop the kids off. There is also a games room with snooker, bowling and
computer games.
The hotel has its own cinema and amphitheatre which turned into a kids
disco at night. On certain nights of the week it is is also used to stage
amazing productions such as The Lion King which the kids loved, despite
the constant annoyance of mosquitos.
Price guide
Approx price for a family of four staying in the summer for 10 days is
£3,250 in a bungalow family room.
Overall
I cannot fault Xanadu at all as it is the ideal holiday for families. Even
though we did not venture outside the resort I believe there is plenty to
see if you like a bit of culture. The only thing I would suggest is not
to visit in August as the soaring heat was uncomfortable at times, although
the hotel and bedrooms are air-conditioned.
Find out more:
www.xanaduresort.com.tr
Where to next?
- More
Travellers’ Tales – read the ups and downs of families’ holiday
experiences - A
family guide to camping - Is
a holiday home abroad, for you?
