Orka Club Hotel & Villas

Carla Edwards

This was our first holiday abroad as a couple. We arrived late at night, in the early hours of the morning. Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed at the main reception with fresh cold water and a sandwich, which was much appreciated after our long journey. The hotel kindly upgraded our accommodation, placing us in one of the villas near the main pool. The room was immaculate, extremely tidy, and equipped with everything we could possibly need. The air conditioning was excellent, and we kept it on continuously due to the warm weather. The staff were exemplary, and I could not find a single fault with their service. The entertainment manager (whose name we did not catch) was particularly attentive and always made a point to greet us and ask how we were doing. Although they were keen for both my partner and me to join the nightclubs and made sincere efforts to encourage us, we appreciated their hospitality regardless. The bar adjacent to the dining area had some of the most outstanding staff. Neither my partner nor I are big cocktail drinkers, but when my partner asked the bartender to surprise us with a drink, he created his “speciality cocktail.” We ended up ordering these repeatedly, and they became quite popular among other guests as well. The young man who prepared these cocktails was exceptionally polite and kind, and we gave him a generous tip one evening in recognition of his excellent service. The only slight drawback to our stay was the food in the hotel. It was somewhat repetitive and often lacked flavour. Additionally, we noticed on several occasions the absence of appropriate utensils, such as tongs, meaning guests sometimes had to handle food directly, which was not ideal. Aside from this, everything else about the hotel was superb. The excellent staff and facilities made our holiday truly memorable, and we are already looking forward to returning next year. Regarding the waterpark, it is accessible via a free shuttle bus if you are early enough; the bus runs at 10:30 am with only two shuttles operating—one to and from the waterpark. Instead of rushing for the morning shuttle, my partner and I chose to walk, which took about 15 minutes and was very manageable. A short taxi ride (approximately 300 Turkish lira) or a bus ride costing around seventy British pence will take you to Ölüdeniz. We often visited Ölüdeniz to explore the area, shop, dine out and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. One memorable visit was to a beach bar called Orange, which overlooks the beach. The cocktails there were outstanding, and the staff were incredibly welcoming. There is plenty to do in Ölüdeniz, including water sports. We also took the cable car to the top of the mountain for dinner, which offered stunning views (though if you fear heights, be advised the cable cars are quite high and look daunting from below). Additionally, we spent a day at the Blue Lagoon, which requires a small entry fee but is well worth it for its beautiful, more private beach and numerous food and drink stalls. Both my partner and I can confidently say that our first holiday abroad together was absolutely wonderful, thanks to the kindness of the hotel staff and the warm hospitality of the local people in Turkey. We eagerly anticipate returning next year and hope to see some familiar faces at the hotel. A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Orka for making our first holiday as a couple so memorable.

Sinead Pollard

We just got home from a ten night stay here and wouldn’t return. From start to finish we have had issues We booked the holiday believing that our hotel was the main hotel however we were in the annex which is a seperate complex. This is not ideal for people with babies/toddlers in prams as it’s a hilly walk to the main hotel. On arrival we asked reception for the safes to be fixed to store personal belongings and no one came to fix. We then noticed that our room didn’t lock from the inside so whenever our toddler went near the door he couldn’t open it even with us locking the door - I called reception but no one came out. We had a poorly toddler who was sick and requested new bedding and they never arrived we had to call again and they sent down one bed sheet even though we needed full bedding. We booked in a photo shoot with the guy in the hotel who booked us 6pm for sunset pictures as a family.. he never turnt up and when he did he pushed us aside and put another family for the sunset photos so we missed it. Our son is also dairy free so we asked for soya milk. Not one of them got soya milk for us or even helped us find more when we were out there. On departure we arranged pick up off luggage’s from the annex to main hotel as there is no way we could get them up the hill.. we had to stand in torrential rain waiting with our toddlers and buggies but no one turns up for us so we chased by calling three times for someone to come down our buggies were soaked completely.

Joanne

Stayed here for 10 nights, booked the annex and were ‘upgraded’ to a villa but it was no upgrade. The shower door was broken even after telling staff multiple times, the bath was not somewhere I’d want to get washed and the beds were solid. The main pool area is beyond loud with constant music blaring out. Staff were okay but the member of staff at the small pool bar was questionable, looked unkempt, huffed and puffed when asked for a drink and would often disappear for long periods of time. The evening entertainment was very same same most evenings and the ‘kids disco’ was often just music playing while kids were feral because parents didn’t pay much attention. And speaking of feral we witnessed multiple arguments between guests, drinks being thrown and even a fight. Most people with or without kids were drinking from dawn till dusk with very little care for others around. And I never saw a staff member trying to calm or defuse any of these situations. My son also had a breakout of irritation on his legs that spread. He’s now on antibiotics with a skin infection from dirty surfaces/pools so that’s a lovely extra. Access to the water park was great although 10:30am drop off and 17:30 pick up was a long day so we always got a taxi back much earlier. Location is great but that’s about it! Oh and the most lovely lady who makes homemade chocolate crepes most days, she was the best part of the holiday. If you have young children and don’t want them to witness scenes out of shameless I’d avoid.

Zynab Ameen

It was a nice place. Helpful staff. Swimming pools were nice. The rooms was very good air-conditioned well. But the food wasn't that amazing mainly dinner. Breakfast and lunch were good. But dinner wasn't much flavour considering how much money we spent felt dinner should have been better Had to venture out to other places for dinner

Lola

Book a last minute break away for 5 nights with my teenage son, i had read the reviews so knew somewhat of what to expect. The hotel is in a good location with hisaronu a 15 minute walk away . Staying here you get a free bus and entry to the orka water park which was a good day to be fare and would cost around £25 each other wise . So staff were ok not overly attentive they would clear plates but very few would offer drinks service only one lady at breakfast would see us and offer the the iced coffee and would always come and check and replace in wanted . The young man at the bottom pool with glasses as well was always very smiley and polite. These were the only 2 that we tipped at the hotel. Food is not that great there is something you can always eat but just wasn't to our personal taste ,chicken was always thighs not breast , fruit didn't seem that fresh we ate out a lot .Pool bar food was basic rolls little bit of salad with burgers or nuggets ect all in terrines all quite dry .Alcohol is very weak and i mean week but plenty of selection for soft drinks , wine not so great .Pools were clean and well maintained as was the surrounding gardens 👌. Wasn't stupid sunbeds wars but was quite a few reserved early as anywhere you go now. We never stayed for the entertainment but my God it was loud and you could here it in your room till late . The room was my main issue . Decor is decent for a standard room , good size full double and a single which were both comfortable with daily cleaning. The room need maintenance though especially the doors. Arrived late and night and the dead bolt lock wouldn't work mentioned ro staff and said no one can get in with out the electronic key card but travelling solo adult i like that extra security there was a second bolt on the inside which I used but you can see from pictures doesn't look too secure , balcony door was the same dodgy look the sliding door wardrobe keep coming off the hinges making it difficult to get to certain sections of the wardrobe and the shower room well don't use between 4-6pm drainage was terrible toilet wouldn't flush and shower wouldn't drain and was so bad that you would have to stop your shower half way though and give it 10 minutes to slowly go down otherwise you would flood . Overall experience was good and I can't wait to return to the area just not the hotel they do have villas and apartments but the food and drink just didn't so it for us .Nice staff good location , chilled atmosphere nice break ,clean pools .