Billiwiz.Rather a wide sweeping statement.You are obviously unhappy with your Antalya holiday but do not state why.Having lived here for six years neither my wife nor I have experienced anything like the statement that you made.Maybe you could explain the problem ( s )

Ian

I have been to Antalya around 5 or 6 times and always had a great holiday, found the Turkish to be nice and friendly just like in other parts of Turkey and certainly didn't get the impression they didn't want the British there,
Where did you stay?

Denny

billiwizz,

Could you elaborate please as to why you come to that conclusion? Other members who are going to or considering going to Antalya may be interested in your reasons, your post leaves me wondering why!

Darren

there were many resons for not enjoying the holiday so here are a few,the beach was really pebbly and so uncomfortable on your feet it was billed as the famous konyalti beach,famous for what peebles! also the resort had lots of turkish there who were on they holidays the women looked at you with disgust for wearing a strappy top i felt so out of plce ,even on the beach the women wre covered up,.the hotel was nice we were at the sheraton but there was nowhere to pop uut and have a drink unless you stayed in the hotel where a small effes and a small carlsberg would set you back 19tl,the food was basic unless you wanted a grill or a kebab you had had it,i know i am a chef there are hardly any international resteraunts so go if you like a grill as i said,,the hotel a la carte was very nice but again very expensive,wine was 12tl a glass a small one at that.the bazzar just dont go the people are rude they call you names and on more than one occasion i felt quite frightened,it was cloudy most afternoons and rained 4 times,I never saw a house all the time we were there it was so built up a bit like a massive council estate.the prices of things were high you got the feeling there was one price for the tourist and one for the turks.if you want to borrow the iron in the hotel they want a deposit of 100tl and you have to sign to say even after you have left the hotel and they find something wrong with the iron they will charge it to your credit card,i have never stayed in a 5 srar that did that, usually there is an iron and board in the wardrobe,but not in turkey.I could go on and on, all i am trying to do is to stop people making the same mistake as we did,i blame the holiday companies for advertising holidays there it is a turkish holiday resort that the turks want to keep for themselves,fair enough like i said dont go there you will not enjoy it ,spend your money in a place you feel welcome.

my partner, daughter and myself all went to antalya in 2007, its awful and definatley not for the britsh holiday maker, we were therefore relocated after a 2 hour journey to alannya which cost us £70 in a taxi, we couldnt wait to get out of the place.
If your thinking of going and you want a family holiday near the beach, please dont go to antalya the women are not allowed in the one or two bars we found and dont really go out at night, the beach is not for people with buggies or the dissabled, one big long swerving road down to the beach, the beach was awful to walk on its just big pebbles, and full of turks who just stare at you for being the only idiot brit on the beach! (no lie!) dont even go out your hotel in the day and walk around the shops even more people just stare at you for being there! my boyfriend could'nt even walk around with his t-shirt off the looks he got were terrible! a note to holiday companies "PLEASE ASK A PERSONS COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE BEFORE TAKING HARD EARNED CASH OFF SOMEONE WANTING TO GO TO ANTALYA, AND IF BRITISH DONT SELL TO THEM", there was a B.A flight attendant in our hotel who heard us on the phone to our travel company, after the telephone conversation he said to us, "what are you doing here antalya isnt a holiday destination for british families, (you dont say!) people who come here are either turkish students, turkish holiday makers or people waiting for a connecting flight from antalya airport!!!!" dont let this put you off turkey though! we just got back 2 weeks ago from marmaris and i cried when we got home its so nice and the club julian hotel is amazing!!!!!!! theres loads to do!!!!!!!!
Antalya is mainly for the turkish students, russians, and other turkish residents, but most definatley not for us brits!!!!! lesson learnt!!!!

My wife and i have been going to Belek in the Antalya refion 2/3 times a year for the last 12 .We always go into Antalya 3/4 times during our 2 week stay and never once have we felt as if we were not wanted .We have had no sort of threats or name calling in the bazzar which we have been to on numerous occasions and have always been made most welcome in all the bars and restaurants we have visited.I dont think that people should be put off just because of oneor two bad reviews,so they will not change my opinion of Antalya . What is good for some is no good for others .As for Antalya being full of Turks ,gosh i wonder why that is.

bluepeterno1 wrote:

My wife and i have been going to Belek in the Antalya refion 2/3 times a year for the last 12 .We always go into Antalya 3/4 times during our 2 week stay and never once have we felt as if we were not wanted .We have had no sort of threats or name calling in the bazzar which we have been to on numerous occasions and have always been made most welcome in all the bars and restaurants we have visited.I dont think that people should be put off just because of oneor two bad reviews,so they will not change my opinion of Antalya . What is good for some is no good for others .As for Antalya being full of Turks ,gosh i wonder why that is.

I stayed in alanya a couple of years ago and found that I didnt feel as welcome as in other parts of Turkey. Brits are in the minority but this may well suit some people, I knew this before I went and was looking forward to experiencing " The Real Turkey" I didnt like it at all it just didnt have the same feeling as other parts. Our hotel was awful and feel that this didnt help and I did wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I had been in another hotel but when we said a polite no thankyou to a man who wanted us to eat in his restaurant and he shouted you English ba*****s you kiss George Bushs ar*e I knew I would never return. We returned from Gumbet on 5th June and are off to Altinkum on 28th July so one bad experience has not put me off Turkey one bit. Roll on 28th

We went to lara Beach, Antalya at Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. We visited Antalya twice and did not experience what the first writer did. It is as if that person visited a different country. The only thing I would say is that if someone visited Liverpool and found that it was full of Scousers, then should that person complain? I should hope not!

We have had our summer holiday in Antalaya/ Beleck for the past 4 years. The hotel Xanadu is o ne of the best i have stayed in and is better than a lot of AI that you have to fly long haul to. The staff and other guests have always been friendly.

We go into the market in Beleck so that my daughters can have a shop and it is a lot less pushy than markets in other parts of turkey.

We are off again in 3 weeks and i cannot wait

I think similar experiences happen wherever you travel in the world billiwiz, and di73
I remember being in the Monchique mountains in Portugal 2 years ago, and a group of young Portugese lads
giving my middle aged Husband, and myself some verbal abuse for being British.
We also had a similar experience in Kefalonia Greece. Us 'Brit's' aren't always
welcomed with open arms. It's best to just ignore the comments, and walk on with your head held high.

We've only ever been to Turkey once before, to Kusadasi, and we HATED the whole experience,
and vowed never to return to Turkey again. However, many people on here absolutely love Kusadasi,
because they had a totally different experience of the place, and it's because of reading about other people's
experiences that we decided to try Turkey again, as "one man's meat is another man's poison"
(As they say). I often read others raving about Marmaris, but to me, it's my idea of holiday hell,
as we prefer quieter type holidays, but that's the whole point, we're ALL DIFFERENT, and like different things from our holiday.
You can't expect people to stay away from Antalya, just because you had a bad experience there.
It's up to people to make up their own minds about where they go, and what they want from their holiday.
It's good to give your opinion guys, but we all have minds of our own!

I have been to Belek 3 times and throughly enjoyed my holidays there. I do think though, there is a slight difference in the attitude of the locals compared to say Marmaris and Olu Deniz, and I think it is down to the fact that Belek/Antalya consists of mostly all inclusive hotels, there is nothing to be gained by being charming to the holiday makers as they are not going to spend much outside the hotel. Even in the hotels most British avoid giving tips. I don't think the British are know for splashing much cash.

I would like to add though, that we never had anyone be rude or openly unfriendly to us.

Speak for yourself Dadooronron.
My Husband even tips the Asda delivery man

I beg to differ about the tipping, we tip very well on holiday, and find that comment about the brits not tipping offensive!!
We love the Antalya region and have never had a bad experience in 12 years !

Me too violet123!!!
We once stayed in the worst hotel possible in Kusadasi,
but never failed to tip the waiters and hotel staff. (They worked their socks off for a bad boss, not their fault).

However, I have discovered the richer the people, the less they want to part with their money.
Probably what helps to keep them rich in the first place.

Us, on the other hand, will NEVER be rich, we're far too generous, but I prefer to be that way.

Yes pandy, same here! Never going to be rich because we spend all our spare cash going on holiday to Turkey!! I take loads of chocolate and sweets etc to give out to the staff at our AI hotel and they love that! We tip regularly and sometimes most of what we spend has been on tips! We have never had abuse from staff or thought they did not like the English. Infact they say we threat them much nicer and it is some of the other nationalities that they have to put up with! Threat people with respect in Turkey and you get repaid ten fold! We go back to the same hotel and are welcomed with open arms!
To actually come on a forum and warn people not to go is ridiculous! If people have a bad experience, yes mention this but to come on a Turkey Forum full of people that love the Country and return year after year, and warn them not to go, is hardly going to be taken very seriously!
We love Turkey and please any first timers do not let this kind of topic frighten you and put you off going! We have been numerous times and have 4 holidays all to Turkey booked, 2 of them in the Antalya Region!!!

I also find this remark offensive. For the amount of tips i give when on a two week holiday i could have a weeks s/c holiday.You only need to watch the various diners leaving ala cartes to see who puts tips in the box or not and as far as i am concerned it is mostly Germans and Russians who dont.Sometimes i have given a barber more of a tip than the price of the haircut and given wee kids a couple of lira when i am in shops buying,maybe that is why i dont get swore at and mean mouthed by the locals like the o/p seems to suggest .I have always found that you get back what you give in this life.
Peter

For every one of you good tippers there are dozens of poor tippers. I have been with different groups of people on various holidays and haven't witnessed anybody giving much in the way of tips in all inclusive hotels. Maybe on the last day plus some for the maid.

When we stay in Olu Deniz, we leave a tip with every meal.

I was referring to the locals outside the hotels, ie shops and bars. They don't seem to try as hard as in Olu and Marmaris.

I cant quite believe what I am hearing... maybe u had a bad experience in one place but that doesnt rule out the whole of Antalya, I always go to Side, the people are so nice, cant do enough for you, I have a hell of alot of friends there mostly Turkish. The prices are nowhere near what you have just said a drink was where I go anyway. As for men with tops off and women in strappy tops i've never experienced anything like that. I'm presuming by what you have said that u stayed actually in Antalya City which isnt the beach resorts. I've had Turkish friends insisting I dont walk back to Hotel on my own and they will walk me right to the door and they are not sleezy with me at all, I always go with people but I have been twice on my own and i'm well looked after. Each to their own but dont put others off when alot of people have had enjoyable holidays there. Somebodies bad experience isnt another persons. Also some people are just far too picky and stuck up (not saying you are) but you do get epople who will just moan at anything.

Happy holidays everybody im back to side in 3 weeks and cant wait.