Well better late then never , having been home for over a week its time to put it all down.
We chose this year to DIY at the Alvaro apartments having looked them over last year whilst in Icmeler.
Ali , was sent to pick us up from the airport and it was lovely to see the familar bay of Icmeler even if it was an ungodly hour in the morning.
We had booked a 2 bed villa suitable for 6 , although I wouldnt like to try and get 2 bodies on the sofa bed.
The apartments were lovely - very clean and well equipped , the airconditioning worked particulary well.
the kids loved the pools at the apartments , there was a water slide on for 45 minutes every 2 hours - great fun for everyone including the adults.
Ozcan the owner was always about , he was very approachable , was keen to listen to your thoughts and ideas on the apartments and waqs very helpful.
on asking if there were any irons available to hire , he actually went to the shops and bought me one!
He and his wife also bought there new baby Ella home from the hospital whilst we were there,
We stayed at the Bahar lasy year and were impressed with the guys there but at the Alvaro they were even better.
First thing we noticed was how smart the boys here were , black tie and white shirt for all every evening.
They danced their socks off all night , and then took half the guests to EAstenders to dance some more.
We all had our own personal favorites - Marco , Nico,Romeo , Jan , Gerald and Raul all popular favorites.

On to Icmeler , we had been wary of the price hike reports but the only real evidence we found of this was in teh drinks prices.
Efes was about 2 - 2.5 mill last yr , this yr 3.5.
We don't drink spirits but wouldimangine you would feel it more if you drunk them.
we followed redrhino's advice and allowed 10% more then last yr and we werent far off - however bought far more snide gear this yr.

Definately buy trips at the beach and not through tour reps.
We booked at the stall by the canal on the beach.
Jeep safari was £30 for the 5 of us (would have been£84 with airtours) and £17 each for a scuba dive (£41 each with Airtours)

Resturants.
This year we wanted to eat in resturants that we hadn't tried last year , and with exception of the moonlight and majestic boys we suceeded.
Moonlight was as always good- Memhet and Eddie remembered us from last yr and gave fantastic service and food again.
Majestic boys had gone downhill - the friendly faces were gone and staff here gave the impression everything was a chore for them.
We ate in the Pop Inn resturant - this was average and the food was quite salty , lengthy wait here but reasonably priced.
Pyramid was very good , we managed to wangle free kids here including cocktails and ice cream.
Melissa had an excellent shaded area for the kids.
The Black sea was a lovely setting and food here excellent - staff went out of their way to keep us happy.
The romance was also very good with great dancing/entertainment later on.
The dreamboys we found quite crammed , we ate here wanting to experience the canal at night , you pay a bit more but they dont offer any different to other Icmeler resturant.
The 3 amigos gave us an excellent meal and again , all kids happy as free pool tables and play area including swings.
The Alvaro food was spot on , hubby particulary recommends the turkish ottoman.
Captain Bullshits - great value as usual , can also recommend his boat trip including breakfast.
The only resturant I would not suggest you try is ' Charleys' - underneath the Black sea and next door to the Cartier.
We were enticed in by Dave , and after waiting over an hour for our food all the orders came up wrong.
Staff very rude when anything was queried - like inconsistences between the bill and the menu.
We had also tried to eat in the waterfall - turned up early and came back later as they asked but they still had no table for us so we didnt stay - heard reports of long waits here.
Another thing spotted with Icmeler this yr was the amount of English touts outside the resturants.
For me this was a shame , I dont want Icmeler to turn in to a mini Tenerfe or Ibiza.I hope the resturant owners soon realise that there is absolutely no turkish charm when you have Dave from leyton on the door.
I still love Icmeler and will be back again ,
Hope I havent droaned on too much