I spent a week at the Topkapi from August 15th staying in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom family duplex room with my husband and two sons aged 11 and 8. It was our first visit to the Topkapi Palace but our fifth to Turkey and we have previously stayed twice at Lykia World and at the Hotel Kaya Side as well as a hotel in Tekirova.

I had read reviews before we left concerning the need for an upgrade to the rooms and so my expectations were low. However, whilst not of a 5 star standard, our duplex room was clean and absolutely fine. The water pressure in the overhead shower in the main bathroom was phenominal and full size bath sheets were provided which, in my experience (and we are lucky enough to holiday abroad three or more times a year), is pretty unusual. My only criticism was that the air conditioning was not cool enough, particularly in the upstairs bedroom. However the weather was ferociously hot whilst we were there.

I chose this hotel purely on the basis of the waterslide facilities for the children which include a wave pool, a lazy river, three slides for younger children and five further slides for adults and older kids including one for which inflatable rings are supplied. Additionally there is a very large pool which never seemed over crowded and a 'quiet' pool. As other reviewers have said these facilities are excellent and are more extensive than those available at the Kremlin Palace next door. Although we (well, my husband!) chose to get up early to 'reserve' our sunbeds, there were still a fair number available when we came down for breakfast at around 9am.

The main buffet restaurant does get very busy during peak times and fighting your way through the crowds for a plate or queueing for a chance to wield the bread knife does get a little tedious. The queues for freshly cooked food (like an omelet or pancake at breakfast or grilled chicken or fish at lunchtime) were painfully long at times and personally I couldn't be bothered. However, there was always plently of salad and pasta options and other hot food available without too much of a queue. Also at all meal times there was delicious freshly baked pitta style bread, with a range of fillings or toppings, cooked in a bread oven in the restaurant. Whilst the All Inclusive meal and drink arrangements offer flexibility and certainly suit us as a family, it is criminal to see the wasted food left at the tables. I was astounded at the greed of other guests to be honest - even my children commented on other kids piling 6 or 7 pancakes on a plate whilst they had one or two. However, that is the problem with AI hotels everywhere so I'll get off my soapbox as I am guilty by 'association'.

There were far more English guests here than I was expecting based on other reviews, but the Russians, Israelis, Turks, French and Germans were definitely predominant. The majority of staff spoke English and we were quite happy amidst all other nationalities.

One other final comment concerns both the Games Room and main bar area in the reception lobby. Whilst both facilities were air-conditioned the smell of cigarette smoke was overwhelming. The games room is an excellent facility with seven or eight snooker/billiard tables, air hockey, card/backgammon tables, internet access and playstations as well as a range of other payable slot machine type games and a bar area. I anticipated sharing a drink here with my husband whilst the kids played but the smell of smoke was sickening.

Overall we had a lovely week at the Topkapi and would be happy to recommend it for families.

Think this hotel needs a refurbishment as the rooms are looking a bit tired, we looked at three rooms before we accepted one!

The hotel is meticulously cleaned by the staff and cannot be faulted on its cleanliness.

The hygiene in the restaurant was exceptionally thorough, all meals were checked by 'food technicians' with thermometers and samples taken daily. The waiters /bar staff work exceptionally hard but are run ragged by the main nationality - if you go you'll know what I mean. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff.

Entertainment was a bit disappointing with the comedy show a bit lewd if you have kids don't take them to this as it went a bit far - liberal as I am??!! A heard from a person who revisited that a lot of facilities from last year have been downscaled due to cost - champagne and some luxuries

We travelled as a large group of friends and found that check-in was a fast and pleasant experience, ie. receptionist quickly processed the key and information giving, whilst our party sat and enjoyed a drink from the lobby bar served by one of the many attentive waiters.
Bags were taken to the rooms via bellboy.

The hotel is architecturally a very impressive building, as is the adjacent Kremlin Palace.

All areas of the hotel are kept spotlessly clean, as were the bedrooms.

An enormous array of food at mealtimes often meant that you were spoilt for choice - the kebabs, grilled meats and fish are excellent.

Unfortunately we had difficulty obtaining reservations for the a la carte restaurants and only managed the fish restaurant - food was superb with a lovely atmosphere and live music. Only downside being the weather, as this is an outside restaurant, it was very cold in the evenings and we were glad to retreat to one of the many inside bars.

Evening entertainment takes place in an outside amphitheatre and although provided with fleece blankets by staff, it was too cold of an evening to sit out.
Daytime facilities are numerous.

Hotel is situated on the blue flag beach and the majority of watersports are free. Even though it was the end of October, and cold in the evenings, it was hot and sunny during the day and the sea was warm enough to swim in. There are numerous sunbeds and hammocks on the beach - all free.

One of the highlights of the holiday was the weekly beach party held on Friday evenings. Guests are given a balloon with a sparkler attached and all light and let go of the balloons at the same time, into the night sky - a sight I don't think I will ever forget.

Sunbeds were easily obtained around the pool with no need to get up early to reserve!

Pool towels are provided by the hotel.

Teenagers were well catered for as apart from the many activities available, there is a disco open every night until the early hours.

Try the 'hubble bubble' pipes whilst you are there and also indulge in a Turkish bath and massage. Bath is free, but the massage is approx 60Euros (worth it for the extra pampering!). Hair wash and cut is included at the hairdressers(including head massage). There is a large, heated indoor pool, sauna, gym, squash courts and Turkish bath all under one roof.

As mentioned by previous reviewers, the champagne tower is a must with its fine sparkling wines and panoramic views.

Hotel is located in the middle of nowhere. However there are taxis at the gate or organised tours available via reps or the hotel. We did an organised tour to a market to stock up on our fake designer gear!!

I'm sure there are facilities that we didn't happen across during our stay at the Topkapi Palace, but we'll find out when we return to this wonderful hotel, as I'm sure we will one day.

We visited the Topkapi Palace during August and with the Facilities promised it has it should have been a fantastic holiday for the whole family. The reality is that our 2 boys (14 & 12) enjoyed the holiday whilst my wife and I were left with a feeling of disappointment as it did not have a 5 star feel to the hotel.

ROOM

We had a family room, the concept of which is ideal. You enter the room where there is a bathroom and bedroom, in the hallway there is a staircase that leads up to a separate twin bedroom and shower room. The room is clean and bedlinen is changed regularly however the room is drab and feels very dated. Our room overlooked the adjacent Kremlin Palace hotel so our view was of one of their outdoor dining areas. We also had the pleasure of listening to the dustbin lorries coming and going throughout the early hours of the morning

POOLS & AQUA PARK

The pools are enormous and the slides are excellent. There is a small lazy river as well as a wave pool. The pools always seemed very clean though the wave pool was quite tatty. The sunbathing areas are reasonably well kept, but if you want a sunbed in a particular spot you need to be getting up at 6.30 a.m. with most beds gone by 9.

ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment team were basically poor, they were not interested in their job unless you were 16 and had big boobs. There was a programme of daytime activities but these were not at all well promoted and the entertainment staff seemed happy if 2 or 3 people turned up. We went to one of the evening shows put on in the amphitheatre and left after 5 minutes it was truly appalling !
There was an animator to specifically organise activities for teenagers but he was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The highlight of the holiday for our teenage sons being a weekly football matches against the Kremlin Palace the adjacent hotel.

FOOD

For my wife and I this was the biggest disappointment of all.

Breakfast - was the usual assortment of fried eggs, pancakes or omelettes, which seem fairly standard fare in Turkish hotels. If you could be bothered to queue and wait there was also the opportunity to freshly squeeze your own orange juice.

Lunch

Very clean I would reccommend this hotel to any other person who is looking for a top quality hotel.

The top kapi palace was one of the best holidays i have ever been on.
The food was superb and very clean.

The weather was so hot and it was nice to get into the pool or the lazy river to cool down.

The staff were very friendly and willing to help out.

The animation team they was so great the made you laugh and always put a smile on your face especially Kadir and junior Gokhan!

I would definitely go back there just to relax and experience the warm welcome of the Turkish people. It's beautiful!

The WOW Topkapi Palace is a fantastic place, great with children, fantastic slides which our son loved. Especially the kids club which is open from 10am till 9pm, they take the children to lunch and dinner and do many activities with them throughout the day. Even for younger ones. Our son is 5 and he enjoyed going there.

There was an incredibly huge choice on food and the food itself was fantastic. We tried all the different restaurants and in all of them the food was great and you were well looked after by the staff.

We will definitely go back to this hotel or its sister hotel next door.

We feel we can only recommend this hotel, we felt we didn't want to leave after our 2 week holiday and that doesn't happen very often.

The hotel was very clean, and superior in its building details, accessable for pushchairs and wheelchairs although a slightly longer walk involved to reach buffet restaurant.

Entertainment was available nightly 9pm - 10.30pm show time, then it was very quiet unless you went onto nightclub on the site.

Most people just sit around talking at outside bars, or main reception area very comfortable seating.

Lovely hotel, but away from everything and anything.

Food was very good, never got to try specialty restaurants as they were always full.

Exceptionally clean.

The staff were great, but spoke hardly any English.

Pools were plenty, but nowhere near enough sunbeds.

Not enough seating in the evening even though there were many bars.

The hotel mainly caters for the Germans and Israel

The Topkapi Palace is an excellent hotel. The buildings are copies of buildings in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and considerable effort has gone into making them historically accurate. The gardens are particulary fine; a lot of work has gone into them.

There is a superb aqua park, with slides, a wave machine, and a range of inter-linking pools, as well as a quiet pool, away from the others.

The management and staff are very professional. Nothing is too much trouble for them. The whole hotel is astonishingly clean; I have been in dirtier German hospitals!

There is a very wide range of food, but I would liken it to the sort of food you get in Turkish truck stops. Nothing wrong with that, the food that you get in Turkish truck stops can be very good, but don't expect sophisitication.
For quantity and variety, though, it can't be faulted.

There are a range of cafes and bars dotted throughout the grounds, serving food and drink ranging from Turkish tea and biscuits to Turkish sparkling wine, in a wine bar at the top of a tower, with extensive views across to the Taurus mountains. One cafe even offers hubble-bubble pipes -all included in the price of your stay!

The sports facilities are excellent, and many people come here for that purpose. While I was there, the Albania football team were there for a training camp before playing Turkey in the World Cup eliminators.

The hotel is, however, stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the prices in the hotel shops are not cheap (