“Great hotel for a cheap break!!”

I have recently returned from a weeks break at the Erika Suite hotel, although the name has been changed to the Erika Garden Apart hotel. Me and my partner booked this holiday as a cheap getaway and paid only around 25.00 for the week (Bargain!). Overall I would rate this hotel as average, it is n… more

I have recently returned from a weeks break at the Erika Suite hotel, although the name has been changed to the Erika Garden Apart hotel. Me and my partner booked this holiday as a cheap getaway and paid only around 25.00 for the week (Bargain!). Overall I would rate this hotel as average, it is not the best hotel I have stayed in neither is it the worst but for the price that we paid it was very good. It is nowhere near terrible like the last review stated and it did have a refurbishment in 2005. We stayed in the hotel part and our room was average although maybe slightly on the small side. It was basic but very nice and was cleaned daily and linen and towels were changed every few days. Each room has a balcony overlooking either the pool or the main street at the front on the hotel. Each room also has air conditioning although you must pay a small additional charge of 35 lira per week which is around 15 pounds. All facilities in the rooms were in good working order and the decor is ok although basic but fine for what you need. The pool area was very nice and always kept very clean with plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas. There is also a small kids pool. The gardens are also very nice with lots of plants and shrubs. The pool toilets I feel could do with being re-done although I hardly ever used them and this is just a minor detail. We only ate at the hotel once and although it was fairly nice we found that it was more expensive than other places and drinks were a bit of a rip off so you would be better going to the local shop and buying drinks and icecreams for the daytime etc. Another good aspect of this hotel is that they run free bus services to the beach a few times a day and they also provide you with free sunbeds and umbrellas when you get there. One downside of this hotel is that it is quite a way from the main town centre and you need to be quite fit to walk it. However the main street near the hotel has a lot of restaurants and shops etc so you can find everything you need. If you do wish to go to the main centre however (and I recommend you see it!) You can get the local bus (called a dolmus) from the main street which will take you to the main bus park and from there it is only a short walk or you can get a small little train thing down to the town centre. I recommend you walk it once though as there are a lot of beautiful ruins along the way. Taxis are also fairly cheap and will take you right into the centre. There is however one thing that lets this hotel down and that is the bar staff. There are only 2 and they were both quite rude to customers and were never warm or friendly. This was quite sad as all other staff including reception staff and cleaners etc were always friendly. This is one of the only things that lets this place down. Overall I would say that if you are looking for a cheap getaway I would definatly recommend it. There are better hotels but for what you pay what you get is excellent. If we return to side again I will go back and stay here. I would also like to say that if you stay here that I recommend that you visit the local manavgat waterfalls which are beautiful and a tour of Antalya is also a great idea. Also a great place to eat is a place calle Ugur pide and kebab salon along the main street near the hotel. The food is gorgeous and the prices are dirt cheap. I recommend you try the beyti kebab or the chicken on tile if you like something traditional turkish cuisine. Their pide (traditional thin turkish pizza) is also very nice. If you would like anymore information or have any questions feel free to email me at Emzybaby61@aol.com. Hope my review has helped you.

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“Can't Complain”

We couldn't believe our travel agent who managed to obtain a double room for 15 nights for 30GBP, so we couldn't complain about the facilities. We knew the area didn't attract too many British people and we were fortunate to meet a lovely Norwegian couple. We were welcomed by Osman, security who … more

We couldn't believe our travel agent who managed to obtain a double room for 15 nights for 30GBP, so we couldn't complain about the facilities. We knew the area didn't attract too many British people and we were fortunate to meet a lovely Norwegian couple. We were welcomed by Osman, security who was really friendly. The receptionist was also very nice and happy every day. Our room, on the fourth floor, (no lifts), overlooked a secondary road and a private holiday residence complex. Every Wednesday the road became the main road due to the market held on Kemer Road. There was a lot of road dust which lay on the balcony and railings. Our balcony was small with room for only a table and one chair. We would question the 800 metre distance to the beach! However we have been to Side 4 times so we knew what to expect. The pool at Erika is a really good size with a kid's pool too. Plenty of sunbeds but there was no green non-slip material around the pool. We love cats so were pleased to see several of them about the gardens. Mum and her three kittens looked well. Due to the U shape of the building any sound from the bar tended to travel into every room. The music was too loud for a number of guests and this perhaps reduced the number of sunbathers around the pool during the day time. Hackan, appeared to be in charge of the pool bar and surrounding areas. He speaks Turkish and German. Mustafa also worked around this area and the restaurant and he spoke the most English. The Manager was seen around the property but did not appear to intervene with the normal running of things. There was one Turkish night during our stay but we were visiting a friend in Antalya that night.. Erika is in the Kemer area (Kemer Road is 2 steets away ) which has a lovely non tourist feel about it. The otel is surrounded by private properties most of which appear to be small holiday complexes mostly empty. The streets are dark at night so it would be advisable not to walk alone but that is normal for a lot of people in a lot of towns anywhere in the world. We never felt frightened. Everything was extra, fridge, air con, etc. Internet 1€ for 30 mins. Prices at the pool for drink were 4YTL for 500ml of Efes beer. Some bars a short walk away were charging 2.5YTL for the same. This also may have had something to do with the lack of customers at the bar. Knowing a good bit about Turkey the prices have risen over the 20 years that we have been going there however there are still tourist prices and if you know where to go, the locals prices. An on site massage parlour provide the usual facilities. To sum up Erika, we had no complaints apart from the excessively loud music which could be solved by a polite request to have it lowered and, the next time we would book a suite with fridge and hobs for cooking.

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“very average hotel”

Stayed at Erika for a week, on the whole the hotel was ok rooms are very basic,but we had room cleaned every day, we were on ground floor next to reception could be noisey at night sometimes, we were the only British in this hotel as it caters mainly for Scandanavians, nobody really spoke to us a… more

Stayed at Erika for a week, on the whole the hotel was ok rooms are very basic,but we had room cleaned every day, we were on ground floor next to reception could be noisey at night sometimes, we were the only British in this hotel as it caters mainly for Scandanavians, nobody really spoke to us apart from receptionist called Pippa she was lovely food at hotel was good and waiters and bar staff polite, pool was clean,on the down side its a good walk to Side about 30 minutes didn't feel safe at all walking back at night in dark as hotel is situated in residential area with large blocks of flats that were a bit run down,not much to do at night no entertainment at hotel, not any bars in surrounding area,found Side on the whole a bit expensive for eating out

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