Swallowed by “Turkey Monster” or “Hey, butter, it’s occupied…!”

// October 21st, 2010 // Experience, Tourism

For people liking straightness and less irony: the Article is about my vacation and my impressions as tourist in sunny Turkey, Alanya, staying in Saphir 4*hotel.

I and my fiancée decided to try Turkey for our seaside vacation of one week. One reason was because we’ve already missed the summer time to go somewhere to Black Sea and the other was that many people were so “used” to go there and recommend this destination as a very good choice in price-quality AI. We worked very hard all year round and more than that, we had many life defining events during this year and I could say that only a very “paradisiacal”, almost ideal rest could calm our nerves, heal our minds and leave some sunny pleasant waves in our souls for the following year.

Looking at this nice view of the hotel, who could ever think what’s really going in there, behind the picture!? Well, get ready for a captivating story because I will lift the veil for you…!

So, now I’ll describe how it was in separate chapters:

1. Atmosphere

Small “happy” but practical stories:

Checking in:

We arrived very late, about midnight (in total, time spent in road from our very apartment to the hotel = 7 hours), very tired and sleepy, hungry. Although we were promised that we could have some kind of late nigh soup, we got nothing, all was closed. We went to our room, entered and … do you know a saying “worst-first”, so, that was the worst, dirtiest, most unfit room I’ve ever seen. And it was, let me remind you, a four star hotel, I thought – this is my first visit to Turkey, my first visit in this hotel, and they give me this shit…? Sorry! The first impression is everything, it will motivate us to come back or not here in the future! How can they fail in something like this and from the very beginning!?

We were totally disappointed but we had so many expectations. The room was so bad looking and dirty that even when entering in the little corridor something was leaking from the ceiling, the flooring was totally wet and there was an awful dampness smell in the room! We went back to the reception and said about it but we were answered that, unfortunately, now they can’t give us another room, we’ll have to sleep that night there, but we can come back in the morning to ask for another room. I don’t know what was in the head of receptionist when he gave us this room and what the hotel manager looks after in his job, but in that very moment when I entered that room and saw it I said to myself – I will never ever come back here again! We We had a terrible night, the window and door at the balcony were zero isolation, we heard every bus coming in and out to the hotel front entrance, we were like on a bus station, the mattress probably were for garbage already. In the morning I was angry, again disappointed and ready for anything to get a good room with good decent conditions for the money we paid. Oh, how I hated this, I didn’t want to argue with anyone, I said to myself – I will talk calmly and politely about this problem, but if the reaction will be incorrect then I will use other tactics to obtain justice. We went to the hotel manager and explained the situation. He sent with us one of his assistants to check the room, our words were not enough for him. She checked the room with us, we spoke calmly and politely. We got no apologies but – yes, finally, we received a clean room, in a better area of the hotel complex, but it was not what they show usually when presenting the rooms in our tourism agency. It was rather a there star hotel room, that needed some reparations too.

Oh, and here’s one important moment, thank God, I was speaking in English, I believe that’s why we succeeded, because later during our stay, I saw Russian tourists at the reception for many times and they were refused in their incommodities and complains. – Pure national discrimination. God, how can this be happening?

Then we understood one veiled truth – good and clean, beautiful view rooms were given to western and central European guests, and eastern clients got the “left-over”! And I’m not talking about the expensive luxury suits, it is not included here at all, as it is the highest accommodation level, of course, and in this case only the paid price determines your stay in it, and not the country you’re coming from.

Having breakfast:

I was sitting for my breakfast at a table, just getting into the day light and mood, spreading a bun with butter and there I hear: “Hey, butter…” and it was said to me, because a waiter approached to me with these words and then also added: “it’s occupied, look…”! Can you imagine, I just got called “Butter”, in the most rude manner, just like this… But I was just having my breakfast at a normal table waiting for my Fiancée to come with some Cappuccino, there were no sighs that our table has been occupied already before we came, but the waiter had a grimace on his face. I didn’t make a move and I said to him that he’s wrong and shouldn’t talk like this, he just walked away, with no more words. How can a waiter say something like this, when he actually should be invisible but nice and correct when asked something! This knocked me down!

Visiting the local market or “where are you from” – trap:

There was a big market spread along small streets close to our hotel and of course, we visited it, just to be sure we don’t miss anything. I don’t know how representative it was, but I would never buy clothes that I saw there, very low quality, cheap but not worth even that money to spend on it.

And I can say that the sellers there were very insolent, rough and annoying! Some of them even tried to grab my hand and drag me in their shop, but we figured it out quickly and became very careful and kept the distance from the shops entrances just glancing in there.

Each seller started his talk with the same question “hello, where are you from”, probably as to understand how to negotiate better the prices with you. God, they looked so primitive and repulsive, wanting to get inside you whether you want this or not, to sell you anything! And at a moment when we got tired and irritated by this impudent interrogation we answered to this with a question too “what does it matter – where I come from?”, to what some sellers became aggressive, probably cursing in Turkish, because suddenly they were changing the voice tone and we were not understanding a word. In that situation we could only take French leave!

2. Food

Food, cuisine, courses, it’s flavor and appearance – whatever you call it, is one of the most determinant factors of a really comfortable hotels with All Inclusive facility. And not that I don’t wish but, how to say – I’m just not quiet ready financially))) to have red or black caviar at breakfast, but please, Mr. Chef, do you ever have breakfast? Or you believe I should go to the hotel park and have some green palm tree leaves or may be some tiny green bananas and drink it with salty sea water – Yeah, that’s just great for my health!

Whom do you, Mr. Chef, expect to eat all that extremely salty “beyaz peynir” (national salty cheese) in the morning!? And the variety of buns was reduced to the difference in shape of each bun and not in their filling. Sorry, but all buns had the same taste inside and outside!

And I bet that the wurst and sausage were the major disappointment, especially for “Viking origin tourists”, since it was only two kinds of wurst, different only in shape, as always and all the time and one kind of sausage, and all of it had a paper taste and consistence, and where’s the meat there?! Even my cat’s don’t eat this kind of cheap and “artificial” wurst!

What was a delight – is when they gave watermelon for two times for breakfast, besides salty things…Yes, it was something really original, for me at least.

Oh, and what shocked me is that there was no bananas at all, for any meal, in a region and country producing and exporting bananas! What’s wrong with you, people?! But, thanks, they gave oranges and just some grapes, apples, plums and melon! Yeah, I could believe that in this country fruits are very expensive and hard to find! But along the main coast road I saw beautiful banana plantations and I won’t believe that the season was over, no!

The positive part. What I really liked with all my stomach heart is: grilled chicken (pieces) and turkey meat, fried vegetables with shrimps, and baked fish in slices (probably cod), spicy vermicelli – yeah, at least something that looked and tasted good. Just that we had to stay patient in lines to get some of these.

It was a big pity that there was no good first courses for dinner, like: borscht, chicken soup or vegetable soup, any of that, with pieces of all goodies in it just like in the home recipes and with good flavor.

3. Animation

We went for two times to the hotel small amphitheatre where they organized shows each night at 10 pm, again to see whether we don’t miss anything valuable, and we were right. Nothing important to comment here.

4. The big-long …transfer to the airport!

With all our hearts we want “to thank” Eray Tour – the firm that “took good care of us” especially when driving us from our hotel back to the airport, on a distance of just 110 km. Our charter flight was at 3:50 pm, and then was delayed to 5:50 pm, but these “nice” people took us at 10 am in the morning from the hotel and drove-and drove us for 4 hours, passing over about 10 hotels on our way, taking other tourists, economizing everything but just not our time. Since otherwise we could manage to go to the sea in that day, enjoying it for the last time, then have something to eat before the road to airport. But no, we spent 4 hours in the road, they didn’t even bother to feed us, since our last meal was at 9 in the morning, it was already 2 pm and we were at the airport terminal – already very tired and hungry! And we still had another 4 hours before the flight to bear in there. A “wonderful “ ending of our vacation!

Shit! Eray tour – you can go to h…ll!!!

5. Other remarks

- We didn’t like the beach.

Too narrow, too rocky here and there, although Alanya is considered with sand beaches, it wasn’t that sandy at all, the entrance into the sea water was rocky all the time, and most of the Mediterranean Turkish coast is pebbly. For your consideration – some regions of Crimea cost along the Black Sea in Ukraine have golden and even almost white shining sands you could only dream of. The problem is that Crimea is just in the process of developing, equipping and facilitating it’s tourism capacity. And in the nearest future it will be a very strong rival, having an amazingly beautiful nature, rich geological and historical patrimony, extraordinary views and enviable sand beaches.

- TV and the TV Channels.

I don’t know what most people do, but we like to stay tuned to the world, for about an hour daily, just see some news, some good film, maybe other interesting program, while waking up or going to sleep, it gives us some feelings of home environment we need. But the small 15 inches TV showed about 18 channels in total, from which 3 repeated, and most channels were in Turkish, and this is when in the hotel brochure is stated that hotel facilities include satellite TV available – Mr. Hotelier, do you even know what’s this?

- Mr. Waiter…

Just like there is a certain list of requirements for stewardesses when they are chosen to work in an airline company, for example: their height and general nice appeal/appearance, healthy body without visible defects etc., since, besides their technical and emergency training, they must make your flight pleasant! The same situation is with the waiter profession, there exist rules and standards when hiring people for this profession, especially in 4 star hotels, or high class restaurants. Of course, these requirements differ more or less from one place to another but common is that waiters also have to be neat and clean at appearance at all times, pleasant manner, good looking, they must respect hotel/restaurant policy and comfort/facility level.

Well, during our stay this hotel main restaurant proved a totally opposite understanding of how clients must be served there.

Dirty and untidy appearance of the waiters – really dirty trousers, I saw it with my own eyes.

Then, remembering the “Butter effect…” I’ve told you earlier, and here’s something more: for several times while I was sitting at my table I had the happiness suddenly to see a dark “animal extremely hairy” hands taking the plates away before my nose while I still eat and try to chew what I managed to take, thinking “how good is that it weren’t his hands to serve me these plates and I didn’t lose appetite…”

- Each meal was a well thought strategy and quest for us.

We had to catch the lines and the free places at tables, be quick and predict the outcome of the crowds and of the serving process. In some sense, only this part I liked, but that’s just because I am young, I like action and challenge, but believe me it wasn’t so for the rest of the guests of other ages.

- Really enjoying a vacation, having a good rest, besides all seaside recreational activities, also supposes – a good, full and healthy sleep, as to forget about the daily problems and routine, all the obligations and early wake ups …

So, dear Mr. Hotelier, you should really think of that because there is a real lack of silence for a happy resting during the night in your hotel! The local disco club is too much local, and although it’s situated about 300 meters distance, being a modern well equipped facility, that should meet noise isolation standards, it bounced the soul out of us each night from 11 pm till 5 am in the morning.

Please, we come from noisy cities, we’ve got there many-many disco clubs etc. , and we flew more than 1000 km to your little paradise spot to get some relaxation, nature, fresh air, to really enjoy the sea, all the nice views, and to sleep like careless babies. Nobody sais that there shouldn’t be such an establishment but it should meet all necessary standards in the area and it definitely shouldn’t bother me or anybody else during the night if we don’t want that, I have my own feet and if I want some discotheque I can go there.

- Oh, and tell your maids …

…not to throw or fling the poor vacuum cleaner or the furniture while cleaning the room, especially at 8 in the morning – we are still sleeping and we can hear it all through thin walls and the ceiling. We don’t have to go to work, remember, we’re on vacation in your hotel!?

- On the Russian side of the guest’s questionnaire you’ve done too many mistakes, just don’t print this next time!

6. Conclusion

Dear Hotelier, during our stay in your hotel we felt lost and felt we were nobody. We didn’t get the satisfaction and the relaxation we deserved for the money we paid. We felt swallowed by careless Turkish tourism industry “beast”. You officially declare your hotel – a 4 star, but it’s far from being so, and I hope that there is an official power that controls hotel industry and quality correspondence in your country and our witnessed story will be very helpful to make some order in your hotel!

And you know, I can surely say that when something like this is happening again and again, it means that your tourism development is close to or even has reached it’s peak and from now on you’ll have a “great” stabile decline, which means less and less tourists that will leave their saved money for vacation in your hotel and your country! You – guys, have passed the saturation point and are going down! And guess what – there are enough countries that will jump in with their attractive price/quality tourism offers in this situation and few people would want to go for their vacation to an overused Turkey! Or you’ll have to desperately lower your prices like you’d never expect it and serve even better for less money.

Saphir hotel – Zero hospitality!

And by the way, Hotelier, the name of your hotel should actually be written correctly – Sapphire! This is your logo, for God’s sake! What a shame!

I was a real client and when a client gets more nasty things than pleasant things, he remembers and speaks to everybody only about the bad experience, a smart Hotelier should know about it and should prevent it!

Want to check any hotel?

I can be your “Mystery Tourist”!

(My impression and opinion I’ve just shared with you is based both – on a real experience of being a tourist and also on professional knowledge, having graduated the Tourism and Hotel Services faculty with a Diploma.)

For any questions / suggestions, please write!

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