Kirman Arycanda Deluxe Resort

We have just returned from a family holiday and had a wonderful time at Arycanda. The pools were clean and the kids loved the slides, being 8yrs and under they could switch between the sizes. Being the end of the summer season, the main pool was very cold but they still jumped in and we always had plenty of choice for sun loungers! The lunch hall was a great asset and we loved the choices, this was often our main meal as the kids would love the jacket potato's, pizza, pasta, fruit etc so family friendly. The staff here were also welcoming. The beach was a lovely alternative, although some people have complained that the beach is sand and shingle, we could walk barefoot and play volleyball no problem, with only a small strip between the sea having to navigate carefully to stop the pinch! The sea was beautifully clear and still relatively warm. Our superior room was nice, clean and we easily had space for the 4 of us. The bathroom was also a nice space. Room cleaning staff were good. We enjoyed some lovely drinks at the lobby bar - Mehmet works really hard to try and keep up with demand whilst other staff appeared to take it slow. He was often on his own making continuous cocktails, there were times where I bet it would have been nice for him to have a helping hand! He was very friendly throughout and is an asset to the team. Reception staff were also helpful through our stay and were able to fix an issue we had with the room quickly (our first room needed some maintenance). The things we would have given a higher rating for if improved were: There was little organisation at the larger slides and some cultures did not seem to have a concept of sharing. This resulted is some older children snatching these from shy children or physically fighting over the rubber rings both in, and out of, the water which could get dangerous around the steps into the pool. As others have mentioned, you can't adopt the British way of queueing politely and sharing, you have to be assertive. We had to be firm that we would be having a turn and would always pass it on to someone else after one go but sadly many children missed out as they didn't have parents to help. The lifeguard did little to create some organisation. We would not have liked to have been here during peak season! Having said this, he did jump in and save a young child who was around 4yrs old from drowing! However he then had to leave the pool unattended for many minutes whilst he tried to track her mother down who was nowhere at the poolside and on the beach!! If you are a light sleeper, the rooms at the front are near the road and can get noisy. I was woken each night by traffic, although this was only once or twice each time. The food was OK but themed nights weren't much different to usual offerings or themed. Towards the end of our stay we were dissatisfied by the evening service - we often couldn't get a table as 2 people would be sat on a table of 4 or 6 meaning families struggled to sit somewhere. If they had someone greeting people to a table this would create more organisation. When we found a table we also had a couple of nights where we had no drinks or cutlery and had to ask for some so we could eat as staff were not very attentive. On one occasion a waiter dropped a glass beside me and shards of glass hit the back of my head and dress but there was no acknowledgement that this happened - no apology even as I was brushing off the pieces!! Waiter in the al la carte was impatient and again service could be better. The games room was good fun but like the pool, good be better organised by having better rotation (for example 30mins per console) as i am not sure how they cope when hotel is in peak season but lady there was polite and friendly. The kids club looked good fun but we didn't make use of this as much as we could - a welcome pack with the weeks activities would have been a great touch to help us plan ahead and also activities were at the same time as the slides. The main visitors appear to be Russian but also had a mix of European guests so English is not always well known. Whilst it is not the hotels fault, we found that some other guests were acting as though they were 'entitled' which was a shame. Overall we had a pleasant stay and would not be adverse to returning, however we feel the points above make this a 4 star hotel with 5 star potential.