Melas Resort Hotel Side

We truly recommend this hotel, the staff is an incredibly kind, helpful and very welcome. The rooms are very clean, wide variety of food and very tasty. Fatih is very friendly, kind and provide very good entertainment. The hotel is located in very good place and beach is very clean.

Melas Hotel , Side, Turkey I stayed at this hotel for the last week in February 2025. It was my first stay at this hotel, although I have stayed many times in neighbouring hotels. I was greeted at reception and was immediately made to feel welcomed. The checkin process was quick and efficient and I was served with my choice of drink as I waited to be taken to my room. I connected to the hotel WiFi almost immediately using a very simple process. The room was spacious and clean with a bath/shower and a safe. An unusual feature was the provision of beach/pool towels in the room as opposed to the more common practice of a card system. The towels would be replaced, along with the dirty bath and hand towels if you simply left them on the floor. I could request my room to be cleaned and made up each day unless the "do not disturb" sign was hung on the door The food was buffet style and served in the main restaurant at various times throughout the day, encompassing breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snacks. Hot and cold beverages (including alcohol),were served at table by very well trained and courteous waiters. The quality and variety of the food was excellent.There was always an amazing choice of soups, fish, meat (clearly not pork),pasta,rice, vegetables salad ,cheeses and vegetarian. There were nightly themes at dinner (e.g. Italian, Turkish....).the sweet and pudding stations were truly amazing. There surely must have been enough choice to suit everyone. Service in the lobby bar was excellent. Being out of season , the bar was very seldom overcrowded and table service was usually very quick.Even during busy periods the hotel provided enough staff to keep waiting times quite reasonable. The bar staff's knowledge of cocktails and various drinks was impressive in all the hotel bars. The lobby bar provided 24 hour service. The bar staff were more than happy to make you a cocktail according to your instructions. I commend the hotel management for this and most other services which it provides. Entertainment was fairly low key. The animation team was rarely seen but provided an adequate program considering the time of year and pretty much in line with the normal expected activities such as poolside aerobics, darts, Turkish lessons etc. Nightly entertainment consisted mostly of live music and dancing. I have to say that one or two of the groups were excellent. Of course, it's all a matter of taste. The hotel does point out in its own publicity that people who have mobility issues may find negotiating around the hotel challenging. I will try and describe the layout with this in mind Like most hotels in the area the ground floor ( lobby, reception and restaurant) is accessed from the main boulevard which runs past the hotel driveway. This hotel driveway is quite long and steep in some parts. This presents a challenge if you have mobility issues. However, in my case the hotel provided transport to the main gate and back when I needed it in the form of a porter driven electric buggy, as a courtesy. I cannot be certain if this would always be the case. The beach is at least 150 ft (my guess) below the ground floor reception area. There are lifts in the hotel. At one end, near reception, lifts visit every floor above the conference rooms( which are one floor below reception) and floor 9 (5 through 9 are floors containing guest rooms). The main restaurant, lobby bar, reception and shops make up the ground floor. To reach the pool and beach areas some stairs cannot be avoided. Usually one flight connects the lift to the next level. The lifts at this end of the building stop between floors flights of stairs connect the lift to one floor above and one floor below. I have moderate mobility issues. So for example; to access the pool and spa area I found the best route was to exit the lobby floor at the restaurant end and descend one floor using two flights of stairs. An alternative was to descend one flight of stairs use the lift and ascend one flight of stairs. Access to the beach was more challenging.from the pool area there are two lifts which are accessed by means of a staircase of around thirteen steps.Once at beach level there are still steps to be negotiated to reach the bar and the beach itself. The toilets in this area also require using steps, as does the amphitheatre. Although I found access to these areas challenging, I was not prevented from getting to and fro on a daily basis. I can imagine, however, that for guests with more serious mobility issues there would be significant difficulties. To be fair to the hotel, I emphasise once again that they are quite upfront about this. Most of the hotels in the area have similar layouts where some parts of the hotel can be accessed only by using steps. In summary I would thoroughly recommend this hotel subject to the mobility restrictions, to anyone requiring a relaxing holiday with great service and excellent food. I believe that the hotel also has a holiday village complex adjacent to the hotel which, I am informed,is better suited to families with children.