Viking Star Hotel

Not 5 star, Not for English People. We arrived at this hotel late at night, and the restaurants had closed. We were given a plate with 2 slices of cucumber, a tomato, a cheese triangle and a sachet of Nutella. We were seated in the dining room and left to it. We didn’t know if there was anything to go with it, my daughter had a look around, and there was some soup, so we helped ourselves to that. There were staff in the restaurant but no one acknowledged us. I assumed this was maybe because it was late at night. It was only going to get worse… The next morning we went down to the pool, and got our sun beds. 4 out of the five were broken, my husband looked round for some better ones, but the majority of the sun beds are broken, you end up lying on the plastic bar which goes through the middle. The entertainment team came out in the morning and walked straight by us, but spoke to all of the Russian and Turkish families around us.. this was to become a pattern for the rest of the holiday. We went to the rep meeting at 11am that morning,hoping for some insight but he informed us that the Viking Star was mostly for Russian guests, so the entertainment at night is in Russian, as is most of the food in the restaurant, We had to eat out 8 nights out of the 10 because we couldn’t find anything we could eat, and we aren’t picky eaters, my youngest child is 10 and my eldest is 23, and we all enjoy a variety of food. We are a well travelled family and have had some lovely holidays in Turkey, but this hotel is not for English families. The staff at this hotel ignore you at the reception, at the bar, in the restaurants and will actually let you stand there and serve people behind you. There were 3 other English families there at the same time, and they were in tears most days. You are made to feel like your children are not allowed to make a sound, not allowed to play in the pool, and not allowed to join in the entertainment. The entertainment staff are particularly rude, they will mimic you in an English accent, this happened twice right in front of me. There were some other things that happened along the way, our room safe didn’t work, the cleaners left one of rooms open for the whole day, there was no bedding on the children’s beds. Also the a la carte restaurant didn’t open once whilst we were there, and the onsite Piccadilly English pub is closed and is being used for storage. We spent 10 days here and couldn’t wait to get home, this is a hotel for Russian & Turkish people only. It is also a 3 star hotel at best.

This is NOT a 5 star hotel! Staff are extremely rude, u helpful and unpleasant if you are from the UK. It’s dated and just a horrible experience! I am sitting in tears just now because they have literally served the Turkish and Russian people first I constantly have been ignored and treated like a second class citizen! I’m disgusted and appalled that anyone would think this is a great place maybe because the UK has better standards!!!! On the beach will be contacted Regarding this! This one photo shows the extent of how shabby the place is!

Myself and my 12 year old daughter travelled with another mum and her twin 12 year old daughters. We requested rooms next to each other and this was easily accommodated. Our rooms were perfect for what we needed for the week and cleaning was offered daily (though on some days we declined as it wasn't required). There was so much choice in terms of food - when you go abroad, you have to expect some different options and styles of cuisine; we all enjoyed trying new things, but the girls most stuck to what they knew. All of the bar and waiting staff were friendly and complimented me on my rather clunky attempts to speak Turkish! We especially got to know the wonderful entertainment team - Denise, Soner and Haluk - they all work very hard and only seem to have Sundays off! We loved the shows and the karaoke evenings. We didn't use the hotel beach as others had told us that it wasn't great. We signed up for the Turkish Maldives boat trip which was amazing - the food they manage to serve on a boat was very impressive! We only have 2 less than positive points to share: 1) We arrived at the hotel very late in the evening (after midnight I think?) and we had to plead to get a soft drink from the bar. Food was offered, but only hot soup was available and this wasn't what we needed at that point - some bread, cheese, cold meats, would have been more appropriate. 2) Although the all-inclusive drinks option was wide, it was a shame that there were no cocktails included in the all-inclusive. Perhaps the hotel could consider adding 2 cocktails into the all-inclusive offer? However, otherwise, we had a brilliant time - the pool was perfect and from what we saw, everything in the hotel was kept tidy and clean.

I am writing this review in the hope that it will be noticed and the situation will change. I am currently staying at Viking Star Hotel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ But does everything here really deserve five stars? NO NO! I chose this hotel because it has a gym, as I need to exercise daily due to my health condition. However, it’s impossible to work out in the gym because the air conditioner is not working. Exercising in the gym is unbearable, breathing becomes difficult, and I almost fainted! In addition to the broken air conditioner, all the staff at the reception, including the manager, make empty promises and lie, which is the most unpleasant part. If they had been honest, it wouldn’t have been so upsetting. They act surprised and claim that everything has been fixed. But in reality, nothing has been fixed! The manager was very nice and promised to have it repaired by the evening (which was not) and in the meantime, he suggested I visit the gym at another hotel, which I had to walk 15 minutes to under the scorching sun, only to find out that the situation at the second hotel was exactly the same. It’s very disappointing to be deceived by the staff, the top representatives of the hotel!! I hope the situation will be resolved so that I can soften this unpleasant review with praise for their company.

Just returned from a 2 week stay at Viking Star. We travelled as a family of 4, children are almost 17 and 20. Firstly I don’t know how this hotel can possibly be advertised as being 5* The decor is dated and tired looking, definitely needs a refurb. Everything is just a little bit shabby. Furniture, crockery, pool towels, sun beds…everything needs replacing. It’s not terrible but when you’re expecting 5* it’s disappointing. Location: The hotel is in a great location. There are numerous shops, bars and places to eat within a couple of minutes walk. The nearest beach is about a 10 minute walk, but wasn’t for us. There is a mosque situated right behind the hotel, so be prepared for the call to prayer at about 4ish in the morning. Rooms: The rooms are quite dated and would definitely benefit from an refurb. Air conditioning is brilliant. Shower is good and the room is a decent size. The maid service was very good, clean towels and beds made daily. The balconies are tiny, not pleasant to sit out on. Our rooms were very clean when we arrived but people we were talking to whilst we were there said that there rooms were dirty when they arrived. You could sometimes smell the drains in the bathroom which wasn’t pleasant. There’s a small fridge and the maid left bottled water daily. The beds were ok but we found them really hard and the pillows weren’t great. Pool area: The sun beds are probably the worst we’ve ever experienced. They aren’t comfortable and many are broken underneath so that when you sit on it you sink into it. There are no mattresses provided. There are plenty of parasols but many are in poor condition. The pool itself was ok; very warm though. Food: Not amazing but not terrible. Not really geared towards English, but then it is Turkey. The best things were the salads, soups, cakes, fresh breads. Snack bar was ok, but everything is cooked in bulk so is not the freshest and not always hot as it’s sitting there. There are ice-creams but you have to pay for these. One thing to be aware of is CATS, they’re everywhere including in the restaurant and they have no hesitation in coming on to your table whilst you’re eating. Drinks: Soft drinks were good. The fruit juices in the restaurant aren’t the best but they’re ok. The alcoholic drinks are poor. The choice for all inclusive is very poor. Red and white wine (absolutely disgusting) Gin and vodka, both cheap and nasty. The only beer available is Tuborg, not the best. If you want a cocktail you have to pay about 8 euros. They do have all the good brands but you have to pay for these. Also all inclusive ends dead on 11pm and then you will need to pay. Coffee is good and available all day but there are no English tea bags. Entertainment: It was typical all inclusive entertainment. Karaoke, a few shows, kids disco and bingo. Waterpolo, darts and water aerobics. There is a weekly gala night which is really good. However, we were less than impressed when a massive table was reserved for people NOT from our hotel and we couldn’t get a seat, very poor!! Beach: DON’T BOTHER!!! Absolutely disgusting, dirty, broken sunbeds, over flowing bins. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE. What a massive let down. 100 euros each for jet skiing. Staff: On the whole the staff were good. The waiters and restaurant staff were particularly good; dishes are cleared as soon as you’ve finished eating. Spa: We used the spa quite a few times for different treatments and they were great. I would definitely recommend.