Mark Warner Phokaia Beach Resort

We spent the last week of the season at this resort as a last minute break before winter here. Had we been told the National Turkish Sailing Event detailed below was taking place we would not have booked and I would suggest if you are thinking of booking this week next year, that you get MW to confirm either way if this is taking place again so you can make an informed decision to go or not. We do intend to return to this resort as it is beautiful and the sailing is good. Starting with the bad points, the Turkish National Sailing Championship teams and their boats were staying at the resort, approximately 200 people (25% adults 75% children (aged 8 upwards). The whole beach bay area was completely monopolised by them for the week. Then Saturday was their de-camp day and removal of all their boats and equipment. Not a peaceful, relaxing environment. They spread themselves and their kit all over the beach sunbeds leaving no room for the MW guests or their things whilst they were on the water! When they returned from their sailing they hosed their boats down not really bothered about other guests. Had we have known this event was taking place we would never have booked as we are beach people not, pool people. Some mornings they were gone by 11am and then others not until later in the day, so were hanging around! To be fair have to say the Turkish competitors were very well behaved. The main course choices of food at the resort were very, very disappointing. Very limited choices. The salad bar and the desserts were to the normal standard. Not a resort for food lovers. Be aware if you suffer breathing problems, the hotel uses very strong odour products in its public spaces. Good points, the hotel and grounds are beautiful. As it was chilly in the evenings they had the log burners lit making it very cosy and heaters in the restaurant. The spa manager and his team are great. The two sisters who did our treatments were outstandingly good, best we have ever had.

We have just returned from a week at this hotel - 4 adults. Key takeaways: 1. Turkey is more a lot more expensive than our last trip. A glass of house wine is £10. A bottle of house wine is £35. A beer is £6; 2. the hotel is very nice, although the rooms are slightly small. All of the staff are excellent, especially the room service; 3. we found the the Spa treatments to be both excellent value and quality. We booked 3 massages and were given a healthy discount - £55 per 1 hour massage; 4. the bikes were very well maintained by Gary and Jason. Much better than at other resorts. The road cycling is not amazing - busy roads - but the rides are well led and it is nice to get off the resort; 5. we have never stayed anywhere with so many sun beds, cabanas etc; 6. the main pool is unheated and was super cold. I expect in July and August, this is lovely, but we all struggled to stay in for more than a minute or two; 7. the food is typical buffet style, with a good selection. However, if you are vegan or have allergies, you will need to be very careful. The chefs do not appear to have fully worked out the importance of food labelling. There is a "vegan corner", but that only applies at dinner time. The hot vegan selection was extremely limited with the same dishes produced each day. This became a source of some frustration. Overall, the hotel is really well run, and very pleasant, but felt expensive. There are also lots of other guests (not Mark Warner) arriving over the weekend when noise levels really escalate. We had a good holiday, but will probably not return here. There are other (smaller/exclusive to MW) resorts we prefer.

We have just come back from an excellent week in Foca. A MW rep was in Gatwick to ease matters and the trip was well organised. The flight was pleasant, and on arrival in Turkey we were met by a rep and shown to our coaches. The transit was 2 hours due to traffic but otherwise pleasant. Cases were taken to our rooms, which was a nice touch. The rooms were lovely, well situated in beautiful gardens, and a 5 mins walk to everywhere. The pool is huge and many beds and cabanas around it and in the grounds, No early rising needed to beat the neighbours! The food and restaurant were first class. Lovely Turkish and Med dishes, great coffee and excellent staff. I never had any problems being understood. We went straight to bar to get drinks having read other reviews and the team were very helpful. Learn a few Turkish words and they will do anything for you. Lunch and dinner had a charcoal BBQ and amazing flatbreads too. Amazing kebabs, and fish - it was wonderful. The water sports were superb - we had 4 days of cat sailing with a superb instructor called Cody - what a great guy, and instructor. The wind got a bit fruity and we went like the wind. I relearned so much sailing and he was only 19 but you’d never guess. Other reviews mention the booze prices. I think a little context is needed. We paid a £1000 for the week each and got 19/21 meals for that with amazing facilities and water sports. Other resorts are ½ board (14/21 meals provided). 5 meals would cost £60 each for a week. Our 4 adults that is £240. Turkey has high inflation and so foreign drinks will cost a lot. Our overall room / bar bill was £580 for 4 adults. We didn’t spend much more so I think it is reasonable. Booze prices in town weren’t much different and a bottle of duty free gin and some locally bought tonic smoothed the way. The spa - just wonderful. We had a free 10 minute taster and the masseuses spotted all of my old rugby injuries and one new injury immediately. The same for my wife. The came up with a programme to treat and I have never felt better. They sorted out a foot injury I could barely walk on when I arrived. They were absolutely superb. Prices were about half that of the UK. Entertainment was really good too, and the MW staff were all excellent. The local Turkish teams were too - really friendly. Some people have mentioned parties. There was a wedding whilst we were there but no different to any other hotel we have stayed in. Music and laughter were in evidence, but no boorish behaviour. Overall, we have had an excellent holiday and would throughly recommend the resort.