Hera Park Hotel

This hotel couldn't be situated in a better area, just a short walk away from the beach, but far enough from noisy clubs, the hotel is fully carpeted where the apartments are, this cuts out noise in the small hours. We found the hotel very clean, all staff were very friendly and helpful, they all spoke several languages. the only thing I would have liked in the room was a kettle for a cup of tea. There was plenty to do, The castle, temple of apollo, harbour, catch a ride to Manavgat, get off at the river, take a relaxing trip on the boat to a beautiful waterfall...bliss !..... will go back next year.

Described by one of the locals we befriended as 'the worst hotel in Side', Hera park was not what we expected at all. No-where near a 4* hotel at all - more like a 2*!! Arriving late as our flight was delayed (we were due to check in at 9am but arrived at 11am), we were told they had no room for us. Apparently the hotel regularly over books and throughout our stay we saw many people in the same situaion as us. We were offered a room in the basement instead of our paid for 'sea-view room' which we had to take until we spoke to our rep that afternoon. It was smelly & dark.The staff in the hotel spoke little or no english! Our rep, when he arrived that day, translated and told us (and 2 other couples in the same situation) that we will maybe get a room the next day, maybe the following day. There was not really any concern expressed. I made it clear that this was unacceptable. A sea view room was then provided the next day. I asked for compensation which was a bottle of wine filled up from the downstairs buffet barrel and some fruit. Being that we were all inclusive & could help ourselves to this anyway this was an absolute joke but they didnt care if we were unhappy.When moved to our sea-view room which actually faced the pool, we were happy enough. Apart from it being 2 single beds, not a double. We pushed the beds together. The rooms were nice enough and cleaned regularly. We were provided with an empty introduction pack for the hotel - no info on surrounding area or hotel safety etc wad provided. The room was very basic.The food in the buffet was ok, its not for everyone. I was happy with salad and cold pasta. No veggy food. Mostly stews and Turkish food. [*] There are 2 lifts in the building but they take so long to reach you and were broken at one point I ended up using the stairs so beware if you have walking difficulties etc.I found the staff in the hotel unapproachable due to the language problem & also that they didnt seem to care much.The pool was ok. It had a DJ which played music all day long & not enjoyable tunes but old pop music which was blasted! Reading a book by the pool was not something you could do easily. I didnt enjoy going to the pool at all & only did once. The area on the beach for Hera Park is small & the sunbeds are old & falling apart.Snacks were not provided as described (for all inclusive) - there was no pizza throughout the day. Turkish like cakes were provided instead. Due to this we ended up eating out a lot as my partner is actually vegetarian & thick heavy cakes and tea in 35degree heat is not something I wanted.I am not sure about the water there either. We filled plastic bottles up with water from the fountain provided but as the water warmed up while outside it tasted very much like stale water, perhaps tap. Myself & my partner were both unwell towards the end of the holiday with diahoerra & I strongly believe thats why.The pics you see of the restaurant and the rooms are quite glamourous - no table clothes or decorations of any sorts in the restaurant or flowers in rooms.I would not recommend this hotel to anyone expecting a lot from there holiday. While things were not unbearable I was very disappointed as I booked a 4* all inclusive and wanted to go and enjoy a great holiday. I didnt get this at all! It was really disappointing :( While the location is great thats all it really has going for it. If I could do my holiday all over again I def would!! I would NOT stay here, look for something else folks, its worth it!!