Carina Resort Hotel

It was a great holiday, even though it was just the very beginning of the season in Bodrum. The drive from the airport is about an hour, so actually it is quite okay. The closer you come to the hotel the lonelier -and even greener- it gets. The hotel is situated on a hillside, and dovetails with the surrounding nature/forest so well - which also explains trees located in certain buildings (with notches in the roof) and some rather steep ways. The bay down the hillside is used only by the hotel (but is in parts open to excursions), and you can enjoy a private (sand-gravel) beach, or grab a sunbed (even literally) on one of the two planked footpaths. The rooms are newly renovated and refurbished and are very comfy. There are regular double rooms, family rooms with a bedroom and two bunk beds in a second room, and family rooms with two regular bedrooms. Some of the latter are currently still undergoing renovations but are said to be done by summer. All of the rooms either have a balcony or a terrace, the balconies of the regular rooms in the main building only are very small, you cannot sit there, just stand (and maybe smoke. Ashtrays are found in every room.) Nice bathrooms with everything you need: shower, toilet, sink, mirror, towels. Nothing special. The service staff is great and compassionate. They try to fulfill every single wish, even when there are language barriers. (Most of them speak only Turkish, maybe very little English. It is sufficient for ordering drinks since there is buffet in the restaurant, and the menus in the à la carte restaurants are multi language - at least Turkish and English, some offer even German language. And as for the bar staff: mostly Turkish, too, but they know most of the drinks unless they are too fancy. There are a few, mainly male, staff members who speak English pretty well. They even may try to help you out when you need assistance - subject to their availability, of course.) Our personal favourites were the Starbucks coffee close to the pool (opening hours: 1000-1800), the freshly made waffles (~1100-1700), the freshly brewed Turkish coffee (available all day), and the baklava and biscuit selection at the lobby bar (1100-2200). And: a special exclusive dinner experience for only the two of us. It was supposed to be the Turkish à la carte dinner from our original booking, but since the restaurant was still under reconstruction after the storms a few weeks ago, they arranged this special dinner in a special area of the restaurant which they adorned nicely. They even sent the whole "à la carte staff team" (as they described themselves) to care for our large 5-course-dinner. We had a lovely time at Bodrum Park Resort, with even the (guest relation?) manager (who is okay with German, but lacks English) taking good care of us and all the other guests. He greeted everyone by name every time he met others, and he was also good with the staff. Just right outside the hotel there is a bus station where the local dolmus, with destination Bodrum city, stops. The timetable for both directions can be found in the lobby, or just ask the manager or the reception for assistance. Dolmus is about €1 per trip per person, better pay with card when on the bus. The drivers prefer having little to no cash on the bus, hence using the card reader. Works with all national and international credit cards, but not Amex. Addendum: it should also be mentioned that using the safe box on the room is €2 per day, if not included in your booking. We will probably come and stay again.

A Mixed Pile of Emotions Ups: Sea/Bagels/Cheese/Fruits, Liquior Downs: Rooms, WiFi, Service, Food & D4inks, Tea, Coffee, Cleaning, Price