Reviews of Soz Hotel (ex. The Best Life Hotels Gumbet Hill - All Inclusive)

I have never seen such a terrible hotel in Turkey. It claims to have 4 stars, but don't fall for it! I lost money because I had to find another hotel to move to. You're lucky if you can fall asleep, as there is loud music from the nearby street bars until 4 a.m. And if you manage to sleep, you wake up at night because water from the air conditioner is dripping on your head. The rooms are worn-out, dirty, and infested with cockroaches. The food is awful! In the 24 hours I stayed there, I only attempted to have breakfast, but there are no options. Bread, plastic cheese, soy sausage, and watery scrambled eggs. Coffee from a cheap machine! I had to eat at cafes. There are constant arguments at the reception because people are trying to get their money back to leave. Nobody will refund your money.

I rested with my friend in June. The hotel is not new, but quite acceptable. I had a wonderful rest. I didn't corner myself and take pictures of scratches, sand on the floor, ants crawling around, and other things. I find it amusing that some people travel for a lower price than guest houses in Anapa and expect luxury amenities. The hotel was clean and bright. Sure, there were areas where the faucet, light fixtures, or other things needed fixing. The staircase was worn in some places. But these minor things are so insignificant that if you don't go around searching for sensations like a paparazzi - a broken light fixture or a stain on a pillow - you simply don't notice them. I didn't notice them. It was quite acceptable for the price. There is a nice pool, delicious cocktails at the bar, excellent beach loungers, and friendly staff. If you are a reasonable person and don't walk around with a dissatisfied face as if you are a victim of a global conspiracy, you will make friends with everyone and receive lots of positivity, friendliness, and even care when needed (we always received help with any question). The cocktails were tasty, the beer was normal Efes, the coffee was regular from a machine. Unfortunately, they don't brew lavender tea or make luwak coffee in the sand (how awful, how can they!). The food was ordinary, but I never went hungry. Those who eat seven seafood dishes, truffles, and caviar for breakfast at home should skip this place. Again, it amuses me that people who eat buckwheat and macaroni at home suddenly pretend to be bourgeois here. The food was standard. There were several side dishes, some meat, lots of vegetables (fresh and roasted), appetizers, plenty of baked goods, fruits, dried fruits, and 2-4 types of desserts. It was enough for me. The potato dishes were very delicious and prepared in various ways. Just ordinary food, not restaurant-quality. The view from the window and the dining hall was very beautiful. Yes, the music was loud at night from the club street. If you came here seeking silence, then you should have chosen a different place. I fall asleep quickly, so everything was fine for me. The only drawback was that every night I wanted to be where the music was. It was hard to go to sleep when there was excitement all around. There was one energetic DJ who screamed loudly every night, igniting the crowd. In the end, we went to clubs ourselves to find that enthusiastic leader and the club where he was making all the noise. We found the club, stayed there, and had a blast. There was one significant drawback that annoyed me. The water was periodically shut off. Well, I think it was being drained by other guests during peak hours. On the second day of our stay, I didn't have time to rinse off the shampoo from my hair. I ended up hanging out in the room with shampoo on my head until the water was restored. But after that, everything was fine, and there were no more problems. But at least now I have something to remember. I had a wonderful vacation, and I wish the same for you. And in general, there is a wonderful proverb: it is not the place that adorns a person, but a person who adorns the place. Decorate this world with yourself! The hotel is quite nice, and I enjoyed my stay.

Good time of day! Today I would like to tell you about our vacation at the "Best Life Hotel" in Bodrum (Gumbet). I must say right away that our goal was relaxation, so there won't be any scary photos highlighting the hotel's shortcomings, as we tried not to focus on them during our vacation. So, we chose the hotel based on a picture on the internet, as there were no recent reviews. We arrived in Bodrum at 8 am, reached the hotel around 9 am, but were only able to check-in at 12 pm. Even offering $5 at the reception didn't help us check-in earlier, although the receptionist gladly accepted them :)) While we were waiting to check-in, there was a German family in the lobby arguing with the hotel owner about wanting to move to another hotel as soon as possible. The hotel staff only spoke English, although the young male waiters at the bar and restaurant did not understand English well, so we had to struggle to communicate. But the receptionists spoke English well, and if they weren't understood, they would quickly use Google Translate to resolve any issues. We explained to the manager that it was our honeymoon and we would like to receive some kind of gift from the hotel. In the end, we were given a room with a sea view as a gift, although another couple who checked in with us also received a similar room with a sea view for no reason. Upon entering the room, we were very disappointed because it was a disaster. The only saving grace was the air conditioner and the view, as everything else needed repairs. The bathroom faucets had green residue (possibly mold), there were blood and dirt stains on the bedding. The bed upholstery was missing bolts, the picture on the wall was hanging crookedly due to incorrect mounting, the lights were barely hanging, and there were stains and holes on the curtains. The room was in terrible condition, so we immediately went to the reception and asked to have the bedding replaced, which the administrator promptly did. However, they couldn't change our room because "there were no available rooms". The room cleaning was very surprising. The housekeeper came every day, but at different times. One day she could knock on the door at 9 am, and another day in the evening around 6 pm. It was very inconvenient to adjust our plans every day to the housekeeper who came randomly. And the most interesting part was that she would knock on the door twice and pretend not to hear our response that we didn't need cleaning, and boldly enter the room :))) During our 10-day stay, the towels were changed only once, at our request. We left the towels on the floor as a sign that they needed to be replaced. The housekeeper took the towels, but didn't leave new ones! The next day when we saw her in the corridor, we asked for towels and were told that they would only be available tomorrow. It was a very interesting adventure, I must say - two days without any towels. The hotel didn't have its own beach, but every day at 2:30 pm a bus arrived to take those interested to the public beach. We walked to the beach, which took about 8-10 minutes. But the road consisted of two steep staircases, one of which was a combination of steps and a steep stone slope (as seen in the photo). It was on the second staircase that I twisted my leg in another irregularity, fracturing it. So, for the remaining 7 days, we took the same route, but due to my cast, the journey took about 15-20 minutes. The hotel manager kindly arranged for a transfer to the insurance clinic for us, and another staff member informed us about the beach shuttle in case I found it difficult to walk. But! Despite this small but pleasant gesture from the staff, the hotel had an elevator that wasn't working. Our room was on the 3rd floor of the hotel, so we had to climb the stairs again, where the waiters, chefs with dishes (the restaurant was on the 4th floor, and the kitchen on the 1st), other guests, and I with my cast were constantly going up and down :))) As we understood later, when the elevator was working, these stairs were intended for staff use, but after the elevator broke down, the staircase became accessible to the public. The food was average, but it was the same Turkish cuisine every day. There were no soups, omelettes, porridge, or any kind of yogurt. Come on, guys, this is a four-star hotel. You could count the variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on one hand. Often, the dishes consisted of leftovers from previous meals. For dinner, they made porridge with whatever wasn't eaten for lunch. For breakfast, there were only juices and tea. Once, I risked taking hot chocolate, but it was boiling water and a cocoa spoon that didn't even add any color to the drink. We don't recommend drinking boiling water or tap water in the hotel, as you'll end up rushing to the pharmacy (which is a 15-minute walk away) for anti-diarrhea and anti-vomiting tablets afterwards. At night, it was noisy from the nearby street filled with clubs. It all started around 9 pm and ended at 3 am. The playlist was always the same, which became quite tiresome. A specific song played at the same time every night, so as a joke, we started checking the time based on the songs being played. The hotel animation was practically nonexistent. From 11 am to 9 pm, Turkish music played, and the animator would occasionally insert something in Turkish. In general, with a probability of 90%, this hotel was once a well-deserved 4-star, but then it changed ownership and nothing has been improved since the purchase. Therefore, it would be fair to give this hotel a 3-star rating now, with a stretch. It is obvious that all the rooms need to be renovated, the infrastructure needs improvement, and the food needs to be improved (!!!). The local guide from Anex-Tour said that he can't wait for the hotel to close down or for Anex to stop selling vacations to this place.