Dalaman, Turkey

[john jones]

I love to travel as much as possible, and I always travel by cruise. However, I heard very good things about Dalaman, Turkey. It’s a quiet, peaceful town in southwest Turkey and has beautiful weather. I’d also heard great things about a fantastic 5-star hotel called hotel Grand Azur; however I still love my cruises so I didn't know what to do. I can only get the time off work once a year to take myself and my wife away on vacation.

So after hours of research I discovered that we could spend a week on a cruise ship and then a week in the hotel all set up through Thomson. This was perfect for me and my wife, so I booked it and off we went.

The cruise was fantastic; we went on the Thomson Dream. It had 4 restaurants, 5 bars, 3 lounges, a Nightclub, a Casino, 2 whirlpools and 2 swimming pools! We booked a deluxe cabin which was really             nice, although next time I’ll be sure to book quicker to get an even better view, our view was nice but obstructed slightly by lifeboats.  There was loads to do as well from watching west end shows to watching comedians, from playing tennis to exercising in the gym and when the wife went to the spa, I had a fantastic day in the casino.

We got to Turkey and got off at Marmaris port and got a coach from there to Dalaman. The hotel was beautiful. As soon as we walked into a large lobby dressed in soft creams and marble interior you knew it was a fantastic hotel. It sat right on the beach which was perfect and it’s so close to marmaris which is about 45 mins to an hour up the coast, the place to head for a hedonistic night out is the aptly named Bar Street, where over 100 bars and clubs jostle for attention and the action goes on right through until 4 in the morning. 

The hotel had a main buffet restaurant and also a coffee bar, but the best place to eat was the beach restaurant/bar as they played live music from 9.30pm through till 12.00pm.

There were lots of things to do in the hotel as well; if you like swimming then you’re in for a treat! There’s a swimming pool, indoor pool - heated in winter, lazy river, 'Hidden' water slide and 2 outdoor Jacuzzis in the pool area. They also have live music every night along with shows twice a week. There’s a long list of activities to do as well such as, tennis courts, table tennis, darts, gym, pool table, sauna, massage, Turkish bath and body scrubs, steam bath and even beach water sports with jet-ski, windsurfing and parasailing, which run through May until October.

Would I ever go back there? Most definitely, I’d love to go back there again one day and would rate it as the perfect getaway for me and my wife. We both enjoyed the whole trip from start to finish!