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Author Topic: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say  (Read 7028 times)

Offline candygold1

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1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« on: May 28, 2012, 04:55:27 PM »
well what can i say, we were blown away by the extreme friendliness of almost everyone and you could tell it was genuine and not because we had eaten in their restaurant  as there are far to many even for me to manage in 2 weeks.
my wife and i  daughter and son inlaw stayed at the kelebeck hotel and the room was of a good size and quite clean with fresh sheets every few days, we had a side room but the view was spoilt by the pool next door which had a dead cat floating in the green water and was starting to smell, not the kelebecks problem i know but all the same not a nice view every day, the 2 sons who run the bar a very nice and love a good chat but it was the old miserly father who we took a dislike to when he  tried and over charge us for drinks etc  i must add he never got away with it. we went to the bbq which was disappointing to be honest far better food to be had elsewhere. but the company was excellent and we all had a right laugh.
hired a car from adda tours who gave us the wrong car but it did the job, we went to most of the sights within easy driving distance.
1) gorge- thought we were at a council tip there was rubbish everywhere and hassle as soon as we got out the car,the most disgusting toilets ive ever seen and ive been to a few festivals in my time. total waste of petrol to get there.
2) tlos- very nice and well worth a visit then on to the waterpark which was also very nice with trout swimming along the bar. also the restaurant on its own before you get tlos was great and the owner was so entertaining it made our day even if the food was not so great
3) olu deniz- less said the better unless you want blackpool in turkey
4)kas) beautiful little town with lovely little shops and very friendly people was our favourite place apart from kalkan.
5) father christmas town- another lovely little town and well worth a visit but it was jam packed on the day we went so be prepared.
6)patara beach- beautiful but mind the sand it melted my wifes flip flop it was so hot ;D

the highlight was seeing all the tortoises in the wild such wonderful animals wish we could have brought a few back home ;D

restaurants in kalkan.
oz adana- fantastic value for money and great pide and meatballs
the corner- superb steak and service
omars- no so good im afraid food was below average
zulu- very nice and steak was super but you get very little else with it
cafe ev- superb food, superb service
adams place- lovely man can talk all night, food was good too and fantastic view
cafe del mar- nice chillout place but food not too good even though its just snacks
white table- very nice styled restaurant with the best burger ive ever had, very friendly owner
fotos pizza- excellent pizzas and good views
kaya- excellent fun with the magic man and tasty food
aqua bar- good food, good music good fun
parc kalkan- nice cocktails but terrible overcooked  rubbery fish
hunkar octabasi- cheap but service was terrible meals came at all different times id eaten mine before my wife had got hers and my daughters meatballs were cremated and when i asked the waiter he said it would be another 30 mins to make some more so we declined only to find them still on the bill :o

didnt bother with any near the harbour as got fed up with the hassle all the time and some of it was not so friendly to the point of being abusive when we declined. not what i was expecting from a no hassle resort as i was led to believe. it did seem the closer you got to the harbour the worse the hassle got hence the reason we didnt bother going down there after the 1st few nights.
no problems with the hills and ive had both hips replaced just took it nice and steady, overall we had a wonderfull tme in kalkan and hope to return very soon and try out some more delicious turkish food and hospitality.



Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=9518.0

Offline Skunk

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2012, 05:46:33 PM »
Hi Candygold1 - I was quite surprised about some of your report.  I've never been seriously hassled at any of the restaurants and although Saklikent is a bit scruffy in the car park the rest is OK I thought.  Didn't use the loos though!! I've been to Olu Deniz and not found it all that commercialised at all.  Must have changed a lot in five years or so. Glad the hotel was OK - if basic - as they make clear in the Thomson brochure!! I'm glad you told us about those restaurants that served poor food - I had planned to try them in August but maybe won't bother.  Oz Adana is consistently good value and very good food.  Are they serving alcohol now? Hope you had a good experience overall!
 :o ??? 8)

Offline candygold1

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2012, 06:09:28 PM »
still no booze in oz adana but it didnt bother us as the food was so good, yes we had a great time and will be back very soon.  the poor food we had might have just been a bad night as others have said they enjoyed their meals at the places mentioned. and i do know my food ive been a chef for over 30 years
one of the waiters told my son in law that there was quite a battle going on between some of the harbour restaurants so this could explain why there was a lot of hassle, we were not the only ones others at our hotel also commented about it.

Offline JenJen

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2012, 06:28:03 PM »
Happy to hear you had a great holiday despite some of the low points!

I agree about the harbour restaurants.  I'm fine with saying "no thanks" to people and walking on but my boyfriend gets really fed up having to have to have the same conversation 10 times every evening.  We started planning our routes around town last year to deliberately avoid certain places that hassled us non-stop.

Glad you liked Foto's - it's one of our favourite places for a bargain meal and the family that run it are lovely, too  :)


Offline Skunk

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2012, 06:42:42 PM »
We always say we're booked elsewhere or meeting friends for a meal later if they want us to come in.  Seems to work most times!! I'm sure you do know your food Candygold1 - some people were raving about Hunkar last week but maybe we will give it a miss!! Sounds a complete nightmare.   :o Parc Kalkan looked very like a cocktail type place to me last year. Sorry to hear there is a problem with the harbour restaurants - some of them (though by no means all) are very good.  Oh well, wait and see in August!  ;D ;D ;D

Offline stigred

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2012, 08:52:47 PM »
A little disheartened to read your view about the kelebek as we fly out on friday and that is where we are staying. I was also hoping that Kalkan was going to be more hassle free as this is why we chose it after getting fed up with all the touts in Side last year.

chickengeorge

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2012, 09:02:50 PM »
We've walk past the harbour restaurants many times over several years and the most we have had is them asking if you would like to look at the menu. If we just say no thanks and carry on walking that is the end of it in my experience.

Offline Charlie

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2012, 09:11:27 PM »
Love the harbour restaurants and have never felt hassled in any part of Kalkan. Even if not eating there love finishing off the night at the harbour in a comfy chair, sipping a drink and just watching the world go by. Roll on July  :)

Offline Kalkan regular

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2012, 09:17:50 PM »
If asked if you'd like to eat there or see the menu smile (important), keep walking and say in a relaxed way:-
1) Sorry we are meeting friends, perhaps another day or
2) Sorry we are booked elsewhere, perhaps another day or
3) Sorry we have already eaten, perhaps another day or
4) Sorry we're not eating tonight as we had a very late lunch
We have never had anything but a polite response. There are restaurants we have been saying this to for years and have never eaten there and they know we are giving them a polite brush off. We haven't ever felt hassled, they don't block your way or become over pesistent.


Offline Skunk

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2012, 09:32:09 PM »
Totally agree with all these recent posts! Kalkan regular, you sound almost exactly like us in your excuses/reasons, so far no trouble.  As long as you treat the staff with respect and friendliness they will reciprocate I have found.   8)

Offline Babs

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #10 on: May 28, 2012, 09:43:49 PM »
How right....the smile (important) and polite excuse has always worked for us, yes people ask you to look at their menu but its their business and there's a lot of competition....have never felt hassled, not like in other places such as Egypt.

Offline amber

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2012, 05:52:02 AM »
I have to say that of all the tourist places I have visited in Turkey and other countries,Kalkan restaurants front of house staff are the most polite and offer the least hassle when trying to get customers to come in.A polite "no thanks"is all that it takes.

Offline hobbo

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #12 on: May 29, 2012, 08:54:09 AM »
hunkar octabasi- not eaten there but the bit about the meals coming at different times made me remember early trips to Turkey in the 1980-90s (and most probably common practice in many rural areas today) they ask you what you want and how you would like it cooked (used to include a visit to the kitchen area and lots of pointing) they would then prepare your food and deliver to your table as soon as it was ready, if you ordered different things they would arrive at different times this was normal, if you wanted them to arrive at the same time this would require a lot more explanation and negotiation. There is however no excuse regarding burnt food  ..

Harbour: agree with most peoples comments regarding a polite no thanks, be honest with them and don't say that you will come back later unless you really intend to do so, just thank them and leave. If you say things like 'may be tomorrow' you will probably end up walking strange routes to avoid them on the following nights! the other thing that we find helps is learning a few key phrases in Turkish, we have the language CDs in the car for a couple of weeks before a trip (I'm still on CD1 after many visits but my wife is a lot further on) however the drawback is that it now takes an age to walk along the harbour as she stops to chat to the waiters ! I'll have to learn the next 5 CDs worth before July to understand what they are talking about..
I have a very responsible position...
When anything goes wrong I’m responsible!!

www.villa-in-kalkan.co.uk www.gyrapix.co.uk

Offline Lantana

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2012, 10:15:48 AM »
candygold1

Jumping to conclusions about people or places based on limited knowledge is often misleading and although I have absolutely no association with the Kelebek Hotel, I do feel that your comments should not go unchallenged.   The 'old miserly father' who you so readily condemn at the Kelebek is a man who has for over a year been battling cancer.  He, and his family have had quite a difficult time  - as I am sure you can imagine.

He is certainly not somebody who would deliberately cheat anybody but given the circumstances of his ongoing illness and continuing treatment, may have made some mistakes.

Please remember that throwaway comments on a public forum about someone who as you say,  you took a dislike to, can have a devastating effect on the person, their family and their business.

And as so many others have written here, we have never experienced an abusive waiter at any establishment in Kalkan, it is simply unheard of. 

Lantana

Offline Kalkan Magic

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #14 on: May 29, 2012, 11:43:58 AM »
Great post Lantana, I totally agree with you.l

chickengeorge

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #15 on: May 29, 2012, 12:26:41 PM »
Despite posting earlier in this thread on my experiences at the harbour, that is purely my opinion and the original poster is allowed to convey their experience as they saw it. Therefore I don't 100% agree with Lantana, as the poster is just relaying the experience they had and they are entitled to say it as they wish.

Offline JenJen

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #16 on: May 29, 2012, 12:47:38 PM »
Obviously everyone has slightly different experiences with regards to restaurants but last year we did find it a bit stressful.  There are a few places which spring to mind as being particularly pushy and with people who continued to shout after us (being quite rude in one case) after we'd politely said no.  I always wondered if maybe we were TOO polite and chatty as I see plenty of other people just ignoring the staff and not getting any hassle but this just isn't the way we are.  The thing is, we usually DO have existing plans or reservations elsewhere so it's not even an excuse!  The first year we went (2007), I can honestly say we didn't get hassled even once in the whole two weeks but last year we really did.

Stigred - don't worry about the Kelebek, I'm sure you will love it!  We stayed there in 2009 and it was one of our best holidays in Kalkan.  The family who own it are really friendly, the location is good and our accommodation was clean and well maintained.  We would definitely be happy to stay there again.  Also, although Kalkan can't be called entirely hassle-free, it is nothing like Side or other larger resorts.  I've been going to Turkey since I was little but Side was my boyfriend's first experience of the country and he hated it due to all the hassle.  People there actually chased us down the street and got quite aggressive on occasion.  Kalkan is nothing like that!

Offline HolmfirthNicky

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #17 on: May 29, 2012, 07:03:41 PM »
Have to say we've never been hassled either, we just say no thanks in Turkish and they're happy with that. Sometimes we have really good banter with the guys whose restaurants we don't go in!
Last year the Telly savalas lookalike at Ozalp tried to get us in every night and we kept saying no thanks then one night we said go on then, we'll give it a try and they were full and couldn't get us in!! So of course we jokingly gave him a hard time and he booked us in for the following night and gave us a really good table and i have to say we had a fabulous meal.
Nicky

Offline JenJen

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #18 on: May 29, 2012, 07:16:25 PM »
Ha ha, I know the man you mean!  On hearing we were from near Liverpool, he asked me to say 'chicken' every single time we walked past (it's funny in a Scouse accent apparently, but I don't really have an accent so it must have been a disappointment).  Ozalp is on the list to try this year as we ran out of time last year!

I don't mind the banter with people, that's part of the holiday and we've found some of our favourite restaurants via having a laugh with the people outside, but I'm really surprised no-one else seems to have encountered any hassle.  Our friends also had a lot of problems with one restaurant in particular last year, as did another couple they met on holiday.  Funnily enough, we didn't have any hassle at all from the same place so maybe some restaurants just pick on the same people every day!

Offline stigred

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Re: 1st visit reviewwell what can i say
« Reply #19 on: May 29, 2012, 07:19:20 PM »
Thanks for your view JenJen...looking forward to a much needed break!


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