Life Of A Mumsy Lawyer

THINGS TO LOVE

• Beachfront spot
• Pools with slides
• Trio of à la cartes

Located in Sarigerme Turkey and a quick 25 minute transfer from Dalaman Airport. This hotel is popular with families due to its location and 4.5* rating on Tripadvisor. We booked direct with TUI for 7 nights all inclusive with two free child places, as there were 4 adults on the booking.

We arrived early morning and used the coach transfer included in our package holiday. We were the first drop off, there was no queue on check in and water/sandwiches were provided. Our bags were taken to our rooms and initially we lost our bearings due to tiredness but eventually made it to our room for some well needed rest.

ROOMS

We booked a standard family room which sleeps up to 4 people, it was spacious and clean with a fridge and kettle. We had a double bed and the Boys slept on two single beds in the lounge area with a TV, separated by a partitioned wall. I liked this as it felt like we all had enough space despite being in one room together.

The bathroom had a powerful shower and bath, i think its good to have the choice of both especially as my 4 year old will only have baths! Towels were replenished daily if needed or you could reuse them then pop them in the bath when you wanted a refresh. Hair dryer is only a small one so if you want something powerful I would recommend bringing your own.

We stayed in the main building from reception and faced out onto the road with a Mountain View. I preferred this to being pool side as it was lovely and quiet and we had the sunset so perfect for those family balcony photos! Water was refreshed everyday If I’m being picky it would have been nice to have some drinks in the fridge but we just brought drinks back to our room.

If you have small children and you are worried about them falling out of bed, the beds are quite high but a simple trick is to roll up a towel and pop it under the bottom sheet this will act like a bed guard.

FOOD

There is something for everyone, this hotel caters for allergies and has its own Children’s corner where they can pick and serve themselves. For even those fussy eaters there is a wide selection of children’s food available, I love the concept of the Children’s corner, it promotes independent food choices.

They have themed nights and you can visit all the restaurants unlike other all inclusives where usually you get to pick just 1. The 3 A La Carte’s are Spice, Taverna and Prima Cucina Italian;

1. Spice was my favourite, I love Asian food and the waiter worked really hard to ensure we all had a lovely meal. I had Spring Rolls for starter, Chicken Katsu for main and deep friend ice cream for dessert. Drinks were free flowing and we were given a parting shot which was similar to a peach liquor.

2. Just Grill, this is an additional extra and it was £34 for two of us. The food was lovely and I loved the atmosphere it was quite romantic. We had breads, antipasti, cheese and steak cooked on a hot grill at the table. The wine was my favourite, the rose was the best I’d had all holiday. I would like to have seen more variety on the dessert menu but always find desserts aren’t as good as the U.K. when abroad.

3. Taverna is a Turkish dining theme with local flavours, think bread, dips and a meat platter. I liked the decoration and again service was fast so we were in and out within an hour.

4. Prima Cucina Italian, this was probably my least favourite restaurant, the food was nice but nothing special. I had antipasti to start, followed by pesto pasta and slow roasted beef. The beef was a bit dry and the dessert was lemon cheesecake but it was of a jelly style texture and nothing like cheesecake.

I feel the buffet needs a mention, there was so much variety and the quality of food was to a high standard. I loved the Cheese rolls and fresh pizzas. The kids kitchen is fantastic, they can serve themselves and sit at their own table. From waffles, pancakes, cereals and fruits, even our fussy eaters were happy with their freshly picked plate. We sat just outside watching the boys and it felt like we had a little date on our own, eating in peace while helicopter parenting from afar.

There is also a beach bar serving toasties and chips next to the chill out bar. This bar was less busy so we refilled on drinks and grabbed a bite to eat at the same time. For the kids there is an ice cream station and pancake house to visit during the day for those all important snacks, even though they just had breakfast but appear to be starving 5 minutes later.

DRINKS

I found the drinks list to be really good, if you want premium they have a payable menu. I stuck to iced coffees in the morning then worked my way through the cocktail menu and had Prosecco in the evening. They have a cocktail of the day and kids cocktails, where they can order themselves at the bar using mini steps. The waiters also prioritised serving the kids which I thought was a nice touch.

I’ll be honest one of the reasons I booked this hotel was because they served Prosecco, usually you get wine but Prosecco is payable. Not at TUI Blue Tropical and you get served in a proper glass so no plastic cups. I don’t know why but it feels nicer drinking out of a glass!

FACILITIES

My husband had a massage in the spa, negotiate with the salesmen walking round we got a 50% reduction.

Kids clubs are very organised and well run, my son only attended once as he was going through a clingy stage and wanted to be with us. I wish we had utilised it more but we did have grandparents on hand to help out.

You can hire cabanas but we didn’t use them. There is an amusement arcade with light up cars, pool tables and games. Shops are located in reception and by the pool. My favourite was the on site Photographer for family photos, we had a sunset photoshoot and brought home some lovely photos. All activities are available to book on the App, check in advance to help plan out your day.

I found there was something for everyone, from young kids, teens to adults. I liked that there were several pools all catering for children of different ages.

TRIPS

We booked the Eco Safari with Basket Travel and had a lovely day driving through villages, seeing turtles and having lunch over the river with a swing seat. This was one of our favourite days exploring turkey, we stopped at the beach and indulged in an ice cream and a peach iced tea. They have a full list of trips with prices, if you join the hotel Facebook group you can search trips in the search bar and it will bring up all the trips available.

We also did the 2 hour fast speed boat booked direct with the hotel behind the pool bar, again negotiate we got kids for half price. We went to a lovely beach and my son did a zip wire across the sea. They also provide snorkels and drinks on the boat. There is the opportunity to swim in a cave and cliff jumping into the sea. On the way back the kids can drive the boat and look for rabbits and goats on an island. Bring some apples and carrots to throw onto the island to entice them out.

ENTERTAINMENT

There is a full entertainment program, we liked the live singers during the day/early evening and the white party. They have something different on every evening in the amphitheatre, it’s cheesy and fun but we preferred to sit round the pool bar playing cards then headed to the chill out bar to have a boogie.

The white party was my favourite evening, the hotel really go all out with UV lights, a live dance show and dancers greeting you on arrival. You can get your face painted if you want to light up and there is popcorn/candy floss for sale. They also serve food later in the evening, hot dog and chips was most welcomed after a few glasses of Prosecco.

TOP TIPS

1. Book two A La Cartes at the same time using the machines in reception 24hrs in advance.

2. Download the TUI blue app it has all your activities and bar menus on it.

3. There are fridges with cold water bottles, pick one up before going to bed.

4. This is Turkey so negotiate on prices! haggle where you can.

5. if there are no sunbeds ask a member of staff and they will bring more beds out

6. If something is fully booked turn up anyway as not everyone turns up. We did archery by chance.

7. Use the chill out bar for drinks, it was quieter on our stay and they do toasties and chips for lunch

8. Bring glow sticks for the white party, everyone was asking where we got them from and we ended up giving them all out to other kids as I had two packs from £1 shop! kids loved them. Also get an early dinner reservation for 7pm then make your way down by 8pm to get a seat as it fills up fast.

LIFE OF A MUMSY LAWYER RATING

• Rooms 8/10

• Food 9/10

• Drinks 9/10

• Facilities 9/10

*Entertainment 8/10

OVERALL RATING 9/10

If you made it this far well done! I have a question and answer on my Instagram www.instagram.com/lifeofamumsylawyer for the hotel. I have created some reels on our stay if you would like to see more.