Royal Alhambra Palace

Part 1 of 2 due to characters

⭐ 3/5 — PLEASE READ THE REVIEW BEHIND THE STARS

**I’m an avid and experienced reviewer, with over 80 million views across my reviews, so please don’t take the 3★ rating in isolation. Please read the reasons behind it, because Royal Alhambra is a hotel with genuine 5★ potential, but in my experience, the customer service and operational standards currently prevent it from delivering a true 5★ experience

I believe reviews should be a true reflection of the experience, but I also believe a review should give a business the opportunity to improve. A bad review that simply says “terrible hotel” isn't particularly useful to a guest, an owner or management. I have therefore tried to explain,what was good, what wasn't, why I believe it matters, and what I would actually do to improve it.

I have stayed at a number of Turkish 5★ properties, including Liberty Fabay, Aska Lara, Trendy Lara and Limak Lara, so my expectations aren't based purely on the star rating written on the building. They are based on the standards I have experienced elsewhere.

And that is where Royal Alhambra falls short for me.

🏨 THE HOTEL ITSELF Let me start with the positives because there are plenty.

The hotel looks great.

The overall feel, architecture, pool layout and general design work very well. The property has the physical appearance and facilities that make you think you're going to have an excellent 5★ holiday.

The pool complex in particular is one of the things I really liked. You can walk around the pools, use different access points, go up and down stairs and effectively move around the whole area rather than feeling restricted to one section. That is a genuinely good layout.

The hotel was generally clean and tidy, and there were cleaners around regularly inside not so many outside.

My overall problem is that the physical product and the guest-service product don't currently feel like they're operating at the same 5★ level.

In simple terms:

The hotel looks 5★. Some of the facilities feel 5★. The service often doesn't.

🛏️ ROOM Our room was spacious, clean and comfortable, and I have no major complaint about the room itself.

The air conditioning worked exactly as it should, which is important in the Turkish summer.

The room was cleaned daily and overall housekeeping was good. but the bedding wasnt changed regular enough, especially in the hot sticky and sweaty weather in peak season

There are, however, some relatively small things that I believe would help bring the rooms closer to a genuine 5★ standard.

The televisions feel extremely dated. They reminded me of technology from many years ago and, for a property presenting itself as 5★, I think this is an easy area to modernise.

There is also a full-length mirror running through/behind the desk area, which makes part of the mirror effectively unusable.

The hairdryer is another small issue. It felt like a relatively low-quality unit and its location in bathroom, it could easily be a better quality and located beside the TV/desk area to be more practical. It meant you were effectively standing up or sitting on the toilet to use it rather than having a properly positioned, higher-quality hairdryer in the bathroom.

None of these things ruin a holiday in there entirity

But that's the point of a 5★ review: 5★ is about consistency across all the small details as well as the big ones.

🍽️ FOOD The main buffet is broadly what I would expect from a Turkish all-inclusive.

If you've been to several all-inclusives, you will recognise the format. There is always something to eat, the standard is reasonably consistent and there is enough choice to keep you going.

The cakes in particular seem remarkably similar to what I've experienced in many other all-inclusives.

Meat was generally my favourite, although there was a lot of meat on the bone and quite a lot of fatty cuts. There were also quite a few fish-focused days, which is obviously personal preference, and i think overly fish days

For children, there was enough choice. Our child was happy with the food, and that matters.

So I'm not saying the food was bad.

My criticism is much more about food service management and waste

🍗 POOL BAR FOOD The southern fried chicken was actually really good.

The problem was that when it was gone, it was gone, and it could be gone quick when familes take 30 portions

It could be replaced by the same product, just order more, but it just gets replaced with a basic cardboard tasting nuggets that appeared repeatedly. you could see there was demand for the better product and there didn't seem to be sufficient stock planning on any days, its not a 1 off event its ever food time

The pool food itself was probably 50/50 overall. Fruit is fruit, churros are difficult to get particularly wrong, and burgers weren't bad either.

But the customer experience around it was much more problematic.

Food times were clearly displayed.

For example, if pizza was available until a particular time and there was still pizza physically available when that time arrived, the shutters would simply come down and guests could be told there was no more. even when a queue of people still waiting and people could be there for a good 5 or 10 mins waiting just to be told no and they threw the stock in the bin

I personally witnessed prepared food being put into large waste bins once a service period ended while guests were still waiting.

From a business perspective, I really don't understand this approach and who gets charged for this, its the end user, the guests already worked in or put on top of next years prices, all due to staff lack of , its not my money, not our food, just through it away

If the advertised service period has ended, I completely understand not producing another batch. But if food is already cooked and sitting there, surely a better system would be: This is the last batch available once it has gone, we're finished.”

That would allow guests to take what is already prepared, reduce frustration and potentially reduce food waste.

Throwing away perfectly usable prepared food is not only disappointing for guests; it is also an avoidable operating cost.

Ultimately, food waste has to be paid for somewhere.

THE ICE-CREAM EXPERIENCE This was one of the experiences that really affected my perception of the service standard.

We don't eat ice-cream cones, so the lack of cones wasn't an issue for us at all. For the first couple of days, when getting ice cream, we were actually advised by staff to use a small paper/drinks cup, have the scoops put into the cup and eat it with a spoon- great idea win win , We were perfectly happy with that arrangement and there was no problem whatsoever.

Then, after a couple of days, we went to do exactly the same thing we had previously been told to do.

Suddenly, we were told NO THIS - and pointed to cone, i already had our cups i went get them so its no heart ache put scoops in cup as he would the cone, so wo didnt have or allowed to have ice cream

The problem wasn't the cup, the ice cream or the absence of cones.

It was the sudden change in approach and, more importantly, the way it was communicated, very bad manners wok for me them manners be sacked instantly Two members of staff were involved and both maintained the same position. The interaction came across as unnecessarily arrogant and dismissive.

If the procedure had changed, there was a very simple way to deal with it: Sorry, we've changed the procedure now. it didnt change they just arrogant and would and dont deserve a place to work here , this is what lets down hotels, customer service

That's customer service.

Instead, after having previously been told to use a cup, we were effectively told that we couldn't do the same thing anymore.

The issue wasn't the ice cream, it was the attitude and inconsistency.

At a 5★ hotel, those seemingly tiny interactions matter. most other hotels have fridges to get loose ice creams, magnums, feasts, clipsos etc, this is only ice cream or buy loose ice creams from shop around 4 euro

🍽️ À-LA-CARTE RESTAURANTS This was another area where I think the hotel is missing an easy opportunity.

We normally enjoy using à-la-carte restaurants at all-inclusive hotels.

At Royal Alhambra, during peak season, these apparently weren't simply available in the way we expected. I went to reception and specifically asked, I was told that an à-la-carte restaurant would only open when 10 people requested it.

There was already one family waiting, so there wasn't enough demand at that point.

My question is: How are guests supposed to know?

If I hadn't personally gone to reception and asked, I wouldn't have known. There is no point having an additional restaurant facility if guests don't understand how to use it, or get offered it

This could actually be turned into a business opportunity.

On arrival, the hotel could explain: These are your à-la-carte options. They are available when sufficient guests request them. Here's how you book.

Put information under the room door. Put it beside the fridge. Include it in the welcome information. Have reception proactively mention it.

That could increase utilisation, improve the guest experience and potentially reduce pressure on the main buffet at the same time.

🏊 POOLS The pools are one of the hotel's strongest features.

I really liked the layout and the ability to walk around the whole complex.

There are, however, some maintenance points.

I caught my foot a couple of times on sharp/protruding tiles in the pool area just to the right after crossing the bridge.

It wasn't a major incident, but it's exactly the sort of thing that should be identified during routine maintenance inspections before somebody seriously hurts their foot.

Generally, though, the pool complex is a major positive. you will see lack of life guards, there isnt many any as always parents should be no 1 priority to look after there kids

🛝 WATER SLIDES

Our child loved the slides. especially in larger slides area not kids slides section The problem is the rings.

The slides themselves could be excellent, but the ring situation turns it into something resembling a cattle market at busy times. One person gets a ring, then another person keeps it, passes it to family, friends and whoever else is waiting.

Our child we took waited around 20 minutes, and I eventually had to get into the madness myself and wait another 10 minutes to get a ring.

That's a lot of holiday time spent waiting for a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment.

My suggestion is simple: Add at least 20 more rings perhaps 10 singles and 10 doubles.

It is a relatively small investment compared with the overall hotel operation, but it immediately allows more people to use the attraction and reduces the scramble.

The smaller children's slides were also popular because they don't require rings.

🛏️ SUNBEDS

There appeared to be plenty of sunbeds overall, although they could fill quickly.

As with many Turkish resorts, there was definitely some sunbed warfare, Some beds had towels on them for extended periods without being used.

I also saw families effectively reserving areas on both sides and later moving to whichever side they preferred. This is not unique to Royal Alhambra, but a good hotel can manage the situation better with a clear policy.

🧹 OUTDOOR CLEANLINESS Inside the hotel, cleanliness was generally good.

Outside, I think there is room for improvement, I didn't see outdoor cleaning staff anywhere near as regularly as I saw cleaners inside the hotel. The outside waste, cup and food stations could become very full.

There were also cigarette-related waste points that could have benefited from more frequent attention. The hotel wasn't dirty overall, but the external areas didn't consistently have the same polished feeling as the inside.

We stayed at Royal Alhambra Palace from 31 July to 7 August 2026, 2 adults and 1 child, together with another group of 8 people. We had stayed at this hotel around 5 years ago and decided to return because we had a good experience back then. Unfortunately, the hotel has changed dramatically for the worse. In the room, we found stained towels, missing soap and shower gel, and the minibar was not refilled consistently. The furniture and room equipment also felt very outdated. The bed linen was not changed at all during our 7-night stay, despite us requesting it several times. Housekeeping was also carried out very late, sometimes around 3:00–5:00 PM, which was very inconvenient, especially for families with children. The restaurant was one of the biggest disappointments. The food was very repetitive, there were long queues, service was extremely slow, and the overall cleanliness of some food preparation areas did not inspire confidence. The desserts were also disappointing, and once certain cakes were finished, they were often not replenished. Tables were frequently left uncleared for long periods, and sometimes we had to wait 20–30 minutes before a waiter attended to us. Many tablecloths were stained, worn or torn. Communication with staff was also difficult because many employees spoke little or no English. The most serious incident happened one evening when the children in our group accidentally sat at a table that we were later told was reserved, although there was no sign or notice on the table. A waiter started shouting at the children and hit the table with his fist, telling them to leave immediately. We found the children crying. When we asked the waiter for an explanation, he started shouting at us as well and approached us in a way we considered threatening. A restaurant supervisor had to intervene and restrain him. In all our years of travelling, we have never experienced behaviour like this in a hotel. The bar service was also poor. There was not enough staff, and waiting times could reach 30–40 minutes for a single drink. Cocktails were prepared differently every time, and on several occasions the glasses did not appear properly clean, so we preferred using disposable cups. The main positive point is the outdoor area: there are many swimming pools and the hotel has an excellent beachfront location. Unfortunately, many of the sunbeds and umbrellas are old, worn and damaged. It is a real shame because this hotel has enormous potential, but compared with our visit 5 years ago, the deterioration is very noticeable. We do not recommend Royal Alhambra Palace and we will not return. For a hotel advertised as a 5-star property, the current service and overall conditions are far below expectations.