Liberty Lykia

Incredible place & a great 10 days for the family.

Pros: Food - I've always been dubious about all-inclusive resorts. The food can be bland and quantity over quality, the alcohol watered down or very restricted. Lykia was phenomenal. All drinks available, cocktails made fresh, spirits, wines et al. My only wish was the beer was a little colder, but I generally don't drink a great deal regardless. There was certainly plenty getting their money worth. The food in the main restaurant was really nice and everything was made fresh. The place was huge and every area had a number of chefs making it all fresh, all day long. Needing dough, stewing fruit for compotes, roasting meats, fresh pastries and sweets. I even managed to eat healthily and filled my place with some beautiful fish, meat and vegetables. We also paid extra for the Italian restaurant and it was well worth the supplement. TOp quality food and we were stuffed by the end. Again, they never stopped topping up the wine and offering extra drinks, which makes the difference when you pay top dollar (which turned out to be great value IMO) There's food available all day and since breakfast was so good, we generally snacked for lunch. Even then there was fresh burritos, burgers, chicken strips, salad etc.. There were freezers full of ice-creams all over the resort and even a self-serve beer, coffee, juice bar on the beach.

Staff: Nothing was too much trouble & everything served with a smile. It really puts you at ease, especially at all all-inc when there's less incentive to offer that level of service.

Coffee & Cake: It's easy to expect average coffee, esp at big resorts, but there was one coffee house in the main square which was really good. Again, great service, good variety and a cool place. Just next was the patisserie. Rows of delicious cakes, snacks and ice-cream inc freshly made waffles and chocolate sauce.

Beach/Sea: Our 5 year olds loved the baby beach and swimming in the clear, warm sea. On the other side there was float platforms to swim out to and some great snorkling. The watersports were expensive but a nice addition and staff really helpful.

Cons: Not a great deal to add other than a few minor changes that would add a little something extra:

• more obvious theme nights in the main buffet restaurant. One night I had beef fajitas and they were incredible.
• Booked the paddle court one day and it was a bit of a sh*t-show. Didn't know where to go, the guy was wondering around somewhere and the place seemed a little worn and abandoned. Likewise the mini-golf so we didn't bother.

One thing that would really make a difference is a better booking system and app. Although decent, there wasn't enough explanation about where and how to book and you generally go back and forth to reception etc.. which can be a slight trek. A clearer explanation on arrival would've been cool.

Poor start but we ended up having a great time.

We arrived at 3am local time after a long day of travelling and the welcome at reception was lukewarm at best. After a quick hello we waited in awkward silence until we were eventually handed our room keys and were told the bellboys would help us to our room. We walked outside to find 3 members of staff propped up against golf carts talking amongst themselves. After standing nearby with our suitcases for a bit I had to interrupt them to ask if they’d direct us to our room - once we eventually had their attention the staff member was very polite courteous and professional.

Our seaside view room had signs of wear and tear - stains on wall / furniture and fixings but was otherwise very comfortable and looked out directly onto the beach front.

We proceeded to the all night snack bar walking through the main courtyard of the resort to get there - there’s no getting away from it this area looks dated and tired. On arriving at the snack bar the food on offer was cold and dry as if it had been lying out for some time but I guess it was the middle of the night and they probably don’t get many people passing through at that time. The various members of staff dotted around the place at this time In the morning were either sitting smoking or on their phones - no one spoke to us or acknowledged our presence at all.

Now we are not important and we do not require any special treatment but when you have chosen to visit Lykia and spent a lot of money to do so, you do not expect to feel like an inconvenience on arrival. We have arrived at other resorts in the middle of the night and have been welcomed with water or champagne and the staff have done a lot more to help get you settled.

We went to bed worried that we’d made a massive mistake but I’m pleased to report that’s where the negatives end - this place is awesome!

The area the resort is in is absolutely beautiful - sandwiched between two mountains it slopes downhill onto a pebbled / gravel beach with turquoise waters - the gardens are very well looked after and are absolutely stunning.

Although steep the resort is very well laid out and everything is easy to get to. There are lifts to get you up the steeper sections if required.

The water park is the best in resort park I’ve seen - great fun for our 10 year old with loads of flumes / slides and a refreshing pool area all set within the beautiful garden grounds. If you arrive at opening time (10am) you practically have the place to yourself - even at peak times it didn’t feel overly busy. A few water polo goals dotted around too which was a good laugh - top tip you can borrow a ball to use for the day from a hut in the main courtyard and there is a free to use air compressor to blow up inflatables down at the beach front.

Mosquitos are a bit bitey up at the water park so bring repellent!

At no point did we have a battle for sun beds at any of the pools or the beach - there are loads of beds.

All the staff we encountered were friendly and service at the various bars was relatively quick - cocktails and drink selection also decent.

The food at the main buffet restaurant is amazing best selection we’ve encountered at an all inclusive for breakfast lunch and dinner - yes it gets busy and can be a bit of a free for all but you get used to it.

The Gaia à la carte restaurant included in the package was amazing too - they offer a set menu which changes every day (they also cater for kids).

We also paid to visit Pinara the traditional on site Turkish restaurant - food was delicious and service was great. 25 euros for two adults and a child - it was a nice change from the main restaurant - no kids menu at this one.

Sea is often choppy but they have a water break area where kids can swim and snorkel safely - some cool shoals of fish to be seen in there too. Water shoes are a good idea as it is a rocky beach.

Although we didn’t book into it - the football academy looked good fun and well run. My son played in the nightly evening football games and thoroughly enjoyed them.

To summarise the buildings and decor on site are a bit run down and this fatigue prevents it from feeling truly five star but Lykia has charm and the hard working staff, amazing food and great facilities totally won me over after a poor first impression.

Thanks for having us and we hope to be back one day.

Hotel is in a lovely location. Beautiful mountain scenery. The all inclusive option is excellent. Main buffet gets busy so getting there earlier is more pleasant. The beach is very nice. Lifeguards are on duty and on our third day a pontoon was put out into the ocean to help guests avoid the breaking waves, which were strong. The entertainment is very good. The waterpark is small but nice. Get there early as people reserve loungers around the pool. The watersports centre is excellent. Paragliding excellent. Staff lovely and reassuring. Highly recommend. An additional cost for activities but completely worth it. Made our holiday. The al a carte restaurants are very nice. Fish restaurant gets beautiful sunset views. Italian has wonderful food. Chefs at the whole resort are so hard working. Housekeeping and guest services excellent. Photographers friendly and the lady who runs the bag shop, utterly delightful. Nice gym. Drawbacks with this resort. The main pool feels inadequate for the size of resort. The spa is in a lovely location but the staff do not manage the environment correctly. I paid £450 for massages. One of these was completely ruined by a noisy guest shouting into his phone next to the massage hut. When i complained I was offered a replacement massage by the reception who were apologetic BUT when I had this replacement massage, the hotel were doing renovation works. Drilling and hammering for the entirety of my treatment. They seem more interested in trying to sell massages than creating a peceful, relaxing environment. You cannot charge £100+ for a relaxing massage and expect people to put up with unacceptable noise levels. Do not sell massages during renovations and mange noisy guests around treatment areas. Basics for a spa! There also needs to be no smoking areas round the pools. Horrid breathing in inconsiderate people's cigrarette smoke, especially as loungers are so close to each other. A couple of areas for improvement but overall a really good holiday in a beautiful country.