Orman Koskleri

“Orman Koşkleri” are located in Sarıalan, 1,650 meters above sea level. I booked 2 nights in January 2024 at one of the small mansions (1 double bed + 2 single beds). It snowed during my stay and the atmosphere was lovely, so I extended my stay for one more night. In this review I will shed some light on matters that might be of importance to those who fancy this type of getaway. Before booking, I went through online photos as well as many of the published reviews and was encouraged by the abundance of positive comments. The negative comments were very few and, after my stay, I think that some of those comments were unfair. The online material tells clearly that the mansions are simple cottages fulfilling basic needs as I will expand below, not 5-star luxury hotels It appears that some reviewers had high expectations. I went there with a fair certainty about the features of the place and my findings were not far from my expectations. This review applies to the small cottages, the bigger ones might be different. Outside the main entrance door, there is a small terrace with a bench and a fireplace for grilling. Inside, the cottage consists of a ground floor and an upper floor. In the ground floor there is a living hall (about 5m x 3m) containing a 4-seater sofa, 1-seater armchair, dining table with 4 chairs, and a kitchenette corner with utensils etc., mini refrigerator, electric cooker, kettle, and a washing machine. The toilet and shower enclosure are also located in this floor. A wooden stairway leads to the upper floor where you’ll find an open space with 2 single beds, and a small room with a double bed. What I liked: - The overall atmosphere of the place is stunning. It is truly enclaved by a forest (“Orman Koşkleri” means “Forest Mansions”). - The huts are spread on the sides of a paved road, so you can park your car in the vicinity of your hut. Make sure you have tire chains if you’re coming in the snowy season. - A fully-fledged Mosque is available within a walking distance (hot water ablution, Friday Prayer, and women’s hall). - Reception office is also within a walking distance. Availability of English-speaking staff is a great advantage. You can communicate with this office via mobile numbers (including WhatsApp) since the small cottages are not equipped with landline phones. - The compound is adjacent to the Telefrik (cable car) station. Here you can take the cable car up to Uludağ or down to Bursa. You can find some shops here too (grocery, snacks, souvenirs, garments). - At the center of the compound there is the main restaurant where you can have your breakfast (preset, served to your table) and where “à la carte” lunch and dinner can be served too. The menu includes raw meat if you prefer cooking/grilling in your hut. The food is good and the staff members are great. You can also have your meal delivered to your room against a small additional fee. Note that this restaurant is not open all-year-round. Check before booking. - The hut is very well heated even in extreme cold weather. A gas-fed water heater (combi) is located in the ground floor and provides hot water to the faucets/shower and to the wall-mounted radiators. Additionally, a wide fireplace simulator capable of injecting hot air is provided in the ground floor. - The pillows are firm and I like this type. I cannot sleep on feather-filled pillows. The mattresses are firm too. - The size of the shower cabin (1m x 1m) is good. Areas for improvement: - All upper floor windows do not have blackout curtain. Early daylight will wake you up even if you want to sleep a bit more. - The TV size (perhaps 28”) is small for viewers sitting 4 or 5 meters away. The size suitable for this distance is not less than 70”. - Many of the occupants, if not most, are international tourists, either English or Arabic-speaking. Yet, all TV channels are Turkish. This is not acceptable. Numerous free international/Arabic channels are available and the management should rectify this shortcoming. I, personally, was extremely disappointed for not being able to watch my favorite news channel. - The access to media is further aggravated by the non-availability of Wi-Fi in the cottage. You have to rely on your own personal data package and your own mobile/pad. This matter needs to be fixed. - The electric cooker type is old (resistor type), taking an awfully long time to cook a meal. New infra-red type is available at low prices in the market. Replacement is recommended. What I had to live with: - The internal wooden construction is not robust and does not provide sound insulation. Any squeak in any bed can be heard all over the cottage. Any footstep in the upper floor will produce a squeaking noise, small but noticeable. This is inherent and cannot be eliminated, so don’t expect privacy. Conclusion: The fee per night is not exorbitant but not cheap. For such a fee, larger TV, internet, and international/Arabic TV channels would be minimum expectations to a non-Turkish tourist. I conclude by admitting that the cottage experience at “Orman Koşkleri” was great and you should not miss it if you happen to be in Türkiye, particularly in the winter.

Great place to stay with your family And the restaurant is amazing specially Mr. Umit and mr. Burhan who was really friendly and welcoming. I advise everyone to come and visit this great hotel. But you should check the weather if you are lucky you will find a snow there

Thank you for the Service. We really enjoy staying here. Thank you so much Burhan abi for the service during the breakfast. We had a wonderful experience. The house was so comfortable and warm. Great!

If I could rate it zero I would. One of the worst experiences ever. The booking and everything was easy. The reservation person there was very helpful until we got there. When my husband, 3 kids and i arrived we couldn't believe that this was the same place as we saw being advertised. It was nothing like in the pictures. The place was noisy, as it was right across the telefrik ( cable cars) .we had given hald the deposit when making the booking and the other half as we arrived. We were told that the main restaurant for our breakfast and meals were under renovation and that we can find any other small restaurant to eat at. Which we were not told before hand. As we were escorted to our bungalow, there was rubbish everywhere, it was dirty, the place looked unhygienic, the barbecue area looked disgusting, the front stairs into the bungalow was broken. Already I had seen enough and knew I could not waste my winter vacation there with my husband and kids. It was definitely a health risk, and i felt unsafe there as there was no security what's so ever as well as no WiFi in the bungalow area. I couldn't stomach going into the bungalow and told my husband to go in. After a minute he came out saying we not staying here. We went back to the reception and told them that we couldn't stay and asked for our money back understanding that our money for that night would be taken. But instead of them taking 1 night stay, they took half the payment which is illegal and refunded the other half. Which I'm currently opening up a case on them for doing this. Luckily we met such a lovely taxi driver who was very sad of our situation as we were going to head back to bursa. He insisted that he would help us find a hotel and told us that he would not let us leave til we were happy. We ended up finding a beautiful place, similar concept called Karinna Orman Kosleri ( run by Karinna Hotel and that was just wow!!!! Thank you to our taxi driver named Cunet and to Karinna hotel for turning our nightmare into a beautiful vacation.

The location is nice in the mountains, if lucky surrounded with snow. The wooden house is nice and spacious. Reception was helpful. Take with you all what you need, food and drinks... Because it's hard to find anything there as it's a place for ski only.

I liked it . My enjoyed the place and the surrounding areas. The accommodation made in very stylish way . Helpful staff ... Still the accommodation to be maintained not very professional way, the toilets in bad shape. I’ve complained but no body attended my complaints .

Pros: Great heating, water supply and environment. Surrounded by snow and ice, relatively easy to access, quick check out procedure. Cons: Water heater was constantly dripping water and collecting next to cooker on the table, toilet seat and cover was already broken, had to fix into place myself. Seams at the bottom of the entrance and toilet doorway was eroding away.

It was a good alternative for my weekend ski program in Uludag.   I recommend you to go to Uludağ by a cable car ride from a site consisting of pleasant and peaceful small bungalows in a very nice natural area

We took the opportunity to visit Uludağ to escape the heat of July Istanbul. The picturesque forest cabins are very new, well equipped, cosy comfortable and clean located in the forest 1km away from the main hotel at the peak of the Uludağ mountain range. Our wonderful host Burak couldn't have done more to make us feel comfortable and welcome. He help us in providing everything we needed and more. He really made this holiday for us and is a credit to the Karinna hotel. Days were warm evenings were lovely and cool. A warning you will need a car in order to make the journey up to the peak of Uludağ, otherwise be prepared for lots of walking. You can make the journey on foot if you use Bursa uludağ teleferik.

Small place for days off with family. The place is cosy has good heating and hot water. Traveling in April is good idea and the weather is good. The place has teleferik access to Bursa and to Ski centers. We arrived here by car but you can come to this area by teleferik as well.