Akra Fethiye The Residence Tui Blue Sensatori - Adults Only

We stayed at The Residence in October 2023 - it was definitely one of the best hotels we've been to over the years, and the best hotel we stayed at in Turkey. From beginning to the end, the experience was great. The check in was quick and we were given a quick tour of the place before going into our room. We booked the Lakehouse Swim up which was definitely worth it. The room is absolutely stunning, lots of space, modern look and feel, great storage area for suitcases so they're out of the way. It is a very well looked-after hotel. All the grounds are immaculate and I loved the way the sun loungers were separated into small islands so it didn't feel like everyone was crammed in together. The pool is fantastic although the water in October was a bit cold but not an issue. We really enjoyed the food - risotto was outstanding, although somehow we managed to miss the Turkish night! Drinks and cocktails are fantastic with a great selection and nothing is too much trouble. Sefa (I hope I got the name right) who was serving drinks at the evening bar area was always super nice and friendly - thank you for great service. Because the hotel is quite small, evening entertainment can be heard throughout so not as easy to go to sleep if you don't want to stay up right until the end of it. There were a few young kittens around, and being a cat mom myself I couldn't help but feed them and give them water. It'd be really great to know if the hotel is looking after them. When we stayed in Marmaris, the hotel there explicitly said that they look after cats who even had their own area in the shade with food and water which I thought was a lovely idea. All in all, a 5* stay and we'll be back in a few months!

We got back from The Residence yesterday morning after a 5 night stay that went far too quickly. This will be a bit of a waffling review but I remember looking at other reviews before I went so will hopefully fill in the gaps of things I was uncertain about before we went! We've been lucky enough to have visited Barut Lara twice before, Barut Kemer once, Sensatori Fethiye once in 2020 (which is directly next door to The Residence) and also Nana Golden Beach in Crete last year so have had a proper go at the all inclusive experience! The Residence is simply the best. It is a little unfair to compare them all with The Residence as in the past we've had our children with us too but the whole experience is just better. We booked with relatively short notice 2 months before we went for a 5 night stay. Literally the only rooms available when we booked were the Penthouse Suites so that's what we did. Due to arriving around 01:30 a.m. we booked a transfer through the excellent DM transfers to get there quicker than the usual coach transfer and arrived in resort just after 02:00 a.m. As soon as we arrived in the lobby we were offered a glass of champagne and a silver tray of chocolates. We were escorted to the room by an excellent guy (sorry couldn't see your name badge at the time!) and the case was brought up too. The room itself was exceptional. There was a jacuzzi bath in the centre of the room and another one on the very private balcony outside. The room had twin sinks, a fixed shower with a handheld option for hair washing and pretty much everything you could need even including hair straighteners, hair dryer and an iron attached to the ironing board! Not that I used it.....! Bed was massive (I'm too tall and could still get lost on it), very comfortable and with a couple of different pillow options. UK plug sockets were right next to the beds as well as USB ports too. Lighting was all controlled by smart pads by the door and also by the beds. The minibar was exceptionally well stocked. Fanta, bottles of still water, cans of Coke, Schweppes Tonic water, juices, milk, chilled bottle of wine and bottles of Efes & Miller beer. Above the fridge were a bottle of red wine and 0.35 litre bottles of Smirnoff Vodka, Johnnie Walker whiskey and Gordon's Gin! Proper glasses for all were on a tray too and you can get ice from ice machines if required as well. Everything above is restocked daily without fail. There is also a snack draw with Doritos, pretzel sticks, biscuits and chewing gum which is restocked daily too. We could have headed to the 24 hour lobby bar or the 24 hour restaurant for something to eat and drink but instead after a brief sleep we headed to breakfast at the Repertory. This is where things started to elevate above previous hotels. You get escorted to a table (inside or outside is your choice) and are given an excellent a la carte menu. Tea, coffee and orange juice are provided immediately. Anything you wish to be cooked from the menu is ordered and brought to your table. Over our stay we tried the French Toast, various large croissants stuffed with various goodies, pancakes and waffles. There were a lot of other options too (we're both vegetarian and never felt we didn't have choice) including omelettes etc. There is also a buffet section at breakfast for things like pain au chocolat, grilled sausages, cheese and fruit etc. You won't go hungry here...!! The a la carte style for most of it though gave it a much more relaxed vibe than guests getting constantly up and down like yoyos for the buffet. After breakfast we went poolside. This is where one of the biggest surprises happened - sunbeds! Without fail there were sunbeds still available at any time of day. Whether it is the number of beds available, the lack of families as it is adults only, a lot of guests using the beds by their swim-up rooms/the beach/the shady garden areas or other reasons unknown it's refreshing to not see the usual madness! My wife is an early riser so was normally up at 06:15 a.m. to grab an iced coffee and get a couple of hours quiet reading in anyway but there's no need to for sunbed reserving! Most days we had a couple right next to the Cuphea bar. Easy access to the pool, bar and beach but still surprisingly quiet. During the day it felt so relaxed and felt it was about 25% capacity even though it clearly wasn't! The Cuphea bar was our port of call for drinks and I literally never had to wait to be served there. I discreetly went through the cocktail menu and in the sun would recommend the Aegean Sunset and even more so the Cherry Moscow Mule. Obviously apart from the signature menu you can ask for anything else too. The pool itself is another asset - it meanders around almost like a linked river rather than the usual pool surrounded by lots of loungers crammed in. I can't swim but my wife enjoyed buzzing about! In between the beds there are also drink coolers with soft drinks and beers stacked with ice. Another nice touch. First night we had a high quality cocktail upstairs at the Balkon restaurant before dinner downstairs in The Repertory. The options on the menu change each night and if needed there is also a separate vegetarian/vegan menu that can be asked for. In addition the "main menu" can be found on a QR code so if nothing appeals that is listed on a particular night there is always other options too. To be honest I'm boring myself a bit now so will wrap up the last couple of bits! As The Residence is next door to The Sensatori you can head there for anything you want (obviously not vice versa) bar or food wise. We went to the Sunset bar for lunch one day for quesadillas for example. We also went to the Neomans Lounge bar before dinner one night but became a bit Residence biased after! The beach is a very short walk away and again loungers were plentiful here too. If required a couple of minutes walk from the hotel there is a supermarket and a couple of clothing shops with the latest in erm, "designer but perhaps not actual designer" clothing. Worth a haggle anyway! The lobby lounge is exceptional. Beautifully laid out and quite often a port of call in the afternoon after lunch for a coffee, dessert or ice cream. A special mention to the chocolate section too. The salted caramel truffles were probably the best chocolates I've ever tasted. I've tried many.... ;-) I often went here for a quiet drink as my wife got ready and we both normally returned for a cocktail or 2 after dinner too. One other small thing to mention is when you get a drink with a mixer you get given the bottle of tonic water, can of Coke etc. to go with it. Silly thing but great as you can choose the strength of your drink depending how you like it. The cleanliness, quiet relaxed vibe, quality of food, quality of staff and massively high standard of room meant our stay could hardly have been better. The only possible improvements would possibly be to have a couple of more toilets near the pool area and a very small thing of having forks as well as spoons available at the breakfast buffet section to make it easier to eat melon! :-D I wouldn't hesitate to return to here again and we are already calculating how we can! Finally a big shout out to the staff, I'm more than likely to get their names wrong but please say special thanks to Ozlem for her brilliant friendly service at breakfast and lunch, Zeki in the Repertory at dinner, Orun/Olun and Zeynep at the Cuphea bar during the day and all the brilliant staff at the lobby bar too.

Check in was quick chocolates and sparkling wine provided and lemon towels to freshen up . Guided tour to room and everything explained. Swim up room amazing lovely features coffee maker ,well stocked fridge ,pillow menu .top shelf spirits and really good quality products in the bathroom no need to take your own. Balcony large with table and chairs and sun beds . Plenty of sunbeds even at 830 .cooler box's by sunbeds is very good with water,ice tea and beer service at the pool great. Food was amazing at all the resterants all alacarte even breakfast if something not on menu they will do their best to accommodate. you can't go hungry here not even the fussiest eater. Italian resterant fantastic food and service .Tip book alacarte on arrival we only got into one . Pizza at Italian in day are amazing very large can share.Street food at the Kiosk and sweets for the kids .This is next door at the family section. Service was first class all the staff work so hard . Entertainment good especially the focus accopella and Tina turner tribute. Drinks in the bars all branded names even had guiness. . Hotel is very clean and tidy .Beach is nice plenty free sunbeds The staff here are a credit to hotel Emra,Safar,borat and zeki to name a few but all the staff are amazing no pressure to tip but appreciated if you did . Would I recommend deffinatly ,would I return definitely in a flash . Price tag looks exspensive but here you truly get what you pay for . Thanks everyone at the residence for an amazing stay.

We returned for a little October sunshine after two years. Even better than the first visit especially the entertainment in the evenings We tried a penthouse this time as we had a lakeside the first time and preferred it. All rooms are just superb Regarding the cats 🐈 Whilst we were there we saw one family of new kittens. And literally three other grown cats. None were an issue if people stopped feeding them from their meals around the restaurant We popped over the road and bought kitten food and biscuits to feed them away from the dining areas. They were taken away a couple of days to be checked over and had injections Then returned. They are also rehomed We travelled to Cyprus this summer and there is definitely an issue with strays there l. This hotel does try to look after them. If you’re not a cat lover it’s not an issue but if you are please buy food for cats and feed away from the dining areas Will we go back? Absolutely!!!

Don’t get me wrong. I love this place, been here 5 times. The staff are mostly great, the food is mostly great, the hotel itself is fantastic with lovely spacious rooms. The downside is the management attitude and treatment of the resident cats - lying to guests about what’s happening to the cats as they are put into carriers to be taken off god knows where- never to return- never arriving at local shelters. Management not answering emails about the cats and dismissing all efforts of guests to suggest ways of managing the cats - a local charity will neuter, spay and return free of charge, cat feeding stations to be put up away from guest eating areas - lots of positive things could be put in place but the management just arrange for these kittens to be disposed of. Not what I want to see on my very expensive holiday. In two minds about cancelling next year and going somewhere else

The Residence is a very nice hotel. There are some negatives, which I detail in my review (both to inform future guests and to hopefully effect change for next season). Staff were mostly wonderful, they actually seemed happy to look after guests. All spoke English. Great welcome on arrival – shown to our room. The swim-up room fully met our expectations. Really comfortable bed, drinks, snacks, kettle, coffee machine etc. Comfortable sunbeds (in shade for most of the day, as per our request). Toiletries were disappointing, awful conditioner and body moisturiser. Best to take your own. Can literally eat/drink 24 hours a day. As well as The Residence options, it is possible to eat/drink ‘next door’. There is one additional charge restaurant at The Residence and two next door. At Euros 35 extra, per person, these were not tempting. Apart from the main restaurant at The Residence and the buffet restaurant next door, reservations have to be made. We found that reservations for almost a week, at anywhere other than the paid restaurants and Cuphea, were not available (we arrived on a Saturday and could not get a reservation until Thursday). Cuphea is OK, great setting, but small menu, not where we wanted to eat several nights in a row. Main restaurant on the first night was not good, (so bad, we only actually ate there one other time in the evening) - felt rushed and a nuisance, had to ask for a napkin, inattentive waiter etc. Fortunately, this was only an issue at this restaurant. Service in Cuphea, Basilica and Amber was excellent. Basilica was definitely our favourite place to eat – extensive menu and great service, especially by Murat. Wasn’t keen on Tao – very limited menu. Breakfast in The Residence main restaurant was very good. Buffet and A la Carte. Well served by Isik. At lunch times, to avoid the heavy options, we headed next door to the buffet restaurant where grilled food, salads and fresh fruit were available. There are areas, both indoor and outdoor for 16+ only diners. Excellent choice of drinks everywhere, nicely presented. Decent coffee. Sooo many cakes and chocolates (in the Executive Lobby bar). At Cuphea the evening drinks service was excellent – shout out to Sefa. Entertainment was good at Cuphea. Blankets were provided for the chilly October evenings. Annoying that there was no entertainment on Sundays. Of course, you can go next door, where there are indoor and outdoor options. Cuphea needs more toilet facilities – just three toilets. (These toilets are also the only ‘beach’ toilets). Much queuing in the evening. The beach is definitely not beautiful, dirty coloured sand and pebbles. Can walk along the beach, but although better to the left, it is still not pleasant underfoot. Cabanas are available at a surcharge, but not very popular when we were there. There is a very limited water taxi service to Fetiye, Euros 25 per person. Taxi via road is around Euros 30 return. Not enough choice of ‘healthier’ options. Most food is covered in some sort of sauce/dressing. Some A la Carte grill/salad/sandwich options and a buffet salad option at lunch time, is much needed (there is the facility to offer this in main restaurant in The Residence, but it wasn’t an option during our stay). The house red wine is pretty awful – charged options are available, but outrageously overpriced. (Eg Porta Caeli Ament Blend, on wine list at Euros 94 - quick Google search found it at £5.07). There is no need for either dire house wine or such overpriced options. So disappointing, as there are such amazing Turkish red wines available. Swimming pool is not heated and is shockingly cold. There is a heated pool next door, but the ‘premium’ status of The Residence, in my opinion, necessitates a few degrees of heat. Before we got to the hotel, I emailed asking for cost of late check out. Was told that it was not possible to arrange this until the day before. It was possible through Tui, so I paid a hefty fee to facilitate this. We stayed last two weeks in October and by the middle of the second week, the hotel had more empty rooms that full, including in our category. It was only open for 3 days after our departure. Clearly, it was possible to confirm a late check out on 28th October. Very annoying. I would also prefer that things are not promised (such as the ‘cheese corner’ and ‘pillow menu’), then not available. Pillows were fine and cheese 24/7 was not necessary, but why not amend the marketing narrative – there is enough good stuff to tempt custom. So, overall this is a fantastic hotel. Tui rep Michelle was friendly and helpful. I detail the negative things so that hopefully, it can be made perfect! Would be very happy to return.

My expectations were high following my online research about the residence and what can I say! They were exceeded! We stayed here for 2 weeks at the end of October and it was our first visit to Türkiye. It was absolutely amazing from the moment we stepped in to the lobby to check in until the moment we checked out. We booked a Lakehouse suite with terrace which for us was worth every penny. The room was huge and immaculately clean with one of the comfiest beds I’ve ever slept in. Lakehouse’s also come with butler service through the day with nothing being too much trouble. We also had a small terrace with access to the lagoon style pool with private loungers and a fully stocked cool box by the side of our Lakehouse. The property is absolutely spotless though out and the attention to detail is evident in the little touches here and there. The Residence has relaxed Spa type atmosphere and is so laid back and chilled. The staff are the biggest asset everyone we spoke to was so warm and friendly and contributed to the relaxed atmosphere. Special mention to the super bartender Ramazan and the staff at the Cuphea outdoor bar. Ramazan was first class making the best cocktails we had at the resort always smiling, recommending different things to try and teaching us a little Turkish phrases. Amazed at the amount of Baby Guinness he was able to turn around they were popular! I also liked the infused gins and vodkas used to create bespoke cocktails there really was something for everyone. The entertainment is in the form of live music 6 nights a week which was really enjoyable. Our personal favourites were Focus Acapella and Cem Moreno band. Food was delicious also with different themes each night. The food was so good that we didn’t really take up much of the offerings at the Sensatori next door which you also have full access to. We also booked a cabana for the day which was a nice experience. With the town of Fethiye nearby you can jump a taxi or book the water taxi which runs daily with the market being on a Tuesday. We lucked out with the weather as we were told it can rain quite a bit at the end of October but it was 28 degrees every day although chilly at night. From our experience here I can totally understand why people return every year it really is that good.

As a returning guest my enjoyment was spoiled by worries about the cats and kittens on site. I saw them being boxed up and separated and it really upset me. No straight answers from staff and most troubling is that I never received a reply to a very constructive email I sent to the manager while there. Hotel is beautiful, food great and staff attentive as always,

Just back from a week at this excellent hotel. It was super clean inside and out . The rooms are large with every thing you need including a fridge and mini bar which is replenished daily. All the staff are very nice and cant do enough for you. Plenty of sun beds , lovely large pool and the food is top class. Will def be back .

This is our third time at The Residence and there have been a few improvements such as the new bar sited on the path to the beach and small fridges in the cabanas. Rooms are great, the pool beautifully sculptured but what makes this hotel is the excellent service and wonderful staff in the restaurants and bars. I am not sure if there has been a change of head chef but the food has slipped. On our last two visits every meal we ate in Cuphea had a wow factor but certainly not this time. It was so poor we cancelled our last two reservations. If the hotel is not careful then food will fall into the average category. As any visitor to Turkey or Greece knows every town, public building and hotel has it's local cat population. This hotel is no different and a small number of cats were in the grounds. A handful of them were extremely friendly and said hello to guests on sunbeds and hung about just outside the restaurants. Four or five of the cats craved human contact and pretty much every guest loved fussing over them. I never witnessed any negativity in the 11 days we were there. I've heard the argument, this is a 5-star resort and shouldn't have cats roaming about. The hotel likes to boast of its environmental credentials however, it doesn't exist in a sterile bubble, the hotel is part of the local environment and the cats are a precious part of that. In the middle of our holiday staff stuffed four 5-month old kittens into cat carriers. Management provided guarantees they were to be taken to the local shelter, neutered and returned. The municipal shelter was visited several times by various organisations and individuals, on each occasion the shelter confirmed no kittens had arrived from the hotel. Several guests have been searching for answers and each given a different account from management. Suggestions were made to management to improve the situation and satisfy all guests no matter if they were cat lovers or not. Management dismissed every one of them. Local animal charities have offered help and advice, disappointingly management have refused to meet with them. This situation will not be resolved unless the Residence works in partnership with the local animal charity. During the season they could visit and carry out a neutering programme to keep cat numbers low. Feeding stations could be set up away from rooms and restaurants. If this is done then it would be a win-win for everyone. Since we left for the UK new guests have witnessed the removal of more kittens. Hotel employees grabbing kittens and taking them to unknown destinations was traumatising for guests and is a terrible look. Not only would it appear that the hotel may have committed an offence under animal rights laws passed in Turkey in 2004 and 2021, they have failed to understand the love for animals most UK guests have. This situation could have been dealt with very differently to the satisfaction of management, guests and welfare of the cats. Since returning we have had many sleepless nights worrying about the kittens and until The Residence changes its approach then it only deserves 1 star