Mark Warner Phokaia Beach Resort

Phokaia Beach offers a wonderful family holiday destination with lots to do and great food, set within a spacious and stylish resort hotel. The Mark Warner team are enthusiastically helpful and proactive in ensuring you have a great time. Getting to and from the resort We travelled from Gatwick on British Airways – it is a charter flight for Mark Warner, so not quite to the standard I would normally expect with BA; the plane was quite old, and you are only served a small complimentary snack. There is a paid trolley service, but they ran out of pretty much everything, even cups. One stewardess admitted this was a regular issue with this specific flight. My advice would be to get a decent breakfast at Gatwick on the way out. You will find a Burger King, Popeyes and a sandwich bar airside at Izmir on the way back, but you don’t have a great deal of time between transfer and boarding, so best to give it one final binge at the resort buffet before setting off home. The coaches leave the resort at 2:30pm to catch the 6:20pm flight home. The transfer to the resort was not great. Rush hour traffic escaping Izmir slowed things down and the coach aircon only kicked in above 50mph, so by the time we got to the resort, there were some tired and thirsty kids. You are offered a welcome drink the moment you enter reception though before being ushered to the buffet. The return transfer was a much nicer coach, and they took the motorway, so my experience on the way there may have been a blip. Room We stayed in two superior double rooms in the main building. The rooms are not massive, but as it is just a place to sleep, that’s not a big issue. The beds and pillows could be better quality. There is a sensible traffic light switch by the door to inform housekeeping if they can come in or if you don’t wish to be disturbed. They clean the room meticulously every day and provide fresh towels. The aircon in the rooms is good, but you do have to remember to switch it back on if you open the balcony door. I did like the look of the garden rooms which open out onto the manicured lawns in front of the beach. The villas also looked very nice. Activities The waterfront is superb, offering sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and paddleboarding. The kids get to experience these as part of the kids’ club programmes, but they can also do proper lessons such as the RYA Sailing course as a paid extra. The resort is in a naturally formed bay, protected from the sea by a deserted island and spit – therefore the whole sailing area enjoys tranquil waters, but plenty of wind. Pickleball offers a less strenuous alternative to tennis and is good fun. There are three tennis courts and three pickleball courts. I never saw all of them occupied, but then it was 35ºC + for our entire break! The kids’ clubs offer a huge variety for all ages. My two are a bit older, but that didn’t stop them making friends and getting involved in all sorts of stuff. The bikes are really good and I went

We spent the last week of the season at this resort as a last minute break before winter here. Had we been told the National Turkish Sailing Event detailed below was taking place we would not have booked and I would suggest if you are thinking of booking this week next year, that you get MW to confirm either way if this is taking place again so you can make an informed decision to go or not. We do intend to return to this resort as it is beautiful and the sailing is good. Starting with the bad points, the Turkish National Sailing Championship teams and their boats were staying at the resort, approximately 200 people (25% adults 75% children (aged 8 upwards). The whole beach bay area was completely monopolised by them for the week. Then Saturday was their de-camp day and removal of all their boats and equipment. Not a peaceful, relaxing environment. They spread themselves and their kit all over the beach sunbeds leaving no room for the MW guests or their things whilst they were on the water! When they returned from their sailing they hosed their boats down not really bothered about other guests. Had we have known this event was taking place we would never have booked as we are beach people not, pool people. Some mornings they were gone by 11am and then others not until later in the day, so were hanging around! To be fair have to say the Turkish competitors were very well behaved. The main course choices of food at the resort were very, very disappointing. Very limited choices. The salad bar and the desserts were to the normal standard. Not a resort for food lovers. Be aware if you suffer breathing problems, the hotel uses very strong odour products in its public spaces. Good points, the hotel and grounds are beautiful. As it was chilly in the evenings they had the log burners lit making it very cosy and heaters in the restaurant. The spa manager and his team are great. The two sisters who did our treatments were outstandingly good, best we have ever had.

We have visited the resort on many occasions since Mark Warner took over the resort a number of years ago and have always had a great experience. Great site with lots of activities and normally fantastic variety of food, even for a vegan/vegetarian. We had visited Phokaia in June this year and had a five star experience as always but this time the food did not live up to previous experiences. The quality and variety of the food had deteriorated on this visit since the last visit. Unfortunately on this visit the staff didn't seem to understand what vegan/vegetarianism is and thought meat was suitable for vegans/vegetarians on more than one meal sitting. After many happy and relaxing visits the resort definitely deserves a second chance.

We have just come back from an excellent week in Foca. A MW rep was in Gatwick to ease matters and the trip was well organised. The flight was pleasant, and on arrival in Turkey we were met by a rep and shown to our coaches. The transit was 2 hours due to traffic but otherwise pleasant. Cases were taken to our rooms, which was a nice touch. The rooms were lovely, well situated in beautiful gardens, and a 5 mins walk to everywhere. The pool is huge and many beds and cabanas around it and in the grounds, No early rising needed to beat the neighbours! The food and restaurant were first class. Lovely Turkish and Med dishes, great coffee and excellent staff. I never had any problems being understood. We went straight to bar to get drinks having read other reviews and the team were very helpful. Learn a few Turkish words and they will do anything for you. Lunch and dinner had a charcoal BBQ and amazing flatbreads too. Amazing kebabs, and fish - it was wonderful. The water sports were superb - we had 4 days of cat sailing with a superb instructor called Cody - what a great guy, and instructor. The wind got a bit fruity and we went like the wind. I relearned so much sailing and he was only 19 but you’d never guess. Other reviews mention the booze prices. I think a little context is needed. We paid a £1000 for the week each and got 19/21 meals for that with amazing facilities and water sports. Other resorts are ½ board (14/21 meals provided). 5 meals would cost £60 each for a week. Our 4 adults that is £240. Turkey has high inflation and so foreign drinks will cost a lot. Our overall room / bar bill was £580 for 4 adults. We didn’t spend much more so I think it is reasonable. Booze prices in town weren’t much different and a bottle of duty free gin and some locally bought tonic smoothed the way. The spa - just wonderful. We had a free 10 minute taster and the masseuses spotted all of my old rugby injuries and one new injury immediately. The same for my wife. The came up with a programme to treat and I have never felt better. They sorted out a foot injury I could barely walk on when I arrived. They were absolutely superb. Prices were about half that of the UK. Entertainment was really good too, and the MW staff were all excellent. The local Turkish teams were too - really friendly. Some people have mentioned parties. There was a wedding whilst we were there but no different to any other hotel we have stayed in. Music and laughter were in evidence, but no boorish behaviour. Overall, we have had an excellent holiday and would throughly recommend the resort.

The resort is nice with good facilities. Staff are friendly food is ok. Rooms are fine and cleaned well. Main problem is that they have corporate events at the hotel which go on til very late- there were people singing in the pool at 2 am. Also bar prices are ridiculously high.

Third time at Phokaia with Mark Warner and our sixth Mark Warner holiday over a 15 year period. Phokaia has a beautiful leafy setting and you will be able to find a sunbed somewhere in the resort, either by the pool or along the beach. Nearby Foca also has its charm, whereas some of the other Mark Warner resorts felt more characterless and barren. However, this year we were hugely disappointed compared to our visit here last year. Whereas the saving grace was the teenage club for our boys run by Mark Warner, the part of the experience that did not work well, was the part under direct control of the Turkish management of the hotel. The biggest shock this year, was the spike in alcohol prices in resort compared to last year. Lame excuses are given of inflation in Turkey and saying the nearby village charges the same. Nothing excuses £20 for a small glass of prosecco in a buffet setting. Or £150 for a basic wine you can buy for £15 in a UK supermarket or £70 for a Turkish wine that should in theory be very cheap with the current exchange rate. Prices were at least a third more than the nearby village. (so Mark Warner's unsurprising latest marketing email saying you could get £50 bar credit for October bookings at Phokaia, will not go far!) Furthermore, the waiting staff in the restaurant no longer speak basic English and even though they use google translate which is annoying, they do not know the menu e.g. Does fries come with the steak? We were told no, and then ordered sides of fries, only to end up with fries with the steak as well. This leads me on the other frustrating matter. A few issues arose and any dispute on the bill, takes three days or more to resolve as no one in management can make this decision apart from the hotel manager, who hides in his office and bats things over to Mark Warner management, even though the issues that arose are directly under his control and jurisdiction. There were observations that Turkish guests are given preferential treatment and I experienced this when the Mark Warner guests filed in to watch a show with the understanding that the best tables are for those who arrive first. Two minutes before the show starts, a waiter whisks a table right in front of all the other tables and seats a Turkish family there, which completely blocked the view of those who had arrived early for good seats. This year they have also cut out the barbeque buffet they used to have at the beach restaurant due to increased costs. As we have been here before, we knew to expect the local weekend pass visitors, resulting in increased smoking around the pool and beach, the tacky pool party with loud music, but this year, we felt like the second class guests, the sitting ducks being fleeced. Whereas I do not blame the Mark Warner staff on site who gave their all, I do hold Mark Warner head office accountable for not challenging the hotel management's latest pricing decisions and for the lack of basic standard expected in the