Kalamar Hotel

Our family stayed at Elixir Hotel, Kalkan in August 2024 and it was superb. Elixir is a family run boutique hotel with a lovely, large shaded swimming pool set in beautiful mature garden. There is a welcoming, authentic bar/restaurant serving where all the food is tasty and fresh, including an on-site baking oven in the garden producing all sorts of delicious breads and pizzas. Lovely views and a 3-4 minute taxi into town centre. The hotel is run by owner Ali who is charming and his young team who were all super kind, enthusiastic and attentive. A well deserved 5 Stars.

Kalamar hotel has its pros and cons, but I feel like the cons are easily fixable, there’s just no one who cares enough to fix them. The location of the hotel is the biggest plus, the view is gorgeous, and the walk to the beach is short, but steep. I don’t blame them for that as it is literally on the side of a mountain. The problems vary from small to medium. There’s nothing completely detrimental, but there are many smaller issues that add up as your stay progresses. The breakfast is mediocre at best. Not that I have high expectations for hotel breakfast. There are cracks in the tiles of the shower, in some rooms the tv’s don’t work, paint is chipping off the bedframe, no cups for toothbrushes, the toilet seat is loose, the lesser used pool is rarely cleaned properly. These are just a few, and like I said, nothing detrimental, but all of these add up to impact the overall experience. One major issue I had personally was the blades on the AC. These were absolutely disgusting, but again, very easily fixable. I feel like there’s incredible potential here, someone just needs to put in the work to realize it.

Just returned from a 2 week stay at Kalamar hotel which we booked for the location and infinity pool. Let's start with the good stuff: The views across Kalamar bay are breathtakingly beautiful and at night there is hardly any noise as it's further out of town and not on a main road. Hallil the pool-bar attendant was SO friendly and helpful throughout our stay, serving us drinks and snacks at our sun loungers. The pool bar has a wide variety of food available at lunchtime and prices were cheap. Infinity pool was just the right temperature ie it remained refreshingly cool even when the temperatures soared. The outlook across the horizon is insta-worthy. But really this was the high point of the hotel experience and thankfully were were lucky to have it more or less to ourselves for the first 10 days of the holiday as the hotel was practically empty until we neared the end of our stay. Here's a couple of things that didn't bother us BUT others should perhaps bear in mind: NOT suitable for anyone with mobility issues because the hotel complex is laid on a hillside with a series of terraces all connected with a LOT of steps. There are no ramps or lifts so if you cannot easily navigate steps this isn't suitable - that includes people travelling with small children. There is no kids' pool, and nothing about the Kalamar is geared up for children. (There are a few photos on older reviews of a small oblong pool which has recently been filled with earth and a few bushes planted in it!) Kalamar Hotel is an out-of-town location, we picked it for that reason and we had a hire car BUT it is not comfortably walkable to the main town/harbour (especially not in temperatures approaching 40c!) and even if you wanted to brave it and walk to some of the "local" shops/bars/restaurants you'd have to conquer some very steep hills there and back! The websites give the impression that Kalamar Beach Club is part and parcel of the Kalamar Hotel - but they are two separate entities. The KBC is down the bottom of a VERY steep hill (which our car struggled to get back up afterwards, hence we only went once!) and you have to pay a premium to have the use of sunloungers and parasols at the water's edge. Then you get waiter service from the cafe-bar on site. It is not an actual beach it's just a sunbathing platform with steps into the sea (which is refreshingly cool but too deep to stand - you need to be a confident swimmer and wear aqua shoes.) The hotel itself, over and above the aforementioned detail, was on the whole very shabby and dated.. I have been to Turkey many times so I know the difference between what to expect compared with other countries, but by UK standards this hotel is a 3-star at best (certainly not 4 star.. and I have stayed in many FIVE star hotels in other places where I have paid less.. Turkey is not as cheap as it was 5 years ago it is catching up with Greece/Cyprus/Spain/Canaries etc!) I do not want to be one of those people who posts photos o

We'd give three and a half if we could, but not 4. Pros and Cons so you be the judge. We could only get to the hotel at 5 am and we emailed ahead to check this was fine. They didnt charge an extra night or early check in fee for this and assured us it was fine, though noone was there when we arrived till we called and woke someone up. Room was nice and the sea view was excellent, however due to some local infrastructure issues the bathroom reeked of sewage, not the hotel's fault but not great. They switched us to another room which smelt better but the smell came back and we just dealt with it. Air con was great but packed in on the last day and wouldnt stay on after that. Half board was amazing, breakfast every day was delicious and the food, although there's only 2 options for main, the food was great and was a real money saver on the trip as eating out can be pricey. Infinity pool was beautiful, spent alot of time there with the bar. On the last day of the trip, one of the hotel staff stepped on and broke a brand new pair of sunglasses I'd bought and refused outright to pay for it, which put a downer on the whole thing as I was furious at the time. Compensation at least would have been nice. All in all the hotel was nice for the trip but there were some drawbacks.

Wow. Me and my family where made so welcomed the moment we arrived. Hussain, Phyllis, Akbar and all the staff where fantastic. Lovely hotel with beautiful views of a stunning location. We will be back and there are very few places if any that we would revisit. We have made new friends for life. Thank you. Xx

Short version - stay away! Don't get me wrong, the location and the views are incredible as well as the breathtaking infinity pool - but it is all eye candy and window dressing: the reality is way below what the pictures suggest. The room is spacious and the bed is comfortable - but has only a bottom sheet and an old fashioned (rough) bedspread to sleep under... too narrow for two and too short to cover both feet and chest: pick one!! The bathroom had a foul smell that we traced to the shower - which smelt like an open septic tank. Speaking of the shower - no hot water! When we complained, the smell was "fixed" but returned within 12hrs and the water became luke warm but only if no cold added .... so no pressure to the shower! We were never offered an explanation nor an apology at any time. As for Housekeeping - it only happened when we reminded them - still the room was only serviced half of the days we stayed. Hot beverages (Tea & Coffee) are just not available outside the dining area and then ONLY at meal times - we tried for a morning coffee our first morning, only 10 minutes before breakfast time and were told in no uncertain terms that the dining area was not yet open!! Once in, coffee was a disappointment anyway - instant granules out of a tin with an urn of boiling water along side. We were on a diving trip so wanted to eat breakfast as early as we could to get to the dive boat - every morning the breakfast was a shambles: no plates, &/or no utensils, &/or no hot food, &/or cold food still covered with clingfilm, &/or no milk - yet the staff were all running around busy as if breakfast was a surprise event that had been sprung on them at the last minute!! Speaking of staff, they were all very friendly and really tried to help - when asked. Not a hotel I will ever attend again, and had the diving at Kalken Dive Centre not been so amazing, I would write the trip off as a terrible experience - turns out only the hotel experience was terrible!! Honestly, look at other hotels - there are some nearby with just a good views and infinity pools!!