This is a detailed review of Acar Hotel in Alanya. If you’ve already booked or are thinking to book this hotel – this report will give you lots of very useful information.
The Acar hotel review is completely unbiased – the hotel wasn’t aware that they were being reviewed for Travel Update and no commission / fee was received in exchange for this review. Some of the links in the article are affiliate links that we may earn a tiny commission from to help support the site.
Transfer time from Antalaya Airport to Acar Hotel in Alanya
The advertised transfer time from Antalaya airport to Acar Hotel in Alanya is 1 hour 30 minutes.
My Easyjet flight arrived at 22:30 and I arrived at my hotel at 02:30. I booked my transfer independently through Hoppa – who used a local company called DT Transfers.
The long delay was from waiting around for other passengers not materialising.
I paid £8 for the transfer – and it ended up being just me on a private transfer to the hotel. Considering a private transfer should cost £90 – this felt a bit of a win.
My transfer rep did try to palm me off on a bigger coach with another company, dragging me out of the minibus with luggage – but the other driver refused (for reasons I couldn’t understand in Turkish). As such, I ended up with a private transfer.
The uncertainty and being messed about whilst tired was a little stressful, but once on my way, with a private driver – I did feel lucky to get a private transfer for a 2 hour journey for £8.
The driver chain smoked all the way there (with my permission he asked if he could smoke) – so I suppose the time I saved not dropping off hoards of other travellers will be offset later in life.
I had the conundrum at the end of the journey of what to tip. I had just been transferred on a 2 hour journey for meagre £8 – and he bought me a coffee en-route (that I asked for him not to buy). I booked a shuttle transfer for cheapness – so I settled on tipping him £10 (I had no Lira). He seemed neither disgruntled nor pleased by this.
I booked the transfer via Hoppa – it’s actually cheaper than booking direct and it’s always useful having a third party on hand should anything go wrong. Direct you are one customer, third party you are 1000s.
First Impressions of Acar Hotel Alanya
My chain smoking lovely driver informed me I wasn’t staying Acar Hotel in Alanya – but the Ajhar (Turkish pronunciation) hotel in Oba .
Tired and exhausted, I wanted a fast check-in and to get to bed. I was welcomed by a young lad who didn’t speak much English but the whole check-in process was painless.
I handed over my passport and was given my keycard and details for a welcome meeting (In German) – I do have a bit of a Deutsche look about me to be fair, and wasn’t in the mood to prolong things.
I was taken in the lift to my room – he blasted the AC unit to heating the room 30 degrees and popped on the tv to my german chanel.
Considering I had paid a meagre £15 a night with loveholidays for the room – I was totally satisfied with how comfortable it was. My balcony was tiny (I since discovered only one of them is this small on each floor) – but it was an absolute bargain for the price of £15 with breakfast and dinner included!
I wasn’t happy with having to wear a wristband – usually these are for all inclusive resorts. But as the hotel offers everything from bed & breakfast to All Inclusive – I see why this is necessary.
It was only £5 a night for me with loveholidays to upgrade to all inclusive – so seemed a tad silly not to do but I didn’t want the temptation of staying in the hotel too much.
Breakfast at Acar Hotel
Despite only arriving at 0230 and taking a few hours to nod off – I wasn’t going to miss my first breakfast.
Breakfast is available from 0730-0930 daily.
If you’re wanting a typical English breakfast – you may be disappointed. You won’t find sausage, beans and bacon, but – you will find delicious Mediterranean food cooked to perfection to start your day off well.
There is a coffee machine that serves ok (not offensive but not amazing) coffee – a wide selection of tasty foods, a bread station (I didn’t use as don’t like other peoples hands over my bread) – and loads of healthy veg and salad dishes.
Move out the mindset of traditional English breakfast and I think the breakfast here (CONSIDERING THE PRICE) – is phenomenal.
Facilities at ACAR Hotel
The Pool
The pool was nice enough but during my week stay I didn’t see anybody using (in winter).
The indoor pool was inviting but it seemed to open at sporadic times and never when I felt like a dip.
The Gym
The gym wasn’t extensive enough for seriously gym bunnies but with a few treadmills and weights – enough there to prevent you using being on holiday as a reason for slacking.
The Hamam
There are loads of Hamams in the area and I highly recommend Kleopatra Hamam – but the hotel does offer the whole experience of being scrubbed, foamed and massaged for a very reasonable price.
Having had such a good experience at Kleopatra Hamam, I knew the hotel Hamam would probably disappoint, but I tried it anyway in order to be able to give you feedback.
The experience, as anticipated, was very underwhelming. I would highly recommend avoiding the hotel hamam.
The mini-market
There’s a little shop with direct access from the hotel to grab essentials – its a tad over the normal rate (maybe 20%) – better to do the 3 minute walk to the local Migros for better choice and prices.
Wifi
The wifi is chargeable at 2 euros per day or 8 euros for 5 days. This only allows you to connect one device at a time, and it was sometimes very slow. When I asked to pay in pounds sterling it was £10 not 8 euros – probably the worst exchange rate globally.
Rooms at Acar Hotel
The rooms are comfortable and of a higher standard than the low price suggests.
My room came with a double bed, single bed, TV, coffee making facilities, fridge, bathroom with shower and a balcony.
The only English channel on the TV was BBC world news, but who wants to be in the room watching TV anyway?
My tiny balcony was a sun trap throughout the afternoon – was a lovely place to read for an hour before my siesta.
Unfortunately, the walls are paper thin, and you can hear your neighbours every move. Even low level conversations sound like they are in your room with you. I was very unlucky to have a nocturnal Russian as a neighbour who had his TV on full blast all night every night. If I hadn’t remembered to pack earplugs, I wouldn’t have had any sleep at all.
Things near Acar Hotel
The Acar hotel is in the neighbouring resort of Alanya – Oba. A walk into the centre of Alanya takes around 50 minutes if done at a leisurely stroll down the beautiful promenade. There are regular buses too, you need to purchase a bus card from a minimarket, but I opted to be healthy and walk into Alanya daily to work off my 4 course breakfasts.
The beach is less than a 5 minute walk from the hotel – there are many beach bars and restaurants with sunbeds. The hotel has an agreement with one of the beach bars (no 34) – that you can use their sunbeds for 2 euros per day. You can, however, just use any beach bars sunbeds for free if you make a purchase.
There are many restaurants within a 5 minute walk of the hotel. The Memos Restaurant, right next door, is especially good with a more sophisticated menu than most of the others that are generally kebab, pizza or burger.
There are lots of shops selling the usual snide copies of designer clothing etc – although over half of these were closed when I visited in winter.
Overall review of Acar Hotel in Oba
Considering I paid only £15 a night for a comfortable (but noisy) room and a healthy breakfast and dinner included – I feel I got amazing value for money.
Should I ever return to the region, I think that I would stay actually in Alanya Centre rather than Oba. Whilst I do prefer a quieter resort, Oba is just a tad too quiet and under-developed for my liking.
I would still recommend Acar Hotel for anyone wanting a really cheap holiday. I would always warn them about the paper thin walls and tell them they may need earplugs should they get an inconsiderate neighbour.
You can book 7 nights at Acar Hotel including flights from the UK from £390 with loveholidays
If you have any more questions about the Acar Hotel in Alanya (Oba) – feel free to comment below and I will respond asap.
