Club Anastasia

British families and couples make up the vast majority of the guests at Club Anastasia, whose arched entryway seems to promise grander things than it delivers. The simple lobby looks out on the sun-beaten main pool area around which the hotel complex is arranged. Daily and nightly activities center around the pool, too, with afternoon sunbathing interspersed with staff-led synchronized dance routines. The space is cleared at night to make room for evening entertainment on an adjacent stage. Boisterous music plays throughout the day -- too loud for some -- so there’s rarely a quiet moment, but always something to do, and many guests give high marks to the animation team and the rest of the staff for keeping the entertainment coming. The hotel works with travel companies including Thomas Cook and Jet2holidays to bring in guests. Like many other hotels in Marmaris, Club Anastasia is open May through October only.

The four-story Anastasia is surrounded by similarly sized and styled resorts, with little to distinguish one street in the area from the next. Restaurants and small shops catering to tourists are scattered along two nearby main roads, which intersect two short blocks from the hotel. It’s a 15-minute walk to the Marmaris shorefront, where there’s a decent public beach and a long line of bars, restaurants and cafes, most with their own small patches of sand. The Marmaris castle and the town’s marina, the departure point for excursion boats, are about 10 minutes by car, as is the main bus station. The beaches of İçmeler, a neighboring resort area, are a 10-minute drive in the opposite direction and also reachable by public transportation (minibus). Dalaman Airport, the closest arrival point for flights from Istanbul and some international destinations, is about 90 minutes away by car.

All units at Club Anastasia are mini-apartments with kitchenettes, seating areas with sofa beds, and separate bedrooms. There are eight larger apartments with two sofa beds suitable for families of up to five people. All rooms have a balcony with space for two chairs; about a third face the pool area and the rest face nearby buildings. Four rooms have two balconies each. The top-floor rooms have vaulted ceilings that some guests complain are low.Units are spacious, but there's inexpensive furniture and little decor to speak of, with only a few splashes of color such as neon-green couches and purple curtains, and they feel spare. The overhead lighting is dim, and rooms lack electrical outlets in key spots, such as by the bedside tables. Apartments are generally tidy, though not completely spotless. The kitchenettes have countertops with two electric burners, mini-fridges, sinks, kettles, and a small supply of basic cookware and dishes. In addition to the sofa beds, living areas are equipped with small tables and two chairs, and tiny wall-mounted flat-screen TVs. Air-conditioning is free in bedrooms but a surcharge is assessed for use of second units in living rooms, and for use of the in-room safes. Bathrooms are basic but functional, with either showers or shower/tub combos, and limited amenities including soap, shampoo, and hairdryers.

Club Anastasia offers an attractive array of amenities that cater to its family-heavy clientele. The resort's central courtyard is dominated by a medium-size pool surrounded by sunbeds. There’s a small second pool off to one side, as well as a separate wading area for small children that's part of the kids’ club. The poolside Havana Bar serves food during the day and drinks until late, but does not accept cash or credit cards. Upon arriving at the hotel, guests must instead put money on a “club card” that can be spent at the bar. While the money on club cards can be refunded if the card is lost, any balance remaining at the end of a guest’s stay will not be returned.The Havana Bar menu is a limited version of the one available in the street-facing Bella Blu restaurant, which focuses on Italian pizza and pasta dishes. Breakfast is also served for a fee in the Bella Blu space, with options including omelets, English breakfast (eggs, beans, sausages), and Turkish breakfast (cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers). Most guests opt to self-cater and pay separately for any meals they have at the restaurant, but bed-and-breakfast and half-board rates (drinks not included) are also available. There's also room service for an extra charge. The lively entertainment program changes every two weeks, featuring nightly events lasting until midnight, including karaoke competitions, retro dance parties, breakdancing shows, comedy nights, and “Turkish night” (a Turkish buffet accompanied by belly-dancing and folk-music performances).For kids, there's an animation team, and organized activities such as movies, snack time, and arts-and-crafts for no extra charge at the kids’ club, housed in a small playhouse with an adjacent playground. Next to the kids’ club, an open-air ground-floor game room contains air hockey, ping-pong, and pool tables alongside video games and two computer stations. There’s a fee for playing all games as well as accessing the internet from the computers.Downstairs from reception, a small spa offers a Turkish bath, a massage room with a whirlpool tub, and a relaxation area with a skylight. Other on-site services include a small shop selling snacks, sunscreen, and pool toys, a hairdresser, a tattoo and piercing parlor, a jewelry shop, and a 24-hour nurse. Tour company reps are on hand to book excursions such as boat and jeep tours of the local area. Guests with limited mobility should be aware that the hotel doesn't have an elevator. Wi-Fi is free in public areas throughout the hotel.