Antalya

2022

Booked a last min autumn getaway with my sister to relax and unwind after a busy period at work and to celebrate running the London marathon – wanted guaranteed sun, got thunderstorms. You can see a little video here.

Travel & Accommodation
As you will know from this travel blog, I’m not usually one for an all inclusive / package holiday. However, work and life has been SO busy and I had no time whatsoever to plan, so we booked through LoveHolidays so everything was taken care of.

4 nights at the 5* Lara Barut Collection in Antalya was £1,100 per person including return flights from Stansted and airport transfers in Turkey.

The resort was gorgeous and I think really good value for money. If the sun was shining the whole time, it would have been idyllic!

As it did not, the focus of our trip was the food and drink! There is a main restaurant which you don’t have to make reservations for, then there are a number of restaurants around the resort which you can make reservations for via the hotel app up to 3 days before.

I was super impressed by the food…

Sandal Restaurant
You can walk into Sandal which is conveniently located by the beach for breakfast and lunch, but you need to make a reservation for dinner. During the evening, seafood is its speciality and, as a big seafood fan, it didn’t disappoint. You can order as much as you want – the swordfish and prawns were particularly good.

There’s also an extensive list for breakfast and lunch and everything comes made to order.

Tirmis
Open for dinner only, delicious regional and local dishes are served here. Bloody delicious!

Iro Sushi
Try this proper sushi bar for something a little different. Didn’t actually take any pictures of the food (apart from our fried ice-cream) but you can take as much as you like from the moving sushi bar. Good quality and different vibe to the other restaurants.

Turnuc
This restaurant located on the lagoon became our preferred place for breakfast and lunch (although I didn’t get too many pics).

Zestful Bazaar
This is the main restaurant which has an extensive buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We would usually head here for treats or second breakfasts and lunches.

You’ve got to get one of the little dough balls (I can’t remember what they’re called but they’re like puffs of deliciousness) and cover them in chocolate.

Patisserie / Coffee Shop
There’s also a little coffee shop / patisserie which is open all day and serves pastries / chocolate / drinks!

Bars
There are a few bars around the resort and the best one is definitely on the beach.

They make amazing cocktails and have live music during the day and the evening. If the weather had been nicer I reckon this place would have been buzzing.

There are also shows on every night and they were actually pretty good (although I’m not sure about the health and safety!!) They put on a full on Oktoberfest event on the last night and there’s a small waterpark too.

All in all this was a lovely holiday, even with the rain! Would be a perfect option for a relaxing break for a couple or young family looking for great service, delicious food, and good vibes.