Rixos Down Town Hotel

“ It was very disappointing to see that this hotel has taken a step backwards. They have tried very hard over recent weeks to address their staff and pricing policy issues, but they have slipped back into their old ways, and we probably won't be staying here again.

25 lira for a (small) glass of mediocre Turkish wine? You've got to be kidding. Just two weeks ago, they had brought their prices down to little more than half of that amount - the drop in prices seems to have lasted less than one month. How they think families on holiday for two weeks in the summer are going to afford these prices, I really don't know. Of course we all know that what will happen is that families will smuggle in their own drinks or simply go elsewhere. What a wasted opportunity.

Reception staff are rude, indifferent and inefficient. They seem to get a kick out of ignoring guests, even if the reception is otherwise empty and they clearly have nothing else to do. Despite the fact that we are frequent guests, they would not take our word for it that we'd only had a bottle of mineral water from the minibar - we had to wait while the receptionist called housekeeping not one, but three, times to check that we were telling the truth. Mind you, at 14 Lira, a bottle of mineral water is pretty valuable stuff, after all (it would be less than 1 Lira in the supermarket).

The bar staff and restaurant staff are lovely - it is just the receptionists that are rude and utterly hopeless time after time. If it were my hotel, I would sack the lot of them and start again.

One last comment - on our last two visits, our bottles of toiletries in the bathroom have already been used. While I hate waste, this isn't really acceptable. As they provide two bottles of everything, which seems quite unnecessary, perhaps it would make more sense to only provide one of everything but to replace them each time. I don't know many people that would be keen on using leftover toiletries from previous guests and it isn't something you would expect from a hotel of this standard.

The rooms are very nice, though much too hot on our last two visits. This time, the heating had been turned off, but there was no air conditioning and it was a warm day. Add to that an entire wall of windows facing south to south west and you have something resembling an oven. We had to sleep with the patio doors open - luckily our many years of living in a big city served us well and the traffic noise didn't keep us awake.

This was always such a lovely hotel when Sheraton was operating it, but now it is just a horrid mix of ostentation, over-pricing and poor service. What a shame.

“ Our third stay in as many weeks. The service has improved immeasurably in the last couple of weeks - the management and staff really have tried hard to get things right. Everything was excellent - the service, the room and a delicious breakfast, and, best of all, lots of smiley staff. The hotel management has also taken a decision (very wise, I think) to radically reduce the prices of drinks in the bar and restaurant - the new prices are not much more than half what they were two weeks ago. Few people would have bought drinks at the old prices, so it may well end up making them more profit in the end. It is good that they have listened to what their guests have to say, and then have acted on it very promptly. It's a lovely hotel in a very good location, so I am so pleased that, after a slightly shaky start, things seem to be just as good (or even better!) than when it was operated by Sheraton.

“ This is the second time we have stayed in this hotel in the last two weeks. To my surprise, the hotel's management have actually taken notice of the comments that we made and, in an impressively short space of time, have taken steps to improve things.

The experience we had at the front desk was generally a vast improvement, though they nearly let themselves down at the final hurdle, when two front-desk (male of course) staff did a fine bit of completely ignoring the fact that there was a guest waiting while they held a private conversation over something that could surely have waited?? Luckily, the hotel's guest relations manager was present and she chivvied them into action, though it took even her a couple of attempts before she got them moving. To be quite honest, a few more female staff at the front desk would probably do the trick, since they seem to be the ones doing the work while the blokes stand around trying (and failing) to look important!

Still, the guest relations manager, did confirm that they had also taken note of our remarks - and those, I noticed, of several other recent guests - about the horrendous drinks prices. She assures me that they have undertaken a complete review of their pricing and that the changes are already under way.

Even the coffee had improved in the breakfast room. Last week it was practically undrinkable (and certainly unrecognisable as anything that had ever been on nodding terms with a coffee bean). This week, it was fresh-tasting and most definitely coffee!

The staff in the dining room were as charming as ever, and were ever-present with the coffee pot, water and anything else that needed topping up. The breakfast buffet was fresh, hot and varied, with lots of different dishes to those that we had last week, which suggests that they vary the hot dishes daily - a nice idea if you are staying for more than a day or two.

The room was lovely - we had another great sea view, despite having booked a (cheaper) inland view room, and someone even took the trouble to deliver a plate of lovely fresh fruit, including strawberries, which tend to be rare in this part of the world at this time of the year.

I ordered room service in the evening - the food arrived promptly and was fresh and exceedingly tasty, served with delicious freshly-baked rolls and a very crisp green salad, which wasn't on the menu, but which they happily provided at my request.

Apart from the tiny glitch on departure, it would honestly be difficult to find fault with the Rixos on this occasion.

“ Top Tip: We ate at Lara Balik Evi, a lovely fish restaurant just along the road at Konyaalti Beach. (The original is in Lara, on the other side of the city centre). The food was delicious - unusual meze, lovely fresh sea bass and a particularly good prawn guvec. Service was friendly and attentive and, best of all, it was warm! The mountains which surround Antalya are currently covered in a very thick blanket of snow, so the weather is unusually cold. Lara Balik is not cheap, but the quality is excellent and the sea view in the summer is to die for.

“ Great rooms, excellent breakfast (except the coffee, which is dreadful!), with loads of choice of hot and cold dishes. Lovely staff in the restaurant. Nice, but absolutely inept, staff in reception - expect a long wait at check-in.

Rooms are spacious and comfortable with a sitting area and balcony. Bathrooms have been updated and have big walk-in showers with good pressure. Those on the west side have a lovely sea and mountain view.

Be warned - drinks are VERY expensive. A glass of (horrible, cheap) wine is 25 lira (about £10) and a Turkish local brand gin and tonic 28 lira (about £11). They need to do something about this - it is a complete rip off.

This hotel is still nice, particularly the rooms, but the standard of service has plummeted since Sheraton moved out - you just get the idea that it's very amateurish, whereas it used to be efficient, friendly and very slick. They have an awful lot of work to do to get the hotel back to where it used to be in terms of service. Just being nice is not good enough when you've had a long journey and you want to get to your room.

“ Top Tip: Best restaurant in the area is Arma in the old harbour. Fantastic fish (and steaks if fish doesn't rock your culinary boat) and a view to die for. Get a table on the terrace in the summer or near the fire in the vaulted restaurant in the winter. Don't miss the grilled octopus, which is probably the best you'll ever eat.