The Metin Hotel is a small, and friendly, family run hotel in Dalyan, Turkey. The hotel is rated as a 3 star and consists of 25 standard room, 19 triple rooms and 3 family rooms. There are also 5 self catering apartments that will sleep up to 4 people.?
The hotel offers bed and breakfast or half board basis, but not all-inclusive packages, which is not a bad thing?sincce as?guests are paying for food and?drink the quality is better and I think the hotel provides a better service, otherwise the guests are just going to venture out and eat in the many alternative restaurants in the town.
?Prices vary greatly and depend upon what room you want, whether you are bed and breakfast or half board and the time of year. Current prices, and details about the Metin can be found on their website. One thing I would stress is that the prices are very reasonable compared to other 3 star hotels in the area and the Metin offers fantastic value for money.
?****Location****?
Being right in the middle of town there are plenty of restaurants, bars and cafes close by for evening meals and there are late opening gift shops, souvenir shops, market stalls, jewelers etc. for you to peruse after dinner, if that is your sort of thing.?
A five minute walk away is the river where you can look at the Lycian rock tombs in the cliff over-looking the river (a famous landmark of Dalyan) or just watch the boats go by.?The river is busy?but it is a nice place to sit, with a beer of course, and just soak up the atmosphere at one of the restaurants along the riverside.
The location of the Metin Hotel is perfect and with everything so close to hand Taxis are not needed, unless you wish to venture out to other towns, but with so much to do and see in Dalyan there really is no need.?
****Reception****?
The reception is clean, light and fresh looking. The desk is manned 24 hours a day so there is always someone to offer help and assistance as required.?
The day-time receptionist is fantastic. She is friendly, helpful, accommodating and speaks fluent English. She is also very hard working and appears to almost live there (she starts at 9.00 a.m. and can be seen up until gone 11.00 p.m. most nights) and works every day.?
****The rooms****?
The rooms are basic (even the pricier ones) but are more than adequate and represent great value for money.? The exact room will obviously depend on what you book, but with double, twin and single rooms available there is something for everyone. All rooms are equipped with a fridge, (which is stocked up on a daily basis, providing you use it of course), air conditioning (an absolute must have for those hot Turkish nights) and a balcony or veranda regardless of what option you take. The inclusion of a balcony/veranda for every room is great and I have been to many hotels where this is not the case.?
The room was light, airy and very clean, which is always a good thing. The bathroom was a good size and contained a full sized mirror, a fully functioning western style toilet and a powerful shower. Everything was clean and in full working order so we had no complaints about the room whatsoever.
****Room cleanliness****?
Whilst the maids went in to our room every day I did sometimes question what they did. On a daily basis the beds were always made (exactly how depended on which maid did it ? although there were some very nice and personal touches) and the bins were always emptied. The whole room was obviously cleaned during our stay, and the bedding and towels changed but it is not possible to comment on the frequency. One thing I should point out is that the room was never dirty, the bedding was always clean and I never had a dirty or wet towel (even if they weren?t replaced every day) so I was more than happy and think the maids did a great job.?
****The pool****?
The hotel offers a large circular pool that is open from daylight until the evening meal is served. The water is clear and clean (just like a pool should be) and it is not too chlorinated. It is not particularly deep but it is more than enough to swim in. It is also deep enough to jump in to should you wish. ?
You hear of many horror stories about the state of hotel pools and the effects the water has on guest?s ears, eyes and skin. I can honestly say that we never had any problems whatsoever, nor did we hear of any and we used the pool every day on our two-week holiday.?
The main pool area is kept very clean and is washed down every morning, without fail. There is a carpet running from reception to all blocks to make sure you don?t burn your feet on the concrete in the midday sun.
?****The bar area****?
To the side of the pool is the hotel bar, which is basically a shed. Whilst it is not that flash or modern looking, it serves its purpose of selling drinks very well. You can sit up against the bar should you wish, but considering there are plenty of tables around the bar, and under the shade of trees, there is really no need to prop the bar up.?
Being in the same area as the pool there is a great atmosphere in the bar area, which gets even better at night once everyone vacates the pool. During the evenings, the sprinkler fountain in the pool is turned on and it leads to a very tranquil and peaceful setting with soft music playing in the background. The music is predominantly English, which is a shame, although there is sometimes traditional Turkish music playing during the evenings. One thing I did notice is the music is momentarily stopped when the man at the mosque (in the centre of Dalyan) starts the ritual prayers.?
The bar opens at 11.00 a.m. every morning. There doesn?t appear to be an official closing time as the bar staff appear to be keen to serve as long as the guests are drinking. Some nights the bar was serving through until 2.00 a.m. whereas other nights it had closed by 11.00 p.m.?
Whilst abroad I only drink the local drink. The hotel bar served the local beer (Effes ? which is a great lager) and local wines, as well as the Turkish signature drink of Raki. The local drinks were the same prices as we paid in other bars and restaurants so there really is no need to drink elsewhere.? The bar also sells the branded drinks, most of which are imported, and these are very expensive compared to Turkish drinks. ?
****Breakfast****?
Breakfast is served from 8.00 a.m. until 10.00 a.m. and is available from the sun terrace at the top of the C block, unless it is raining, in which case it is held in the room near the reception and entrance lobby.
?Breakfast on the sun terrace is great as it can provide some fantastic views, depending on where you sit. The prime location is on the East side where you can see mountainous landscape, as well as the famous Lycian rock tombs in the mountains beside the river. I found this view captivating and it was great just sitting there, with a cup of Turkish tea in the morning pondering over what the day was going to bring. Unfortunately, the same side of the terrace provides a more miserable and ?realistic? view of Turkey and shows the lack of money and poverty that some people are in. By glancing down, as opposed to across to the horizon, you can see run down houses, over grown yards that are full of junk, old cars etc. etc. It is strange how you get two contrasting views from the same seat, but I guess it does bring you back to reality.?
The other side of the sun terrace overlooks the pool and bar area, as well as the balconies around those blocks. The pool area is not unattractive, but it wasn?t the most interesting thing to look at either since there was never much going on at breakfast time.?
The breakfast menu is the same every morning and consists of the typical continental style buffet of tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, cheese, ham, olives, bread, yogurt, jams and preserves, cornflakes and the like. There is a small kitchen that cooks up a fried eggs and omelettes but these are an additional cost of 3 YTL, which isn?t that bad really. Drinks include 3 types of fruit juice (more of a squash), Turkish tea, English tea and water. Coffee was never on the menu.?
Despite it being dry there was one morning when breakfast was served in doors. This is not a pleasant experience since the whole reception/lobby area and the dining room is open plan so you can see, and hear, guests talking to the receptionists, waiting for transfers, waiting for tour buses etc. In addition, there is not a lot of room, it fills up very quickly and the views are nowhere near as good as those on the sun terrace.?
****Evening meals****?
The evening meal is served from 8.00 p.m. and all tables are laid al fresco in the pool/bar area providing it is dry. During wet weather, the evening meal is in the room near the reception and entrance lobby.?
The evening meal is always of a buffet style and consists of traditional Turkish food, including meze, main course and desert. Like all food served around Dalyan it is made from fresh ingredients and tastes divine. Meals include things like meatballs, kofte, chicken/lamb/beef stew and casseroles, pasta, salads, peppers, tomatoes etc. The food plentiful and you have the opportunity to go up again and again, depending upon your appetite, greed or what your conscience will let you get away with. I found it was far too easy to get carried away and eat far too much. I just love Turkish food.?
I should point out that there is only one meat per night so it is always worth checking the menu board in reception to see what the evening meal is on a daily basis. Whilst the hotel likes you to book by 3.00 p.m. for the evening meal it is possible to book much later, or just turn up, as you will always get a seat at some point.?
The price of the evening meal was generally 20 YTL to 25 YTL. This is in the price range of most restaurants in Dalyan, and whilst the variety of the menu is not up to that of the other restaurants, you have to weigh this up against the quantity, hence making it excellent value for money.?
Once a week there is a pool side BBQ. The cost of this is 30 YTL?per person, but given both the variety and quantity of meats available, as well as salads etc. this is excellent value and you can really fill your boots. I can?t recommend the BBQ night highly enough although I would suggest missing lunch that day to avoid over eating.?
****Excursions****?
The hotel runs many excursions for its guests. The family have 4 boats between them and these are used to run a variety of trips including:
Early morning turtle watching
A trip across Lake Koycegiz to the market (stopping off at the mud baths on the way back)
Crabbing trips
Mackerel and barracuda fishing trips
A BBQ on the bank of Lake Koycegiz.?
The price of the trips varies depending upon the specific trip. Many other tour operators offer the same trips (obviously on a different boat) and the price the Metin charges is comparable to these in they are no cheaper or no more expensive. This is to be expected, really. One advantage of going with the Metin is that you won?t miss the trip or the tour operator won?t turn, hence it offers piece of mind.?
If you want to hire Metin 1 and Metin 2 (and the captain ? you will not be given free reign of either boat) then it costs 150 YTL?for four hours. Once you?ve hired the boat it is entirely up to your party to decide where you want to go and what you want to do and there is loads to chose from including a simple trip up the river, a trip around Lake Koycegiz, a trip to Turtle Beach, a trip to the mud baths and hot springs etc.?The captain will be more than happy to go where you want to.?
****Booking****?
The Metin can be booked online, through their website, and whilst the hotel will offer a transfer service from and to the airport, the easiest way to book a holiday is to do it all as a package deal through Manos, a part of Thomas Cook.?
****Conclusion****?
Overall the Metin is a great place to stay. It is clean, well maintained, quiet, and offers everything you need for the perfect holiday. The staff are friendly, welcoming and very accommodating.?
It is family friendly and seems to attract ?nice? families. There are hotels that attract ?families from hell?, you know the ones with the screaming kids that are naughty, unruly and uncontrollable along with the mother that constantly screams at them (often to no avail) and the father that just couldn?t care and prefers to sit there with a beer and let it all happen. The Metin is not full of this kind of family, thank goodness.?
It is a quiet hotel and, as such attracts a quieter clientele. Don?t get me wrong, these people like a drink, like to socialize and like to listen to the music played at the bar but also those that like a bit of sleep as well. There are no clubbers (there aren?t any in Dalyan), no extremely drunk people staggering around at all hours, no drunks eating fast food out of a carton dropping most of it on the floor (many of us get the drunken munchies) and no drunks laying in bushes puking up. There is no foul language, no lewd behavior or nudity/streaking and no thuggish behavior, like many Spanish hotels.
??In my opinion the two best things about the Metin is the location (being right in the middle of Dalyan with everything close to hand and not needing taxis or a car) and the extremely friendly and great atmosphere around the place. It is a great place to kick back, chill out and relax.
?If you are after a noisy and vibrant hotel where you can get blindingly drunk (and no one will bat an eyelid) then the Metin is not for you. If you are after more of a sedate hotel, that offers excellent value for money, then the Metin may just be what you are looking for.
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