Letoonia Club - Fethiye (*****)

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First Choice give this hotel a rating of 4* in its brochure. In fact it is a
5* hotel with superior All Inclusive and it is excellent in all areas. The
whole resort is self contained on a beautiful pine clad peninsula that juts
out into the bay of Fethiye. The views across the bay and of the surrounding
mountains are lovely. The grounds are extensive and impressive, planted with
many palms, cactus, bouganvillea, jasmine and many other plants and shrubs,
all of which are maintained by an army of gardeners. The club rooms which
are comfortable are dotted around the grounds and provide some gorgeous views
from the balcony. Many of the club rooms are up hills and steps, so these
may be a problem for some people. There is also a main hotel building which
would be more suitable for those that don't like steps or hills.

STAFF
The staff at the resort all work very hard to ensure that customers have a
great holiday. They were all friendly, helpful and could not do enough to
help. The standard of service was exceptional throughout our holiday an I
think the First Choice rep, Bryan, probably has the easiest job in the world
here as I cannot imagine he gets too many complaints!

FOOD
There are 3 main buffet style restaurants, all of which provided a vast
choice of delicious food. Even our fussy teenagers were more than happy with
what was on offer. There are 3 a la carte restaurants (Turkish - excellent,
Fish - very nice, and Sushi - didn't try this one so no opinion) which
require reservation to be made between 9 and 10 that morning. Get there
early as places are limited and the restaurants are popular. In fact making
the reservation was the only thing we had to queue for in the whole week!

ENTERTAINMENT
Animation team organise activities and competitions throughout the day.
Evening show every night in the amphitheatre - we watched two and enjoyed
them. Wide variety of things to do - windsurfing, canoing, pedalos, sailing
etc all included. Additional charges for powered water sports - banana boat,
jetski etc. 3 swimming pools, all immaculately maintained, and 3 manmade
beaches all with a plentiful supply of sunbeds (although as usual you had to
be up early to secure the best ones). Numerous bars dotted around serving
good choice of alcoholic and soft drinks. Many international brands were
available, not just the locally produced stuff that many AI provide.

MISC
This resort seems to very popular with Russian guests. Our rep estimated
that approx 800 Russians, 400 Brits and a handful of German, Scandinavian and
Dutch were at the resort during our time there.
A free shuttle boat service from the resort to Fethiye is provided and is
well worth a visit. We booked a 12 Islands boat trip at the marina in
Fethiye (£8 per person incl lunch) which was fantastic. Don't book this
through the rep as that would have cost £24 per person.

This holiday was the best one we have ever been on. We will definately be
going back to Letoonia in the future. If your idea of a a perfect holiday is
stress free in a beautiful setting, with great facilities, friendly helpful
staff, delicious food and the odd glass beer/wine/cocktail then you will not
be disappointed.

Ian

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What a fabulous place.

Having read the other review on this website we were looking forward to going
here ; the brochures and photographs just do not do this place justice.

We had the most relaxing week, although there was still plenty to do and we
kept reasonably active. The many steps keep you fit, so it is not suitable for
the less mobile. Normally on holiday we like to hire a car and explore the
surrounding area, but did not feel the need to go further than the town across
the bay; everything we needed was here.

The all-inclusive board option was a great success ; we were a bit sceptical
before travelling as one hears mixed reports. Certainly no-one should go
hungry whilst staying here. The beach a la carte restaurant was magical and
very romantic - well worth a visit, but no good for fussy eaters as there was
no choice of menu. The complex itself was spotlessly clean with very pretty
well-maintained gardens.

What was particularly nice was that very few people were lined-up around the
pool on sunbeds, as we've found in many other places ; this was not necessary
to keep cool or go swimming as you could lie on any one of the numerous sun
beds and/or swing chairs dotted along the 2000 metre coastline. You could
always find a quiet spot. All of the staff were particularly friendly and
helpful.

Our two teenagers enjoyed themselves as they had the freedom to go where they
wanted when they wanted and to do as they pleased without staying with us all
the time. They even had their own room, connected to ours by a short internal
staircase, with their own key. The whole place felt very safe.

We can't wait to go back next year.

Rebecca

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The accommodation is to a good standard and, although not luxurious, is well
appointed, with a fridge, safe and AC in every room. Our particular room, which
was separate from the hotel, had splendid views across Fethiye harbour with the
mountains in the background, which still had snow on at the top in May (despite
the temp being in the 80's on the beach). The all inclusive facility was
exactly that, and the best we have experienced in the Med. The choice of food
available was excellent and varied, frequently cooked fresh whilst you waited.
If you wanted to eat all day, you could. There were two outdoor restaurants and
one main indoor facility plus a snack bar. There was a fresh donut kiosk and
Ice Cream parlour open all day. A huge main bar with other bars dotted around
the complex. Although it was supposed to be local drinks only, if you asked for
a Barcardi & coke, that's what you got. There was a very comprehensive range of
cocktails on offer, very well presented.

Admittedly we were there in May and the resort was only at about one third
capacity but it felt that even fully booked there would be plenty of space for
everyone with many sunbeds, loungers, swing chairs and beach space available.
Great water sport offerings and the staff only too willing to help you try out
something new. Entertainment was excellent and the animation team were always
up for a laugh anytime during the day without being too 'in your face'. As this
resort is on a peninsular with tight security at the only gate into the
complex, they were very relaxed about the all inclusive bit (unlike some
resorts we have been to).

The only time the staff wanted to see your ID cards was at dinner and I feel it
was more a way for the staff to practice their English rather than a serious
check. The resort is kept immaculate with what seems to be an army of
maintenance men and gardeners who beaver away unobtrusively keeping everything
spotless. I even spotted a guy whose job it was to walk along the shoreline
with a net capturing any bit of flotsam that might have ended up on the beach.
A couple of points to bear in mind; some of the rooms are fairly high up on the
side of the hill and it takes a steep climb up narrow steps to reach some of
them. Our parents were struggling a bit with this and asked to be moved lower
down which was done immediately. The other thing that I found was that I enjoy
snorkelling and found the water in Fethiye bay to be a bit murky as there are a
number of large rivers that run into the harbour. However this prompted us to
try Scuba diving further out and that was fabulous. You can get into Fethiye
town from the resort by either boat or taxi and it is well worth a visit on
market day. At first all the shouting and haggling seems a bit intimidating but
once you get into it, it's a lot of fun, especially when you hear the traders
yell out 'Cheaper than Tesco's, cheaper than Oxfam!' Also be aware that no
matter how cheap you find something, it will be cheaper round the corner! The
traders will take Turkish Lire, Euros, or English pounds. All in all we would
thoroughly recommend this resort and hope to revisit it at some time.

Phil