I didn’t think Turkey all-inclusives were for me… until this trip

Two options quickly emerged: one of the glamorous “all in” megahotels of which I’d been wary, and a quieter, pared-back “all out” experience. Each appealed to different members of the family, so we tried both, starting with the discreet, intimate calm of Bijal.

A longer sweep of the lobby and the gardens beyond revealed an oasis of calm. The open-plan restaurant and terrace combine in harmony with the swimming pool and mature greenery. The odd pop of yellow was an unexpected departure from the customary Succession-style palette of earthy neutrals (although there are plenty of those too), and oddly cheering — especially for the 12-year-old son, whose yellow and black Dortmund football shirt matched perfectly.

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The villas at Bijal have their own pool, just big enough for lazy pre-breakfast lengths (me) and boisterous games of water football (you can guess who). That’s when my son could persuade his dad to get out of our gigantic bed. The beds were a highlight, despite our two-bedroom villa’s not inconsiderable sundeck, stylish lounge and swish minibar. I blame the resort’s addictively slow rhythm.

Just a few minutes’ stroll or ride (if you borrow a bicycle) along lushly planted paths, Bijal’s gorgeous beach is dotted with clusters of sunbeds and has gently shelving yellow (very on-brand) sand leading to the gently lapping Mediterranean sea. Our private cabana proved the perfect shady spot for school revision, and my daughter was helped no end by the fattest, furriest, purriest of stray cats.

Meanwhile, I made good use of the cabana’s deck for sunbathing while watching the boys do headers in the sea. October temperatures of 22C to 24C add to the relaxing vibe. There’s an infinity pool overlooking the beach, but for us it couldn’t compete with the sea.

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Entertainment here is not the high-energy, megawatt type — walk either way up the beach and you’ll find plenty of places with that — in fact, there is one available for Bijal guests to use in its sister hotel next door, the Ali Bey. At Bijal, entertainment is of the more old-school, make-your-own fun type, with table tennis, jumbo Jenga and chess boards dotted around the resort — good, old-fashioned lo-fi family fun (although I did break away for a delicious solo massage at the bijou spa).

Maybe it was just a low-season thing, but the restaurants were not busy, affording intimacy at the expense of a bit of a buzz. If you like private dining, you’ll love it. Breakfasts, the only meal to offer people-watching, tended towards regional dishes, with the Georgian khachapuri a big favourite (“breakfast egg pizza” has been requested at home several times since).

Lunchtime nachos in the Beach House restaurant were accompanied by the ubiquitous cute cats. Dinners in the Club House restaurant were delicious with prawns, sea bass, burgers and risotto being the standout dishes. While our villa butler service, provided by softly spoken Bunyod, was impeccable, the table service was patchy.

We were loath to leave the villa, but an evening tour of the historic Side, five minutes’ drive away, was well worth the effort: history buffs, sunset worshippers and football-shirt shoppers were all equally entranced.

Side’s ruins are among some of the most archeologically notable in the region and cover a large promontory separated from the main town by a wall and a moat. Our favourite spot was the colonnaded street of the huge 2nd-century theatre complex, accessed through a Hellenistic gate in the well-preserved city walls. The area was brought to life by our passionate and engaging guide, a former history teacher and a master storyteller who even had my son spellbound, especially when at sundown he extended the tour to take in some of Side’s storybook cobbled streets and their shops.

There’s not much that will entice the 15-year-old away from her books (nor me my sunbed), but horses will do the trick and we ventured into the sandy forest that borders the resort, where locals picnic and ride quad bikes. We rode plucky, well-cared-for ponies through wooded trails, through the building site of Mandguat (not the highlight) and then galloped on the sands.

Having fallen hard for Bijal, it was a somewhat reluctant family that set off for part two of the trip — to the ultra-all-inclusive resort. An hour south along the coast from Antalya, we were propelled into the dazzling lobby of the Maxx Royal Kemer Resort, a shiny black aircraft hangar of a hotel entrance not-so-subtly hinting at the excess to come. Everything served at the futuristic chrome and ebony cocktail bar, patisserie, fine chocolatier, ice-cream parlour and coffee shop screamed “Eat me!” or “Drink me!”.

Once outside, however, the brutalist exterior softens in context. It’s artfully designed to be at one with its environment and the stone could have been hewn from the nearby mountain. The “village square” of stylish restaurants gives out to tree-lined lawns, a lounge bar, a huge pool and a sunbed-scattered lawn that borders a craggy, sheltered bay. This is luxury holidaying at scale: a carefully designed paradise catering to every holiday desire.

Here, there is no need to seek out fun; you fall over it. If you wanted to, you could fill every minute of every day with sports and activities. And goats. Did I mention the goats? We have form with these four-legged friends at home and it seems we couldn’t escape them even on holiday. The hotel is rightly tolerant of these native animals, who shimmy up and down the sheer rock faces that surround the hotel with grace and agility, and graze around the guests.

The cliff face borders two of three rocky beaches, providing shade during the day and a spectacular backdrop for bands and shows by night. The resort is big enough to absorb low to high-tempo entertainment every night, depending on your vibe, and after hours a DJ performs at a clifftop bar.

There is also a central lagoon-style swimming pool flanked by two-storey villas, including ours. A sympathetic mix of architecture and planting means it works aesthetically and practically. The bottom deck of our villa spent most of the day in dappled shade from the native Nerium oleander trees and their pretty pink flowers — no one managed to laze here for more than ten minutes without napping.

Viewed from the top-deck hot tub, the pool could be a natural waterway. It’s unheated in a bracing-wild-swim kind of way, and a 20-minute swim became an evening joy for me and the normally aqua-averse husband. We even got the 12-year-old to try it, albeit on the morning we were due to leave.

And so we go all in, from padel tennis to sliding down the (discreetly placed) water slides, to beach days and swims in the sea. Our cabana on the stylishly post-apocalyptic stony beach (Mad Maxx?) had a minibar and butler service, and we were surprised that after multiple-course breakfasts (well you try to resist a Maxx Royal Kemer breakfast buffet) we still had room for burgers and fries at lunchtime. In my defence, I tried to claim the fruit plate each morning, but there was a permanent queue of goats who seemed to take priority.

In this everything-is-possible kind of place, scale sometimes overwhelms the service and despite its five-star status there was occasionally a whiff of mass catering. But in the main, the food was excellent and the main village bar had expert mixologists ready to deftly produce your tipple of choice (the amaretto sours are world class).

At the Gastro restaurant there’s a tasting menu by the chef Alfredo Russo, who has worked at two Michelin-starred restaurants. The kids dug in and gamely tried all the dishes, but with hindsight it should have been for grown-ups only. Despite the residual bling of the resort, the dress code is surprisingly casual, although as a Brit it was unnerving to see people in fleeces when the temperature was above 10C.

Bishoku, a teppanyaki restaurant next door, had noisy theatrics that tempted us on our final night. We had Mexican on the seafront, moreish Italian at Kalamatas in the village square and mouthwatering steaks at the poolside Bronze steak house.

We attempted to counterbalance the overindulgence with a new holiday habit: family gym visits, along with time in the well-equipped thermal spa and massages.

All consuming, all absorbing. And. So. Much. Fun. But which is best? You decide. I couldn’t possibly.
Claire Irvin was a guest of Holiday Extras, which has seven days’ meet-and-greet parking from £110 (holidayextras.com) and the Bijal and Maxx Royal Kemer resorts. Destinology has seven nights’ all-inclusive — three at Bijal and four at Maxx Royal Kemer — from £3,899pp, including flights (destinology.co.uk)

Five more beach breaks in Turkey

By Oliver Bilgutay

Kalkan, Antalya

Described as the closest place on earth to the stars by the Greek philosopher Herodotus, Kalkan is an ever-expanding tourist hub on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. With its turquoise waters, pebble beaches and amazing breadth of bars and restaurants, it’s an obvious charmer. But its special draw is its port, for daily boat tours to bays and beaches inaccessible by car. And it’s easily paired with visits to pretty coastal villages and modern towns such as Kas and Fethiye. Minik, a traditional two-bedroom house with a private garden and roof terrace, is a lovely stay in the heart of the old town.
Details One night’s self-catering for four from £114 (korsankalkan.com). Fly to Dalaman

Kas, Antalya

With all the winding streets and cobblestone paths you’d ask from a Mediterranean town, Kas also has beach bars and is famed for its all-hours nightlife. The street food comes into its own after dark; be sure to try the mussels, a Kas specialty. Start your weekend at the Friday produce market, then catch a 20-minute ferry to the Greek island of Meis, to roam its colourful village and take in the view from the hilltop church. The simple, stylish, 24-room Kas Athena Hotel recently opened in the centre of town. Grab a room with a balcony on the harbour side to watch the boats come in and out.
Details B&B doubles from £49 (kasathenahotel.com). Fly to Dalaman

Kekova, Antalya

Severed from the mainland east of Kas and accessible only by boat, the island of Kekova is a Unesco world heritage site and has a real off-the-beaten-track allure. Its shoreline is dotted with small, simple B&Bs and restaurants built among the ruins of an ancient settlement — head out on a kayak tour for the best views of this fascinating place before returning to feast on terrific local lobster (kayak tours from £50pp; kekovatravel.com). Ankh Pansion, which has a restaurant and its own private swimming deck on the waterfront, is basic, but as charming as Kekova itself.
Details Room-only doubles from £160 (ankhpansion.com). Fly to Dalaman or Antalya

Alacati, Izmir

Instantly recognisable for its luxury beach clubs and stone houses covered in flowers, the Aegean town of Alacati is a hotspot for domestic tourism, and is within easy reach of Izmir and Istanbul. It’s like a chilled out, less glitzy version of Bodrum. Some of Turkey’s best vineyards are located here, and there’s a collection of fantastic small galleries. The cute but basic Casa Alegre is on a beautiful, cobbled back street and its nine rooms are decorated with local artwork.
Details B&B doubles from £50 (casaalegrealacati.com). Fly to Izmir

Urla, Izmir

There’s a culinary revolution happening in Urla, spearheaded by the unpretentious farm-to-table restaurant Od, which earned its first Michelin star in 2024 (set menus from £85; odurla.com). Lively by night, by day the Aegean city is calm and understated. After a morning at one of the many nearby beaches, stroll down Sanat Sokagi, Urla’s “art street”, to browse the independent shops and enjoy good, strong Turkish coffee. The sumptuous Gumruk hotel is in a refurbished Ottoman customs building in Urla’s small harbour, with rooms overhanging the water and a renowned courtyard restaurant and cocktail bar.
Details B&B doubles from £120 (gumrukurla.com). Fly to Izmir

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