For those familiar with Antalya, Turkey

Hi Tammy! I am headed there this fall on a Gate 1 tour. I'll be able to give much better information after that. I do know that our tour is staying at this hotel.

https://akrahotels.com/en/hotels/akra-antalya/

I have spent a lot of time in Antalya. Basically, there are two types of hotels: resort hotels along the coastline and boutique hotels in Old Town/Kaleici.

If you want a view of the Mediterranean, your best bet is at one of the two "beaches" in Antalya: Lara to the south and Konyaalti to the north. Lara is not really a beach, but more like platforms where you can sun yourself over the sea. Konyaalti is more like a traditional beach, but it looked pretty rocky to me.

I have stayed at the Akra, one of the resort hotels in Lara Beach, twice. It is your standard resort hotel. You can get a room with a balcony that overlooks the Mediterranean. (I think that the Akra is/was the hotel for Rick Steves' tours.) There are bunch of other hotels close by, but the Akra is probably the best bet.

My preference, though, is for the boutique hotels in Kaleici. Most are in restored Ottoman houses and offer a more unique experience than the big beach hotels. There are also a lot of interesting places --- a Roman fortress, the marina, and much more -- within walking distance. In addition, you have better access to transit options in Kaleici.

I stayed at Eski Masal in Kaleici for two weeks and loved it. It's a small family-run hotel with 7(?) guest rooms. I have also heard good things about Tuvana, Puding Marina, Dogan, and Ruin Adalya. Although some of the hotels in Kaleici advertise a view of the Mediterranean, I wouldn't choose Kaleici for the sea views. Of those hotels, Puding Marina (and possibly a few rooms at Dogan) would be the only ones on my list with a view of the Mediterranean.

Finally, I am more of a picture person than a word person. Photos of Antalya are here. The sunset photos were taken from my balcony at the Akra.

https://mariematthews.smugmug.com/Antalya-2022

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

Thank you Carol, look forward to hearing about it!

Marie, thank you very much, that is very helpful. Two weeks wow, did you run out of things to do?

@Tammy, actually I have spent a total of five weeks there since 2021. It's a long story. The bottom line is that I didn't especially care for Antalya on my first (brief) visit, but when I wound up with several extended stays I discovered that the longer I stayed there the more I liked it.

It's definitely a tourist town, nowadays mostly a Russian tourist town, with the infrastructure to handle a lot of tourists. I jokingly refer to it as "Cancun for Russians"; The NY Times calls it "Moscow on the Mediterranean." I was reading the other day that it is the third most visited city in the world, after London and Dubai, which really surprised me. Don't know whether that's true.

What I liked most about it were all the ancient sites and cities within day trip distance. I just couldn't get enough of them. You can read more about it in my trip report here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/ancient-cities-of-western-turkey

Once you get beneath the surface and explore a bit, it's a quite interesting, and, no, I never ran out of things to do.

I will ask my suitcase. It went on vacation there once while I was in Salzburg.

Thank you Marie! Very helpful information.

TTM-LOL!

FWIW our RS tour stayed at the Ninova https://www.theninova.com/ Beautiful garden, nice (though some rather small) rooms. I thought the location was great, but not a "views" place. I believe CWSocial and I agreed it would be a rather fine place to get stuck, if one were to get stuck in Antalya.

Marie is spot on with her advice. Personally, I loved staying in Kaleici in an old Ottoman House turned boutique Hotel. The inner harbor is so beautiful with twisting car free streets. Next thing you know you stumbled into Hadrian’s Gate. Boom. History in your face. The tram and bus lines are right there to explore Lara Beach or zip to the airport. Contemplate life laying on a marble slab under a 600 year old domed ceiling at Sefa Hamam. I went twice.

What did she call it, “ Moscow on the Mediterranean “? Yep, that’s Lara Beach. Turkyie still accepts Russian rubles, forbidden in the EU, so it’s a hot spot for Russian vacationers that can’t spend their money elsewhere. I visited several resorts along the beach and found it definitely catered to them. No judgement. Just observation. Lots of signage, menus, drinks with a nod to Russia. Nice for a sand beach with an “international which hotel chain are when in now” spot.
Antalya surprised me. I’d go back. Btw - I stayed at Hotel 1207 in Kaleici. I was treated like a Queen for a shockingly modest price as a solo women. Gorgeous, huge room. Bring earplugs, it’s a centuries old Ottoman house deep with the car free zone but it’s creaky.