Miramare Queen Hotel, Kumköy, Side, Turkish Riviera
Kumköy-Side is a small holiday resort in Antalya. Side is small оld tоwn оn the so-called Turquoise Coast and ѕtаndѕ in contrast to the big mоdеrn сitiеѕ and rеѕоrtѕ. Sidе hоlidауѕ аrе special thrоugh thе charm оf thiѕ littlе соrnеr оf Antalya, оn the Mеditеrrаnеаn соаѕt. Thе реninѕulа iѕ ѕmаll such that one саn viеw thе оthеr ѕidе and thе sea beyond from one coast. Sidе (whiсh mеаnѕ ‘роmеgrаnаtе’) iѕ very рорulаr among tourist bесаuѕе of its calm sandy bеасhes and awesome weather. In Sidе thе ѕроkеn lаnguаgе is Sidetic. Thе city iѕ аlѕо wеll distinguished thrоugh itѕ riсh сulturаl hеritаgе. In fact, Side hаѕ preserved mаnу of itѕ оld аmрhithеаtrеѕ which are a must-see. Fоr more ѕuсh activities, сhесk thе Sidе Intеrnаtiоnаl Culturе аnd Art Fеѕtivаl. In this section, we review the Miramare Queen Hotel. We did however come across two amazing hotels during our time in Side which are the Royal Dragon Hotel and the Royal Taj Mahal. Both hotels are more expensive but worth the extra money.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT***** The scent around the place is simply awesome — my wife guessed it to be that of Jasmin tree. In 2018, we visited a 5-star resort in Crete, and the service was nowhere near close. The staff at the Miramare are very professional and kindly brought our luggage to the room. In Crete, the bus driver arrogantly told everyone to remove their luggage themselves — I had to help a senior with a child on my other arm. Upon our arrival at the Miramare, we were positively surprised! Even though we arrived at midnight, the restaurant manager opened it for us to eat! We will definitely go back to this hotel. Everyone is very friendly, the staff and the guests — we made a lot of friends (of course mostly German :-). Approximately 90% of hotel guests are German. The palm trees around the hotel is a smart idea. The pool area is large and beautiful. They were so thoughtful to give us a room near the pool area, so we'll have it easy with the kids. The hotel is not isolated, so there are lots of things to do in the small village of Kumköy. Wifi is free and very good. In the past, we have paid for terrible Wifi at 4 and 5-star resorts on Spanish and Greek islands. The dining area is huge and clean. You are allowed to use the amenities of the Miramare Beach Hotel as well. The Miramare Beach features a Basketball court, a Tennis court, huge water sliders in a fun park for kids. This is just awesome!
FOOD****
Food is excellent, although the juice in the morning is not good. Fresh orange juice is only available for an extra fee (2 Euro per glass). In our opinion, this should be served with "all-inclusive." Generally, there are lots of delicious meals to choose from. Lunch can be repetitive, especially at the outdoor (beach) restaurant at the Miramare Beach Hotel. There is grilled chicken and fish, pizza, pasta, vegetables, seafood, fries, and all sorts of bread and cheese. The grill is especially tasty. As mentioned earlier, the variety is quite good, and the views from the Miramare beach (outdoor) restaurant are simply stunning.
RECEPTION*****
The reception areas of both the Miramare Beach and Miramare Queen hotels are very spacious fabulous with a unique luxury feel. The reception staff is very friendly and waiting times are only average about 5 minutes.
THE HOTEL, AMENITIES & LOCATION*****
The Miramare Queen hotel is has a very luxurious and modern feel. The beautiful palm trees around the pool area give it an exotic look. The rooms are small when compared to similar resorts on Spanish and Greek islands. It is worth noting that small double rooms seem to be a general trend in Turkey. The pool area is large and beautiful. However, there is no children's pool. An indoor spa and fitness center is available at the Miramare beach hotel. The hotel is situated in the small village of Kümkoy with no shortage of tourist shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Unlike the Miramare beach hotel which is directly on the beach, the Miramare Queen is a 3 to 5-minute walk from the Kumköy beach. The location of the Miramare Queen Hotel deserves a 5-star rating for not being isolated. It doesn't, however, outclass that of the Iberostar Pinos Park in Font de Sa Cala on the Balearic Island of Majorca. As we have noted in other reviews, there is a trade-off between being directly on the beach and accessibility to small city centers.
AIRPORT AND DISTANCE TO HOTEL*****
The Antalya international airport is an hour's drive away. The route to the airport is not particularly scenic. We were amazed by the excellent waiting times for baggage claim and exit checks at the airport and how smooth other processes were. It is worth noting that on November 6, 2018, the Antalya airport registered its 30 millionth passenger, setting a record. Between January 1, and June 23, 2019, Antalya's international airport welcomed a staggering 4.9 million tourists. In fact, in May 2019, the Mediterranean resort set another world record after recording 76,568 foreign tourists.
CITY CENTER, SHOPPING & NIGHTLIFE*****
The small village of Kumköy is blessed with a wide variety of tourists shops, clothes stores, bars, restaurants, and other beautiful hotels. The metropolitan town of Manavghat is only a 10 minutes drive by bus from Kumköy. The bus to Manavghatsis incredibly cheap (we paid about 1 Euro for two adults, a child, and an infant). We do recommend the Manavghat Basar, which takes place every Thursday. For luxury shopping, please visit the Nova mall, prices are very affordable.
POOL AREA*****
The pool area is beautiful, surrounded by palm trees and featuring a lovely pool bar at one end. The pool is large, and there are enough sun chairs since the resort is not a mass tourism hotel. There is a separate Children's Pool.
THE BEACH*****
Kumköy Beach covers several kilometers of clean and refined sand. The sand reminded us of the magical Sand Dunes of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria. Many little shops sit directly on the beach and offer boats, jet-skis and other fun equipment for beach activities. The beach is not only considerably long but also wide enough to facilitate activities such as beach volleyball, etc. Guests of the Miramare Queen Hotel can use the beach section of the Miramare Beach Hotel and of course other parts of the beach since it is public. In the beach section of the Miramare Hotels, there is a restaurant where lunch is served. Imagine having a nicely grilled steak with views of the turquoise-colored water. The Miramare beach section also features a bar, sun loungers, showers and toilets that are exclusively for hotel guests.
TOURS AND BEACH ACTIVITIES*****
There are several tours available to Antalya and Alanya. To book tours we recommend the little agency at the beginning of the road into Kumköy a few minutes from the hotel. We do not recommend these tours with children.
ENTERTAINMENT & GENERAL ATMOSPHERE
The hotel amenities include colossal water slides and a fun park for kids. Every night the hotel has a few dance events at the main bar. The atmosphere is really great, and the hotel guests are very chatty. The guests are predominantly German. We realized, however, that most of them were from the North-Rhein-Westphalia, a very open-minded part of German (in fact, the most open German state). You will find a lot of seniors who seem to be enjoying life. The overall atmosphere at this hotel is excellent and welcoming. During our stay, many Germans will walk over to us to start a conversation and later on exchange contacts. We received several invitations from guests from Germany.
OTHERS & POINTS OF IMPROVEMENT
Fresh fruit Juice should be served with "All-Inclusive." Overall the cuisine was "very good" but the meals felt a little repetitive. There room for improvement here.