I took a trip to Club Med’s all-inclusive luxury resort under the Taurus mountains in Turkey – with six pools, four restaurants, a constant sea view and a huge amount to do
Turkey was not a place that fell very high on my list of dream travel destinations. Nor was heading by myself to an all-inclusive mega hotel that specialises in family holidays.
That is, until Club Med put Palmiye on my radar, and now I can’t stop dreaming about the Taurus mountains and tucking into the truly exceptional buffet.
As someone who loves to immerse themselves in the culture of a new place, I have to say I had my doubts about an all-inclusive Turkish experience, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I could absorb without leaving the resort. The stunning, lesser-known coastal spot an hour outside of Antalya, Turkey, is tempting for travellers who want a true holiday experience without the hustle and bustle of tourist towns.
Every day that I woke up at Palmiye, I couldn’t help but look up in awe at the peaks surrounding us, whether it was on my walk to breakfast, lounging around the pool, or looking back out at the resort from the boat. This scenic view acted as the backdrop to all of my moments spent at Club Med, and if I close my eyes, I can still picture them towering over me.
It’s the all-inclusive aspect that appeals to families who are desperate to keep their kids occupied and have a sense of freedom, all within the confines of safety. Of course, being childless and in my twenties, I can’t talk about the experience of family life in Palmiye, but feeling safe and having opportunities to meet new people was also important to me.
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Activities
Club Med Palmiye offers an eye-watering amount of activities for both adults and kids alike – from tennis lessons to paddle, volleyball, Pilates, water skiing, yoga and more. It would be virtually impossible to try and squeeze it all into one week, and they don’t expect you to. The idea is that you can start lessons on your first day and, by the end of the week, potentially have picked up a new skill.
As a solo traveller, it can feel daunting booking onto activities and excursions, whether it’s down to fears of being scammed, your safety, or just the general admin of booking.
I found myself constantly going back to lounge around the zen pool at the very end of the resort, submerging myself in an adult-only area. No screaming kids or splashing water and, more importantly, a bar with a beach view. Although this wasn’t unique to this pool, each one of the resort’s six main pools has a bar right by it and is never far away from the beachfront.
If you’re less of an active traveller and just want to unwind, the Palmiye resort has not one but two spas – one in the Villagio area and another based in the newly renovated hotel. It was here that I lived out my true White Lotus dreams with a relaxing back massage catered to my own choice of scent, product and pressure. After, I entered another dimension by slipping into the sauna. The next time I saw my masseuse was when we were both dancing the night away at the Efes bar.
In fact, that was a common theme throughout my trip: bumping into the Club Med team as though they were old friends. Everyone working at the resort was friendly, fun, happy to help and, most of all, looked like they enjoyed their own free time.
Anne Browaeys, CEO of Club Med, explained the philosophy to me. “What we do have a lot of is groups of friends. It’s a significant part of our clientele, quite specific to the UK market. What they look for when they come to Club Med is that they can be happy together and separately. You can have the ‘me time’ and ‘we time’. And when you go as a group of friends, there’s usually a huge amount of time for someone in the group, spent planning, organising, and aligning the plans. But at Club Med, it’s freedom.”
Food
This resort was ridiculous, in every sense of the word, and I mean that with the utmost positivity. I didn’t know what day it was, my screen time was low, and the food sent me into a dream state. When I talk about enriching yourself in a true Turkish experience, that is where Club Med’s incredible chefs come on board, across their four in-house restaurants.
Like any vegetarian, I go into a restaurant with anxiety that I’ll get lumped with a lack of choice, but here it was quite the opposite – I was overwhelmed. The Olympus restaurant offers a chef that specialises in their own cuisine, prepped there and then in a live-cooking station – whether you want a true Turkish kebab, trusty Italian dishes or Asian-inspired foods, you are truly spoilt for choice.
Almost all of the produce is sourced locally, and so while you’re dining, you know you’re tucking into true Turkish cheeses, chicken and salads. As someone who loves nothing more than a Greek salad on holiday, I couldn’t have asked for more from the Olympus, where they deliver an entire station with chopping boards so you can customise and build your own salads.
I couldn’t help but be blown away by the settings in which the Topkapi restaurant sits. It has a stream running alongside it and blue waters that you overlook from the terraces.
Entertainment
There ain’t no party like a Club Med party. The brand’s slightly unhinged twist on entertainment is perfect for getting everyone involved, even the most apprehensive of Brits. From their theatrical performances in the huge amphitheatre, their early evening jazz-esque singers, or their full-blown dance parties, wherever the staff were, the party was.
Above all, the standout nighttime entertainment had to be at the Club Med White Party, which I was informed is a weekly occurrence across all of their resorts. Not only are you greeted by a sit-down, all-white setting, reminiscent of an extravagant wedding, paired with mouth-watering food, but also five-star entertainment.
As I tucked into my food, I watched beautiful acrobatic routines before the resort’s manager kicked off the night’s dance party. Before I knew it, there were drummers, dancers and sparklers galore, circling their way through the crowd. When we practically conga-lined our way over to the Efes bar, there were dancers on podiums, a trusty DJ, and a saxophone player on the dancefloor – it was as though Club Med had transformed itself into an Ibiza beach club for one night only.
Newly renovated hotel
When the day is done, whether it’s an early night or an early morning finish after partying until the bar shuts at 1am, you have the option of staying in a newly renovated hotel room. Fresh, modern, and with a Mediterranean vibe to it, with an endless number of rooms offering both pool and sea views, I couldn’t really complain.
One of my favourite aspects of the resort was that your all-inclusive wristband also worked as your room key. It sounds so simple, but my god was it handy; I could bid farewell to the stress of losing a room key, and it also meant that for people sharing a room, especially families, they never had to worry about sending the other back off to the room.
Everything about the hotel screams ‘relax’, from the light wash colours of the décor, to the quiet ambience inside, and the way every room and exit flows into one another, so you’re never finding yourself lost.
Decades after its opening, the resort had no choice but to roll with the times and innovate. The CEO of Club Med further explained: “What we see is that our clients want it all. We’re in the post-pandemic world, and holidays are an even more important moment of their lives. And the summer holiday when it’s with the family and parents and kids, is something memorable you want for the year. And so when they have it, they want both the great infrastructure and the great experience.
“We see our client when they’re on vacation, first they want to rest, and then they want to catch up for all the time they’ve lost. So investing in the renovation is both offering a great place for sleep and the food, but then having that on top of the unchanged.”
My stay at Club Med Palmiye has most definitely made me rethink the idea of travelling to more all-inclusive resorts; they know just how to do it right. I’ve spent an extortionate amount on food and drinks on holidays before I even got around to looking at activities or travel to excursions, so at a price starting from £1,981 per adult, I think it’s great value for money. Not only do I think you get your money’s worth, but you also get the trip of a lifetime.
Book your stay
A seven-night all-inclusive stay at Club Med Palmiye, Turkey, starts from £2,654 per adult (based on double occupancy) with return flights from London (LGW) and transfers.
Without flights, seven-night all-inclusive stays start from £1,981 per adult (based on double occupancy). You can find out more and book on clubmed.co.uk.