I booked a holiday to Ichemler from 30 Jun 2012 to 7 July 2012. The holiday involved flights, airport transfers and hotel accommodation for two adults. My comments on the 3 individual elements are:
Flights - with Jet2. Adequate but very much a 'budget' airline with old aircraft and a final flight cost the same as a standard airline once all the hidden extras have been paid. In my view it would be better to use a standard carrier, such as Turkish Airlines, as the end cost is more or less the same and the service offered is very much better. Compare the total of cost flying and not the pretend up-front cost suggested by the budget airline before deciding.
Transfers - excellent in both directions but the 20 minute rest stop to enable the driver to present a bus full of potential customers to his mate was an unnecessary waste of time.
Hotel - Grand Aquarium Icmeler (GA). On arrival we were informed that 'a plumbing problem' had necessitated our accommodation to be moved to the sister Club Aquarium hotel (CA). This happened at 01:30 after a long day and as we were due to share the holiday with other family members arriving later we were, to say the least, disappointed. We were informed that the other members of the party had been moved also and that we would, therefore, all be in the same location and any problems would be sorted out the following day. When the next day came we were shown around the GA but decided to stay at the CA as, for our party of 6 ranging from 15 years to 64 years, the CA was a far better location. The GA is small and crowded with families of small children. Hence the noise is high and the available space low. It is also a 'bowl' surrounded by the accommodation blocks and some awful water slide that is only open for 2 half hour periods per day. On the other hand the CA is open and really designed for guests in their mid-teens and upwards. It is in a raised, open location that offers an airy feeling and an excellent view of the town and Marmaris bay. The CA turned out to be an excellent hotel for our needs which I would rate at around a 2-3 star level. It is around 15 minutes walk from the main town centre where there are plenty of bars and hotels, but the hotel also serves good food throughout the day and in the evening for those who want to stay out. It is a great shame that the hotel staff had to use subterfuge through a pretence of plumbing problems to locate us in what was by far a better location than the GA for us. They obviously knew best and the result was an enjoyable, refreshing family holiday, but it would have been without any grief at all if we had been told the truth instead of a highly dubious pretence on arrival (or even before). The bottom line is that the GA is really aimed at young couples and families with young children while the CA caters for more adult clients and families with teenage children. Both hotels are good at what they do and I would recommend them to anyone - but choose the one that suits you best. One final comment; all the staff at the CA were very good with most of them having a fair command of English. They were helpful and enthusiastic and deserving of positive comment.