Hi, has anyone out there been to Kalem Island the Olivier...

[dshill9703]

Hi, has anyone out there been to Kalem Island the Oliviera resort. We are due to fly out on 12th July and would loveany info you can provide. It looks a great place but I can't seem to find anyone else who has been. Here's hoping!!! Thanks.

[kyshel]

Please let us know as soon as you can report--I've been dying to know about the accomodations and other details. Thanks!

[kerryinch]

Hi - did you go to Kalem Island the Olivera resort? I would love to hear what you thought of it?

[dshill9703]

Stayed for 1 week at Oliviera resort for a special birthday treat and wanted something different and unusual which this certainly is. We booked a sea view chateau tower suite which had a bedroom with ensuite shower, a living room which also had a mini bar in it and a hallway with marble steps that lead upto the the tower where you could have 360 degree views of island incl. the mainland and Lesbos, couldn't have asked for more.

The beach area had loungers etc but also 4 poster daybeds with white muslin drapes which were great because we could lie there all day long, have a swim and stay in the shade as the temps. were over 40 degress while we were there. Sometimes we were on our own or maybe 3 other couples, the w/e seemed to be a bit busier.

Kalem Island has only 1 hotel which is family owned but they do not own the whole island, there are a few houses which seemed to be occupied as holiday homes. It is not the easiest place to get too. We flew from England to Izmir Turkey and arranged through the hotel to have a taxi pick us up and take us to the ferry terminal or should I say pontoon!!! This cost round trip 200 euros and it takes approx over 2 hrs. each way .Be sure and have some water with you or get the taxi driver to stop at a shop on way. The reason I say get the hotel to arrange transport is because it is extremely difficult for drivers to find out where the terminal is and another couple told us of their experience of doing it themselves. It cost the same but they had to swop taxis in Dikili for a local one as their driver got lost. Once you get to the terminal the hotel's boat will pick you up as it's only 400/500 metres across to the island.

There are some things you should know before deciding if this resort is for you. The resort mainly catered for Turkish tourists. The staff were all new and spoke little english, the owner Ali Datar who I believe was educated in the states spoke and understood english with no problem and was very helpful when needed and always asked us if things were ok. We stayed on the island all week as we wanted to chill out but the problem then is the food can be a bit boring and they could do with changing the menu. We had breakfast and dinner incl. and usually had lunch by the beach. The food although fresh was not very exciting and the dinner menu only had 5 choices which stayed the same throughout our stay.

There were problems caused due to lack of english spoken by staff but in fairness they were all very friendly and tried to do their best even when they got it wrong. Although the resort does an all inclusive package if you want, it only includes house red wine and water so beware The drinks are very expensive, branded spirits cost 10/$20 without mixers and the local beer cost 4/$8 for a 300ml bottle. We went on the a boat trip for 1 hour and they sent the hotel mamager with us as the crew person couldn't speak english, this cost 50 and was well worth it. This is not the place for nightlife as there would only be a few people down by the beach side bar after dinner each night.

In our opinion the hotel needs to employ an "experienced "resort manager who speaks good english and not one whose background is engineering. This would have prevented qute a few of the problems we incurred. The existing mgr Delilah always forgot things and always looked like it was all too much for her, we lost count of the times she forgot things it became a standing joke between us.

Overall we really enjoyed Kalem Island because it was just what we wanted and needed ,completly different but do not go if you want refinement ,gourmet cooking and 5 star accomodation as you will be disappointed. If you want to get away from it all and just chill out then please go.

[kyshel]

Thank you for the great review. You really hit the important items, like getting there, getting service, etc. I have been very interested in this resort, but perhaps I will re-think taking a week there. I should probably see Istanbul first, then consider returning for a visit to Izmir. The vegging-out part does sound appealing, but if we're always wondering, "what's going to go wrong next?", then it may not be so relaxing!
I'm glad you also added the contructive criticism about management there. Very helpful--I hope they read it!
Thanks again--I've been looking to see if you had returned and posted.