Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay Bodrum

Arkın K

I love this hotel and was a customer until I was blacklisted for not purchasing a residence. The hotel and its location are wonderful and we loved our visits here. We also inquired about purchasing a residence unit in 2009. I spoke to someone whom I believe is the owner of the hotel property but decided to buy a property elsewhere. After this phone call, we realized that the hotel was no longer making a reservation to us at its residence section. We would call them to book and they would not call back. This happened several times over the years and afterwards I called the hotel to inquire openly and asked if I was blacklisted. I was told “such a thing is impossible and we will check and call you back in 15 minutes” and no one called me. Also to note that our stays were with no problems on either side. We were happy and so was the hotel meaning we did no damage to anything or did not display any wrong behavior. I am not posting this review to ask for a response from the hotel or that they remove me from their blacklist. I would assume Kempinski would audit this hotel and review the list of blacklisted visitors. Probably someone at the hotel made a false entry under my name because they would not be able to write what actually happened. Or the hotel has a hidden blacklist... I simply wanted to inform any interested parties so my name would not be flagged due to a possible false and defamatory accusation. I haven’t been (able to visit) to this property since 2009 but I think you are safe to visit and enjoy this lovely hotel that I would strongly recommend. Just be careful if you make a property purchase inquiry… Note: The hotel’s residence section is different from the hotel rooms and we can visit the hotel via a Kempinski booking but I would hesitate to make a booking under these conditions.

Nashwa Wahba

Disappointing Stay at a Supposedly Luxurious Hotel. First, if you want to escape for a few days to relax, this would be one of the options. It's far away, and it takes almost 45 min. From the airport & the nearest shopping center is about 30 min. From the hotel. The view on sundeck is nice, though it's not very big. Also, the beach is 3 min. Away from the hotel, you go by buggy & should be aware that after 6 pm, you might find difficulty to find a buggy taking you back to the hotel. I had high expectations for this hotel, which markets itself as a luxury destination, but unfortunately, my stay fell far below what I anticipated. Upon arrival, I was given a dirty room with a very unpleasant view of the backyard. The pillows and bed cover were just left on a chair, and there was no kettle or cups for tea. Despite the hotel being almost empty during my stay, there were still many issues that simply shouldn’t happen at this price point. Breakfast was underwhelming with very limited variety. The food inside the hotel restaurant was less than average, still overpriced. The safety locker in the room didn’t work, and the water pressure in the shower and bathtub was very weak, especially at night. The temperature in the waiting areas and the main corridor between rooms was uncomfortably hot, and the lighting throughout the hotel seemed faulty and dim. One particularly annoying experience was waiting for over an hour on the beach for service buggy to take me back to the hotel. On another occasion, I spent three hours relaxing on the marina sundeck, only to find my slippers disappeared when I left. The Wi-Fi network was relatively okay, but one night, it wasn’t working at all. To their credit, the staff did try to make things right by changing my room, and I appreciated their effort to please guests. But overall, for a place that claims to offer luxury for the expensive prices , the experience was disappointing and fell far below expectations.

c k

Kempinski Barbaros Bay is truly one of the best hotels in the Kempinski chain. Rooms: Absolutely superb – clean, beautifully decorated, and with unforgettable balconies overlooking breathtaking views. Breakfast: A true traditional Turkish breakfast, rich in variety and flavor. Staff: Exceptionally friendly and always ready to help, ensuring you feel well taken care of at all times. Pool: Simply incredible – large, uniquely designed, and with a stunning view you have to see for yourself. Beach: Above all, the beach is the real highlight. The sea is crystal clear, and the excellent service makes your holiday truly unforgettable. Restaurants: The dining experience is top-notch. Be sure to try the Italian restaurant and Villa Rossa – both are outstanding. I repeat: this is an excellent hotel that you absolutely must experience!

Marco Bach

Overpriced for what it is Edit: After this review, the hotel management took time to meet with me, listen carefully, and told me about upcoming renovations and service changes that address many of the points I raised. I got the feeling they genuinely cared to improve my experience and listen to my feedback to improve things. They also made a generous gesture of goodwill during my stay to put things right, which I appreciate. Thank you. Original (unedited) review TLDR; PROs: very friendly staff, great pool area, chilled vibe CONs: lack of variety in food options, no entertainment. Premium price tag without 5star feeling. Overpriced We had a nice week here in Bodrum. Staff is very friendly we liked the pool and pool area If this was a 4 star hotel and 30-40% cheaper than it is my review would end here and I would not have many complaints. However as we spend more than the average annual salary in Türkiye here on accommodation and food over 6 nights I feel either the price was too high or the quality was too low for that sort of money. - Our room was an upgrade to a ‘Grand Deluxe King room’. Great Ocean view and a balcony and nothing wrong with it but for 580 GBP per night it was small and not as luxurious as title and price made me expect. - There are 3 restaurants that serve dinner, there is one more that is open for lunch. If you eat lunch and dinner here you quickly exhaust the small menu especially if you have some dietary restrictions (one of us was Vegetarian) a 2 course dinner with a glass of wine can easily set you back 200 EUR (2 adults and a kid eating from the reasonably priced kids menu). I’d be happy to pay that if the food was spectacular but it only lived up to that price tag once maybe. You are better off (price and quality wise) to get a taxi into Bodrum (30 min , 15 GBP or less one way) and pick a good restaurant there. 30-50% of the cost including the price for the taxi. - There’s a Spa, gym a great pool and a water sport centre at the beach. Outside that I don’t think the hotel offers any other activities, there’s no evening entertainment. We organised things ourselves but again I’m used to having more options here in a hotel of this price category. - There’s a bunch of small things which I wouldn’t normally mention in a review but in the past when I stayed at resorts of the category the Kempinski aspires to, I would have mentioned half a dozen of small things that surprised me positively whereas here there was none of that and instead there were tiny nuisances like they ran out of spoons on the breakfast buffet (which again is good but falls short for 5 star) on every other day, when I ordered a coffee I needed to call the waiter again to ask for sugar, they brought chocolates for bedtime but it was 2 even though we were 3, some parts of the facilities seem slightly dated, there were showers in the spa not working, one restaurant was closed permanently. A sanitary item from the hotel shop has a ca. 6x markup which feels unnecessary for that sort of think (charge silly prices for jewellery or clothing if people want to spend money but not for that sort of thing)… none of that spoiled our stay but it doesn’t give you the premium feel to match the premium price tag. More often I was somewhat disappointed rather than wowed and I would not book here again.

Denise Mutlu

My daughter and I traveled to Turkey and our stop at Bodrum couldn’t have been better. The staff was just incredible. My daughter and I felt like royalty and were treated like one! From concierge to receptionist to the crew who cleaned our rooms to the staff who drove us around - we thank you for an unbelievable experience. Hotel is immaculate and will go out of their way to make you feel like family. Food was amazing and so was the experience. Definitely coming back next year with the entire family ! If I can give more than 5 stars- I would