Update May 2015: This resort has become even more accessible they’ve added a special disability area on their beach. Not sure you can get on the beds but 10 out of 10 for the thought. Has anyone ever come across this amount of accessibility by the sea??
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The Five Star Gloria Verde Resort consisting of three hotels Gloria Golf Resort, Gloria Verde Hotel and the Gloria Serenity Hotel and Spa. All are located in Belek in Turkey’s Antalya Province on the Mediterranean Sea. It’s about a 40 minute drive from Antalya airport. This area is developing as the golf center of Turkey and in 2012 it became the host of the biggest golf tournament ever to take place in Turkey. I have stayed in the Gloria Verde Hotel three times and this year we stayed in the Gloria Golf Resort for the first time. So with my BBS Hat on I looked at the resorts through the eyes of someone who is both stylish and disabled.
GLORIA VERDE HOTEL:
This is a very good hotel for families. They have their own beach with loads of sun loungers, a restaurant and bar in fact everything you would expect at the beach in a five star resort. Then there is the swimming pool area with a standard lap pool plus lagoon type pools at different depths, something to suit everyone. This area also has a bar and restaurant with loungers etc. They even have an aqua park with slides but my favourite is the salt water spa. This area has a large indoor salt water pool with water jets that massage your back, feet, neck or legs, there is also a salt water waterfall, in the outdoor pool, that you can stand under and get you neck and shoulders pummelled…..bliss! In this area you will also find the fitness centre, facial and body massage and indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately there are no chair lifts into any of the pools but on enquiry they said there were ‘men to lift you in and out’. (I concur with this as I’ve always found the Turkish very eager to help if you’re disabled in any way they can, Editor).
The food is very good and varied, served either in the main buffet type restaurant (different theme every night) or the various a la carte restaurants within the hotel. There’s live entertainment every night either in the arena, beach bar or main bar. I believe all areas are accessible with a wheelchair but I did not have an opportunity to check out the disabled rooms. There are disabled toilets throughout the hotel plus ramps and lifts to the upper floors and restaurants.
GLORIA GOLF RESORT:
This was our first time at the Gloria Golf Resort and it is more or less as I described the Gloria Verde but with out the salt water spa. This hotel does have a larger aqua park with a lot more activities for families with young children including indoor and outdoor play areas with climbing frames, swings and slides. It has a larger gym with state of the art equipment and personal trainers on call. Again all parts of the hotel complex are wheelchair friendly with ramps and lifts to the upper floors and restaurants.
I found all the staff very helpful and friendly and I’m sure that we will return to Turkey and stay at one of the Gloria resorts next year. Oh and the golf was amazing!!
The Gloria Resort has told us they have the following re disabled rooms:
4 in the main bulding and 2 in the garden, total of 6 at Gloria Golf Resort
3 at Gloria Serenity Resort
4 at Gloria Verde Resort
And they have ‘wet shower rooms’ and grab rails.
They get a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.
We will be also reviewing Istanbul shortly so look out for the article.