Villa Kiziltas

Reviews (2)

• Mike

  The Villa We arrived at Villa Kisiltas in late August for an 11-day stay after a two-hour ride from Dalaman Aiport through a company the owner of the villa had recommended to us. The airport transfer was in an air-conditioned bus with cold drinks in an onboard fridge unit – definitely worth it after travelling for nearly 8 hours. Ramazan and Fehmi met us at the property and showed us how to use the appliances and gadgets and other useful tips. The steam room was not operational as it tends to close in the summer months, but we did have access to the sauna. The indoor pool was lovely, and you can arrange to have it heated for your stay if you wish. The rest of the property was complete as advertised; all the rooms had plenty of space, and you can tell a lot of care and attention has been put into presenting the property in the best way possible, from ensuring all the bedrooms had a view of Kalkan and the harbour to the furniture, fixtures and fittings. The view from the top-floor room, in particular, is spectacular! We spent most of our time, however, in the kitchen/living room/outside area. The kitchen is the hub of the house and has everything you need for any level of cooking. It also has a chilled water cooler which was a lifesaver on more than one occasion. The living room has various La-Z-Boy recliners and sofas, perfect for evenings watching Netflix on probably the largest TV screen I have ever seen. But the real star of the show is the outside pool, decent size for swimming, floating on an inflatable lounger or just a dip in the midday heat. The pool attendant comes every morning between 6-9 am to clean and maintain the pool, and he was normally gone by the time we were up and about. Kalkan itself far exceeded our expectations. We hired a car from a local car hire company, but to be honest, we didn’t really need it and only used it 4-5 times for either a trip to the supermarket or to various beach clubs around Kalkan (more of which later). In downtime Kalkan, there is a large taxi rank, great for returning home after a day in town, or you can call them to take you somewhere, and they usually arrive within 5-10 minutes (or you can pre-book them for a specific time slot). The villa is halfway up a steep hill so getting a taxi back to the villa is essential, but walking into Kalkan (down the hill) takes literally 10 minutes to the centre of town. Recommendations for things to do in Kalkan are as follows: Beach Clubs We went to a few different clubs and enjoyed all of them. Standouts were as follows: •Kalkan Beach Park – is quite busy, but there’s a wonderful host at the restaurant called Karen who goes out of her way to accommodate you and make you feel welcome. Also has a small beach. •Kalamar Beach Club – slightly out of the way but probably our favourite. Amazing views, lots of space, attentive staff, and the snorkelling is great through crystal clear waters. •Indigo Beach Club – also a favourite, good food, quick service from the water-side staff and is adjacent to Aristos Water Sports, which has the usual offerings (crazy sofa, parasailing, hoverboard, jet skis, paddle board etc.). We hired a speedboat and driver for an hour who took us on a tour of the bay for some of the best snorkelling in the area, away from the busy areas. You should note that Kalkan harbour and bay doesn’t really have many natural beaches (Kalkan Beach Club excepted) as most of the shoreline is rocky, so rather inventively, the beach clubs have been constructed on the rocks with decking and ladders into the water. Many of them have pools as well. There are two long beaches on either side of the bay (Pataras Beach and Kaputas Beach). We didn’t go to either as they can get very busy in high summer, but my understanding is that if you get there early, you have a decent chance of both finding parking and a lounger (both have restaurants as well). Restaurants The real highlight for us in Kalkan was the food, which far exceeded our expectations, and we have a very fussy 13-year-old daughter! We did not have a single disappointing meal, and such was the quality of the food that we only really ate dinner back a the villa on one occasion. Highlights for us were: •Mina Art Café – wonderful Persian food (my partner is part-Iranian, and she rated it very highly). It’s quite small, so you need to book in advance by getting contact details from Instagram and then sending a WhatsApp message to the phone number. One thing we found in Kalkan is that everyone communicates via WhatsApp, from beach clubs to taxis to restaurants. It’s very easy to arrange anything that way, and nearly everyone we contacted got back to us within 20-30 minutes. •Seaport – by Kalkan harbour. We ate here twice, and the meze is fantastic. •Aure – also by the harbour, decent quality sushi and some very friendly dogs! •Salt and Pepper – three restaurants in one location serving various cuisines, including sushi, traditional Turkish and Mediterranean style dishes. Overlooks the harbour with wonderful views, especially as the sun sets. •Kalkan Kalamaki – roof-top terrace with a great menu. •Fountain Terrace Bar (drinks and snacks only) – went twice, engaging and welcoming hosts, atmospheric, decent cocktail menu. We also saw a couple get engaged on one of our visits which was greeted with cheers and applause by everyone present! •Ara – some of the best food we ate in Kalkan, also a roof terrace. •Teraca – a hidden gem! Literally a 5-minute walk from the villa. This restaurant which overlooks all of Kalkan from up the hill, has unbroken views. The food was terrific – definitely include it on your itinerary if you’re staying at the villa! Finally, one evening we hired a private boat trip on the Sea Bella Junior and had an amazing multi-course dinner prepared for us by the skipper’s mother – all home-cooked recipes. This is a four-hour trip from 5.30 pm and visits various locations in the harbour, including two small islands for snorkelling, one of the islands exclusively inhabited by a herd of goats that get fed twice a day by their owner who makes the short trip by boat each time! We watched a stunning sunset over the Aegean Sea and admired the sky stars whilst we ate dinner. Would thoroughly recommend if you don’t want an all-day boat trip (most of them are all day, and you share the boat with other holiday makers). All in all, a memorable holiday; I couldn’t really fault anything and would love to return one day.

• Mike

  The Villa We arrived at Villa Kisiltas in late August for an 11-day stay after a two-hour ride from Dalaman Aiport through a company the owner of the villa had recommended to us. The airport transfer was in an air-conditioned bus with cold drinks in an onboard fridge unit – definitely worth it after travelling for nearly 8 hours. Ramazan and Fehmi met us at the property and showed us how to use the appliances and gadgets and other useful tips. The steam room was not operational as it tends to close in the summer months, but we did have access to the sauna. The indoor pool was lovely, and you can arrange to have it heated for your stay if you wish. The rest of the property was complete as advertised; all the rooms had plenty of space, and you can tell a lot of care and attention has been put into presenting the property in the best way possible, from ensuring all the bedrooms had a view of Kalkan and the harbour to the furniture, fixtures and fittings. The view from the top-floor room, in particular, is spectacular! We spent most of our time, however, in the kitchen/living room/outside area. The kitchen is the hub of the house and has everything you need for any level of cooking. It also has a chilled water cooler which was a lifesaver on more than one occasion. The living room has various La-Z-Boy recliners and sofas, perfect for evenings watching Netflix on probably the largest TV screen I have ever seen. But the real star of the show is the outside pool, decent size for swimming, floating on an inflatable lounger or just a dip in the midday heat. The pool attendant comes every morning between 6-9 am to clean and maintain the pool, and he was normally gone by the time we were up and about. Kalkan itself far exceeded our expectations. We hired a car from a local car hire company, but to be honest, we didn’t really need it and only used it 4-5 times for either a trip to the supermarket or to various beach clubs around Kalkan (more of which later). In downtime Kalkan, there is a large taxi rank, great for returning home after a day in town, or you can call them to take you somewhere, and they usually arrive within 5-10 minutes (or you can pre-book them for a specific time slot). The villa is halfway up a steep hill so getting a taxi back to the villa is essential, but walking into Kalkan (down the hill) takes literally 10 minutes to the centre of town. Recommendations for things to do in Kalkan are as follows: Beach Clubs We went to a few different clubs and enjoyed all of them. Standouts were as follows: •Kalkan Beach Park – is quite busy, but there’s a wonderful host at the restaurant called Karen who goes out of her way to accommodate you and make you feel welcome. Also has a small beach. •Kalamar Beach Club – slightly out of the way but probably our favourite. Amazing views, lots of space, attentive staff, and the snorkelling is great through crystal clear waters. •Indigo Beach Club – also a favourite, good food, quick service from the water-side staff and is adjacent to Aristos Water Sports, which has the usual offerings (crazy sofa, parasailing, hoverboard, jet skis, paddle board etc.). We hired a speedboat and driver for an hour who took us on a tour of the bay for some of the best snorkelling in the area, away from the busy areas. You should note that Kalkan harbour and bay doesn’t really have many natural beaches (Kalkan Beach Club excepted) as most of the shoreline is rocky, so rather inventively, the beach clubs have been constructed on the rocks with decking and ladders into the water. Many of them have pools as well. There are two long beaches on either side of the bay (Pataras Beach and Kaputas Beach). We didn’t go to either as they can get very busy in high summer, but my understanding is that if you get there early, you have a decent chance of both finding parking and a lounger (both have restaurants as well). Restaurants The real highlight for us in Kalkan was the food, which far exceeded our expectations, and we have a very fussy 13-year-old daughter! We did not have a single disappointing meal, and such was the quality of the food that we only really ate dinner back a the villa on one occasion. Highlights for us were: •Mina Art Café – wonderful Persian food (my partner is part-Iranian, and she rated it very highly). It’s quite small, so you need to book in advance by getting contact details from Instagram and then sending a WhatsApp message to the phone number. One thing we found in Kalkan is that everyone communicates via WhatsApp, from beach clubs to taxis to restaurants. It’s very easy to arrange anything that way, and nearly everyone we contacted got back to us within 20-30 minutes. •Seaport – by Kalkan harbour. We ate here twice, and the meze is fantastic. •Aure – also by the harbour, decent quality sushi and some very friendly dogs! •Salt and Pepper – three restaurants in one location serving various cuisines, including sushi, traditional Turkish and Mediterranean style dishes. Overlooks the harbour with wonderful views, especially as the sun sets. •Kalkan Kalamaki – roof-top terrace with a great menu. •Fountain Terrace Bar (drinks and snacks only) – went twice, engaging and welcoming hosts, atmospheric, decent cocktail menu. We also saw a couple get engaged on one of our visits which was greeted with cheers and applause by everyone present! •Ara – some of the best food we ate in Kalkan, also a roof terrace. •Teraca – a hidden gem! Literally a 5-minute walk from the villa. This restaurant which overlooks all of Kalkan from up the hill, has unbroken views. The food was terrific – definitely include it on your itinerary if you’re staying at the villa! Finally, one evening we hired a private boat trip on the Sea Bella Junior and had an amazing multi-course dinner prepared for us by the skipper’s mother – all home-cooked recipes. This is a four-hour trip from 5.30 pm and visits various locations in the harbour, including two small islands for snorkelling, one of the islands exclusively inhabited by a herd of goats that get fed twice a day by their owner who makes the short trip by boat each time! We watched a stunning sunset over the Aegean Sea and admired the sky stars whilst we ate dinner. Would thoroughly recommend if you don’t want an all-day boat trip (most of them are all day, and you share the boat with other holiday makers). All in all, a memorable holiday; I couldn’t really fault anything and would love to return one day.