Junior mushaba
Let me start by saying this: I don’t usually write reviews—good or bad. I travel often, and I tend to let experiences be just that: experiences. But after staying at Dreamworld Aqua, I felt the need to share my thoughts—not to complain, but to offer a genuine heads-up to future travelers.
Dreamworld Aqua presents itself as a 5-star hotel, but in reality, I would rate it more as a 3.5 or 4-star experience. If this is your first time in Turkey, you might find it decent. But if you’ve been to Turkey before and experienced the level of service and quality that true 5-star resorts in the country offer, you’ll likely be disappointed.
To begin with, the Wi-Fi was consistently unreliable throughout our stay. In today’s world, stable internet is a basic expectation, especially at a resort of this supposed standard. Then, once we got to our room, the shower water would suddenly switch from cold to extremely hot—making it uncomfortable and frustrating.
The service from the staff was, unfortunately, quite unprofessional. And I say this with care—I fully respect people working hard for their income. But it felt at times like we were the staff, not the guests. For example, I was still eating my meal, and my plate was taken away without being asked. The staff were clearly rushing because the hotel seemed overbooked, and it simply couldn’t handle the capacity.
The all-inclusive alcohol situation was also disappointing. We were repeatedly told we were being served beer with alcohol, but it was very clearly non-alcoholic. I’ve had enough beer in my life to know the difference. It felt deceptive, and that’s not acceptable at any level of hospitality.
Food quality and variety were another letdown. Almost every day, the options were nearly identical. When people spend a significant amount of money—often close to €4,000 for a family holiday—you expect not just food, but a memorable culinary experience. That wasn’t delivered here.
Another major issue was the nightclub located right next to the hotel. It was extremely loud every single night, with music and partying going on until 6 a.m. I want to be clear—I have no problem with nightlife. In fact, it’s great for young travelers or singles who are there for that kind of atmosphere. But families, especially those with children, should be made aware of this. Nowhere on the hotel’s website is this mentioned. That lack of transparency is unfair and frustrating, because it directly impacts the ability to rest or sleep.
To sum it up, Dreamworld Aqua did not live up to the standard it advertises. Poor service, inconsistent amenities, misleading information, and a lack of consideration for families all added up to an underwhelming experience. Again, I don’t write reviews often, but I felt it was necessary this time—for the sake of honest feedback and to help others make informed decisions.
Simon van Velp
Generally the resort is ok. But nothing is great. A lot of things are "ok, but...". Nothing is without remarks to be honest. It's got nothing to do with "5 stars". The Hamam was nice. The Sewage treatment plant is nextdoor, and you smell that. Wifi is atrocious throughout the entire resort. Not too big of an issue as I'm ok with not being in contact for a few days. But it's also one of the things to add to the list of annoyances.
The rooms are clean, but kinda outdated. They're ok, though, especially since you spend most time outside of them. They don't have rooms for families with 2 kids that use a regular bed. It's just a double and single + baby bed. Otherwise you need to get them a seperate room, which was unfortnunate for us as our kids are too small for a seperate room, but they're not small kids for a baby bed. I guess this was a travel agent error, however, the hotel wasn't very accomodating to solve some this. The beds are rock hard by the way. My back did not like that. The hotel didn't have the AC turned on which led to rooms being very hot. The hotel didn't consider it hot enough. So not great, not terrible. Just ok, so 3 stars for the rooms.
Service, well, what can I say. Most of the staff were pretty unfriendly. They did their jobs, though. 1 or 2 were nice enough, (thank you Ahmet!). The food was good, fresh and decently varied in the restaurant. The "snack" area's were mediocre and had the same food every day. Another point of annoyance is the lines everywhere. It seems that the hotel had not enough capacity for all of its customers. The pool was clean and had life guards, so that was good, except that not all waterslides were open. The biggest ones were closed for unclear reasons. The minidisco was fun, my daughter had a blast there. But even there there's something, it was kinda late for my kids (20:30), but still. So mostly because of that cranky attitude of most of the staff I give this 2 stars. It just falls below what I'd love to see and I don't have the highest expectations. They did have cocktails included in the "all inclusive" concept, that's nice!
The location is ok I guess. Side itself is nothing interesting to be honest. Just a lot of the same shops (bazaars) with a lot of fake brand clothing. If you like haggling you can have a nice day. You can rent a car or whatever and go sight seeing or you can book daytrips to whatever you like (nature, sailing, ancient ruins). Although the hotel is not near the beach there's a bus that goes there every 15 mins. Which is great. The beach is nice and has a lot of seatings, but also, a bit more capacity would work wonders. It's a shame that for an "all inclusive" you have to pay for ice creams at the beach and that you can't get cocktails there.
All in all, I can't recommend this hotel. It's super busy, you have to wait everywhere and the staff are mostly unfriendly. And still expect a tip? We had an ok vacation, at least everything was clean, the food decent and the pool was fine. But there were too many annoying things to make me want to go back there. I was honestly more than happy to go back home. Like 2 days before the the end. I don't think that's a good thing for a vacation. Maybe the "all inclusive" concept is just not for me. I don't know if this is the standard for most of the resorts in Side, but this was below of what I'd like to experience. Anyway, I won't be returning to Turkey for this kind of vacation anytime soon, if ever. I'd rather spend this kind of money on a villa or hotel in Italy or Austria or whatever. This ain't it.
Kornelia Opałko
Our Favorite Hotel – Returning for the Fourth Time!
We have stayed at this hotel three times already, and this month we are coming back for the fourth time – our reservation is already confirmed. We keep returning because this place guarantees a fantastic holiday – cleanliness is at the highest level, which is evident everywhere. The rooms are thoroughly cleaned daily, and the entire hotel area is very well-maintained. This is definitely one of the biggest advantages of this place.
Another highlight is the friendly and professional staff, who always take great care of the guests. The food is delicious and diverse, so everyone can find something to enjoy. The pools and the beach are well-kept, with plenty of space to relax, making the stay truly comfortable.
When it comes to animations, you can feel that they are just getting started for the season. The animators are trying their best, and there are some fun activities, but it’s noticeable that the best entertainment programs take place during the peak season.
I hope that during this visit, we will be pleasantly surprised by something new, which will make us even more eager to come back for the fifth time! We always visit the hotel at the end of April or the beginning of May when many tourists from Poland and the Netherlands come here. We have noticed that during the high season, additional attractions such as foam parties and evening discos are organized. We understand that this is still the beginning of the season, but it would be wonderful if there were a bit more entertainment during this period as well.
At the same time, I must admit that we travel a lot and visit many five-star hotels with high ratings, so we have a broad point of comparison. So far, this hotel has met our expectations, which is why we are coming back again. I hope that this time we will not be disappointed, and maybe we will even be pleasantly surprised by something new.
After our trip, I will make sure to leave another positive review, hopefully one that will encourage even more future guests to visit this hotel. I also plan to attach photos to show why this place is worth coming to!
lukas hartung
Harun is the best Barkeeper, he is always there if you want Anything. He was so Kind as always
Gregory Swerts
Very disappointed for a 5 star resort. In my opinion only 4. Water in the room cold and suddenly hot (burning hot) and then ice cold again. Technical department could not fix it.
On the site they promote 24h service and food. After midnight is finished. We arrived at 11pm and we only had dry bread and cheese!
Our children had a good time with each other. The shuttle to the beach was good and every 15min. Food was good but desserts were disappointing, specially for Turkey. Cleaning lady from our room was very polite and did a good job. We gave her a tip.
Restaurant to tight schedule, 8:30pm closed and they close at the minute without buffer. Staff is working their hours and only a few are polite.
Swimming pool too small, animation low quality (cheap games)
No theme restaurants, only one but it was fully booked until our day of return home.
In my opinion they bought the 4th and the 5th star.
My Booking
