Hotel Letoonia Club

Letoonia Club and Hotel enjoys a secluded location on a peninsula only a five minute drive from Fethiye and about an hour's drive from Dalaman Airport.

Letoonia Club and Hotel is open from April until the end of October.
This five star resort was built in 1987 but renovated in 2010.

Where to start? The resort's sheer size alone means that after check-in you and your luggage will most likely be ferried to your room in a large buggy. The resort is divided into two distinct areas: the 'hotel' (the same building as Reception) and the 'club' and there are advantages and disadvantages with both. The hotel is handy to Reception and the rooms are cosier (see Accommodation), but a little further from the resort centre, even if the hotel section has its own facilities. The club meanwhile, is at the heart of the resort yet the rooms are built on sloping hillsides which means you'll be walking up, down and around the whole time you're there. Granted, there are a couple of outdoor elevators (with air con and sea views) to facilitate getting around.

Letoonia has a pleasant village atmosphere, complete with a central square and fountain, providing a place in which to get your bearings. The bungalow style buildings in the club section are nestled in the hillside and follow the curve of the bay; covered in lush plants, there are lovely views from most areas. Letoonia also commissioned several statues: Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon and Co. are dotted throughout the grounds.

Being bored would probably prove to be a difficult task. The usual sports are on offer such as tennis, mini golf, boccia ball, badminton, mini football, basketball, archery and water sports plus a variety of activities with the in-house animation team. There's an amphitheatre with a nightly entertainment program but watch out if your accommodation is in Z block as the loud music carries on until at least after 10:00pm. Kids will love the mini club (300m² of playgrounds, playhouses, activity areas, mini pools and mini waterslides) and the large waterslides which go right into the sea. There's also a mini disco at the amphitheatre prior to the evening show.

Other facilities include a Thalasso therapy indoor pool (shaded with bougainvillea plants), a beautifully decorated spa and wellness centre, shuttle boat service to Fethiye (costs extra, but a novel alternative to a taxi), free Internet café (although when we tried to use it, the computers either didn't work, or suffered from a slow connection), a large and well-equipped fitness room, games room, plus the obligatory resort boutiques. The two pools (one on the club side and one on the hotel side) are large but for such a large resort, we were surprised there weren't others. The pool on the hotel side overlooks a beach, while the village pool is high up on a cliff and overlooks the bay on the far side of the resort. At night, those who enjoy dancing with the sea breeze in the hair should head to the open-air disco at the edge of the peninsula.

The rooms in the hotel portion of Letoonia are quite different from those in the club section. The hotel rooms are warmer and cosier thanks to the traditional Ottoman style carved wooden ceilings and balconies. The other difference is that they have carpeted floors and a small balcony, whereas the club rooms feature tile floors and do not possess a balcony. The standard hotel room is decorated in salmon colours and consists of simple furnishings. Spacious, clean and well-maintained, these rooms are quite traditional, with no airs or graces. The hotel 'corner rooms' are slightly more spacious.

The bungalow rooms on the club side are not as homey as the hotel rooms due to the absence of carved wooden details. With simple teak furnishings, each room features a bay window alcove (a balcony in a previous life) containing a seating area. The décor might not be the most modern but the rooms are clean and relatively spacious. Guests will also appreciate the courtesy tea and coffee tray and free water and soft drinks in the mini bar. Although the resort does not advertise 'sea view rooms,' we were informed that 85 per cent of rooms (there are 620 in total) enjoy sea views or rather, glimpses of the sea.

As you'd expect from a large all inclusive resort, there are plenty of food and drink options at Letoonia, to suit all tastes, whether they be for Turkish, Japanese or international cuisine. On top of that there is a range of bars and snack bars, located in both the hotel and club areas of the resort, plus on the beach. The main restaurant is centrally located in the village. Open-air and boasting lovely sea views, it features a large buffet area (with plenty of variety) which gets very crowded at peak times. For house wine, it's self-service from a wooden keg, while water is already provided on the tables. For other alcoholic drinks there is a staffed bar smack bang in the middle of the restaurant. Be careful though, if you're used to dining a little later, the food is gone by 9:00pm sharp! In total there are three buffet restaurants but one of them is only open in the evenings. The à la carte restaurants are free except for an obligatory service charge; as a result, most guests tend to stick to the (included) buffet restaurants. Our favourite spot for a pre-dinner aperitif is the Agora Bar at the heart of the village; the all white décor and Ottoman theme (carved wooden details) are great, but the sea views from the terrace are what really clinch it.

There are two beaches at Letoonia; on either side of the peninsula they are 'Champagne Beach' and 'Dolphin Beach.' Both are long but not that wide so we can't say there's plenty of room. Some parts of the beaches have concrete boardwalks instead of sand which takes away from their aesthetic appeal. However, everything you would need for a day at the beach is there: sun loungers and other beach furniture, showers, changing cabins and beach bars. There is also a water sports facility and waterslides from the top of the cliff direct into the sea at Dolphin Beach. Champagne Beach is quieter and is therefore more suited to couples and anyone who wants to have a bit of peace and quiet. The resort's location means that both beaches are quite private.

RHP