Aska Lara. Turkish luxury in Antalya.

When we plan a family summer holiday we always try to combine exotic destinations, beach, fun for kids, luxury hotels and good food. While this is not always possible, we found our stay in Aska Lara resort in Antalya (www.askalararesortspa.com) one of our best experiences. Imagine a five stars luxury hotel, wonderful pools, quiet beaches, a cowboy town, a playground for kids, a small amusement park and a water park, all together in the same place! That is Aska Lara.

From the moment you cross the main door of the hotel you find luxury all over the place. The lobby is fantastic with open ceilings and a bar. Check in does not take place at the front desk but sitting at the lobby while you take a drink.

The rooms are not less luxurious. Although not huge, they are big enough to host a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids). And this is one of the main advantages of this hotel. The whole family can share the room, allowing a substantial savings. Of course, if you want to have huge spaces we would recommend communicating rooms or a suite. But if you don’t mind being a bit tight, a standard room is more than enough. The hotel has so much to offer that you don’t need to spend much time in your room.

The hotel has several pools in two different areas. There are three pools in the main building, which are very relaxing and quiet.

But there are also several pools in the Wet ‘n’ Wild park. What is that? Everything a kid (and an adult) has ever dreamed of. Huge pools, thrilling water slides, a cowboy town and, during the evenings, a small amusement park.

The wet’n’wild park is located right across the street from the main building of the hotel. You can either walk or take a small van that runs every 5 minutes. We always took the van as it was a very short wait and the kids loved it. It was part of the fun!

While the beach does not offer the white sands or turquoise sea of the Caribbean, it still offers a very warm sea. And you can rent your VIP cabanas with butler service for the day.

The hotel is all-inclusive and it offers a huge variety of food with a strong emphasis on local Turkish dishes, which we really loved. You can also book a la carte restaurants. We tried the Japanese, which we liked, and Turkish, which we loved. There is also a sea food and an Italian a la carte restaurant. By the time we stayed at the Aska Lara, you had to pay 5 Euros per person for the a la carte restaurants. But it was worth it.