CLC Apollonium Spa & Beach (Turkey/Milas)

Abhorrent staff

The Apollonium itself is a fair resort, lovely location & area – the facilities are all there, it is just a terrible shame that the staff seem to be stunted in their approach to customer service.
We arrived in the early hours of the morning & on our arrival at our apartment we were all thirsty & hungry so set about making refreshments & a snack. When we took out the dishes we needed they were filthy – unwashed & covered in what seemed to be chocolate cake – every single plate & even cups (i sincerely hope that chocolate cake is all it was anyway) The bins had not been emptied & were full of food.

We decided to leave this until the morning, get some sleep & face thins afresh in the morning.

On getting up in the morning we attempted to clean our dishes but first had to deal with the ants that were crawling over the kitchen area, floors & walls. We cleaned our dishes & filled our hot tub in anticipation for total relaxation……. on turning on the jets the tub was filled with limescale that must have built up in the jets, which in turn did not work.

We returned indoors to report this to maintenance along with the fact that the glass in a huge picture hanging over the sofa was broken in half & looking precariously dangerous.
The maintenance engineer attended, did not manage to repair the jets in the hot tub & left the broken picture frame tucked behind the television – great idea when we had a two year old with us!
When we asked for clean towels having had none changed for four days (& of these days we were given four towels between seven people) I was told that we could not have any as these were only changed on the once weekly apartment clean. We even had to trudge over to reception & ask for toilet paper supplies.

We stayed at the resort for two weeks & every day/night used the bars & restaurant – the same staff were on duty each day/night & not once were we approached/recognised or even acknowledged by any staff member – we considered ourselves lucky if they even looked up while we were speaking to them.

It was only on the last day there that we were approached/recognised or even acknowledged by any staff member & this was only due to the fact that there was some kind of meeting being held with heads of CLC & the Apollonium staff clearly wanted to make a good impression at this time.

The entertainment staff would walk around each day & try to encourage people to join in with games/activities & each day they walked past us completely ignoring us – we were a group of two young couples, a child & a middle-aged couple so a fair mix – no reason as to why we would not like to join in.

At this point I should be fair & point out that the young gentlemen driving the golf buggies & one security guard were always polite, talkative & spoke to us on a regular basis, making a real effort.
When we had our first apartment clean the housekeeping staff did not change the babies cot – we had to request that this is done. The following morning the babies head, face, neck, shoulder & arm on one side were covered in small bites – nothing like mosquito bites so we reported this as believed they were caused by bed bugs. Reception sent housekeeping to our apartment & it was only by luck that we arrived back to the apartment while the housekeepers were there as they were about to treat the cot & its bedding by spraying raid ant killer on it – we actually had to ask them not to do it.

My future parents in law went to the bar area & ordered a tea & coffee only to be told that the bar had run out of tea – ok, this can happen anywhere, The bar staff went to get more supplies & returned & replenished the tea stocks & continued to serve customers at the bar – my parents in law were still waiting for refreshments 20 minutes later, they had been forgotten as the bar staff were to busy talking to each other & friends.

On another occasion we had to visit another CLC resort with a view to purchasing further points – my in-laws are already Gold members.

Both are disabled but were still taken around a building site in Kusadasi – being told that they had to get out of the bus at various locations. We were shown around areas that were so dark the rep asked if any of us had a lighter that she could use to light the way!!

I’m no H&S freak but this trip was so dangerous – we were walking by open lift shafts/staircases with sheer drops, electric cables lying & hanging everywhere & with my in-laws using walking aids & a two-year-old it was a nightmare.

During this journey, the baby fell asleep in the back of the bus & on arrival of another point in the tour the rep said that we HAD to get out of the bus & wake the baby. This tour started at 10 am & we did not stop for our “lunch” until 16.30! The baby was exhausted.

I could actually go on & write a novel-length review on how the staff & service at this resort ruined our holiday – even voicing our concerns made no difference at all, we were sighed at & ignored. The frustration of this was unbearable because I said the resort & location are lovely.

Since returning home we have made severe complaints to CLC & have been dismissed completely.

Although we voiced our concerns throughout the holiday (& we tried to do this as delicately & diplomatically as possible as we didn’t want these issues to spoil our precious time away) we thought it only fair to address issues as they arose – CLC is claiming that we did not & that they & their staff have no record of our complaints.

This will not end at being dismissed as my partner & myself had to work & save hard to join our family on this holiday & is likely to be the only holiday we will have for another four years & I do not want others to have their holiday spoiled by something as simple as good customer service.
Shame on CLC staff at this resort.