We arrived in Antalya at 7:00AM after a LONG bus ride and were completely exhausted. Luckily, Paul and I had arranged transportation from the bus station with our hotel. We hopped off the bus and looked for our ride. And looked. And looked. No one was there.
Oh well. We decided to go ahead and take a taxi. We got in the taxi and directed him to our hotel – the Otantik Butik Otel in the middle of the old part of town. Our taxi driver got us to the winding cobblestone streets of the old part of town with no problem. And then he kept driving. In circles. He drove in circles and circles, stopping several times to ask random people on the street for directions to our hotel. The meter was running the whole time. Finally we just got out and decided to use the map in Lonely Planet and walk (with our 140 lbs of luggage...not smart packing on our part). Well, we walked for about an hour and a half. The map in Lonely Planet was incorrect (again, just like our map in Petra – I want to burn that book) and no one knew where to find our hotel…although most people we asked pointed us in one direction or another, none of which were correct.
I was tempted to forget our reservation and just stay at the next hotel or hostel we saw…and then, there it was. Our hotel. Way back on a narrow pedestrian street. Paul asked the hotel what had happened and the answer from the front desk man was, “Oh, we forgot.” Seriously. Of course our room wasn’t ready, so we sat down for breakfast. Breakfast was the front desk man’s job, too. Eventually he apologized to us, brought us a free orange juice, and told us that we “must understand the hotel’s position – the car was broken.” I cannot believe the attitude at our two hotels in Turkey. No one takes responsibility for mistakes and we have to listen to lie after lie. We KNOW the car wasn’t broken. He told us the hotel forgot. And even if it was broken, the hotel made NO attempt to contact us to let us know. There was internet at the bus station, but we had no email from the hotel telling us not to wait for transportation. I wanted to throw the free orange juice in his face.
We went for a walk (at least this time it was without suitcases) to pass the time until our room was ready. We bought ice cream, and the man at the counter refused to give us the correct change. Ugh. After that we just returned to the hotel and sat waiting for our room. Half the lights are burned out, there was 1 bottom sheet and no top sheet or blanket, and other various issues that aren’t worth mentioning.
I never thought I’d get to Turkey and say, “Take me back to Egypt and Jordan!”
Oh well. We decided to go ahead and take a taxi. We got in the taxi and directed him to our hotel – the Otantik Butik Otel in the middle of the old part of town. Our taxi driver got us to the winding cobblestone streets of the old part of town with no problem. And then he kept driving. In circles. He drove in circles and circles, stopping several times to ask random people on the street for directions to our hotel. The meter was running the whole time. Finally we just got out and decided to use the map in Lonely Planet and walk (with our 140 lbs of luggage...not smart packing on our part). Well, we walked for about an hour and a half. The map in Lonely Planet was incorrect (again, just like our map in Petra – I want to burn that book) and no one knew where to find our hotel…although most people we asked pointed us in one direction or another, none of which were correct.
I was tempted to forget our reservation and just stay at the next hotel or hostel we saw…and then, there it was. Our hotel. Way back on a narrow pedestrian street. Paul asked the hotel what had happened and the answer from the front desk man was, “Oh, we forgot.” Seriously. Of course our room wasn’t ready, so we sat down for breakfast. Breakfast was the front desk man’s job, too. Eventually he apologized to us, brought us a free orange juice, and told us that we “must understand the hotel’s position – the car was broken.” I cannot believe the attitude at our two hotels in Turkey. No one takes responsibility for mistakes and we have to listen to lie after lie. We KNOW the car wasn’t broken. He told us the hotel forgot. And even if it was broken, the hotel made NO attempt to contact us to let us know. There was internet at the bus station, but we had no email from the hotel telling us not to wait for transportation. I wanted to throw the free orange juice in his face.
We went for a walk (at least this time it was without suitcases) to pass the time until our room was ready. We bought ice cream, and the man at the counter refused to give us the correct change. Ugh. After that we just returned to the hotel and sat waiting for our room. Half the lights are burned out, there was 1 bottom sheet and no top sheet or blanket, and other various issues that aren’t worth mentioning.
I never thought I’d get to Turkey and say, “Take me back to Egypt and Jordan!”
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