The Turkish holiday resort with overwater rooms, private beach and ‘one-of-a-kind' kids club
A TURKISH holiday resort has been praised as one of the best hotels people have been to.
Biblos Resort in Alacati is a five-star resort that looks more like something in Bali.
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But its some of the swim up rooms that are the star of the show.
The Laguna Suite is for adults only, which has overwater sunlounger decks that let you hop straight into the pool.
Otherwise the Laguna Private Suite has its own Laguna pool.
Restaurants include the Turkish Meftun as well as Miso serving seafood and Nori with Pan Asian food.
There is the Cocos pool bar and the Biblos Beach Club for cocktails and coffees
It also says it has a "one-of-a-kind" Kids Club with everything from cookie workshops, kids yoga and Pilates as well as karaoke, hair braiding and face painting.
The Kids Cinema has film screening nights while the Game Center has computer games and Playstations.
Otherwise artistic workshops and educational workshops are alongside the new Jungle B soft play area with slides, swings and ball pits.
Kids will also love Marquise, which serves waffles and ice cream through the day.
And parents can go to relax at the hotel spa which has everything from hydrotherapy pools, steam rooms, saunas, Turkish baths and and salt rooms.
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Guests can even try the "experimental rain" rooms to improve blood circulation or the "spa cabanas" for a massage.
A gym, fashion boutique, hair salon and health bar are also part of the complex.
Previous guests have raved about it, with one saying: "This is the best hotel I've ever been to."
Another said: "It was a perfect hotel in the spirit of Bali."
Families praised the resort too, with one writing: "I think the Kids Club at Biblos is the best one we have ever visited."
Rooms start from £289, with loveholidays, while flights from London to Alacati take around 3hr45 from London Stansted with Pegasus.
Turkey is home to some amazing holiday resorts.
Here's one that has been dubbed the "Turkish Maldives".
And the best TUI hotel in the world according to Brits is also in Turkey.
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Vila Vita Parc review: a luxury Algarve hotel that families will love
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18 of the best European city breaks with children
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The 11th-century St George's Castle towers over the city's oldest neighbourhood, Alfama, and kids can spot the free-roaming peacocks and imagine what life was like when knights strutted in the same spot. Wander the neighbourhood, stopping to snack on the city's famous pastel de nata (custard tarts) before hopping on the yellow tram to trundle back down the cobbled hills. There's also an excellent science museum, a large aquarium with sharks and penguins, plus beaches within easy reach. The boutique Martinhal Lisbon Chiado is a dream for families, featuring brightly coloured apartments with kitchenettes, a playroom, kids' club and all kinds of pre-bookable baby equipment. • Read our full guide to Portugal The only problem with bringing children to Prague is that a weekend just won't be long enough to pack in all the family-focused activities this city offers. Start at the tourist office in the Old Town Hall to pick up a specially designed illustrated map of the city for kids. Then take your pick from the city's wacky and wonderful museums, including the Museum of Fantastic Illusions and the Museum of Bricks, home to the world's largest private Lego collection. If the sun's out, you can see the sights from a river cruise or spend the afternoon picnicking near the playgrounds of Stromovka Park before heading into the old town for a sweet treat from the Gingerbread Man's Dream or the family-owned chocolatier the Choco Café. If that weren't appealing enough, children under 15 can use the city's public transport for free (proof of age may be required). 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Youngsters will go wild for the rooftop pool, canal and boat views, and freshly baked cookies at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice. The Giudecca island neighbourhood is the perfect place to escape the bustle of Venice, but also reach the big sights. • Read our full review of the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice Active families are going to love Bergen no matter when they visit. Cable cars and funiculars whisk passengers from the heart of the city directly into the surrounding mountains — that means plenty of options for hiking in summer, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter. Why not take the children to find the hand-carved troll sculptures dotted around Troll Forest on Mount Floyen? Another year-round attraction is the Norway in a Nutshell tour, taking you into some of the country's most beautiful scenery via train, boat and bus. 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The whole family will enjoy taking a tour of the city in a rattling old Trabant car; the more active will love tumbling about the sky-high adventure course of MountMitte or hiring a bike and spending a leisurely few hours cycling through Tiergarten, the city's enormous central park. When it comes to rooms with a view, looking out over the city's zoo from 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin is probably as child-pleasing as you can get. • Best things to do in Berlin You can't go wrong with children in a city that places so much importance on cake. Your first port of call should be one of Vienna's coffee houses to sample an Austrian speciality — perhaps a rich chocolate Sachertorte or a delicate apple strudel. If your children are remotely horsey, they'll find happiness here — book ahead for the displays at the Spanish Riding School and take a city tour in a horse-drawn carriage. Wildlife fans will also love the marine-dwellers on display at the unusual House of the Sea aquarium. 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Times
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How a quiet holiday to Bali made me reconsider how I travel
Shhh. I hate noise. Well, to clarify, I hate antisocial noise. When people crank up their music so the whole street has to listen to drum and bass, or when fellow passengers on trains watch videos without wearing earphones. Add this to the general din of traffic, roadworks, construction and the relentless bings and dings of tech. Sometimes, I could scream. So when I heard about a festival in Bali called Nyepi, which means 'Day of Silence', my ears pricked up. It's a significant, sacred ceremony marking the new year according to the Balinese lunar calendar, which this year fell at the end of March, and for Hindus, who make up about 87 per cent of the population, it's a time for self-reflection and contemplation. For 24 hours, the entire island becomes pin-drop quiet; no travel is allowed, so there's no traffic and the airport is shut, leaving the skies clear. You won't hear loud conversation or music, and at night, you won't see lights. In fact, for the whole of Nyepi, no one is allowed to leave their homes, which means every street and beach is deserted, with many Balinese also fasting. Local community guards called the Pecalang, who keep order during religious and traditional events, are on patrol to maintain peace. Everyone, including tourists, must remain inside, although visitors can still eat in their hotels and engage in hushed chat. In the days before and after Nyepi, several ceremonies are performed that are anything but quiet. One of the most boisterous, the Ogoh-Ogoh parade, occurs the evening before. Designed to ward off evil spirits, and to the sound of banging gongs and beating drums, giant statues of mythical demons called ogoh-ogoh are carried through the streets, many of which are later burnt in cemeteries. I was keen to experience Nyepi but rather than simply flop at a posh hotel and be quiet for a day, I wanted to get under the skin of this special festival and, being particularly noise-sensitive, I wanted to participate and understand how this annual focus on silence serves the Balinese. The tour operator Untold Story Travel rose to the challenge. My first base was Artotel, a hotel in Sanur, an old seaside town in the southeast of the island not far from Denpasar, Bali's capital, which is the place to see one of the most impressive Ogoh-Ogoh parades and appreciate the contrast between commotion and calm. My host, Sugeng Suprianto, gifted me a special black and grey sarong that ensured I would fit right in when I walked in the Denpasar Ogoh-Ogoh parade that night. I hadn't expected to be that involved. I was duly escorted to the starting point and introduced to one of Bali's most famous artists for sculpting stupendous ogoh-ogoh, Marmar Herayukti. As he was putting the finishing touches to his winged, fanged, fantastical figure, which must have been about 7m high, a massive crowd swelled around him, everyone craning to catch a glimpse. We're talking rock star status. 'Nyepi is a profound period of environmental and spiritual reflection,' Herayukti told me. He explained that the Day of Silence gives everyone time to pause, rest and think about the environment, a subject that's important to him — which is why he only uses eco-friendly materials such as bamboo and papier-mâché. • Discover our full guide to Indonesia Come parade time the statues, which sit on vast bamboo platforms, were hoisted onto the shoulders of supporters. I followed under the watchful eyes of my guides because you need to keep your wits about you, particularly as floats are suddenly spun around to confuse evil spirits but could easily have confused me. After six hours of watching, waiting and parading, elated but exhausted, I headed back to my hotel, wondering what Nyepi would bring. Well, silence. Except for a couple of whispery meals in the dining room, from where I could see the Pecalang in their distinctive black and white chequered sarongs, walking or cycling by. I decided to follow Nyepi as best as I could. No music. No binge-watching. I stayed in my room and read a bit. Pondered a lot. And felt homesick, an unusual emotion for me during a short trip. I missed my husband. My friends. My dog. What I realised is that even though I hate grating, unwanted noise, when I'm travelling, having my own background sound is soothing. It serves as a distraction, stopping me dwelling on stuff. I went to bed early and couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was too quiet. Or perhaps I needed to learn to be quiet with my own thoughts. • Affordable stays in Bali I awoke early the next morning to rain. Crazy rain. And the sound was energising after the Day of Silence. It set me up nicely for my next experience in Bangli Regency, in the northeast of Bali — a purification ceremony at Pura Taman Pecampuhan Sala, an exquisite temple in verdant countryside where two rivers meet. Stepping into its clear pools, I was guided around numerous cleansing shrines, which included fountains and sparkling waterfalls. The ritual was certainly head-clearing. As I sat taking it all in, I thought about home again and a realisation dawned. I have everything I need. My life doesn't have to be all about pursuit. It can also be about pause. Does that sound fake or woo-woo? I hope not because that's the penny that dropped in that peaceful place. The perfect sequel to the Day of Silence was staying at Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape, one of the most extraordinary hotels I've visited. In central Bali, high in the jungle — not far from Ubud — the 16 private villas are out of this world, although very much in the natural world as they have no windows or doors (although the garden has a gate). While the bedroom area is tastefully luxe, the view is vast and uninterrupted. Of course, you can still hear everything. Which you think might not be much. But the less noise I made, the more I began to hear — and appreciate. Birds. Cicadas. Rain. Breezes. • Bali's best hotels Before dinner, which is created with 70 per cent plant-based ingredients, much of them grown in the hotel's farm, I had cocktails in the Botanist Bar where you look down onto a panorama of treetops and one of the world's most photogenic swimming pools (cocktails from £8). A radiant rectangle of turquoise reaches into the rainforest, surrounded by scarlet umbrellas and loungers, an oasis of relaxation. With Buahan as my base, I went to the ancient temple of Gunung Kawi, Bali's Valley of Kings, saw dramatic rice terraces and tried ebiking (with a support van and a luxury picnic). I also had a session of sound healing in the spa, during which the therapist used singing bowls, their resonant vibrations helping me to float away on the sound waves (£110 for 90 minutes). This trip also honed my view of the kind of holiday you can enjoy in Bali. I'd always thought of it as a party island and yes, it has plenty of busy beaches and tourist hotspots such as Seminyak and Canggu on the southwest coast. But I enjoyed heading north to explore inland, following winding roads and passing little towns and villages. I realised what a deeply religious place Bali is, with every home having its own temple. There's also a great sense of local community. And the Buahan hotel has become somewhere I imagine when I want to feel calm. But look, whisper it. We don't want to encourage the crowds, bringing their chaos and disturbing the Masters was a guest of Untold Story Travel, which has seven nights' B&B from £6,000pp, including activities, transfers and a visit to the Ogoh-Ogoh parade ( Fly to Denpasar This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue By Siobhan Grogan On Legian beach on Bali's west coast, Legian Beach Hotel is surrounded by tropical gardens, koi-filled ponds and palm trees with golden sand just steps away. There's a family pool with a waterslide and an adults-only pool with swim-up bar, plus a gazebo for alfresco cooking classes and a spa offering traditional Balinese healing practices and t'ai chi sessions. All-white rooms contrast with dark teak furniture and have balconies or terraces overlooking the garden. Take your pick from five restaurants for dinner including a teppanyaki, an Italian and the beachfront Lais, which serves traditional Indonesian dishes. Details Seven nights' B&B from £1,435pp, including flights and coach transfers ( • Best villas in Bali Temple visits, daily yoga sessions and a healing ceremony are all included on this small-group tour with G Adventures. You'll spend three nights in an Ubud resort exploring Bali's spiritual side with a sacred bathing ritual at Hindu temple Tirta Empul, guided meditations and an organic cooking class, before travelling on to Pemuteran for two nights with activities including a Balinese healing yoga session and an afternoon snorkelling on Menjangan Island. The tour concludes with three nights in a hotel in Nusa Dua, near Sanur, for a hike to Munduk waterfall, trekking on the Jatiluwih Rice Terrace and options to try a Balinese dance class or take a course in massage. Details Eight nights' B&B from £997pp, including arrival transfers, yoga, daily activities and some extra meals ( Fly to Denpasar Strictly for the adventurous, this small-group tour starts with two nights in a hotel in Ubud before ticking off two-night stays each at hotels and guesthouses in the Mount Agung foothills, Amed, Senaru and the Gili Islands, plus a night's camping just below the crater's rim at Mount Rinjani on Lombok. There's an action-packed itinerary along the way including white water rafting, a day cycling through bamboo forests and local villages, treks to Tirta Gangga water palace and Lempuyang Temple and a snorkelling trip in a motorised wooden boat around the three tiny Gili Islands, just off the coast of Lombok. Details Eleven nights' B&B including one night camping from £1,136pp, including activities and some extra meals ( Fly to Denpasar
