Club La Costa Apollonium Spa & Beach Resort

Apollonium is advertised as having site-wide wi-fi, On the rare occasions it works it is so slow they might as well not bother.

They are advertising something they are not providing Other hotels manage it and in this day and age, the wi-fi should be working.

We had been planning this holiday for some time particularly as we had invited a group of very dear friends to join us as our guests. A family of 6 was staying for 2 weeks in a 3-bed apartment, a family of 3 was joining us on week 1 for 7 days and a family of 4 was joining in week 2. The absence of meet and greet at the airport and our subsequent call to the resort to find out the whereabouts of our transfer did not dampen our enthusiasm. I had heard a lot of good reports about Turkey, particularly from work colleagues who had visited the country year after year and had encountered no issues,

We arrived at the resort and were more than happy with our accommodation and access to the pool. Plans were being made for various excursions and activities within the resort. We had a meal in the on-site restaurant on the first and second night, and then one of our party became violently ill. This worried me as this friend was very fit and not known to be prone to sickness. Others in the group swiftly followed and after the arrival of our friends in week 2 who immediately fell ill, I asked to see the Manager. The receptionist Petra tried to fob me off with some lame excuse about winds and pollen. I insisted that I see the Manager and that she could not possibly put herself in my shoes, friends I had invited for a well earned holiday were now seriously ill.

The Manager agreed to see me with his Area Manager in attendance, who was also responsible for a Club la Costa site in Tenerife. They both persisted with the winds and pollen story and insisted that this was all over the coast, that this was not an isolated incident and that Apollonium was not the only resort affected by these winds. They insisted that tests on swimming pool water were being carried out at regular intervals, even though we had never seen anyone test the water, but friends in the 2nd week had reported seeing a maintenance person throwing several large scoops of crystals into the pool which results in a very strong taste and smell of chlorine the following day. I requested that they post a notice to warn guest’s particularly those with young children or elderly guests, as these were the most vulnerable. They chose not to take this action but would compromise and place a note on reception advising guests that medical assistance was available 24 hours a day. They also stated that the treatment would be free to anyone suffering symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.

At no time after this did anyone in the Club la Costa team approach anyone in our group to ask about our welfare or what they could do to assist us and make our holiday more comfortable. The array of representatives who hounded me and my friends on their arrival attempting to sell us timeshare simply dissolved.

I have concluded after speaking to many other guests that the cleaning staff were inadequate, if at all trained on cleaning and using different coloured clothes for specific areas. They were seen to be using the same clothes for toilets and kitchen areas from one apartment to another. This would also cause cross infection, no bleach or disinfectant was used until the end of week 2.

The hygiene in the main restaurant was well below standard, at no time did we ever see the food in the nightly buffets tested but witnessed a mass of flies landing on the exposed food.

I have written a very strong letter of complaint to The Manager at Apollonium on my return in August and have copied Club La Costa’s Head Office in Spain; I am still awaiting their response. Hopefully, they will account for the lack of due care and attention given to my family and friends and provide some recompense for a holiday that was totally ruined for all parties concerned.

I feel that they made the decision to put us at risk of being seriously ill by not informing us earlier of this virus. This would have given us the option of leaving and indeed warning our friends with younger children to stay away. There were many opportunities to turn this situation around but I can only conclude that for Club La Costa the customers’ needs are not paramount, that the customer does not come first, that cutting costs in order to increase their profit margins are the only concern of this organisation.

I concur with others who have expressed their disgust with this resort. We arrived on the Monday (myself, husband, mother, son (16) and daughter (9)), mid-afternoon.

The journey from the airport was across the mountain track, very rough terrain. We later found out there is a perfectly decent road from Airport to resort!! The resort is very isolated with just one bar and one restaurant to cater for 500+ people. We ate in the restaurant on the first and only evening, buffet service with a reasonable selection of foods.

It wasn’t until the following evening when my daughter became violently ill, vomiting and retching over 20 times. The resort’s medic arrived who I presumed to be a doctor and certainly didn’t say otherwise when I addressed him as ‘Doctor’! He administered an injection to my daughter and provided a course of yellow tablets. He said the injection would stop my daughter from vomiting. On quizzing him as to the severity of the symptoms, the Medic advised us it was an air-borne sickness caused by the pollen coming down from the mountains. Also that a lot of the area was affected. I thought at the time this very odd as pollen causes chest-related conditions.

The next day, Wednesday, my son came down with the virus. Vomiting and diarrhoea. The medic returned, took my son’s blood pressure, administered him with an injection and again provided a blister pack of yellow tablets. Meanwhile, my mother took to her bed feeling generally unwell and exhausted. At my request, the Medic quickly checked her and advised that she take the by now ubiquitous yellow tablets and suggested my husband and I also take them. When we asked what they were, the Medic said they were an anti-bacterial drug for the colon. Furthermore, between caring for our convalescing daughter and ill son I observed what I can only describe as dried in vomit on the side of his bed. This had obviously been caused by a previous occupant as my son had vomited only in the toilet!!!!

Later that day my son collapsed in the bathroom. He is over 6′ tall and it took both my husband and I to help him back to his bed.

Thursday came, my mother and son still ill and my husband and I minding them. We started to feel unwell so started the yellow tablets. By Friday I was now suffering from severe diarrhoea and my husband was also suffering, although not as badly. The concern among our group was that we had organised an independent weekend break to Istanbul and were now worried if we would make it.

We had a 5.30am start Saturday morning though my mother broke the news to us that she was too insecure to travel. We were devastated but she being a retired nurse insisted that she would be fine on her own and would hopefully be able to sleep off the bug and that there was enough food and bottled water to keep her going. We liaised frequently by phone whilst in Istanbul. I did also ask a member of staff on reception to check on her which she kindly did.

I kept an empty stomach all day Saturday to be safe, though following a pleasant evening meal in Istanbul, became violently ill later that night. This was obviously the original bug still causing havoc to our holiday. Sunday was a slow day sight-seeing as I was feeling weak and nauseous.

We returned to Apollonium on the Monday evening, all family members still not feeling right. Tuesday was a slow day but by Wednesday and Thursday, the vomiting and diarrhoea had started again with daughter and son. The medic came again with more yellow tablets.

We were extremely annoyed by now as we had barely had an opportunity to mingle with fellow holiday-makers or make proper use of the car which we hired for the fortnight. We insisted on seeing the manager and initially the message was not passed on. Eventually, we got to see the manager. He explained he had only been in the job for three weeks and that yes, the sickness was to do with the pollen. He did add that because of complaints of the water smelling, he had organised the draining away of any stagnant waters. He informed us that CLC Malaga was issuing a statement with regard to the sickness and allowed us to see a copy of it. It was of course a very carefully worded statement basically stating that CLC had appointed specialists to carry out all necessary tests and all came back negative. We were asked how the remainder of our holiday could be improved and would we like free treatments in the spa. I responded that I wanted nothing to do with water on the resort and that all we wanted was some honesty and to inform people at the outset of the sickness within the resort. Also that the handover clean needed to be far more thorough to eradicate the illness. I commented that there were too many soft furnishings in the apartments such as cushions and shaggy rugs and as nice as they are, they harbour air-borne bacteria. I believe this suggestion fell on deaf ears. I enquired as to whether there was a certificate for the results of the tests, and if so could we see it. This also fell on deaf ears!!!

By now all we wanted was to go home. We did speak to other holiday-makers who were having all the symptoms we were experiencing and being administered with injections and yellow tablets. My son had his laptop with him and for the remaining few days kept a check on the Trip Adviser website only to see people posting their ‘holiday from hell’ at CLC Apollonium Club and Beach Spa.

The evening before our departure, my husband called into reception to request a medical certificate so that my mother could claim for the missed opportunity of the weekend in Istanbul. He was told it would be ready for our departure. Alas, this was not the case and we were informed Saturday morning, our departure day, that the medical certificate would be posted. My mother is wondering of the validity of a certificate without the signature of a proper doctor.

Oh, and as people were departing on the Friday and Saturday, the cleaning team were entering each vacated property with plastic shower caps and face masks.

Now we are at home and still not recovered. It’s a great pity that CLC didn’t act more responsibly when dealing with such a serious outbreak of sickness. We have experienced two previous holidays at CLC in Spain and also in Scotland and couldn’t fault them. Apollonium really needs to clean up its act and treat their members with some respect! This would have been many people’s annual holiday RUINED!!!!! I hope CLC read my comments and reflect on their wrongdoings.

I would also like to add that my family have been travelling considerably since the children have been little including African countries such as Kenya and Morocco. We are seasoned travellers often planning independently though have never suffered such prolonged sickness on any of our travels.

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We travelled here as a family in August knowing this was a quiet area and that suited us…..What a disappointment.

I have read some reviews on this resort and one was very accurate.

We booked a two bedroom apartment, when we checked in we were pleased that it was right opposite reception, this was good as this is a large resort. The apartment was on the ground floor with a patio area, however with the large balcony overhang from the apartment above it made the apartment very dark and with the dark wood furnishings and kitchen, we had to put lights on all the time. The Jacuzzi was not available to use, I guess because CLC was cutting corners with keeping them maintained, there was no food welcome pack which CLC usually supply. The pool area was very clean and welcoming, but there were not enough sunbeds, and there were no cushions on the sunbeds. My main problems was on the beach area, this is a large resort with a children s play area and water slides.

However there were not enough sunbeds and it seems that people were putting towels on the sunbeds and then not turning up to them for hours. We have never experienced this at a CLC resort before. There is an area of luxury sunbeds were clients are charged 25tl per day, well how unfair is that when we CLC members pay almost £1,000 per year in maintenance. The sunbed issue needs to be addressed urgently.

There were two restaurants on this resort, one serving Indian and Chinese cuisine which I thought rather odd, we did eat in this restaurant and the food was good although the service was rather slow and the restaurant was empty, we did not eat in the beach bar but did order drinks, I feel the staff need training as their cocktail making needed a lot to be desired!. The shop on the resort is small and expensive for example a magnum ice cream is 7.7tl but outside the resort down the beach the same magnum costs 3.5tl, so beware. We had the CLC rep try to get us to visit the other CLC Turkish resort, she explained how much money had been spent on it and how wonderful it was, well I guess this resort is being neglected for the sake of the other resort just down the road. If you consider going to this resort please do not compare it to the CLC Spain and Tenerife this resort is the poor relation!!

Overall the weather was good, and the local town had some good restaurants but would I return to this resort….no CLC get your act together and remember what you told me at your sales pitch quote ‘We like to give our customers the wow factor’…..yer right!

My view is clouded in that I am a member of Club la Costa, a timeshare club.

This is a remote location, self catering is hard and expensive and the choice of restaurants is poor and CLC’s own restaurant is very very expensive by any standard. So as a Club La Costa member, I was resorts (as they don’t have that many) that I will want to go to again and again – I would not need to go here again. There is not much to do, it is expensive when you are here and it, for me, is not a time and time again place. Properties much smaller than Spain or America. They do not fill or cover the jacuzzi – very odd and poor service in what you are told to expect when buying CLC (which is hogwash by the way – DO NOT BUY ANY CLC POINTS).

If you are not a member of Club la Costa it is fine accommodation and in reach of some of the main sites and there is enough to do for a week/two weeks or if you are just a sunbather. Good value if you get the kind of £ prices I have seen.

My one overriding concern – and the main cause of law rating – is safety. The place is a death trap. The main problem is the smooth marble everywhere – slippy anyway but in rain or just out of a pool – deadly dangerous.

Avoid the Spa – it is expensive – and rubbish – really really poor and bad. I am not sure the staff are actually trained. It’s not even nice to look at being in.

Staff friendly but if there is a problem there really is no customer service – so your experience may vary on if you need help or not.

Property is not old but don’t know how it will last – showers were very mouldy already and lots of wear and tear in our property.

We’ve just returned from the holiday from hell.

Yes like everyone else who’s commented our entire family (including young children) were very ill.

The problem is the water supply which stank of sewer and the chocolate colour appeared in it during our stay. The resort new about the problem, it was reported that over 105 people the week before our arrival had been poisoned and yet they did nothing.

During our week everyone and I mean everyone was ill, some couldn’t venture from the toilet and that’s no joke or exaggeration. No warning other than a slip of paper to say don’t drink or cook with the water. You had no alternative but to shower in it. What in the 2000’s!!! No explanation, no advise even after repeated requests for help from the management, club reps or what was being done about it. Just the hard sell continued to flow from the ‘has been timeshare reps’ trying to sell the place to new members.

Noticeably since the resort only been open last year, a number of apartments are back on the market for resale and many new are unsold. Most disturbing was the “don’t care” attitude. If I’d had the power I would have sacked the lot of them. I suspect more was to do with financial implications, rather than the good health of their customers, now this is most alarming and should be a warning to others, should it happen again as this place is isolated, very isolated. The nearest hospital is nearly an hours drive along some pretty dangerous roads, not that can be rushed. Also being so isolated means that when any health issue arises, it will take a long time for help to arrive, which never did during our 7 days.

Communication is a problem with this organisation. When we arrived we were not warned that our travel from the airport was via a goat track through the wilderness for nearly an hour with a non-English speaking Stirling Moss. At times it was very terrifying, my wife was convinced we were being hijacked and after speaking to many other guests, they said the same.

The resort is typical Turkey, very hot and sunny but smacks of 1970’s Spain. The people are friendly but never seem to smile (didn’t in the resort). Don’t expect to pop out if you get bored. there’s no-where to go unless you travel for nearly an hour. You have no neighbours or shops for several miles. Restaurants are even further away, so you’re left with the in-house restaurant or self-catering. There is a bus and taxi service. The on-site facilities are good and very children friendly. There are a lot of other places that have sun with things to do which makes this resort rank at the bottom.

Watching your 7 years old daughter throwing up and soiling her pants at the same time while you can’t get off the toilet yourself is ………..

We went to have a good time. We found no-one who had, it was the holiday from hell and no-one Turkish or on-site English Management expressed they cared. Oh yes you will also be guaranteed to get the hard sell for club membership, no matter what they first say.