Turkey offers all conceivable varieties of accommodation, from campsites to luxury complexes. The broadest choice lies in the resorts and cities of the western two-thirds of the country; on the sunnier coasts, huge, faceless international resorts alternate with even more anonymous concrete blocks for those of lesser means.
But since the 1990s there has been a backlash against both, and boutique hotels aimed at discerning Turks and more demanding foreigners alike are proliferating, often restorations of traditional buildings. But the term butik is much (ab)used to justify hefty prices.
Types of Lodgings
Hotels
Hotel categories
The Ministry of Tourism classifies all hotels from one to five stars, with the majority between two and four. Boutique hotels are often categorised as ƶzel (special) accommodation.
At one-star level you will get a serviceable if basic en-suite room. A three-star hotel should have a bar-restaurant, air conditioning and better furniture in the rooms, fairly reliable hot water, and probably a swimming pool.
Four- and five-star hotels include local franchises of international hotel chains like Accor, Iberostar and Swissotel, or Turkish chains like Dedeman or Anemon. Although their rack rates are astronomical, at quieter times they offer extremely attractive packages online.
All-inclusive complexes are proliferating, especially around KuÅadası, Marmaris and along the Mediterranean coast. While in theory good value, they generate steady complaints about inedible food, undrinkable (occasionally dangerous) alcoholic beverages and hidden charges.
Apart-hotels
These offer some of the independence of a flat, but with hotel-type services included. Some multi-star hotels also offer apartments in one wing.
Pansiyons
A pansiyon or guesthouse is somewhat akin to a British bed and breakfast, and can be as good as or better than a one/two-star hotel. At some seaside resorts the more basic ones are used by Turkish families on holiday, and pitched at their needs with self-catering kitchens and multi-bedded rooms. More expensive examples will have en-suite facilities in every room.
Hostels, Treehouses, Trekkersā Lodges
Accommodation is so reasonably priced in Turkey that hostels per se are seldom found. Along the Lycian coast, an interesting adaptation of these ā which circumvents a ban on permanent buildings in protected areas ā are the so-called ātreehouseā lodges, particularly at Olympos and Faralya, near ĆlĆ¼deniz. Along the Lycian Way and St Paul trail, as well as in the KaƧkar mountains, trekkersā lodges have essentially a hostel format with multi-bedded rooms and shared toilet facilities.
Self-catering
There are many comfortable villas and apartments with pools; you should, however, ensure that you wonāt be amidst a construction. Some UK package agents (for more information, click here) specialise in providing quiet, rural, āgenuineā locations, but these may not have pools on-site.
Camping
Some pansiyons with gardens allow pitching a tent. Otherwise, more elaborate campsites (kamping) are situated close to the principal seaside resorts, and have showers, shops, restaurants and childrenās activities. They cost around as much as staying in a cheap hotel, especially when per-vehicle fees are figured in. More basic, but far nicer and cheaper, are the twenty forestry department sites along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts ā often with their own beach.
You can actually camp almost anywhere except designated historic or natural sites, provided you donāt damage farmland or light fires in forests. However, itās not for those who value their privacy, except in parts of the higher mountains where tenting is essential. But you may get unwanted attention from the jandarma or local police if you camp rough...