Ergun

I arrived on June 6. Since the room was already prepared, I asked for it to be opened so I could leave my suitcase there and then ho out. I was asked to pay 20 euros, but I refused because I did not have any extra money. The administrator seemed unhappy that he was unable to get money from me. Check-in officially starts at 2:00 PM, which is also when lunch service ends. I asked whether I was allowed to have lunch, and the receptionist initially told me no. I then pointed out that I had paid for 11 days and would be checking out before lunch on my departure day, meaning that lunch should be included. After that, the receptionist said that I could have lunch. After checking in, I went to the beach. Upon returning, I found an unfamiliar man leaving my room and asked what was going on. He said he had been fixing some issues with my toilet. However, I had only been away for about an hour and a half, and before I left there had been no plumbing problems at all; the floor around the toilet was completely dry. To this day, I do not know what he was actually doing in my room during my absence. Well, I will not even go into detail about the room itself or the attitude of the numerous reception staff… On June 9, after lunch, I locked myself inside the room using the security latch and hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside of the door. Between approximately 2:22 PM and 2:30 PM, someone attempted twice to enter my room and open force the door open. The only thing that prevented entry was the security latch I had engaged from inside. I was afraid to open the door. I went downstairs to reception and asked to see the CCTV footage (the hotel has many cameras). I provided the exact time of the incident. Five employees gathered behind the reception desk, smirking and talking among themselves in Turkish. Then one woman said they had checked the cameras and that nobody had been there and that I must have imagined it. Another man claimed that neighboring guests had simply mistaken both the room and the floor. A third employee (the one monitoring the cameras) stated that the camera did not cover my door. Thus, all three of them were lying directly to my face. How can anyone speak of safety when the staff themselves lie and entering guests' rooms in their absence (apart from cleaning) appears to be considered normal? Only two days later, on June 12 at 2:07 PM, someone again tried to force their way into my room. I started recording and opened the door. I saw two men, apparently Turkish, standing there with a key card belonging to a room located three floors below mine. Neither the difference in floors nor the "Do Not Disturb" sign seemed to concern them. I went to reception again. This time, six people gathered around. They spoke among themselves in Turkish and smirked. An older woman was hissing at me, and they all tried to silence me and make it appear as though everything was normal so that other guests would not hear what happens both in their absence and in their presence. Of course, I pointed out that there was an entire crowd of staff standing around doing very little, and if guests so frequently and drastically confuse their rooms, the staff could at least escort them to the correct room. This time there were no apologies from the reception staff. Instead, there was annoyed muttering, exchanging of glances, and attempts to silence me. On June 13, I hung a sign requesting room cleaning. I remained inside the room as usual, with the security latch engaged. The housekeeper knocked and then opened the door with her key card. At that moment, I realized that the door had apparently been "fixed." Previously, when the latch was engaged from inside, the door could not be opened even with a key card. Now, however, any member of the large hotel staff could apparently open both the latch and the door using a key card. Today, June 15, I met another guest, a young woman. I greeted her and offered to explain how things work at the hotel and where various facilities were located. I also told her about my situation and explained that every day I am simply waiting until I can return home because I am exhausted from constantly fearing for my safety and, frankly, for my life. When she received the key to her room, I suggested checking whether her security latch worked. She agreed. During the test, we discovered that her room door could be opened even without a key card, meaning that anyone could enter her room. We went together to reception and reported the issue. The entire group at reception assured her that there were cameras in the corridor and that she was safe (even though I had previously been told that my own room door was outside the camera's field of view, despite having personally seen that it was visible on the monitor). After the issue of unrestricted room access was exposed, even more staff gathered at reception. One man ordered me in a commanding tone to return to my room. The level of aggression directed at me also increased significantly. They were loudly discussing something in Turkish, even more loudly than before. I messaged my relatives and informed them about everything that had been happening over the past few days. I asked them that if I stopped responding, they should immediately contact the embassy. My relatives asked me to take photos and videos of the reception staff so there would be evidence of exactly who works there and who is involved in this situation. After I did so, the reception staff rushed toward me, shouting in their language and waving their arms. Then the older woman who had previously hissed at me loudly demanded that I delete the photos, attempted to tap at my phone, and threatened to call the police. I am in a hotel, not in their private apartment. They are hotel employees, and I have felt that my safety and even my life have been under threat for several consecutive days. I was exercising what I consider my lawful right to document individuals whose actions may violate my rights in case I later need to pursue legal action. The hotel staff were on duty in a public accommodation facility, not in a private residence. At the same time, one male employee used his personal phone to photograph me without my consent. I am a private individual, not hotel staff, and I have no idea for what purpose those photos were taken. In my country, which is a member of the European Union, there are laws restricting the photographing of private individuals without their consent. If my image appears anywhere, including Turkish messaging platforms or websites, I will pursue legal remedies and involve European media outlets to publicize what is happening at this hotel. Every day I fear for my safety and my belongings, and I am afraid to imagine what else these people might do. I am publishing this review in advance in case something happens to me, in case I become involved in something against my will, or in case something is planted in my room (since hotel staff can apparently enter freely where my personal belongings are kept). Furthermore, there is a clear threat to my security because, as it turns out, any member of the staff can enter my room both when I am absent and when I am present. The CCTV recordings may disappear, be lost, or it may later be claimed that "the cameras do not cover the area near your room door." As has already become clear, this group of reception staff has no hesitation about lying. You or your belongings could simply disappear without a trace. On June 11, a Russian woman complained to me that 90 euros had disappeared from her handbag in her room. She said she travels frequently and had never had anything stolen before staying at this hotel. She also said that the staff protect one another and that she would never be able to prove anything, but she would never return here. This is far from my first holiday in Turkey, but it is the first time I have encountered such a situation. I made audio recordings of today's incident and of previous behavior by the hotel staff toward me and sent them to my relatives. I hope for the best, but if things continue in this manner and something does happen, the hotel administration will ultimately have to answer for it in the European court, and every member of the staff will receive the publicity and reputation that follows.