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01992 763660Belek is one of my favourite golf destinations. On this trip, I visited Sueno Deluxe, Regnum Carya and Titanic Deluxe, and played five rounds covering everything from the tree-lined National to night golf at Carya and the coastal challenge of Lykia Links.
Below are my personal hotel and course reviews, along with a suggested seven-night itinerary to help you plan your own Turkey golf holiday.
My main advice: choose your hotel and course mix together. The best trip gives everyone golf they will enjoy, sensible transfers and time to make the most of the hotel.
I changed hotels on my original trip so I could experience several properties and give clients better advice. For your own holiday, I would usually recommend staying at one hotel for the week.
This is a suggested eight-day plan for seven nights, inspired by the courses I played. It is a starting point for a tailored quote, rather than a fixed package. Hotel choice, course access, tee times and maintenance schedules will determine the final combination and order.
Prefer a more relaxed holiday? Reduce the golf to three or four rounds and keep more time for the hotel. Five rounds suited our enthusiasm for golf, but it is not the right balance for every group.
Our trip started with the familiar pleasure of leaving a wet morning behind and looking forward to a week of golf. After flying into Antalya and meeting our transfer driver, our first stop was Sueno Deluxe.
These are my impressions from that visit. Room categories, restaurant arrangements and hotel facilities should be checked against the options available for your own dates.
We spent our first two nights at Sueno Deluxe. I liked the balance between the standard of the hotel and what you were paying for it. It gave us plenty of the comforts I would expect from a more expensive stay.
The connection with Sueno's golf facilities was a particular advantage. On our visit, we walked over to Sueno Hotels Golf, where the clubhouse was based, to check in for our round.
I also enjoyed having a choice of places to eat. A buffet can be convenient, but a change of restaurant helps break up a week. The bars had a lively atmosphere, and the spa was a welcome stop after golf. A hammam, jacuzzi and steam room went down very well with our group.
My take: put Sueno Deluxe on your shortlist if you want a comfortable resort stay with Sueno golf forming an important part of the week.
Regnum Carya was the hotel I had been especially looking forward to. It sits towards the higher end of the budget, so expectations are rightly high.
On this visit, we were upgraded to the Golf Villas. That was a treat, rather than something to assume is included in a standard booking. The separate dressing area, generous bathroom and swim-up pool made it a memorable stay.
There were little details everywhere, including room fragrances and a television built into the mirror. I was not entirely convinced by the television, but it certainly had a bit of James Bond about it. In truth, we were hardly there to watch TV.
In the evening, we enjoyed the range of bars and restaurants. The whole place had a scale and sense of occasion that would not have felt out of place in Las Vegas.
My take: this was my favourite hotel of the trip. I would consider it for a special occasion or a group willing to spend more on the hotel experience, particularly when Carya and National are on the golfing shortlist.
We moved to Titanic Deluxe for the remainder of our stay. After looking around the hotel and some of its room categories, I decided that a day at the beach was exactly what I needed.
One of the things I remember most was the journey there. On our visit, we travelled towards the river and took a boat down to the beach. It made getting there part of the day, rather than simply a walk out of the hotel.
With so much golf available, it is tempting to play every day. My advice is to resist that temptation for at least one day. The beach, the Mediterranean and a proper break from trying to fix my swing made this feel like a holiday as well as a golf trip.
My take: if Titanic is on your shortlist, build in enough free time to enjoy the resort. Check the room, board basis, beach access and golf combination when comparing your quote.
These scores are my personal ratings from the trip. They reflect how I found each course on that visit, rather than an aggregate customer review score.
Sueno Pines gave us an excellent opening round. The changes in elevation made the second shots interesting, while the quick, sloping greens demanded some care.
I particularly enjoyed the par fives, where both length and accuracy helped. The par threes brought water into play and offered a good mixture of risk and reward.
Who I would recommend it to: golfers who enjoy thinking about their approach shots and want a course that gives them something to work at. Ask about buggy options when we plan your round, particularly if anyone in the group has mobility concerns.
We had 36 holes planned that day, with National Golf Club first and Carya later. I was very grateful for the golf massage I had booked at Sueno.
National had the mature feel I enjoy. On this visit, my preference was for the Irmak and Tuna combination, with its tight, tree-lined holes. The Ada loop offered a different challenge, with more water to negotiate.
My shot of the week was a high, fading hybrid into the fifth green, finishing about five feet from the hole. I missed the birdie putt, naturally.
The greens were excellent on our visit, and I liked the traditional clubhouse. It was a good place to sit down with Turkish tea and something to eat after the round.
Who I would recommend it to: golfers who enjoy a more traditional, tree-lined course where finding the right position matters.
I have never been the biggest fan of floodlit golf. With my high ball flight, I can struggle to follow the ball once it goes above the lights. Even so, seeing Carya lit up was quite something.
We chose a Texas Scramble to mix things up, and it worked brilliantly for the evening. Carya felt like a championship course without being an unfair test for our group. I enjoyed the variety of holes, and the conditioning on our visit was superb.
We reached the eighteenth in unfamiliar territory at twelve under par. Not bad for a group of ageing, once-were golfers. A couple of Efes beers in the clubhouse seemed the right way to celebrate before heading back for a late bite.
Who I would recommend it to: groups looking for a memorable round and something different during the week. An evening tee time can leave the daytime free for the hotel, but it needs to be requested and confirmed as part of your plans.
Planning a trip now? Titanic Golf Club was subsequently redeveloped and renamed Cullinan Links Golf Club. It now has two 18-hole courses, Aspendos and Olympos. My account below describes the earlier layout; the rating is not a review of today's courses.
After our rest day, a later tee time felt very civilised. I was refreshed and ready to unleash my usual mixture of wild hooks and erratic chips.
At the time, we played the River and Mediterranean loops. I liked the contrast between the more open river holes and the coastal feel of the Mediterranean nine. It was my favourite part of that round, even though it did not play like a traditional links course.
The layout we played gave better golfers something to think about while still allowing the higher handicappers in our group a chance to score. It was another enjoyable round, and a reminder of why the group liked coming back to Belek.
For your holiday: compare the current Aspendos and Olympos options, rather than trying to recreate the old nine-hole combinations.
Our final round meant an early start and a transfer along the coast to Lykia Links, designed by Perry Dye. We were warming up our creaky backs and shoulders as the sun came up. We may have a slight golf addiction.
Lykia felt very different from the other courses on the trip. I enjoyed having to use a wider range of shots: putting from off the green, keeping the ball down and playing little bump-and-runs.
I love that sort of golf, but I would not put Lykia on every group's itinerary. It was long and demanding, and controlling the ball mattered. I knew I was unlikely to walk into the clubhouse with 38 points and a smug expression.
That was part of the pleasure. It gave us a proper battle, some very quick greens and a final morning of golf that everyone was talking about afterwards.
Who I would recommend it to: golfers who enjoy a demanding coastal course and are happy to trade an easier score for a memorable challenge.
The conversation on the way home was straightforward: when could we come back? The variety of golf and the hotel experience made Belek a place our group wanted to play again.
Tell us your preferred dates, group size, number of nights and how much golf you would like to play. Mention this Belek itinerary and any hotels or courses that caught your eye.
We can help you compare the options and put together a quote around your group, whether that means five rounds across the week or a more relaxed stay with extra time at the hotel.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 01992 763660.
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