The best budget hotels for a last-minute break to Turkey
It's a great time to book a holiday to the Turkey's Turquoise Coast – the weather is still balmy until late October (remaining in the high 20s), meaning visitors can still enjoy the beautiful clear blue waters that give this region its name.
Many hotels and guest houses also have lower room rates at the end of the season. Pair that with the country's current economic situation – you can get nine lira to the pound at the time of writing, up from just 4.5 a year ago – and you have a very affordable holiday on your hands.
Hotels typically set their room rates in euros, so savings - even for independent travellers - might be hard to come by, but restaurant meals and spa treatments within many hotels are priced in lira (though note that hotels tend to set their own exchange rates).
The best option for independent savvy travellers this autumn is to book a budget hotel and exchange sterling notes into lira locally. Lira can then be used at bars, restaurants and attractions beyond the hotel. Here are some of the loveliest budget hotels on the Turquoise Coast that offer the best value.
Turkish Lira against the US Dollar
Hotel Unique
Fethiye, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
9Telegraph expert rating
A small but perfectly formed boutique hotel with real flair, built on a difficult, steeply sloping plot opposite the marina (where boats leave for neighbouring Rhodes). This place is truly impressive in a small, intimate yet truly stylish way. It has been cleverly terraced and the designers have ensured that each of the 19 rooms has a lovely sea view and its own balcony. The pool is the real draw, set on a high, landscaped terrace, with a bed of natural stone and charming individual niches set into the hillside each holding a couple of loungers. The food on offer is excellent too, with a comprehensive menu ranging from lamb shank to grilled sea bass and grilled king prawns to beef ribs, all prepared by a noted chef. Read expert review From ￡96per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Kekik Hotel
Selimiye, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
This rustic, adults-only hotel in the hills above Selimiye has just a dozen rooms and is open year-round. It offers total peace and quiet, panoramic views and a relaxing laid-back atmosphere. It's made up of a long, two-storey stone house containing the bedrooms and an open-air restaurant and bar – up a dozen or so stone steps past banana trees, palms and pink thyme (kekik in Turkish) – covered by an ivy-strewn pergola. Yoga buffs can keep in shape in the big perspex yoga dome and there’s a small infinity pool with a sunbathing terrace, parasols and sun loungers. Turkish breakfasts are served at the table: bazlama bread baked on the premises in a brick oven, tomatoes, crumbly lor cheese, olives and home-made jams and honeys, as well as tahini, yoghurts, grilled sucuk (Turkish sausage) with courgette and omelettes. Read expert review From ￡105per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The best hotels on the Turquoise Coast
Badem Tatil Evi
Selimiye, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
Badem Tatil Evi is on a hillside close the pretty fishing village of Selimiye, located on the exquisite (and unspoilt) Bozburun peninsula. It's named after the almonds that grow in the area, is reached via a steep private driveway and set in lovely gardens full of bougainvillea and rose trees. The main part of the hotel is built to look like an Ottoman house, with wrought-iron balconies and a part-tiled, highly polished inner wooden staircase. There are also five bungalows with thatched roofs. Garden lamps dotted around the grounds at dusk lend a bewitching glow. An infinity pool, surrounded by wooden decking with bean chairs and sun loungers, overlooks Selimiye Bay, as does the restaurant and bar area and a massage pergola at the top of the garden. A free shuttle boat runs every hour in high season (otherwise on request) to the hotel’s quiet private beach, a five-minute ride from Selimiye’s waterfront. Read expert review From ￡97per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Olea Nova Hotel
Ka?, Antalya, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
The Olea Nova makes the most of its stunning location on the south shore of the rocky ?ukurba? Peninsula, with fabulous views across a coruscating, deep blue sea to the small Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo), around a mile offshore. A short walk down through olive groves and thyme-scented rocks brings you to the hotel’s terraced sea-front lido. The Olea Nova looks right at home in its setting on a tree (olives, pine and other Mediterranean species) carpeted hillside sloping gently down to the sea, whilst the beautifully-done south-facing kidney shaped pool out front is the natural focus of the hotel – especially as there are such stunning sea and island views from the elegant loungers set-out around it. Views from the roof-top terrace are even better. Breakfast is typically Turkish. Read expert review From ￡88per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The best budget hotels in the Mediterranean
Mehtap Pension
Antalya, Turquoise Coast, Turkey
8Telegraph expert rating
Young couples and walkers of the Lycian Way trail love this rustic guesthouse with gorgeous sea views. Set on a steep hillside beneath fairytale Simena castle, it is surrounded by fruit trees in one of Turkey’s prettiest villages. It’s more expensive than your average guesthouse, but the stunning setting is worth it. Rustic simplicity is the cornerstone of this laid-back, family-run place, converted from a couple of old, thick stone-walled properties which front onto a rambling (some would say rickety) south-facing veranda, ideal for idling away the time over a fulsome breakfast or sinking a beer or two at sundown. Evening meals are heartily recommended - the family takes pride in its freshly-caught fish, squid and octopus, though there are meat grills on offer every night. Read expert review From ￡80per night Rates provided by Booking.com
