Pamukkale Hotels Motel Pension Turkey

Places to Stay Pamukkale Hotels, Pamukkale Hotel Turkey

With the razing of the motels on top of the ridge, accommodation is now in Pamukkale town or in Karahayıt, the building site of choice for large hotels catering to the tour-group trade (see later in this section). At weekends you may find Pamukkale's pen-sions and motels full and be forced to seek accommodation in Denizli.

Prices vary greatly according to the sea-son, being highest in mid-summer. To avoid the crush - and find a bargain - come during the week, or very early on Friday or Satur-day, and preferably in spring or autumn, not high summer. Many of the village pensions and hotels stay open ali year, so a winter visit is also an option, provided you don't mind forgoing the pleasures of the swim-ming pools.

Places to Stay – Budget, Hotels And Pension Pamukkale

The town at the base of the ridge is filled with little family pensions, some more elab-orate and expensive than others. Many have swimming pools, often oddly shaped and filled with the calcium mineral water - cool by the time it gets there - and shady places to sit, read, sip tea or have a meal. If rooms are available, you'll have no problem fınding one, as pension owners will crowd around your bus as it arrives and flood you with offers. Those with rooms available after the initial onslaught will intercept you as you walk along the road into the village. If you have your heart set on somewhere specific you may have to be very determined to rid yourself of the touts.

Right at the entrance to town, just off the highvvay, is Mehmet Semerci's Hotel Kon­ak Sade (258-272 2002, fax 272 2175), Pamukkale's first lodging place, opened more than 25 years ago. It's a mixture of newer rooms and some in an old village house decorated vvith Turkish carpets, kilims and copperware. The shady rear garden holds a small swimming pool sur­rounded by tables and chairs; the view of the travertines from here is the best around. The 32 simple rooms all have private baths. You pay US$40 a double with breakfast.

Across the road from the Konak Sade is Pension Mustafa (258-272 2240, fax 272 2830), with clean simple rooms, all with their own shower, for US$20 per person. Breakfast is another US$5 and a sizeable dinner costs US$8. Just a couple of doors along, and charging the same prices, is Şerif Bakan's Arkadaş Pansiyon (258-272 2183, fax 272 2589), vvith nine cosy rooms set around a shady courtyard. A new upstairs restaurant with travertine views should have opened by the time you read this.

A cluster of welcoming, family run pen-sions can be found at the junction of inönü Caddesi and Menderes Caddesi. The hon-eysuckle-scented Kervansaray Pension (258-272 2209, fax 272 2143), offers cheerful rooms with shower for US$25, a swimming pool, and a friendly family at-mosphere. İt's been a favourite for years and the new central heating system makes it a year-round possibility.

Very close to the Kervansaray is the friendly Aspawa Pansiyon (258-272 2094, fax 272 2631), which has beds for US$12 or US$15, a front pool and an upstairs restaurant. it, too, has central heating and opens all year round. Readers have also heartily recommended the Weisse Burg Pension (258-272 2064) which has eight ground-floor rooms, a small pool and a rooftop restaurant where Haçer's cooking is particularly warmly endorsed - she can cater for vegetarians if you ask. Rooms cost US$25, breakfast is US$6 and dinner will set you back US$9.

Hotel Turku (258-272 2181) is tucked away down a side street, near the Comman-do Disco. Clean rooms with private showers cost US$35 a double and meals in the dining room are said to be tasty. The pool is a little disappointing though.
As you come into town from Denizli there are several other pensions in a very quiet lo-cation. Readers have recommended Venüs Pension (258-272 2152), with spotless modern bedrooms on three floors for US$20 per person without breakfast. The pool here looks very inviting and you can eat out around it on sunny evenings. The Allgâu (258-272 2767), opposite, is owned by the same family but has its own pool.

Camping There are several camping grounds along the road between Denizli and Pamukkale, including Çankur Kamping (258-272 2784), attached to the Şafak Restaurant, as you come into Pamukkale from Denizli and Ege Camping nearby.

Places to Stay - Mid-Range

Pamukkale also has a few extremely inviting motels. One of the nicest is Rifat Dunnuş's Koray Motel (258-272 2300, fax 272 2095), an excellent choice with a pool set in a central courtyard surrounded by trees and plants - a romantic setting for evening meals. Well kept and friendly, it offers double rooms with shower and bath for US$25; for US$10 more you get breakfast and dinner as well. A new terrace restaurant was due to open at the time of writing. If you cali from Denizli otogar, a hotel car will pick you up, thereby avoiding the touts.

The 58 room Yörük Motel (fax 258-272 2073), a short walk down the hill in the village centre, is more inviting than its lobby initially suggests. Guest rooms are on two levels, surrounding a courtyard with swim-ming pool. The restaurant is often busy with tour groups. Rooms with shower, balcony and breakfast cost US$30/40 a single/double in summer. A couple of four-bedded rooms can be snapped up for US$50.