the nichol family had never been on holiday to turkey before, nor had we previously experienced an all inclusive package so as my wife suzie, nine year old daughter sophie and i arrived at the marti myra resort on the mediterranean coast, the place was facing a tough test first impressions were good the reception area was plush and polished, with acres of wood, glass and marble john nichol with his wife suzie and nine year old daughter sophie at the marti myra resort in turkey  to sophie's delight, plenty of kids were lounging around on giant sofas availing themselves of free wi fi and watching giant tvs as the adults sipped cocktails at the lobby bar, the hotel appeared bustling but by no means overcrowded   probably because marti myra is a huge, rambling resort with seemingly endless facilities all 551 rooms were taken when we stayed, housing around 1,100 adults and 500 children but there was never any sense we were competing for space this may well be because the site is set in 100 acres, has seven pools, water slides, beaches, an amphitheatre, five bars and seven restaurants sophie quickly made friends with other british children and more or less disappeared for the fortnight this is a resort completely geared towards family satisfaction and we were totally happy for the children to play in the pools, visit the various restaurants and go to the arcade unsupervised that said, i suspect the amount of vegetables consumed at their private lunches was in inverse proportion to the volume of ice cream eaten if that was the case they were missing out, as the food was tremendous   endless buffets of fresh fish, salads, grilled meats   and 20 desserts for a small supplement, guests can also choose from à la carte restaurants marti myra is in the kemer region, which is dominated by the towering presence of mount tahtali, the highest peak in southern turkey it demands a visit so we took the cable car to the 7,757ft summit at €210 (around £150) for the three of us, it wasn't cheap but it was worth it to experience the glorious panorama the pool complex at marti myra was a hit with the nichols family  in true nichol clan style, this was our only excursion from the resort as we were more than happy to luxuriate on the beach or by the pool the only other added extra we chose to invest in was one of the £100 a day pavilions on the pristine beach these private retreats came equipped with robes, sofas, sunbeds and a fridge and if you couldn't be bothered to open the fridge door yourself, a waiter would bring over drinks and snacks we could have taken part in all sorts of activities, from aqua aerobics to archery, dancing and poolside it's a knockout style games the beach party was a riot of noise, while the nightly entertainment included amazing kenyan acrobats the kids' club production of grease had suzie and i doing the full john travolta and olivia newton john routine much to sophie's utter horror for a more peaceful break you can simply retreat to the calm of the rolling gardens marti myra really did offer a fabulous holiday experience for the whole family sophie was happy   and if children are happy, contentment for all will surely follow getting there  thomson (thomsoncouk, 0871 230 2555) offers seven night holidays at the marti myra resort on a half board basis from £499pp, including return flights from stansted and transfers
the mediterranean coast collins kemer the flood: what the dambusters did next marti myra mount tahtali june turkey john nichol's
marti myra resort in turkey is on the mediterranean coast  boats seven pools, water slides, beaches,  five bars and seven restaurants  marti myra is in the kemer region, which is dominated by mount tahtali  the resort completely geared towards family satisfaction  john nichol's latest book after the flood: what the dambusters did next is published in june by collins