What Kind of Nourishment Should We Have Whilst on Holiday?

When the summer comes, a lot of people go to holiday destinations all around the world. They make use of the summer and its sidekicks, the sea, the beach and the sun, and even at the all inclusive hotels with their food buffets and unlimited alcohol. You find that you put on weight on top of what you already have, and then it takes an endless amount of time to get rid of it all, even though you just did not know how the time flew on that 1-2 week holiday, and where all that weight came from. So how can we have a healthier holiday but yet enjoy it?

You can find food and drink 24 hours a day in most hotels (see our blog on how hotels get their stars, and you will find that it is a Standard for having 24 hour food service in a hotel that is 3 stars and above.). Thinking like this also gives positive results, as you dont need to think about getting hungry. And once you know what is going on in the hotels, you can easily burn all the weight that you are gaining by taking full advantage of the facilities that are available to use everyday. For instance swimming in the pool or sea, even taking a leisurely stroll on the beach are very good ways of burning fat, and fun too!

Another important point to be considered within the all inclusive system is fluid consumption. Those who are thirsty, quench their thirst with alcohol at the best of times  because it is included in the all-inclusive system. However, due to the chemicals inside alcohol, the body needs to push it out of the blood, which turns it into fat. Whilst on holiday, a female needs to consume at least 2.7 liters, and a male at least 3.7 liters of water everyday. The amount is more for those who are over the height-weight ratio.

It is recommended that you make at least an hour of sports everyday whilst on holiday. The actions that we do at work in our lives could be measured up as the same as one hour of sport everyday. For this reason, there are plenty of things to do with the animation team during the day that are fun and energetic and fantastic in ways of exercise. For those of you who think leave me be, im on holiday i can eat and drink and do what i want and what i dont want or i’ll eat here, and then ill start exercising when i get back home.. DONT!! People are more at risk of having a heart whilst on holiday in hot countries with all the luxurious drinks than they are at home.

We wish you healthy and beautiful holidays!

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An Explanation Into Why Problems with Air Conditioning Units in Hotels Occur During Seasonal Changes

As we all know, tourists, especially those who live in countries that have mostly wet and cold seasons have holidays in hot regions. The Mediterranean is prime example of this. However, in the spring season the hotels in area, bar a few which are small 3stars/boutique hotels that have split air-con in the rooms, guests find that there are a few problems with the air-conditioning, in the big 5stars hotels. This is down to the fact that big hotels use a central air conditioning system. Due to the structure of these buildings, it is almost impossible to use split air-con, so therefore enormous cooling towers are used.

You can see this in the example below;

These systems are placed outside of the hotel buildings and are passed through separate pipes (hot water pipe & cold water pipe) throughout the hotel

The problem mentioned above arises at this point exactly. The problem with Central Air conditioning units is that they cannot be altered to any temperature when required like split air-con units. The units are altered by technical staff to the needs of the hotel whether hot or cold air is required.

Example: In the months of spring, the aircon may need to be switched on after 22 degrees centigrade. Once 22 degrees has been reached, then it will be switched on. Once the settings have been made, they usually are unable to be altered again, so even though guests may be uncomfortable with the air, there is nothing anyone can do about it. If the temperature drops, which usually occurs at night, the air-conditioning will stop operating and will cool down and be ready in time for when it heats up again. If the temperature outside drops below a certain temperature, then it maybe that the unit will automatically start the heating process. For instance, if the temperature drops below 15 degrees, then the hotel will be heated up instantly. Most complaints are brought to Reception. Reception will then inform technical services, if more than 3 rooms are not happy in regards to the temperature, then a slight change in the system is available. However this usually takes 40-45 minutes. This is due to the fact that all the water within the hotel structure must be cooled.





You can see that on most Travel & Tourism websites that a lot of complaints at this time of year of the fact that the air conditioning at night does not work. We hope this was a good explanation into why.

Happy Holidays in Advance

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How Do Hotels in Turkey Acquire Their Stars?

As many people know, hotels are put into different classes depending on how many stars they have, and the kind of marketing campaigns they have. However you can see on the internet forum websites that people complain about the quality of the hotel, and believe that they do not deserve the stars the hotel has been given.



Do tourists that visit hotels, wether they are in-city hotels or summer sun resorts, realise what a hotel must have to gain these stars for the relevant hotel?

A) 1 star Hotels (they must have the following in order to gain 1 star)


1) At Least 10 rooms

2) A spoiler, air curtain turning doors or similiar

3) A greeting hall in the lobby

4) Breakfast room

5) Management room

6) If the hotel has more than 3 floors, then the hotel must have a lift to a room / Guest ratio

7) An ability to have a buffet between the hours of 0600 – 2400

8) First aid kit and a medicine cupboard

9) An outboud phoneline

10) A safe that has the ability to hold personal belongings of %25 of the hotel rooms.



B) 2 star hotels (1 star requirements plus the following)


1) A suitable Air conditioning system for the environment the hotel is in.

2) A room or a cupboard on each floor of the hotel for maids

3) A hairdryer in the room

4) Beverage availability in each room



C) 3 star hotels (requirements of a 2 star plus the following:)


1) A suitable Air conditioning unit for the environment the hotel is in in each room.

2) A seating area for a minimum of %25 of the hotels capacity of beds.

3) An additional Management room

4) Televisions in the hotel rooms

5) %50 of rooms must have a minibar with light snacks and beverages

6) A swimming pool, 2nd class restaurant / cafeteria and / or a multipurpose function room that holds at least 50 pax with a space of 1.2m2 per person.

7) Laundry and iron service

8) A computer based reservation system

9) A buffet service available 24 hours.



D) 4 star hotels (requirements of a 3 star hotel plus the following:)


1) telephone cabins in the entrance hall

2) To have at least 2 lifts that is Guest / room ratio oriented, for the amount of floors that guests can use.

3) Air conditioning units in the rooms and in all annexes

4) A blanket, minibar and safe in all the rooms

5) Room service between the hours of 06:00 – 24:00

6) Dry cleaning & tailor services

7) A maids Office on every floor

8) Market

9) An area with multi-lingual books and documents to read.

10) A constant doctor service, with an inhouse sanitarium, and guests being aware of this

11) A big enough baggage room

12) Service lift or staircase

13) A restaurant with a capacity of no less than 100 minimum %50 of the hotels bed capacity.

14) A minimum of %15 of the staff must be educated within the field that they are working in

15) Managment personel must have a minimum of 5 years experience and be educated.

16) An Office with a working telephone, fax machine, internet and computer

17) A service which offers to leave messages to the rooms or a electronic system

18) A minimum of 3 of the following facilities: An indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool, an area with a minimum capacity of 100 pax that accomadates the needs of a cabaret, theatre and / or cinema,

- an area with a minimum capacity of 100pax at 1.2m2 per person that accomodates the needs of a conference centre, at least 2 seperate work rooms, secretary services and simultanious translation services.

- A different area that offers evening entertainment / discotheque / night club with a minimum capacity of 100 pax and 1.2m2 per person

- Fitness machines, aerobic and snooker room, a sauna with an alarm system, turkish bath, mini golf, tennis or volleyball court, trampoline, bowling alley, go karting track, skiing and water skiing facilities, squash court and similiar styles of activity.

- An A la carte restaurant that offers at least 5 turkish hot and cold savoury foods and a variety of sweets / desserts

- Cafeteria and snack bar



E) 5 star hotels (these hotels have a Premium settlement status, structure, system, equipment, a superior decoration and service Standard, plus all the requirements of A 4 star hotel)

1) A lift that gives Access to all floors that Guests may use, being at least 1, holding the hotels capacity.

2) A worktable, lights connected to the central system, switch and plug, full length mirror in the rooms

3) A sewing kit, shoe cleaning kit, shower gel, cotton buds for makeup removal , box of tissues, a minimum of 5 items with company logos,

4) A telephone connected to reception in the bathroom

5) A minimum of 6 rooms / %5 percent of the rooms must be non-smoking

6) 24 hour room service

7) Garage or underground carpark. These must have security personnel guarding them

8) Sattalite TV and video available, with %10 of rooms having internet connection

9) Unisex hairdresser

10) Multiple shops

11) At least %25 of personnel must be educated in the field that they are employed in

12) A la Carté Restaurants

13) In an area away from reception there must be Guest Relations / concierge available, with competent staff.

14) Telephones connected to the reception on all floors







As you can see above the maximum number of stars in a hotel is 5. those complexes that are stating they are 6 or 7 star hotels are not, this is just a marketing stunt to boost there sales and cover the losses of all the Money that went into them trying to be the best by investing into luxury. There is no hotel with a status above 5 star.



On online forum websites, you may find that guests state the following; this hotel doesnt deserve to be 5 star or even though it is 4 star its more like a 2 star. This is due to a bad time or a negative impact they had whilst they were at the hotel. For instance: an order was brought over late in a restaurant at a hotel and therefore did not deserve the star status that it has gained. This is not a fair way of looking at the situation.



It is important to know the criteria of the hotel you are staying at before you go on holiday.



Happy Holidays in advance!




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One Of The Most Important Element in any Hotel: " Cleanliness".

Ones wish is always to stay in a clean and hygienic room when on holiday.

The first thing one does after finishing all the necessary registration forms at reception would be to go straight to ones room to unpack their bags and freshen up. If ones wishes are not met and ends up in a room that is not cleaned then this would end up being a very bad start to the holiday and things could even get worse as all their expectations would of been shattered. This is where the roles of a housekeeper come in to place.

Housekeepers should clean and keep clean the rooms and complex area as if they were the Guest staying at the hotel. The procedure of this is quite easy to understand. A maid should go out of their way when doing their role, ie somebody who makes a bed up from the heart could quite possibly make decorations on the bed,  such as flower petals or even animals made out of towels, and make small gestures to their guests. When this is present, then you know that the person who is cleaning your room loves their job and cleans it dearly and leaves it how they would like to see it.

A maid’s job role:

• Cleans and organises rooms allocated to them
• Makes sure to make the bed up and change the sheets, clean the bathroom and around the washbasin, dust down all the furniture.
• To inform their supervisors of any faults in the area that they are in immediately for them to be repaired as quickly as possibly.
• To hand in any lost property found to their supervisor.
• To be able to use any equipment that they must use.
• To make sure to clean the equipment after use according to the manual, and to inform their supervisor of any faults that need repairing.
• To make up a report for their supervisor of what tasks have been completed during the day
• When possible, to take care of children and to be courteous at all times.

A Maid’s personal requirements:

• To be clean and tidy: pay attention to the uniform and personal hygiene of staff. There is a link to between those who are clean and tidy and the work that this person does. Those are clean and tidy usually do their work to the highest Standard.
• Trustworthy
• Healthy with a decent physique
• Loves the job they do, is able to do the job that they do, with good manners and know how to speak to one another including guests, and able to create good with relations with everyone
• To be responsible (towards work, guests and work colleagues).

P.S : Our suggestion to maids working in other hotels ; "When changing the sheets & quilts of the beds , it is advised NOT to tuck the sheets in too much , as the guests may have difficulty when getting into bed..

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