Elips Royal Hotel & Spa

A city hotel for divers who want Antalya on the doorstep and a proper place to recover afterwards. Elips Royal Hotel & Spa sits in the centre rather than beside a resort beach, so the mood is practical: breakfast, a swim, a walk into town, then back to the air conditioning before the evening gets away from you.

The hotel has 75 rooms across six floors, with a restaurant, bar, indoor pool and spa facilities. English and German are spoken by the hotel team, which removes one of the more tiresome parts of travelling with dive gear and a tired brain: trying to explain a simple request with gestures and optimism.

The setting also works for a mixed trip. Divers can use the hotel as a base for the coast, while a non-diving companion has central Antalya, a library, wellness facilities and the city streets within reach.

The address is in Antalya, Türkiye, around 1 km from the city centre. Kesik Minaret, Republic Square and Yivli Minaret are nearby, putting historic Antalya within easy reach when you fancy something more substantial than another hour discussing yesterday's visibility.

The hotel is not on the beach. A golden-sand beach is about a 20-minute walk away, while Konyaaltı and Lara beaches are around 20 minutes by car. That gives you access to the coast without making the hotel dependent on a beach-resort routine.

Antalya Airport and the intercity bus station are also about 20 minutes away by car. Parking is available, although the car park has a height restriction, so check the clearance if you are travelling in a tall vehicle.

The room choice is straightforward. Solo divers have a single room, couples can take a double room or the double suite, and a group of three has a triple option. The family room is the practical choice when more sleeping space matters than hotel theatrics. The double suite adds a safe and a mirror to the standard room equipment, along with its double bed.

Every room category comes with a private bathroom, while the standard rooms also have a shower, television, telephone and toiletries. Air conditioning matters in Antalya, particularly when you return warm, salty and ready to stop being useful for the day. Heating is available for cooler periods, and the rooms are non-smoking and soundproofed.

A minibar gives you somewhere to keep a cold drink, while room service means you do not always have to re-enter civilisation immediately. The hotel also provides cable television, a safe and Wi-Fi. Room equipment varies by category, so check the individual room card before booking if a particular facility is important to you.

Breakfast is included and served as a buffet, which is the right shape of meal for a diving holiday: enough choice to build a sensible plate before the boat, without turning the morning into a formal event. The restaurant, Lezzet Merkezi, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There is one bar for a drink when you return, plus tea and coffee for guests. A food dispenser is also available, useful when hunger arrives at an hour that does not respect restaurant planning. The hotel provides room service as well, so a quiet meal in the room remains an option.

The accommodation basis is breakfast included. Other meals depend on the rate selected, so check the meal details attached to your booking rather than assuming that lunch and dinner have quietly joined the bill.

The indoor swimming pool is the useful centrepiece here. It gives you a way to loosen up without heading back to the beach, and pool towels are available. There is also a jacuzzi for the sort of evening when sitting still is the most ambitious activity on the programme.

The Spa & Hamam includes a hammam and sauna, with massage and aesthetic treatments also available. The hotel presents the hamam and sauna as part of its guest offering. After several dives, that is a more convincing plan than pretending you will explore every corner of Antalya before dinner.

For quieter hours, there is a library, a garden and a terrace. The hotel also has a television in the lobby, though nobody needs to make a virtue of that. Families are welcome, and a children's television channel is available, while the conference and event facilities make the property suitable for trips that mix diving with work.

The 24-hour reception handles arrivals and departures, with standard check-in from 14:00 and check-out by 12:00. Express and private check-in and check-out are available, useful when your travel day refuses to behave. The hotel can arrange airport transfers, including shuttle options, through the property.

Wi-Fi is free, and the hotel has a lift, accessible facilities and a restaurant accessible to wheelchair users. There is a cash machine, currency exchange, concierge service, luggage storage, laundry, dry cleaning and ironing. An infirmary is available on site, while private parking is provided subject to the height limit.

Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and cash are accepted. Rooms and public areas are non-smoking, and pets are not admitted. The hotel also has meeting and conference facilities, so the lobby may occasionally have more people discussing schedules than sea conditions.