Letoonia Club & Hotel in Fethiye is a resort in Turkey located on a peninsula overlooking the Southern Aegean Sea. Beiruting and Beiruting Kids were invited by Nakhal on one of the twice daily direct flights from Beirut to Dalaman with Wings of Lebanon on July 15 for a 3 day trip allowed us to discover this family oriented holiday village.

When we landed in the airport, a representative from Nakhal led us to our air conditioned bus for the 1.5 hour drive from Dalaman airport to Letoonia Club in Fethiye. We were warmly greeted at the hotel, were offered drinks of our choice as the porter took our luggage to the room. Afterwards we attended a presentation to introduce us to the resort's amenities and services. The large resort is over 168,000 square meters and has three private beaches. The Club has a main hotel building in which we stayed, and wooden bungalows with carved ceilings reflecting the local culture, and are situated amongst the lush greenery and we had the feeling of privacy and seclusion. Our hotel room even included a cot for our child equipped with a small pillow and felt like home. Guests can enjoy the water slides that land in the sea, sports such as tennis, volleyball, and pedalo, walking trails, pools, restaurants, bars and entertainment like the open air disco. There are competitions and challenges including sports where all ages can participate, this encourages kids to meet team members from other countries and learn sportsmanship at a young age. The children had a special club next to the Dolphin Beach where they were supervised at all times and participated in activities tailored to their age including painting. To include their kids in this mini club, each parent had to fill out a form including the child's name, phone number, where the adults will be during this time, and whether or not the child has any allergies. A bracelet is given to the kid and they cannot be released until the parent signs the waiver again, and next to the kids club is the 40 cm deep pool with small slides especially for children. We had an all-inclusive food and drinks service, and a choice of three open buffet restaurants, three snack restaurants, and three a la carte restaurants all equipped with highchairs for children. Some activities which aren't included in Letoonia's package but are available on its shores are a many water activities, the hotel's massage, a massage in Fethiye with a special discount for Nakhal travelers, and the boat ride to and from Letoonia.

After the presentation we proceeded to roam around the resort, discovering a souvenir shop, a beach related market and a photo booth to collect professional pictures taken by the photographers. Then it was time for a private seafood dinner with the Fethiye based Nakhal team on the shore of Letoonia's Dolphin Beach. On our way to and from the hotel, we took the funicular which is one of the transportation means on site, in addition to an open sided shuttle train that passes all around the resort nonstop, both are interesting for kids to see as they learn about modes of transport. The night didn't end there, the resort offers nightly entertainment including a theater accessible to all with a different program each time. From Egyptian dances to Indian cultures, from belly dancers to fire show, the arena was full with children and adults alike. One of the shows was a comedy featuring a cowboy in a Western setting which got the kids laughing due to its exaggerated humorous nature. No matter the time, it is always busy on the premises, and when one restaurant closes for the night, another is still open to serve drinks and food. The next day we chose to have breakfast at the Likia restaurant which serves an international buffet, we sat inside the air conditioned dining area, although there was an option to sit outside on the balcony overlooking the sea. We continued the day at the Dolphin Beach with towels provided by the nearby kiosk, and alternated between the beach and pool, the latter has a handy water dispenser with plastic cups next to them so that no one suffers from heat and dehydration. We had lunch at the buffet snack bar on the beach and continued our afternoon along the walking trail and towards the water activity area where we tried the pedalo, which is also accessible for kids, free of charge. Following a short hotel break to wind down, we had dinner at the Moonlight restaurant which is an open air seaside buffet with lit moons and stars hung high over the tables. We watched another series of shows at the theater and ended our night having drinks at the Agora Bar while kids played around the central area of the fountain as well as near their parents.

The next day the porter handled our luggage as we had our breakfast, and the bus was waiting to take us to Dalaman airport. We boarded Wings of Lebanon for our timely flight which took even less than 1.5 hours and we landed smoothly in Beirut. We would like to thank Nakhal and Wings of Lebanon for this fun filled trip, we enjoyed our time and recommend this destination for a summer holiday, especially because it is a short plane ride from Beirut, which means that children don't have to be seated for a long time which minimizes the hassle for parents. It also has an attractive package for those who wish to travel on an all-inclusive basis.

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Maria Najem