Donna Richardson Travel Journalist

By Donna Richardson

Imagine checking into the five-star Anda Barut resort late at night at the same time as one of the country’s most successful Olympians  – swimming champion Rebecca Adlington and her husband!

This happened to me and my family recently. Having seen Rebecca on the telly, I felt like I knew her so smiled at her like an old friend and she smiled back, but of course, she had never seen me in her life!  After checking in and being handed the key to our rooms, me and my family headed to ours and she and Andy checked in. It was a brief exchange but set the tone for the holiday to come. This was going to be very special.

The room was huge with a king-sized bed and a fold-out bed for our daughter, his and hers sinks as well as a rainfall shower, we went to sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. I awoke thinking I’d dreamt it all but then I looked out the window and caught sight of the Olympic-sized swimming pool just beyond the balcony and, wonderfully, I realised I hadn’t. I was here, with my family, to review the launch of the Anda Barut Collection in Didim, Turkey – where Rebecca and a whole host of Olympic greats had congregated for a weekend of fitness and wellness.

The hotel is huge, so needless to say, I spent some time getting lost on my way to breakfast. However, a breakfast of champions awaited at Zestful Bazaar restaurant. There was so much food to choose from – delicious pastries, bread, cereals, rainbow salads, fish, eggs, sausage and bacon, plus fruit, yoghurt, fruit juices and healthy shakes. I took a large portion as I needed to fuel up for my boot camp with none other than one of the greatest decathletes of all time Daley Thompson, Olympic champion heptathlete Denise Lewis, marathon world champion Paula Radcliffe, Olympic silver medallist and world champion hurdler Colin Jackson and Olympic sprinter Jamie Baulch who won silver in Atlanta back in 1996.  

Arriving at the meeting area, crowds of healthy people milled about sipping shakes as we waited to start the daily seafront circuits. We warmed up gently and then the world-class athletes started putting us through our paces, squats with Colin and planks with Denise and Jamie strutting the air guitar while trying to get us to do burpees. Daley was the king of the circuits making us do stretches and HIT exercises and imparting words of wisdom with great humour.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a shake from NGX Protein Shakes and Energy Balls by Chris Baber and chatted with Jamie and Colin before the next class. These two athletes go back a long way. Colin was actually Jamie’s coach who lifted him into the Olympic medallist club and it was fascinating to see their banter and their camaraderie. It was incredible to see Denise and Paula milling about too, interacting with everyone. Then it was off to the next class and everyone dispersed. With so many activities on offer, from yoga to aquafit and boxing, I wanted to do it all.

But as the activities would be repeated for the next three days I decided to pace myself and recharge the batteries. We found a sun lounger just by the family pool and an hour later my daughter and I decided to take part in Strictly Come Dancing star Ian Waite’s Fit Steps class. My daughter was so excited to be dancing with a Strictly icon. She got into it immediately and ended up at the front dancing opposite Ian. It was a proud moment seeing her right up there strutting her stuff. She also made friends with a girl called Ella – whose parents are two more Strictly stars, James and Ola Jordan. It was so wonderful to see her in and amongst Olympic and dance champions, with Ian’s Strictly partner Denise Lewis also in the crowd, what an utterly surreal experience.

Anda Barut Collection’s Didim hotel has a dedicated family zone, which we were keen to check out so we headed to the kid’s waterpark where our daughter enjoyed the slides and splash park then laid out our towels at the family pool before lunch. There is even a park and a carousel where the kids can have hours of fun. It has a full adventure park, waterslides, a games arcade, zipline and a climbing wall. Our daughter loved it all and was keen to go to the kids club, so we signed her up.

On holiday we love to spend time together but as parentless parents, quality time together is something we don’t get a lot of, so we welcomed the opportunity to enjoy a lunch date. There are 10 restaurants to choose from on the site, all via a handy app, but the food was so good at the buffet that we returned. This time I loaded my plate with sushi, avocado, fish and delicious fruits – I have never seen so many colours on a plate, and not a carb in sight, yet I felt wonderfully full and satisfied. However, there was still room for dessert and the choice was incredible. Bake Off eat your heart out – the food at Anda is on another level. Our daughter on the other hand ate at the Pink Rabbit kid buffet which had meals with fussy eaters in mind.

With newfound free time, we decided to head back up to the pool and order a cocktail, just in time for the welcome with the athletes, many of whom we had already met but it was great to have a chat which didn’t involve one of us entertaining our child. As we sat by the pool ordering cocktails from the roller-blading waiters soaking up the sun, we realised how lucky we were.

I popped across to watch the boxing and then got into a conversation with Denise Lewis. We chatted for a while about the Olympics and how we had met when she opened the British Judo centre in Wolverhampton. We then sat by the pool sipping cocktails for the afternoon.

Just before picking our daughter up, we wandered down to the beach for a rowing lesson with Olympic medallist Rick Edgington and Vicky Thornley, seeing them glide off across the Didim Peninsula was a magical moment where I could appreciate the scale of this resort which stretches out over the Aegean Sea.

Our daughter had a wonderful time at the kids club, and made many friends, returning with a big smile to accessorise her bright face paint. She joined in with the parade with her favourite kids club characters too.

After a quick swim, we returned to our room to get ready for the evening. The room has an unlimited minibar and We had cocktails on the terrace, followed by a meal at Fish Camp A’la Carte restaurant. As we sat facing the Aegean Sea, we chatted and waited for our multiple courses to arrive. The fish was so fresh and paired with excellent wine and wonderful conversation with Yogagise teacher Sarah Highfield and her partner.

The next day began with boot camp, this time they turned it up a notch, Denise, Jamie, Colin and Daley made us work even harder. We also had a star celebrity join us; one of the resort’s stray puppies who ran around excitedly with a cone. My daughter found this hilarious. She skipped back to the hotel and was drawn by the music in the main pool. So we decided to take part in the aquafit.

We then hung up our exercise gear for the rest of the day and visited the Temple of Apollo. Dedicated to the god of light and music, the temple was built in 150 AD. It was an extraordinary experience to see the huge pillars and touch the remains of the altar , where the oracle and high priestess once sat, and walk in the ancient footsteps. There are still drawings on the temple wall which survived because it was unfinished. Before we left, we enjoyed a strong cup of Turkish coffee.

We were back just in time for a swimming lesson with Rebecca Adlington, which my partner, a much better swimmer than I, took part in. It was incredible to see this Olympic legend at work. She put the class through their paces and showed them new techniques. Our daughter, who is learning to swim, was in awe of the class and even more so when she came over to meet her Olympic heroine. We rounded off the day’s exercise with James and Ola’s Dance Shred.

That evening was one of the highlights of the trip – the Champions Dinner at the Kara Turkish Restaurant, where we found ourselves on a table with Rebecca and her husband Andy. We enjoyed a delicious meal and chatted about our families and travelling and Becky’s home town of Mansfield.

On another table was Denise and Colin, and on another Daley and Jamie and Cheryl and another with the rowers Vicky and Carl, and Leon on another and a table reserved for the Strictly dancers Ian and James and Orla. It was just an incredible atmosphere and everyone mingled in chatting and enjoying a delicious dinner.

I also got to speak to Ian Waite, who invited me and my daughter to a special dance class when we got home at his home town in Surrey. With that in mind, she went to the kids club disco to show off her moves and we continued to chat away and then all made our way towards the main stage where a spectacular dance show kept us entertained. Afterwards, we popped into the Olivae Patisserie for a sweet treat, which was like walking into Willy Wonka’s chocolate shop, and it was a hit with the athletes too. Daley in particular has a very sweet tooth, I discovered.  

The third and final day was the most exhilarating as I got to run with Paula Radcliffe, and see her beat Denise Lewis for the second time. She stopped afterwards at the juice bar to have a quick chat. We spoke about the run and how we had both lived in Loughborough. I couldn’t believe I was running with one of the greatest female marathon runners and spending time in this Aegean paradise.

After all the excitement I decided to swap Daley’s boot camp for the more serene environment of Olympic diver Leon Taylor’s yoga class. It was such a surreal couple of days that it was just what I needed to float back down to earth. The lovely Cheryl Hicks, the organiser of this incredible event joined in too. Leon was incredibly calm and measured and his vibe really helped me process the incredible weekend we had just experienced. It was also what my aching muscles required, and I stretched myself back into shape and meditated to get myself in a calm headspace for the journey home.

While in such a relaxed state, I decided that we should have a couples massage. I was convinced to have a full Turkish bath with full body scrub followed by a massage, although there was an extra charge, while my partner opted for an Indian Head Massage. The Balinese massages are complimentary.

Costing over £150 million, Anda Barut from the outset is positioning itself as one of Turkey’s finest hotels. The Olympic launch helped it become synonymous with health and fitness and overall it is a five- star resort, deserving of a gold medal. All of this was possible thanks to the hard work and organisational skills of the fabulous Cheryl Hicks, who runs Call Bruce.

When it comes to accommodation, the rooms and suites are outstanding. They have plenty of space to move around in. There are three zones and ours was in the mixed zone with a large balcony that commanded a bird’s eye view of the resort.

The location is also stunning. Set right on the beach, the huge hotel has three areas – a family area, mixed zone and adults-only and a different restaurant for each night of the week. There is a laundry service where you can get your clothes cleaned, dry cleaned and ironed and a never-ending minibar.

That evening we had booked dinner at the No Se A’la Carte restaurant, which served stunning Italian food which was superb and we spent it chatting to another family. Booking a table at any of the restaurants is easy with the Anda Barut app. The food in all of them is superb, with so much variety of tasty and healthy choices fit for Olympians, especially at the buffet at Zestful Bazaar where we went for pudding.

We stopped by the boutique to get some souvenirs and then it was off to bed for an early departure the next morning but the main stage was still going with entertainment. It is a fantastic resort for families and something for everyone.

At breakfast the next morning, I had a conversation with Daley Thompson about what it takes to be an elite athlete. He imparted some words of advice for my niece, who is currently competing at county level in the high jump, an extraordinary moment.

And as if that wasn’t enough, on the way home we got to share a VIP transfer with Colin Jackson who told us all about his journey to the top of his sport, what it was like to compete around the world and what he is up to now. What an incredible way to round off a trip of a lifetime. Best of all, I got to share this with my family, a holiday we will never forget.

We flew to Didim with Jet2 from Stansted. If you are looking for a family holiday with a difference, look at Jet2holidays and search Anda Barut Collection Didim.