Ela Excellence Resort Belek
Ela Excellence Resort Belek is a five-star, all-inclusive resort on its own beach in Belek, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, set in a 110,000 m² pine-forest reserve about 35km east of Antalya airport. For families its draw is Everland, a large children's world with a club that takes babies from birth, alongside heated pools and family rooms with a real separate bedroom, in a quiet golf-and-forest setting rather than a busy resort town.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who Ela Excellence suits, what's in the price and the facts to skim first.
Ela Excellence Resort Belek is a five-star all-inclusive on the Turkish Riviera, and its headline for families is Everland, a large children's world with a club that starts at birth rather than the age of four most resorts on this coast settle on. That baby club, a shallow heated children's pool and family rooms with a real separate bedroom are what set it apart for parents of the very youngest. It sits in a quiet golf-and-forest reserve rather than a lively resort town, so the evenings are the resort's own shows and bars, not a strip outside the gate. The trade-offs are a mixed 270m beach that some find short for a resort this size, evening entertainment that families describe as loud, and July and August heat that pushes you into the shade in the middle of the day.
Best for
You want a big children's club that takes a baby, a warm pool outside peak summer and a quiet forest-and-golf setting rather than a busy resort town.
Maybe not for
You want a long, uncrowded beach, quiet evenings or a lively town on the doorstep.
Best ages
Babies upwards. Everland runs age bands from the under-threes to teenagers, and the shallow children's pool suits toddlers.
What stands out
A children's club that takes the under-threes, a rarity on this coast, plus heated pools that make an out-of-season stay work.
What to check
Which à la carte restaurants carry a summer charge, and whether the spa will treat your child.
Where is it?
On its own beach in Belek, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, about 30 to 40 minutes east of Antalya airport.
Quick facts for families
The setting
Where the resort sits, how the grounds are laid out and what that means with a pram.
The resort stands directly on its own beach inside a 110,000 m² landscaped site, built around olive trees, gardens and ponds, with a koi-fish pond at the centre of the main buffet restaurant. Belek itself is a purpose-built golf-and-family belt on Antalya's eastern coastal plain, set in a pine-forest nature reserve, which is what makes it quieter than the busier package towns further along the coast like Side and Alanya. The town centre is about 2km away, Antalya city is 45km, and Antalya airport is 35km, roughly 30 to 40 minutes by road. The resort opened in 2007 and had a full renovation in 2022 under its current name. It's run by Ela Hotels, whose only other properties, Ela Excellence Kemer and Ela Excellence Didim, are both still listed as coming soon rather than open, so there's no other trading Ela Excellence to confuse this one with. Before the 2022 renovation the hotel traded as Ela Quality Resort Belek.
Accommodation splits across a main hotel building, which holds the standard, superior and most family rooms along with the majority of suites, and a separate, quieter Lake House wing set around its own pools and olive gardens. Standalone rooftop suites, the Presidential and King suites and two private-pool villas sit within the same grounds. It's a large resort, around 583 rooms, and Everland, the children's world, has its own dedicated zone away from the main pool and beach. Private beachfront pavilions can be booked by the day, 09:00 to 18:00, for arrival fruit, sparkling wine and nuts, a call-button service, and QR-code food ordering to the suite between 12:00 and 16:00.
The grounds are walkable, and staff drive small electric service vehicles around them for luggage and logistics rather than as a guest shuttle. One point worth knowing: at least one family reported those vehicles being driven quickly near walkers, so keep an eye on children around the vehicle paths as you would anywhere with traffic. Parking is free and includes four electric-car charging points. For the wider region, its beaches and when to go, see our Turkish Riviera guide.
Every restaurant and bar
The buffets, the evening à la carte restaurants, the bars and how the bookings work.
The board basis is called Feel Well All-Inclusive. It covers three buffet meals a day, round-the-clock access to the included restaurants and bars, local drinks and a selected range of imported ones, a daily minibar refill and coffee, tea and snacks through the day. There's a children's menu and baby food, and vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options on request. Evening dining has a preferred dress code of casual smart, which isn't strictly enforced. Room service runs 24 hours but is charged on top rather than included.
Buffets and daytime diningWhere you eat by day
Hayat is the main buffet, built around the koi pond, with a different world-cuisine theme each day and a Sunday brunch. It serves breakfast 07:00 to 11:00, lunch 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner 18:30 to 21:00. There's a quieter 12-plus area for adults and, separately, corners set up for children, so it works whether you're eating with a toddler or want a calmer table. La Sofa Lounge Bistro handles breakfast and daytime dining by the sea near the pools, with à la carte breakfast from 09:00 to 11:00 and snacks through the afternoon; a separate La Sofa breakfast is a paid, booked add-on arranged through the Ela Assist team. Manav, the greengrocer, is an open-air fruit and smoothie stop open 10:00 to 19:30.
Galata Beach Club is the beachfront restaurant, Aegean and Mediterranean food with a DJ, open 12:00 to 16:00, and it's worth knowing that it's for guests aged 12 and over only, so it isn't a lunch spot for a family with younger children.
The evening à la carte restaurantsDinner you book ahead
Six specialty restaurants open in the evening, roughly 19:00 to 22:30, and all of them need a reservation. La Sofa A'la Carte is a grill with vegan dishes and a children's menu. Galata Tavern serves Aegean fish and seafood with live music and is confirmed as a paid à la carte restaurant. La Sante is Mediterranean, olive-oil-led. Akari is a Far Eastern teppanyaki restaurant with sushi and sashimi cooked at the table, also confirmed as paid à la carte. La Salsa is Mexican, with mariachi. La Perla is Italian, including Sicilian and vegan dishes, set among olive trees. Some of these carry a charge, and it can change with the season, so don't count on a particular one being free. Check the current terms when you book rather than on the night.
Two patisseries, both called La Rouge, sit in the main square and the lower lobby, open 10:00 to 23:00 for macarons, croissants and cakes. Children eating in the kids' club have their own Everland Kids' World Restaurant, an open buffet inside the club zone built to the same Waldorf-rainbow theme as the rest of Everland, with sofa-style seating and round windows. It serves lunch from 12:00 to 13:30, an afternoon snack from 15:00 to 16:00 and an early dinner from 18:30 to 19:30, with healthy children's dishes alongside ice creams, fruit snacks, patisserie items and desserts.
The barsSeven bars
The resort counts seven bars. The Lobby Bar is open around the clock with live piano and harp. La Sofa Bar is by the sea, 08:00 to midnight. The Polaris Pool Bar serves the main pool, 09:00 to midnight, and sits next to the evening stage. The Pier Bar is out over the water, 09:00 to 19:00. The Oxford Lounge is a billiards bar in the lower lobby, 10:00 to midnight. The Elazen Bar pours juices and herbal teas inside the spa. The Night Zone is the resort's nightclub, 23:00 to 02:00 and aimed at adults. Add those seven bars to the buffets, the six evening restaurants, the two patisseries, the kids' restaurant and the greengrocer, and that's 21 food and drink outlets in total.
How the à la carte booking works
You reserve the evening restaurants through the Ela app, in person during the day or through your Ela Assist contact, who acts as a personal point of contact during your stay. The buffets and the daytime venues take walk-ins, so they're your fallback if the à la carte tables are full. Because the free-or-paid position varies by restaurant and season, confirm which of your choices carry a charge at the point of booking.
Rooms and suites
Every room and suite with its official size, the pools across the grounds and the beach below.
Every room includes air conditioning, an LED TV, WiFi, a safe, a capsule coffee machine, a daily minibar refill, a pillow menu, a robe and slippers and a hairdryer, and a baby cot is available on request in every category. Turndown service is included from the Deluxe Suite upward across the suites and both villas. The table below is the full line-up with the official sizes; the guidance after it is which rooms suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Sleeps | Size | Family-relevant notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Room Garden/Sea View | 2 adults + 2 children, or 3 adults | 45 m² | Entry-tier room, one double or two single beds |
| Grand Superior Sea View | 2 adults + 2 children, or 3 adults | 53 m² | Sea-view balcony |
| Superior Sea View with Jacuzzi | 2 adults + 1 child | 48 m² | In-room jacuzzi, pitched at couples |
| Family Corner Room | 2 adults + 2 children, or 3 adults | 45 m² | Forest view, large balcony |
| Family Dublex Room Forest/Sea View | 4 adults + 1 child | 60 m² | Two floors with the master double upstairs, a child safety lock on the stairs, no doors between the floors |
| Family Suite | 4 adults + 1 child | 100 m² | One double and two twin beds, a single bathroom |
| Family Connection Room | 4 adults + 2 children, or 6 adults | 90 m² | Two connected rooms, each with its own bathroom and balcony |
| Lake House Pool View | 2 adults + 1 child | 38 m² | French bed, faces the Lake House pools |
| Lake House Family Pool View | 4 adults + 1 child | 76 m² | Steps down to the Lake House pools |
| Lake House Family Suite | 4 adults + 1 child | 100 m² | Two separate bedrooms (one king, two twin beds) in the quieter wing |
| Lake House Family Suite Swim Up | 4 adults + 1 child | 76 m² | Ground floor with direct pool access from the terrace |
| Deluxe Suite | 2 adults + 2 children, or 3 adults + 1 child | 105 m² | Separate living room, in-room jacuzzi, the VIP tier starts here with priority à la carte booking and a VIP airport lounge for stays of 7 nights or more |
| Grand Rooftop Suite | 4 adults + 1 child, or 5 adults | 210 m² | Two floors, terrace jacuzzi |
| Premier Rooftop Suite | 2 adults + 2 children, or 3 adults | 105 m² | Sea and forest view, terrace jacuzzi |
| Presidential Suite | 4 adults + 1 child, or 5 adults | 233 m² | Two bedrooms, terrace jacuzzi |
| King Suite | 4 adults + 1 child, or 5 adults | 375 m² | Two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen |
| Villa Ela Palace | 8 adults + 2 children | 297 m² | Four bedrooms, private heated pool, garden, 24-hour butler, Turkish bath and sauna in-villa |
| Villa Sultan Palace | 10 adults + 2 children | 794 m² | Four bedrooms (four double beds and two twin beds), a private 65 m² heated pool, kitchen, fitness room and a weekly free barbecue |
For a family with a baby or toddler, the choice comes down to whether you want a door to close on a napping child. The Family Dublex Room at 60 m² is the standout without going up to a full suite: the master double is on its own upper floor and the stairs have a child safety lock, though the two floors are open to each other so noise still carries. The Family Connection Room at 90 m² is the true two-room option, two connected rooms each with a bathroom, which matters if you want an actual door between a sleeping baby and the rest of the evening. The Lake House Family Suite at 100 m² gives the same two-bedroom split (one king bed and two twin beds) at ground level in the quieter wing, away from the main pool and beach.
The Lake House Family Suite Swim Up at 76 m² trades that second bedroom for a terrace that opens straight onto the pool. It's appealing, but an unfenced swim-up terrace is a real drowning risk with a toddler in the room, so it needs constant supervision, as any swim-up room does. The higher suites and the two villas add space and VIP perks, but only the villas take more than one extra child in their stated occupancy, so they suit a big group or a multi-generation trip rather than one family wanting more room for a toddler.
The pools
The Main Pool is the central, liveliest one, next to the Polaris Pool Bar and the evening stage. The one most useful with toddlers is the outdoor heated children's aqua park pool, 40cm deep, 177 m² and heated, a shallow depth that suits early walkers. Alongside them are an outdoor heated semi-Olympic pool (140cm deep, 865 m²), an indoor heated pool (140cm, 216 m²) that connects to the outdoor pool through a glass passage and is set up for guests with reduced mobility, and a small, very shallow indoor heated children's pool (30cm, 17 m²). The Lake House wing has two further pools among the olive trees, quieter than the main pool, with two children's pools of their own.
The aquapark has several water slides. The resort splits them by age: the children's slides are for ages 4 to 12, with separate slides for adults, so they suit a slightly older child rather than a true toddler. On the heating, the resort is honest that the schedule isn't fixed and shifts with the weather and how busy it is, so heated water is likely through the colder months rather than promised on any given day. Pool and beach towels are free and changed daily, and there's a pier with loungers and calm morning swimming.
The beach
The beach is 270 metres of fine golden sand, private and reached directly from the resort, with free sunbeds, umbrellas, cushions and towels. It runs alongside Galata Beach Club (the 12-plus restaurant), the pier and Pier Bar, and La Sofa Lounge Bistro. Private cabanas can be rented, and water sports are available at extra charge. Reviewer opinion on the beach is split: some find it spacious and never crowded even at full occupancy, while others report a shortage of loungers, patchy cleaning and a beach that feels short for a resort of this scale. One detailed review flagged umbrella-pole points sitting at around child head height, so supervise children near the parasols as you would at any beach.
Belek's beaches, this stretch of coast included, are among the Mediterranean's most important loggerhead turtle nesting sites. Protected nesting beaches along the coast close overnight, roughly 8pm to 8am from May to the end of September, with reduced lighting, so late-evening beach walks are out in nesting season and any roped-off sections behind the sunbeds are nests rather than works. This is a Belek-coast rule rather than something specific to this resort's frontage.
Babies and toddlers
Everland's clubs from birth up, the baby kit, babysitting and what costs extra.
Everland Kids' World is the resort's purpose-built children's zone, run to a Montessori-influenced, "Waldorf Rainbow" nature-and-technology theme fronted by a mascot called Teddy, and it's the reason most families shortlist the resort at all. Its clubs run in age bands. The Baby Club for the under-threes has a large indoor play area for crawling and walking, a sand pool, a mini water park and a sleeping room with cribs, plus a Baby Corner offering special baby foods and advice for parents. Baby strollers, sterilisers and steam machines are free for all families. The very youngest are looked after alongside their parents rather than dropped off.
From there the bands step up. The Mini Club for 4 to 7-year-olds runs morning yoga, arts and crafts, a Lego room and water races, with meals in the children's restaurant. The Midi Club for 8 to 10-year-olds does nature and science activities, an interactive digital room with a giant smart wall and game consoles, cooking lessons, rocket and kite-making workshops and cinema nights. A Professions Academy sets up role-play stations across those ages, from firefighter to vet, dentist and archaeologist. The Teens Club for 10 to 15-year-olds covers ball sports, beach parties, karaoke, movie nights, VR and games consoles including foosball, air hockey, darts and billiards, DJ lessons and non-alcoholic cocktail workshops. Everland is open across the day into the evening, with a children's mini disco every night, and the club has its own access controls so young children can't wander out unsupervised.
On food for babies, the resort confirms a children's menu and baby food across the resort, and the Baby Corner keeps special foods for babies. Babysitting and in-room childcare are available as a paid service you book, rather than a free crèche, so ask about the age they'll take and the rate when you book if you need a sitter. The Family Fun & Relaxation Package gives the first hour of babysitting free and 20% off further hours, for stays of four nights or more, worth checking if it fits your trip. What costs families extra is the seasonal à la carte dining, the spa and treatments, personal training, private tennis or swimming lessons, room service, water sports, golf green fees and babysitting beyond any free package hour.
On the resortThings to do
A lot of daytime sport and fitness is included: an indoor and outdoor fitness area, aerial yoga, yoga, CrossFit, Pilates, aerobics, a trampoline, tennis, basketball and water gymnastics. Paid on top are personal training, private and group swimming lessons, private tennis lessons and paddle tennis, which the resort markets as a rarity. Professional children's dance lessons run from June to September. The daytime programme adds seasonal festivals (a Summer Festival, a Kids Fest and an Olive Fest), craft workshops such as mosaic-making and ceramics, mindfulness sessions under the olive trees and sports tournaments and pool games, with olive-picking and flower-planting among the seasonal activities.
Evenings bring live music, DJ sets and international dance shows through the summer, including touring companies such as Fire of Anatolia and Troy on some nights, the nightly children's mini disco at Everland, and the Night Zone nightclub from 23:00 to 02:00. Families do describe the evening entertainment as lively and, at times, loud near young children, so it's worth knowing if you have early bedtimes. There's an indoor cinema showing recent films for all ages, and adult workshops in chocolate, sushi, wine and cocktails, a couple of which could suit an older child with a parent.
The resort sits inside Belek's well-known golf belt, and green-fee bookings and transfers can be arranged through the concierge, though no specific courses are named. The ElaZen Spa includes the Turkish bath, sauna and steam room in the all-inclusive concept, with massages, facials, body treatments and hairdressing charged on top across a menu that runs from aromatic oil massage to Thai and Balinese massage, Ayurvedic therapies, a traditional Turkish hammam ritual and a hair and beauty salon. ElaZen offers some treatments made for children, such as a foam bath and hair braiding, though the wider spa areas may be kept to guests over a minimum age, so confirm any child's treatment and the age rules with the spa when you book.
The area and days out
Belek is quiet by design, a golf-and-luxury belt in a pine-forest reserve, with the town centre 2km away and Antalya city about 45 minutes by road. The biggest family day out is The Land of Legends in nearby Kadriye, Turkey's largest theme and water park, which added Nickelodeon Land with PAW Patrol and SpongeBob areas in 2025. Most of its water slides need a height of 120cm or more, so it suits children from around five or six upward, though there's a splash zone and Nickelodeon content for younger ones; under-fours go free and it's cheaper to pre-book online.
Antalya Aquarium at Konyaaltı, about 45 to 50 minutes away, is an air-conditioned tunnel aquarium that's buggy-friendly and pitched at younger children, though reviewers find it pricey; its attached Snow World, with real snow at around -5°C, is a 20 to 30-minute novelty. Sandland at Lara Beach is a sand-sculpture park with a kinetic-sand play area, open May to October, with little shade so best late in the day. In Antalya itself, the lower Düden waterfall at Lara is free, flat and toddler-friendly with a playground, while the old town of Kaleiçi has cobbled lanes that need a carrier rather than a buggy and a free glass lift down to the harbour.
Loves and gripes
What families rate and what frustrated them, how it compares nearby, the journey in and the weather.
What families love
- Everland and its baby club, singled out again and again as the reason to choose here, with warm, patient staff.
- Staff friendliness and responsiveness, including a 24-hour WhatsApp guest line and the Ela Assist service.
- Cleanliness of the rooms and public areas.
- The range and quality of the buffet food.
- The heated pools, valued by families visiting outside peak summer.
- The quiet, forest-and-golf location, which reviewers rate especially highly.
Common gripes
- The beach divides opinion and is short for the resort's size, with lounger shortages reported.
- Loud evening entertainment and the mini disco near young children.
- A few single-stay safety notes: umbrella-pole height, fast staff service vehicles, thorny planting near the Lake House.
- Floor and room requests, such as a ground-floor room for pram access, aren't guaranteed.
- Premium pricing in the on-site shops.
How it compares
Ela Excellence sits in Belek's cluster of luxury family resorts. Its clearest edge is the children's provision: reviewer accounts rate its kids' club well above Rixos Premium Belek's, where the on-site provision is described as thinner and geared to older children. Calista Luxury Resort and Maxx Royal Belek are its serious competitors in the same bracket, with Maxx Royal running its own baby programme too. What really sets Ela apart across the coast, though, is that its Baby Club takes the under-threes at all: kids' clubs on the Turkish Riviera typically start at four, so a real club for a baby or toddler is the differentiator here rather than a like-for-like feature. It's well rated across the big review platforms, broadly four out of five and up with location scoring especially highly, and Mumsnet named it the best family resort in Turkey in its 2026 guide. For a nearby comparison, see our guide to Calista Luxury Resort.
From the airportGetting there
Antalya airport is the arrival point, 35km and about 30 to 40 minutes away. The transfer is chargeable and booked in advance rather than laid on automatically, and a paid VIP transfer can be arranged. Some of the higher categories include a free round-trip VIP transfer as a perk, but only conditionally: the top rooftop, Presidential and King suites for stays of five nights or more, and both villas for four nights or more, and it has to be requested ahead. There's no minimum stay to book the resort itself; the four and five-night figures you'll see are those perk thresholds, not a booking rule. The resort is open all year.
When to goWeather
Belek shares Antalya's warm coastal climate, and the figures below are typical monthly averages for the coast. The easiest months with young children are June and September, warm with a comfortable sea and little rain. July and August are very hot, with days in the mid-30s and a 2025 provincial record of 46.1°C, so shade and air conditioning between about 10am and 4pm matter more than usual with a toddler. Winter, from December to February, is meaningfully wetter and cooler, with December the wettest month at around 225mm, so an out-of-season stay is really about the heated pools and the spa rather than the sea. Even the wetter shoulder months don't mean constant rain: November's 107mm falls across around 6 days, and April's smaller 49mm across roughly 4 days, so a rainy day is the exception rather than the rule outside deep winter.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.5° | 5.5° | 222 mm | 11 | 19° |
| February | 16.5° | 6.5° | 131 mm | 8 | 17° |
| March | 18.5° | 8° | 94 mm | 6 | 17° |
| April | 22° | 11° | 47 mm | 4 | 18° |
| May | 27° | 16° | 36 mm | 3 | 22° |
| June | 32° | 20° | 7 mm | 1 | 25° |
| July | 35.5° | 23.5° | 2 mm | 0 | 28° |
| August | 35° | 23.5° | 1 mm | 0 | 29° |
| September | 31.5° | 20° | 31 mm | 2 | 29° |
| October | 27.5° | 15.5° | 115 mm | 5 | 26° |
| November | 22° | 10.5° | 107 mm | 6 | 24° |
| December | 17° | 7.5° | 225 mm | 8 | 21° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open all year; the table covers April to November, and winter is wetter.
Getting around
The resort has five specially designed accessible rooms, and the indoor heated pool is set up for guests with reduced mobility. Beyond that, the 110,000 m² site is large and has multi-storey suites and a two-floor family room, so a family bringing a pram should ask about step-free routing between their room, the beach and Everland when booking rather than assume it. Room and floor requests are just that, requests, so a ground-floor room can't be guaranteed. Pets aren't accepted.
Questions
The things families ask most, the pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last updated.
Do we need a visa for Turkey?
British citizen passports don't need a visa for tourism stays up to 90 days in any 180. Your passport does need to be valid for at least 150 days after you arrive and to have a blank page, so check the expiry before you book. The only FCDO Turkey warning covers a strip within 10km of the Syrian border, hundreds of miles from Belek.
Are the à la carte restaurants included?
Some are and some carry a charge in summer, so don't book expecting a particular restaurant to be free. Reserve through the Ela app once you arrive and check the current terms at the restaurant or with your Ela Assist contact.
Can children use the spa?
The spa lists a few children's treatments such as a foam bath and hair braiding, but the wider spa areas may be kept to over-16s, so confirm a child's treatment and any age limit with the spa before you travel.
Is there babysitting?
Yes, as a paid service you book rather than a free crèche. Ask when you book if you need a sitter for a particular evening or for a very young baby.
When is the best time to go with young children?
June and September give warm days and a comfortable sea without the mid-30s heat of July and August. Out of season the draw shifts to the heated pools and spa, because the sea is too cold to swim.
Is there a minimum stay?
No, book any length you like. Those four and five-night numbers only unlock two perks, the complimentary VIP airport transfer on the top suites and villas and the first free babysitting hour, so they matter only if you're chasing one of those.
Will the heated pools be warm in winter?
Likely, not guaranteed. Four pools are built as heated, but the resort runs them on a schedule that changes with the weather and how busy it is, so it won't promise warm water on a set date. The indoor heated pool and the small indoor children's pool are your most dependable warm swim on a cold day.
Can we walk on the beach at night?
Not between roughly 8pm and 8am from May to the end of September, when this loggerhead turtle nesting coast closes and dims its lights overnight. Outside those hours and months it's open as normal, so plan summer evenings around the pools and bars rather than a beach stroll.
See more Ela Excellence photos
Open the Ela Excellence photo gallery →Useful links
- Ela Excellence Resort Belek: the resort's own site for rooms, dining and the children's clubs.
- GOV.UK Turkey travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- The Turkish Riviera with little ones: our guide to the wider region, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 13 July 2026.
