Kartalkaya, Turkey

Visitor reviews for Kartalkaya

• February 25, 2008
  murat from TURKEY
  

  I have tried Kartal Hotel; the service of which is really nice. The snow quality is very good. Trails are large enough to let you safely ski down. Only downside is the length of the trails which are really short.
  Anyhow, it is the best place for skiing in the vicinity of Istanbul.

• January 07, 2008
  Nihan Dinç from TURKEY
  

  Turkey's first snowpark opens this season in Kartalkaya Dorukkaya Ski and Mountain Resort. rails, rollers, boxes and big air... lots of fun i mean! Dorukkaya is more concerned on snowboarding than skiing. In sense of festivals and snowboarding competitions Dorukkaya is much more active than other resorts. every March they organize 2 main festivals "Rossignol Fest" and "Burton Games" both provides great parties and fun. For the last 2 seasons Dorukkaya improved itself. As it has more foreign visitors it is easier to find English speaking personnel.

• December 28, 2007
  Ortac Ozortac from TURKEY
  

  I've been visiting Kartalkaya since 1986. Every season the valley improves itself. It has got better in recent years. The best idea for improvement is adding both two hotels' pistes to each other. Then visitors will have more than 20 kms of pistes. I think the hotel managers have to think about it. Good skiing @ Kartal Hotel's pistes. I feel like I'm home there.

• February 16, 2007
  Danny from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I too learned to ski at Kartalkaya and left with a very positive impression of the place (for a beginner at least).
  For those of you having not travelled to Turkey before I would just like to add that the resort is "wet" i.e. alchohol is allowed (the hotels have bars which is usually where you'll find Jim who left the comment below). Also being muslim, Christmas is not usually a holiday period, so opportunities exists to grab a cheaper Christmas ski break than you would perhaps find in European resorts.

• March 22, 2006
  Jim from TURKEY
  

  I learned to ski at Kartalkaya, and have been for the last three years with friends. If you are thinking of learning but don't want to break the bank finding out that sking is not really for you, this is highly recommomended. Grand Hotel and Hotel KartalKaya both offer very good food and all inclusive deals. Sunday to Thursday is much cheaper than the busy weekends when the crowds from Istabul and Ankara come out. Good food, good service good slopes. Maybe not too challenging for a very accomplished skier, but offers blue, red and black runs which should keep most people happy. Ski instruction seemed a bit expensive though! 22/3/06

• February 15, 2006
  Askin Senel from TURKEY
  

  Kartalkaya is my favourite. The snow quality is high.
  There are 3 hotels that belong to 2 groups. I prefer Kartal hotel pistes and like them more (they have more piste alternatives too). However, Dorukkaya hotel pistes are also good and definately worth experiencing.
  Kartal otel is looking after well to the pistes. Koroglu pistes, when operations are very much fun and excitement to the experienecd skiers.
  The problem with Kartalkaya is fog. The foggy days are not rare unfortunately, which sometimes makes skiing impossible. Due to bad weather Koroglu pistes may be more often closed too.
  However, hotel food is really very delicious and rich. There is a small pool, and 2 saunas that seem just fine, of course a larger pool would be an asset.
  I don't understand why they don't have ice skating facilities. It would be a good alternative during bad weather times when skiing is not possible and would enrich the offering.
  The other thing I don't understand and like is why they built the hotels to the top, when they could have built them more down to the valley and could offer much much longer pistes down. Reaching to the hotels would be much easier and hotel costs would be much lower too. This is a general sick approach in Turkish resorts. They limit you to much shorter paths and enjoy niche marketing.
  Hotels have some apre-ski facilities, but location is very limited, and might be boring for long stays.
  

• March 28, 2005
  Burak Demiriz from TURKEY
  

  Hi there,
  I want to make some additions to the review of Markku from Finland...
  On Kartalkaya there are 3 hotels. Dorukkaya (www.dorukkaya.com.tr) Kartal Otel (www.kartalotel.com) and Grand Kartal (www.grandkartal.com.tr).
  Dorukkaya has its own ski pists, while Both Kartal Hotels share their ski pists. Lift passes are included in hotel fees. The pists of the Kartal hotels are more snow guaranteed and are for more advanced skiers.
  If you do not ski, then you will find the hotel life boring. Though there are swimming pools, saunas, massage centers and sport activity centers in the hotels, there are no walking ways around the hotels and also après ski possibilities are very poor or nor existing.. Grand Hotel is the bigger and newer hotel. Best days for skiers: Sunday-Friday...
  But shortly speaking Kartal Hotels are the best and the nearest Hotels to Istanbul and Ankara for passionate skiers. Visit and have fun. Kind Regards…

• February 11, 2005
  Markku from FINLAND
  

  We lived for several years in Istanbul and skied almost every winter in K:aya. The overall impressions have been very positive.
  Plusses:
  + easy to drive both from Istb and Ankara along the very good highway, about 2 hrs from both cities plus one hour up to mountains
  + at least Grand Kartal is a Good hotel with just Excellent buffet tables (breakfeast, lunch & dinner)
  + nice, but short slopes especially for beginners and for mid range skiers too
  + during week days usually almost 'empty' slopes; except during Muslim bayram holiday period
  + beautiful and clean nature up in two kilometers, generally a lot of good snow; don't forget sun glasses; very refreshing indeed
  + nice staff, but hardly speak any english
  + you can buy full package with bus transportation from Istb & A:ra
  +/- it is not even a village, but just three hotels near by each others; very quiet
  Minuses:
  - very often foggy between Dec-Jan and may be also very windy at the same time making it sometimes impossible to ski; best times during Feb-March up to early April
  - weekends are often somewhat congested by locals
  - it is definitely not Alps i.e. slopes are short up to about 1,5 km and mostly green, blue and just couple of red ones
  - snow chains are essential for your car to climb up to mountains; during weekends local farmers install and take off for a small fee

• December 08, 2004
  Ahmet Alev Ulusan from TURKEY
  

  Kartalkaya is best ski resort in Turkey, located very closly to BOLU. With natural beauity, Only for ski and snow, excelent snow quality, quiet resort, relaxing.. There are two hotel at the top of the mountain, Kartal hotel and Dorukkaya hotel.Both hotels are good,services are excelent. Nature is incredible, Never miss to come to Kartalkaya.
  

• November 26, 2004
  Ahmet Douas from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Kartalkaya, is located in a quiet village, in between Istanbul and Ankara. With good snow quality, this quiet resort, although not too big, has beautiful, untouched nature, and backcountry skiing in untouched powder. Although the skiing area is not too large, there is an opportunity for exploring, with good snow till April. A good place for simply relaxing..