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Visitor reviews for Kartepe Ski Resort

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• March 10, 2011
  snowbiker yamaç from Turkey
  

  Kartepe pistleri bu haftasonu mükemmel .Herkesi KARBİSİKLETİ yapmaya eğlenceye davet ediyoruz.Pistler bu haftaiçi yağan karın ardından mükemmel oldu. Fun with every RUN .

• Kartepe Ratings

  Based on 5 votes. Vote

  Access: 4.0 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Kartepe.	Public Transport: 3.2 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Kartepe, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 4.2 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.	Accommodation: 3.0 (1) No places to stay in/near Kartepe, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 3.0 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 4.2 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Kartepe.
  Ski in/Ski out: 3.8 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.	Childcare: 4.8 (1) There are no child care facilities at Kartepe, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 3.6 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Kartepe is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 2.6 (1) Kartepe relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 4.2 (1) There are no snow groomers at Kartepe, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Kartepe are groomed daily.	Shelter: 4.2 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Kartepe is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 4.4 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Kartepe, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.	Regional rating: 3.2 (1) Kartepe usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
  Lift Staff: 3.8 (1) The staff at Kartepe are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Kartepe are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 3.4 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
  Ski Schools: 3.6 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.	Hire and Repairs: 3.8 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
  Variety of pistes: 3.6 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Kartepe has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 4.4 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
  Intermediates: 4.4 (1) No intermediate terrain at Kartepe, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 3.8 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
  Snow Park: 2.8 (1) Not even a kicker at Kartepe, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 4.0 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
  Cross-country: 3.2 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Kartepe, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 3.0 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Kartepe has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 4.0 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.	Eating: 4.2 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
  Apres-Ski: 3.6 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.	Other Sports: 4.0 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
  Entertainment: 3.8 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.	Winter Walks: 4.5 (1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
  Ski Pass Value: 3.2 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 3.8 (1) Overall, Kartepe is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 3.8 (1) Overall, Kartepe is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Based on 5 votes. Vote

• February 28, 2011
  Turkey Baster from United Kingdom
  

  So, this is kind of how a day went on top of Kartepe on the 27th February 2011:

  Arrived in Masukiye town at the bottom of the hill, just off of the O-4 highway, where we had breakfast in a cafe. Borek and Pogaca's with tea. There are several ski shops which have skis and snowboards/equipments for hire and to buy.

  The one we found had skis/poles/boots/goggles package to rent for 25TL.

  Make sure you have a set of snowchains in your car, the Jandarma will check to see if you have any, although, the road was completely ploughed and gritted, so no need for them anyway. When we got to the top of the hill, a guy standing by the entrance sold us a parking ticket for 5TL, and then we drove around to the right and parked up (on a day trip, there;s a sign which says "gunubirlik otopark"). When we parked, we found it was quick just to put on our gear next to the car, and then walk down to the hut which sells the ski passes. For an unlimited pass, it costs 75TL, there are lower prices for 5 or 10 times on the lifts. We paid with debit/credit card.

  We went down the slope to the bottom where all the lifts are, then started our day from there.

  Positives: Nice place, with lots of trees and good scenery. The runs are great for beginners (providing the weather is good), and there's a bit of choice, so intermediate skiers should be entertained for a whole day.

  No 10 piste is a longish, pleasant run (rated as a blue, which is about right), there also some off piste parts to explore around the whole area.

  The Green Park Hotel runs the resort, and is right next to the slopes.

  Two negative points: Queue jumpers at lifts (flipping annoying), and also the chairlifts are not that well run, stop/start and sometimes closed with no clear reason for 10 minutes or so. Not really worth 75TL, more like 40TL, but hey, it's still fun to go there!

• January 07, 2011
  AYDIN DEMİR from Turkey
  

  Osman bey hakli
  şuan ( 14:40 ) pistler oldukça iyi.
  hava da okadar güneşli ki kadikonağinda
  sucukekmek keyfi yapiyoruz.
  kar montlari fazla gelmeye başladi.
  4 yildir buraya çok geldim ama hiç bu kadar iyi olmamişti pistler

  herkese iyi eğlenceler

• January 07, 2011
  OSMAN DÖNMEZ from Turkey
  

  After a wonderful breakfast at the restaurant of the resort we start to ski.
  All pistes are excellent and open already.
  Sun is shining.
  Believe me, it is amazing.

• January 15, 2010
  Nitro from Turkey
  

  Kartepe is the closest ski center to Istanbul, only 1.5 hours using Istanbul-Ankara highway.
  It's got 4 lifts.
  In detail:
  Hotel lift: chairlift. To return to hotel area
  Geyikalan lift: chairlift. Geyikalan is located on the left hand side of the hotel. There is a caffe located at the top, prices are super expensive, you may have a fabulous dinner at a nice restaurant in Istanbul at that price level. Track is short, and mostly used by beginners and pedestrians.
  Karlıktepe: T-bar. Short track but steeper than many other tracks at that region. Skiers like Karlıktepe.

• February 24, 2009
  Penguen Tepe from Turkey
  

  Kartepe has 4 main lifts with 15 different available paths to ski, using one main ski pass for all. Kartepe is very close to Istanbul and accommodates a beautiful view. "kartepepenguen dot com" is a good source for your rental ski equipments.

• February 23, 2009
  Askin SENEL from Turkey
  

  I was at Kartepe this Sunday 22nd February.
  I liked the place. It has nice view, trees, powder snow and is close to İstanbul. However, I must admit, I don't think Kartepe is a ski resort at all. There are 3 short lifts, the pistes are short too and not well maintained and are very narrow. I guess they don't want to make them larger to keep maintenance costs low. Worst of all, there were many non-skiers or freelancers attempting to learn skiing by themselves. It was nightmare to wait in the queues with low ability people not able to get on and falling down frequently. The slopes at Kartepe were no good and at some locations there were no slopes at all and you had to stop and walk. The lift prices are inflated, prices are unnecessarily high generally and the cafes are expensive too. Personnel say this is what hotel asks but asking 5 star prices for 1 or 2 star quality should be a Turkish tradition (less with more - I believe hotel is more profit oriented than being service oriented).
  I was in Austria's Stubaital area to ski for 1 week 2-3 weeks ago and maybe that's why I did not like Kartepe as a ski resort. A real skier should go to Uludağ or, even better, to Kartalkaya and not waste time here. However, saying all this it's close to Istanbul which makes it an option for weekday breaks. I am sure Kartepe is a lot better during the week. And, as I said earlier in this review, the scenery is nice and the snow is powder.

• February 13, 2009
  erhan from Turkey
  

  Kartepe is a great place, you must see it.
  Her millet kendi reklamını yapar bizimkiler ise kötüler.. kürsat erdem ve murat Türklüğünüzden şüpe ediyorum, bu vatanın her karışı altın gibidir, siz ve sizin gibiler bunun değerini bilemezsiniz ve sevmediğiniz bu vatanın toprağına leşler gibi gömüleceksiniz..

• January 23, 2009
  kürsat erdem from Turkey
  

  Kartepe is the worst ski area in the world. If you want to go for a walk, Kartepe is the best.

• January 17, 2009
  murat from Turkey
  

  This is an update of my previous review (from Kartepe) last year.
  Greenpark has done great deal of improvements. First of all pedestrians are now not allowed for Kartepe lifts; which remarkably reduced the waiting time in the queues from 30 mins (last year) to 1 min; well done. Second, Karliktepe trail is extended to 1600 m which is fantastic. Third, new hotel Teleski enables skiers to avoid the crowds of the hotel chairlift.
  This year Kartepe is a more promising ski center, even better from Uludağ for many aspects, i.e transportation and scenery.
  Thank you very much indeed to Greenpark management.

• October 24, 2008
  murats from Turkey
  

  I've been at Kartepe twice last year.
  
  First was a weekday during semi-anee holiday. The day before there was a snow storm leaving 270 cm of POWDER. It was relatively less crowded. I had the off piste powder experience of my life that day.

  My second visit was a saturday, with lots of locals making impossible to reach the hotel. Main chairlift was stopping every 30 seconds to load or deload pedestrians, totally a torture to reach top.
  
  Lift prices are high but at turkey standards. I found hotel staff a little bit unmotivated.

  But...Scenery at the summit is awesome. At north you see sapanca lake and black sea, At southwest you can see all sections of Uludağ mountain session. At west you can see İzmit and izmit bay until tuzla. I strongly recommend watching sunset from summit. Since the elevation is low, snow quality decreases dramatically by time, but haevy snowfall partly covers this problem.

  Fresh snow, sunny day, weekday...Don't miss.
  Otherwise, think twice...

• February 25, 2008
  murat from Turkey
  

  Is this a ski center or a picnic center? I am not sure indeed. But what I am sure is that this is the worst ski center in the world! Majority of the people lined up for the lift are not the skiers! People use the lifts for the cafe at the top of the trails. So skiers spend much of their time waiting in the queue for the lifts. Imagine 30 minutes waiting in the queue (this is not a joke indeed) for 5-7 minutes skiing down the slopes of Kartepe.
  On top of this, snow quality was terrible: crust and icy.
  The last but not the least, is the road. 18 km of the road was blocked by the local people intending for picnic. They parked their cars alongside the road. It is, indeed, one hour driving to Istanbul. if you do not count another one hour that you need to spend to pass this 18 km till Masukiye. Thus, Kartalkaya is closer and nicer.

• February 15, 2008
  can elmas from Turkey
  

  This is an update to my previous review. One week day I get off from home in Central İstanbul at 8 am and I was skiing at 9.30. Weather was nice, about 20 people on the slopes. Having tried the slow Geyikli chairlift and 20 second ski run drag-lift, I went up to Kartepe the main lift. There are several ways down, very enjoyable. There is also off-piste opportunities but the snow is not powder and I did not dare by myself.
  By 3-4 o clock I was at work in İstanbul, just pretending I overslept!!
  Hotel is same old. Expensive, with no mountain feel, nice but unprofessional staff.
  So you should try it on a good week day.

• February 14, 2008
  Payam Ghanaat from Iran, Islamic Republic of
  

  I was there (06.02.2008 to 09.02.2008). The hotel and resort were good and meals were very good but I had a problem with the reservation. When I showed my voucher to the hotel reservation, the reservation guy with frowny face told me "you are not in our list and your reservation is not correct!!!!!so I was surprised and telephoned my travel agency and they connected to the hotel manager. Finally, after 1 hour I got the room key???!!(although I reserved 10 days before).
  The main ski lift (Kartepe) is short and very slow, but it has a slope for expert persons. You can use it and enjoy it. School ski in Kartepe has very good teachers like Mr.Tourjay, Mr.Mert and if you want to learn to ski they can help you.
  Result:hotel is good, there is a friendly environment, the skiing is not bad and you can rest and enjoy your time.

• January 13, 2008
  Mete from Turkey
  

  I just returned from 3 days ski trip from Kartepe. I stayed at The Green Park Hotel Chalet. Hotel meals and service was good. There are 3 main ski runs. Kartepe is the hardest, Geyik alanı is medium level.
  My after all opinion is good. It is very close to Istanbul. Only 1hr 15 min. Great snow quality. Sundays are extremely crowded so you gotta wait at the lifts long times and watch out for amateur skiers.
  You should try Kartepe. It is a cute, white paradise.

• December 25, 2007
  cem from Turkey
  

  Hotel is nice but expensive, like lifts and renting. You have to go before 7:30 to the hotel if you are going at the weekend for a day because it's very crowded at weekends. Problem is half of the people staying at the hotel are over 40 and they don't ski. You can't get their skis if you are not staying at the hotel. Skis just stay there and they tell you that there are no skis left. If you enter their website they tell you that there are 900 skis and 100 snowboards. Actually it is 200 skis (maybe less then that) and 20-30 snowboards.

  -_-'

• December 14, 2007
  Adventure izmit from Turkey
  

  Kayak ve doga sporlari malzemeleri satis merkezi

• October 31, 2006
  Gokhan from Turkey
  

  Kartape has got just one hotel. Kartepe is close to Istanbul, so it is suitable for daily trips. The ski runs are just for 2 minutes ski. For the next ski, you should wait 10 minutes for the lifts on the weekends. Sometimes, the lifts are closed because of the weather conditions. The ski runs are just suitable for beginners and intermediates.

• March 20, 2006
  Bert Zwep from Netherlands
  

  I was there 19 to 26 Feb. 2006 with my wife and children. On Monday the two main lifts were closed, the other days they were all open. The maintenance of the lifts and ski runs do not fit international standards. From Monday till Friday it was very quiet and there were no queues for the lifts. On Saturday I stopped skiing early because it was too crowded. You have marvelous views from the top of the hills and the personnel from the hotel and lifts are very friendly. For advanced skiers there is just one short slope; the rest of the slopes are for beginners and intermediates. Watch out for non-experienced skiers. There are a lot of them and they like speeds they can’t control. Nevertheless, I had a nice week there.

• March 08, 2006
  mehmet avsar from Turkey
  

  Kartepe has got a good hotel. That is all. If you are looking for ski, get out of this place. They have got lots of lifts but few of them operational which is not sufficient for demand. You have to wait 30 minutes in the queue just to get on the lift and just for 2 minute ski.
  If you spend all day, you may ski 10-15 minutes but for sure you definately wait 6-8 hours in the queue.
  Think about kartalkaya instead of Kartepe or Uludag

• February 22, 2006
  can elmas from Turkey
  

  Now some serious review. Kartepe is a blessing for İstanbul, that is about it. The resort and hotel are new, not very organized. Weekends are terribly packed. I could not go on to the main lift, Kartepe, because there was wind and fog up the hill. But I heard that the main lift was not open in the last week at all. That is a problem with Kartalkaya as well. When the weather is a little bad they shut down Koroglu lift which is the only decent one there. Geyikli lift was open for 1 hour. İt is an extremely slow lift, 12 minutes going up and 2-3 minutes skiing down. The teleski is very short, but fun pistes at two sides.
  These three lifts are not well connected at the bottom so there is some walking required. And they charge 20 usd for weekdays and 40 usd for weekends for these lifts. İt is a ripoff. The hotel is also expensive. Catering to İstanbul elite..
  Overall, scenery is beautiful, skiing is not so much fun.

• January 22, 2006
  KODOSK from Switzerland
  

  kocaeli doga sporlari kulübü & kocaeli kayak ihtisas kulübü
  www.kodosk.org.tr

• January 20, 2006
  HAKANTANTA from Switzerland
  

  KOCAEL? DO?A SPORLARI KULÜBÜ

• January 17, 2006
  Ali Galip from Turkey
  

  Wonderfull place. It's so near to Istanbul, Bursa and Adapazar. How we didn't discover this place before...We are too lucky living in Istanbul.