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Kartalkaya resort snow
Lat Long: 40.59° N 31.81° E
Ski Turkey

Kartalkaya Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Kartalkaya at 2042 m altitude

Issued: 8 pm 07 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Kartalkaya: 0.4 cm on Tue 19th

Visitor reviews for Kartalkaya Ski Resort

Kartalkaya Ratings

Overall: 3.2. Based on 53 votes and 42 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.8

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Kartalkaya is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.3

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Kartalkaya has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.4

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 3.6

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.1

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Kartalkaya

Public Transport: 2.9

  • There are no buses or taxis to Kartalkaya
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.6

  • No places to stay in/near Kartalkaya
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 2.4

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.1

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Kartalkaya

Ski in/Ski out: 4.0

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.3

  • There are no child care facilities at Kartalkaya
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 2.1

  • Kartalkaya relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.8

  • There are no snow groomers at Kartalkaya
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Kartalkaya are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.0

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Kartalkaya is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.4

  • If snow conditions are poor at Kartalkaya, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.1

  • Kartalkaya usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.7

  • The staff at Kartalkaya are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Kartalkaya are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.2

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.5

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.7

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.7

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.8

  • No intermediate terrain at Kartalkaya
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.4

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.2

  • Not even a kicker at Kartalkaya
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 2.5

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Kartalkaya
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.5

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Kartalkaya has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.3

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.7

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.2

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.0

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 2.6

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 2.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 2.9

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.2

  • Overall, Kartalkaya is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.0

  • Overall, Kartalkaya is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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March 22, 2006
Jim from Ski Turkey 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 Ski Turkey 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 Ski Turkey 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 Ski Finland 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 Ski Turkey 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 Ski United Kingdom 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..

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