Where to Stay in Antalya: Konyaaltı vs Lara vs the Old Town

Working out where to stay in Antalya was the hardest part of planning a trip here with my mum, and it’s the one thing the glossy resort ads won’t help you with. It is such a popular destination for all inclusive holidays, so it made it even more difficult for me to find a lovely place to stay without the typical touristic feel. I really don’t like that vibe and I’ve only done it once in my life.

Antalya isn’t one place, it’s a sandy resort strip, a historic old town and a proper city beach, all under one name, and they make for completely different holidays and the areas are spread out.

I spent four days here in July with my mum, did an embarrassing amount of research beforehand, and ended up basing us in Konyaaltı. This is the honest comparison I wish I’d had while I was agonising over it.

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Where to stay in Antalya- the short answer

Where to stay in Antalya would hugely depend on your preferences, style of traveling, length of stay etc. For me, the most important thing was easy access to the beach and to restaurants and shops. I didn’t want us to be isolated and depend on what the hotel offers. While I would prefer a sandy beach, this was the sacrifice we made for the commodity of location. So, even if you don’t continue reading this post, here’s a short answer of where to stay that I hugely researched and had a chance to compare during my trip to Antalya.

• Konyaaltı is for independent travellers who want the beach and the real city within walking distance or one short bus ride. This is where we stayed and what I’d recommend.
• Lara is for people who want a sandy, self-contained all-inclusive resort and don’t much care about leaving it. There are a few really nice resorts there, but we were not in mood for that on this trip.
• The Old Town (Kaleiçi) is beautiful and I’m glad we spent a day there, but I wouldn’t want to sleep in it. Great to visit, tiring to stay, in my opinion.

Now the detail, area by area.

Konyaaltı: where we stayed, and why I’d recommend it

Konyaaltı was the right call. What sold me wasn’t the beach itself, it was everything around it. There’s a long seafront promenade, bars and restaurants, street music in the evenings, and it all felt like a real place with life happening rather than a holiday compound. You step out of your hotel and there’s somewhere to walk. And the beach is beautiful too.

Before arriving in Antalya, we visited Abu Dhabi and Almaty in Kazakhstan, so for a change, we wanted a few days without a list of things to do. So our days were really simple. We’d stroll along the promenade, pick a nice spot, and rent a sunbed and umbrella from one of the beach bars and restaurants that set them up along the front. Further along, the beach is free for anyone to use, but it’s stony, and lying on it without any equipment just wasn’t comfortable, so paying a little for a bed and some shade was well worth it for us.

Now the honest bit about the beach itself: it’s pebbles, not sand, so pack water shoes, they make a real difference getting in and out. We didn’t bring any (because we only packed a hand luggage for this trip), but it was quite hard to enjoy the beach, so in the end we bought water shoes in one of many shops in the area. The water was lovely there, it was warm, with those beautiful clear colours you hope for and don’t always get, and the beach is really pretty. I’m a sandy-beach person at heart, and I still really enjoyed this spot, so don’t let the pebbles put you off.

Getting into the old town was easy from here too. We took the bus, around thirty minutes, simple and cheap. The only slightly fiddly part was the way back, working out which stop to use, because the buses don’t actually go into the old town itself, so you walk out to a main road to catch one. Not a big deal once you’ve done it the first time, but worth knowing so you’re not wandering around confused like we briefly were.

Where to stay in Konyaaltı

Here’s my honest steer. Rather than point you at a single hotel, I’d tell you what to look for, because that’s more useful and the specific right choice depends on your budget. Aim for somewhere in Konyaaltı proper (not the resort stretch further west), close enough to walk to the promenade and a bus stop, and ideally with a sea or mountain view, that view is half the reason to be here. Book the beach-and-city convenience, not just a pool.

If you’d rather have names to start from, three that are consistently well reviewed and fit that brief are Voco Antalya Konyaaltı, the more upscale Akra Antalya (known for its bay views, sitting between Konyaaltı and the centre), and Crowne Plaza Antalya for reliable five-star beach access. I didn’t stay in any of these, so check recent reviews before you commit.

• Akra Antalya — the strongest upscale pick, known for bay views. Technically sits just east of Konyaaltı toward the centre, but it’s the best “smart hotel, real city” option.
• Megasaray Westbeach — rating around 9.2 and it’s an all-inclusive family resort at the western end
• Porto Bello Resort & Spa — beachfront 5-star, very high location scores, again resort-style.

Lara: sandy, but a resort bubble (why I nearly booked it and didn’t)

Honest confession: I almost booked Lara, because of the beach. Lara has the soft, sandy beach that Konyaaltı doesn’t, and that’s a real plus. But the more I dug into it, the more it felt wrong for the trip I wanted, so this is the one area I’m writing about from research and instinct rather than from staying there.

The key thing to understand is that “Lara” is really two different places. The famous part is the Kundu resort strip east of the city, wall-to-wall big all-inclusives, the kind with multiple pools, water slides, buffets, even hotels built as replicas of famous landmarks. Separately there’s a more urban stretch of Lara closer to the city, with normal hotels, some with lovely bay views.

What put me off was the bubble. The resort strip sits well outside the city, so reaching the old town or anywhere with local life means a taxi or a fairly long bus ride, and the area around the hotels is quiet by design. If your dream is to check in, not leave, and have everything laid on, Lara does that brilliantly. If, like me, you want to walk out the door and fall into the actual city, it’s the wrong base.

The Old Town (Kaleiçi): lovely to visit, I wouldn’t stay

We gave the old town a full day, and it’s every bit as pretty as the photos, the Ottoman houses, the marina, history around every corner. As a place to wander for a day, absolutely do it.

As a place to sleep, though, I’d think twice, and I say that having been there. It was crowded, and a lot of the restaurants and cafés had that tourist-trap feel, the ones angling for passing footfall rather than actually being good. There are gems tucked in among them, but you have to hunt for them.

The one I’d actually send you to is ÇaY-Tea’s Boutique Café, tucked into Kaleiçi near the harbour by the Adalya Port Hotel. It’s a colourful, vintage little place, every corner decorated, exactly the sort of spot that stands out from the identikit tourist cafés around it. They’re known for their home-blended teas and homemade cakes, so it’s a lovely place to slow down for an afternoon and get your breath back after the crowds.

Beyond the crowds, the practical case against staying here is that we would have to, very likely, drag our suitaces along the cobbled lanes to the hotel. Some streets stay noisy late, and there’s barely any beach, just a tiny cove. Wonderful for a day on foot, wearing as a base.

Getting around Antalya

We found getting around easy and cheap, which is a big part of why Konyaaltı works so well as a base. A nostalgic tram and regular buses run along the Konyaaltı seafront into the centre and near the old town, and the wider network reaches from the airport to both beaches. If you’re staying more than a day or two, an AntalyaKart travel card is worth picking up, since the buses are cashless.

What to do in Antalya (while you’re based here)

As I mentioned before, we didn’t want our days to be filled with things to do. This time, we preferred to be free to choose what we wanted to do. Nonetheless, going to the Old Town was a must. This is the short version, a few things worth your time from a Konyaaltı base:

• Antalya Museum
• Düden Waterfalls
• A boat trip from the old harbour
• Tünektepe cable car
• Hadrian’s Gate / Hıdırlık Tower / the marina
• A day trip to the ancient sites (Perge, Aspendos, Side)

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