Our Honest Cullinan Belek Hotel Review: Travelling with a baby

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In October last year, we travelled to Türkiye with our 9-month old baby Mila. Here’s our honest review of Cullinan Belek (is it really worth it?).

Turkey keeps pulling us back. Every year we go, we somehow end up at a nicer hotel than the last, and every year I’m reminded why Turkey — specifically the all-inclusive resort scene along the Antalya coast — is genuinely hard to beat if you live in Europe and want that level of comfort and service.

Why Turkiye (Turkey) works best for travelling with a baby?

A quick word on why Turkey works so well for this, because it’s worth understanding before we get into the hotel itself. Most of Europe simply doesn’t do all-inclusives the way Turkey does. Spain is mostly half board, Portugal is breakfast only, Italy has perhaps five or six true all-inclusive hotels across the entire country. Greece does it reasonably well, but Turkey does it on another level entirely — and in the last five years, the quality has absolutely skyrocketed. There’s fierce competition between hotels, and since the start of the war in Russia, wealthy Russian travellers have had significantly fewer options, which has pushed the standard of luxury resorts in Turkey into genuinely extraordinary territory. Hotels are doing things you simply wouldn’t believe to stand out. Having travelled to over 100 countries and stayed in a lot of hotels, I’m still genuinely impressed every time.

We’ve previously stayed at Nirvana Cosmopolitan, Lîu Resorts (2023), and Ethno Blek — which we visited in 2024 when I was six months pregnant, just two months after it opened, and which remains probably the most impressive all-inclusive we’ve ever stayed at. So our expectations going into Cullinan Sea were extremely high.

Cullinan Belek: The Basics

We stayed at Cullinan in Belek for a week in early October — 2nd to 9th — with Mila at nine months old. We paid around £3,700 for the week, which was a relatively good deal. I’ve seen this hotel listed for £4,800, and closer to the dates it goes up to £6,000-7,000 as cheaper rooms sell out. Book early if you’re going.

Cullinan consistently appears in ratings of the best all-inclusive hotels in Europe, and people rave about it. It’s not the most luxurious hotel in Turkey — I’d put it in the top ten to fifteen — but it’s a serious, high-end property with a lot going for it. It also has a lot of children. Almost every single guest had a child. This is important context for everything that follows.

Travelling with a 9-Month-Old vs a Younger Baby

At four months in Cancún, Mila was essentially portable. She slept, she fed, she didn’t have opinions. At nine months, she was a different person entirely — eating solids, on formula rather than breastfed, interested in her surroundings, and significantly more opinionated about all of it.

This changes the holiday in ways that are hard to fully anticipate. The food situation in particular becomes much more complex, which makes the hotel’s approach to children’s dining more important than ever.

The Baby Buffet: Genuinely Impressive

This is the thing I’d highlight above almost everything else, because I haven’t seen it done this well anywhere else — including Tenerife recently, at a hotel that positions itself as superfamily-friendly and had nothing remotely comparable.

Cullinan had an entire dedicated baby buffet. Not a token corner with a jar of purée — a proper baby section with ten to twelve freshly prepared purées (carrot, sweet potato, and more), boiled meats, boiled vegetables, and salads prepared without spices. There was someone staffing the counter specifically to help you select what you wanted for your child. There were dedicated baby plates and spoons. There was a fridge stocked with HiPP Organic formula and fruit purées.

We started with the HiPP pouches when we arrived, then quickly realised we could just go straight to the fresh buffet purées instead, which were honestly much better. For a nine-month-old on solids but without teeth, eating very plain food — this was an absolute game changer. I cannot overstate how much easier it made mealtimes.

Buffet for adults – we expected a bit more

For adults, the main buffet was undeniably impressive — huge variety, beautifully presented, caviar at breakfast — though I’ll be honest and say I think it used to be even better. Based on videos I’d seen before booking, there seemed to be more variety and more flair in previous years. Inflation in Turkey and the opening of newer competitors in Belek seems to have simplified things slightly. In Ethno, for comparison, there were eight varieties of tomatoes in the salad section alone, and a café that genuinely felt like a high-end coffee shop — iced lattes, beautiful cakes, proper packaging. Cullinan’s café was underwhelming by comparison, with worse coffee and a smaller cake selection. Still impressive by most standards. Just not quite what we’d been led to expect.

The à la carte situation was also a disappointment. For lunch, every à la carte restaurant essentially served the same menu with one or two dishes different — after you’d eaten at one, you’d eaten at all of them. Dinner à la carte was available but at an extra charge, which felt off at this price point. In Ethno, each lunch restaurant had a completely distinct menu — one did gourmet burgers, one did incredible tacos and salads, one served fresh octopus that tasted like a proper Greek taverna. We’d expected something similar at Cullinan. It wasn’t there.

And on one occasion after lunch, I got what I can only describe as mild food poisoning. I felt genuinely unwell for a day. For a hotel at this level, that’s not acceptable, and when we raised it, the initial response was defensive — staff saying it had never happened before, despite a handful of reviews mentioning it. More on how they handled that shortly.

The Beach, Sunbeds & Cabanas

This was our other main frustration. Almost every guest at Cullinan has children, and children — especially toddlers — love sand. Which means everyone gravitates to the beach, which means you need to wake up early to secure a sunbed on the sand. We failed to do this twice and had to book cabanas at the last minute.

Cabana pricing runs roughly:

• First line (closest to the sea): €200 per day
• Second line: around €180
• Third line: €100
• Fourth line (no sand): €100

If you have a baby or toddler who wants to play on the sand, you need first, second, or third line. The third and fourth lines don’t have sand directly, so children end up playing in the gaps between cabanas or in shared areas, which is a bit awkward.

The cabanas themselves are genuinely lovely — spacious, with a fridge, dedicated food service from a slightly different menu to the main restaurant, and as many drinks as you want. You’re also supposed to receive a bottle of Prosecco, though this was inconsistently offered — we noticed plenty of other guests getting it without asking, while we had to request it. For over €100 a day, that felt a bit sneaky.

We ended up in a cabana three times. The third time, the hotel comped it — partly because of the food poisoning incident, and partly because of the air conditioning issues I’m about to get to. Which was a decent gesture.

There were also paid loungers in a private area near the beach café (accessible to cabana guests) at around €60 each — for what appeared to be exactly the same sunbed you could get for free a few metres away. I genuinely don’t know who was paying for those or why.

The adults-only beach area always had availability, but it wasn’t properly separated from the family area — sometimes just two or three metres of space between them. So the concept of an adult escape was somewhat theoretical.

The Pools

There are several pools, and the indoor pool is genuinely one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in any Turkish hotel. It connects to an outdoor pool so you can swim between the two, which is a lovely touch. In early October when the weather was cooler than expected — some days only 23-24°C, with one day too cold to beach at all — this became our main spot. Plenty of space, always enough loungers, and popular with families for the same reason it was popular with us.

All pools except one adults-only pool are family-friendly. The adults-only pool was quiet and somewhat isolated — largely because, as mentioned, there simply weren’t many adults without children at this hotel. The adults without children who were there tended to be golfers, as Cullinan has a substantial golf course. Which leads me to the next point.

The Noise (And the Air Conditioning, Which Is Its Own Problem)

One night — possibly more — a group of guests were drinking and screaming in the lobby bar and its outdoor balcony until at least 3am. Loudly enough, I’m fairly confident, to wake the entire hotel. Cullinan doesn’t have a dedicated bar near the beach or sea where late-night noise can dissipate away from the rooms — everything filters back through the main building. Leo Resorts handled this much better, with a bar a good five minutes’ walk from the accommodation. It’s an easy fix that Cullinan hasn’t made.

The air conditioning issue was harder to resolve and honestly the thing that affected us most. Our room was beautiful — modern, well laid out, and cleverly designed for a family with a baby. The bathroom and wardrobe area was so large and separate from the bedroom that we could put Mila to sleep in there with the lights off, then open the sliding doors once we were ready to sleep ourselves. That part was genuinely excellent.

But the air conditioning cycled constantly. Every 40 seconds or so: loud click on, run briefly, loud click off, silence, repeat. All night. We initially thought it was broken and complained. A technician came and confirmed it was working as designed — the system is simply that sensitive to temperature fluctuations.

The problem was this: it wasn’t hot enough outside to keep the air conditioning running steadily, but the room heated up during the day and became too warm to sleep without it. Opening the balcony wasn’t a reliable solution because of the noise outside, occasional rain that somehow came into the room, and some nights simply no breeze at all. Turning the temperature down to 17°C — as suggested by the concierge — would have made the room unbearably cold.

The concierge was lovely throughout and genuinely tried to help. The WhatsApp concierge system that Cullinan (and most good Turkish hotels) use is genuinely useful — your dedicated contact handles everything from dinner bookings to complaints, sends you a daily activity schedule, and is far more accessible than a hotel reception. But in this case, there was no real solution on offer beyond earplugs — which we couldn’t use because we needed to hear Mila if she woke in the night.

We raised everything with a manager before we left. They were receptive, comped the cabana, and arranged a complimentary dinner at the steakhouse — a nice gesture, even if the steakhouse was good rather than exceptional. But we’d come to rest and recharge, and we left having slept badly for most of the week.

Worth noting: air conditioning complaints are rare in other Cullinan reviews. It’s possible this was specific to our room, or specific to the time of year when outdoor temperatures were too mild for the system to regulate properly. In summer, this probably isn’t an issue at all.

Service, High Chairs & the General Vibe with a Baby

The service throughout was impeccable. Every member of staff we encountered was warm with Mila — stopping to smile, play, interact. The dining setup for babies and toddlers was extraordinarily well organised: an army of high chairs throughout the restaurant, all pristinely clean, disinfected between uses, with trays at exactly the right height for small children. Dedicated baby cutlery. Bibs available. Colouring crayons for slightly older kids.

And despite the fact that seemingly every single guest had a toddler, the dining room was remarkably calm and well-behaved. Not something you’d expect, and genuinely impressive.

The gym was excellent — not quite at Nirvana Cosmopolitan’s level, which remains the best hotel gym I’ve encountered, but very good, with a distinctive jungle-adjacent feel when the windows were open. There was also, surreally, a proper pub serving Guinness. Which I wasn’t expecting and still find slightly bewildering, but there it is.

The kids’ club, for what it’s worth, looked genuinely exceptional — bowling, a games room, activities for various ages. For children old enough to use it (3 and over, ideally 5 or 7 and above to really get the most from it), I can imagine it being a highlight of the holiday. We couldn’t access it with Mila, but I could see groups of teenagers and older children having an absolute brilliant time.

Would I Go Back?

Not in the next couple of years — not with a young child. But when Mila is older, genuinely yes. Cullinan is exceptional for children aged seven and above, and pretty great from five. The kids’ club, the waterpark, the activities — it’s the kind of place older children come back from having made friends for life.

For a baby under one, it’s more complicated. The baby buffet is brilliant, the service is wonderful, and the rooms are lovely. But the sunbed situation requires early rising, the cabana costs add up fast, and the air conditioning in cooler months is a genuine risk to your sleep. If you go in summer when the air conditioning runs steadily, that last point probably disappears entirely.

Who Should Book Cullinan Sea?

Great choice if:

• You have children aged 5 and above, ideally 7+
• You find a competitive price (aim for under £4,000 for the week)
• You’re going in peak summer when weather is reliably hot
• You want exceptional service and a genuinely beautiful property

Think carefully if:

• You have a baby or child under 3 — you won’t access the kids’ club and the sunbed situation requires early mornings
• You’re booking late and paying £6,000+ — at that price, I’d look at alternatives
• You’re going in early October — the weather is unpredictable and the air conditioning cycling issue may affect you

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cullinan Sea good for babies? It has outstanding baby facilities — particularly the dedicated baby buffet with fresh purées, which is exceptional. But the sunbed competition, cabana costs, and potential air conditioning issues in cooler months make it less straightforward than it might appear. Great service throughout, though.

How much does Cullinan Sea cost? We paid around £3,700 for a week, which was a good deal. Prices typically range from £4,800 to £6,000-7,000 depending on how close to the date you book and which rooms are still available. Book early for the best rate. Check prices and availability now >>>

Is Turkey good for holidays with babies? Yes — particularly for the baby-friendly buffet setups, level of service, and overall comfort. Most kids’ clubs require children to be at least 3, so the resort experience for very young babies is more about the facilities than the activities. But the standard of all-inclusive hotels in Turkey is genuinely difficult to match elsewhere in Europe.

How does Cullinan compare to Ethno Blek? We preferred Ethno, particularly for the food — more varied à la carte options at lunch, a better café, and an overall feeling that the hotel was going above and beyond to impress. Cullinan is a more established property with better kids’ facilities for older children, but Ethno felt more special to us. Worth noting we visited Ethno without a child, which makes direct comparison difficult.

When is the best time to visit Cullinan Sea? Peak summer for guaranteed heat and reliable air conditioning. Early October can be unpredictable — we had two genuinely chilly days and the air conditioning cycling issue may be more pronounced when outdoor temperatures are mild.

Turkey remains, in my opinion, one of the best destinations in Europe for a genuinely comfortable, high-quality all-inclusive holiday — with or without children. Cullinan Sea is a great hotel with real strengths. It just wasn’t quite the flawless experience we’d been led to expect — and with a nine-month-old and broken sleep already a way of life, the air conditioning situation pushed us over the edge more than it might have otherwise.

Go when she’s seven, I keep telling myself. It’ll be perfect then.

We also wrote about travelling with a baby in Cancún — including an honest comparison of the best hotels there — which you can read here.