Our Blog Writers
Every post on this blog is written by a real person, from direct personal experience. No AI-generated content. No press releases. No paid placements. Just honest, first-hand knowledge from a team that has spent decades working in the destinations they write about.
Our commitment to you
- This blog is not a marketing tool. We do not use it to promote specific hotels, restaurants or attractions in exchange for payment or consideration of any kind.
- Every post is written directly from the personal experience of the named author — in their own words, reflecting their own opinions.
- We will always tell you the honest picture, including the negatives. If something does not work, we say so.
- You can contact any of our writers directly with questions, feedback or reactions. We read everything.
- GotoBeach is a specialist operator covering Malta, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Greece. We are not generalists. Every writer on this page specialises in the destinations they write about.
A note on transparency: GotoBeach writers produce their content independently. No hotel, destination board or third party is consulted or informed before publication. This is what allows us to stay honest.
Thomas has spent 28 years working at the highest levels of European travel, with positions at some of the industry’s most respected names — TUI, Thomas Cook, Neckermann and Vrijuit among them. Few people in the UK travel industry carry the depth of destination knowledge that Thomas brings to his role as GotoBeach’s Product Manager.
His inspection visits to Turkey, Greece, Malta and Morocco are a regular feature of the GotoBeach year — three to four times annually for Turkey alone, covering Belek, Lara, Bodrum, Marmaris, Kusadasi and beyond. He eats in the hotels he recommends, dives the reefs he writes about, and walks the old towns he describes. When Thomas recommends something, it is because he has been there recently.
Thomas writes for this blog at the request of GotoBeach management. His opinions are entirely his own. He has never been asked to moderate a view, soften a criticism or promote a property he does not believe in.
Raşit is one of the most experienced figures in Turkish tourism working in the UK market today. His career spans more than 30 years — from senior management roles at leading Antalya hotels including Sunrise Queen and Mylome Luxury, to directorial positions at major UK tour operators including Air Tours and Sunrise Travel. He joined GotoBeach in February 2026 as Contract Manager and Destination Specialist for Turkey.
Raşit knows the Antalya coast the way most people know their own neighbourhood. He knows which chef still comes in every morning, which restaurant owner stands at the door and which one has not been seen since the place became famous. That knowledge — built across three decades of living and working in this industry — is what he brings to this blog.
Away from work, Raşit is a devoted motorcyclist who travels extensively across Turkey sampling restaurants, local dishes and lesser-known dining experiences. His restaurant recommendations come from personal visits made on his own time, entirely independently. Nobody pays Raşit to write about them. Nobody is told in advance that he is coming.
Eleni was born and raised on the island of Crete, which gives her a perspective on Greek island tourism that no amount of inspection visits can replicate. She is responsible for GotoBeach’s entire Greece operation — every hotel selection, every product decision and every recommendation for Crete, Rhodes and Kos passes through her.
Her career in travel began alongside Thomas Kaplan at Thomas Cook, where she worked as a Greece resort representative — the role that builds the kind of on-the-ground knowledge that desk-based product managers simply cannot match. She has spent her professional life in and around the Greek islands, and her understanding of what UK guests find when they arrive — and what they do not expect — is as current and detailed as anyone in the industry.
Eleni writes on this blog to answer the questions GotoBeach guests ask most often about Greece — where to stay, what to expect, what the honest differences between the islands and resorts actually are. Σε ευχαριστούμε για τη συμμετοχή σου, Ελένη.
Paul began his career as a travel agent in Sheffield and has spent more than 40 years at the centre of the UK travel industry. He has held senior roles at Yugotours, Balkan Holidays and Sunquest Holidays, followed by the integration of Sunquest into First Choice following its 1999 acquisition. From there, Sales Director at Jewel in the Crown Holidays, General Manager of the Midconsort Elite Travel Group, Sales & Marketing Director at resorthoppa.com, and Managing Director of The Travel Integrity Group.
Paul currently sits on the board of GotoBeach and contributes directly to the company’s strategic direction. He is Finance Director and Vice-Chair of the Education and Training Committee at the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT), sits on ABTA’s Membership Committee and serves as a Campaign Ambassador for the Family Holiday Association.
For GotoBeach specifically, Paul leads on Egypt and the Red Sea — a destination he knows with particular depth as a passionate and experienced diver. He visits Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Alam multiple times each year, and his assessment of a dive site, a house reef or a Red Sea hotel carries the authority of someone who has dived these waters for decades.
Sharon has built her career at the intersection of travel sales, marketing and industry representation. As Sales & Marketing Director at The Travel Rep since 2010 — a role she has held for over 16 years — she has worked with tour operators, hotels and travel businesses across the UK and Europe, providing consultancy, marketing support and trade representation.
Her qualifications span the full breadth of the travel trade: Dip TS, Cert TS, BA Hons, Ticketing BA I II & III, full GDS training across Galileo, Worldspan and Amadeus, airline experience and international marketing. Before The Travel Rep, she served as UK Sales Manager across multiple travel brands including Allbury Travel, Argo, Libra, Jetlife, Enable and Goldenjoy Dive.
Sharon worked alongside Paul Cowley at The Travel Rep and brings to GotoBeach a deep understanding of the UK trade environment and what travel agents and independent travellers actually need from a specialist operator. She contributes to this blog with the same directness she brings to everything else — practical, experienced and without unnecessary embellishment.
Özgür represents the next generation of Turkish travel expertise within the GotoBeach team. Working as Senior Contract Specialist within Raşit’s Turkey operation, he focuses specifically on Turkey’s high-end hotel portfolio — building relationships with luxury properties across Belek and the Antalya coast and ensuring that GotoBeach’s product selection reflects the highest standards available in the market.
Working under Raşit’s guidance, Özgür brings a contemporary perspective to a team whose collective Turkish experience spans decades. His role is to know Turkey’s premium hotel product from the inside — negotiating the packages, understanding the facilities, and translating that knowledge into the best possible holiday options for GotoBeach guests.
He contributes to this blog on Turkey’s luxury hotel scene — the properties, the destinations and the developments that the GotoBeach team considers most relevant to UK travellers planning a high-end Turkish holiday.