Obama sends thank you letter to hotel in Turkey’s Antalya for service during G-20

“Dear Mr. Kizildag. I send my deep thanks for your assistance on my recent trip to Turkey. I was heartened by the warm welcome I received, and I am grateful for the role you played in making my visit a success. Thank you, again, for your kind help. I wish you all the best,” Obama said in the letter sent to the general manager of the Calista Luxury Hotel, Ali Kızıldağ.

Kızıldağ said he was shocked when he received the president’s letter.

“During the G-20 Summit, we hosted President Obama in our hotel. We welcomed almost 550 delegates at our hotel. While staying in our hotel, he said he liked our hotel and services very much. Yesterday I received an envelope from the cargo. When I looked at it, ‘White House’ and ‘first class’ and ‘do not crease the envelope,’ were written on it. I was shocked when I saw the envelope. There were those from the delegation who would come for vacation. ‘I wonder, is this a letter of reservation?’ I thought. When I opened the envelope, I came across President Obama’s letter. He had written the letter in April. It just reached us,” Kızıldağ said, adding that the letter made the hotel’s management proud and proved the region’s safety amid concerns in the sector.

The letter and a signed photo taken during Obama’s visit will be displayed in a private corner of the hotel where it can be viewed by the hotel’s guests.

Obama, accompanied by his delegation, came to Antalya on Nov. 15, 2015, and stayed at the Calista Luxury hotel as he attended the G-20 Summit before leaving. All the planning was made by his private team, as he stayed in the hotel’s 240-square-meter royal suite.