Marmaris Bay Resort

This is our family's ninth trip to various hotels in Turkey. I really have something to compare.Everything is average. The hotel is old, needs renovation everywhere. The food is average, the service really needs to be improved. The location is full of nature, the view is beautiful, but not super good. I would say the hotel is a weak four stars!

We had a wonderful stay and couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful location. The surroundings are absolutely stunning, and the sunsets were truly unforgettable — the perfect way to end each day. The staff were another highlight of our stay. Everyone was incredibly friendly, welcoming and helpful, always going above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience. The entertainment is also really good and its location looking out over the sea of an evening is lovely. A particular highlight for us was the water sports. I would highly recommend hiring a boat and doing the speedboat tour from serdar there he is lovely and it was absolutely amazing and definitely one of the best experiences of our stay! The buffet has plenty of choice and there is something for everyone and desserts possibly too nice 🤣 One small negative, although this is nothing to do with the hotel itself, was seeing some guests being quite rude to the staff. They genuinely don’t deserve it, as the staff work so hard and are consistently friendly and helpful. Rooms were always very clean and though some are quite high up, you can get buggy’s if needed. Overall, we had a fantastic stay, loved the location, the atmosphere and especially the amazing water activities. We will happily return and highly recommend it!

Just come back from a lovely relaxing week at Marmaris Bay Resort. Staff were very welcoming and friendly. The entertainment team were fantastic always full of energy and getting people involved. We enjoyed the spa which was lovely, staff really tentative. We also indulged in a photo shoot, which we were so happy with the pictures. We would definitely recommend this place.

The location was beautiful and peaceful. We were also really impressed that, wherever you went in the hotel, there always seemed to be a few sunbeds available, even at busy times. There was a great range of entertainment too. The rooms definitely need updating. Ours had marks on the furniture and black mould on the shower head, although it was cleaned thoroughly every day. Some rooms are a long way from the main areas, but you can request a buggy to take you to and from your room, although there can be a wait at busy times. The walls are also very thin. Luckily, we had quiet neighbours, but I could see this being a real problem otherwise. The WiFi was also very poor and kept losing signal. Unfortunately, we had an emergency at home that we needed to deal with, and the unreliable WiFi made this very difficult. Staff did kindly give us free room service as an apology after we complained and said we would leave a bad review. I wouldn’t recommend paying for the room service, though. We ordered two signature burgers, which were around €18 each, and I wouldn’t have paid that price for them. They were literally just a burger patty with a bit of salad in a bun. The service was really good if you tipped, but largely non-existent from most staff if you didn’t. I actually watched one member of staff actively avoid serving people while there was a queue at the bar. He would pick up glasses, look at them and put them down, only serving someone when they called him over. He also occasionally made rounds to guests who had clearly tipped him, giving them table service. There were also quite a few people who would push in at queues. I appreciate this may be partly cultural, but they were often clearly aware that they weren’t next, as they would look over at you before stepping in front. You generally had to say something for them to wait their turn, and while they would then do so, many people seemed happy to push in if nobody challenged them. I understand that tipping is common in Turkey, but this doesn’t sit well with me. In my view, you tip after receiving good service, not in order to receive it. What annoyed me most was that the hotel says you don’t have to tip to receive service, when in reality that didn’t seem to be the case. The food was OK, but I wasn’t particularly impressed. I’m not a fussy eater, but the chicken tasted strange, the seafood was poor and, although there was a large selection, it was very similar every day. The à la carte restaurants were better. The seafood restaurant was on a jetty over the water, which was lovely, and the seafood was significantly better than what was served at the buffet. The shop by reception sells the best homemade baklava and Turkish delight. The spa also offers a really good massage package, which we did twice. Speak to Rozanna (I think that’s her name), the Russian spa representative. She’s lovely and very chatty. Bring bug spray as the flies bite and are extremely persistent. Also Asian hornets flying round don't usually sting but be careful as if they do sting it's incredibly painful. If you go into Marmaris, use the dolmuş (minibus), which leaves just outside the main entrance by security. It costs around £1 and you can pay by card, making it significantly cheaper than the €20 taxi the hotel offers. Even a regular taxi should cost under €10. I was particularly unhappy with the price difference and felt the hotel was making far too much from arranging these taxis. If you book trips in Marmaris, make sure you understand exactly what is included. We found some of the sellers very misleading. On the Orca boat trip we took, everyone we spoke to had been given the impression that drinks were included, but they weren’t. Drinks on board were also very expensive. The boat was massively overcrowded, and with two hours spent travelling there and back, it wasn’t quite what we expected. The trips themselves aren’t necessarily expensive, but they clearly make their money by packing as many people as possible onto the boats. Overall, this certainly isn’t a 5-star hotel. The location really saves it, because if it wasn’t in such a beautiful setting, I honestly wouldn’t have been happy with what we got for our money.