Grand Yazici Club Marmaris Palace

We travelled as a group of 11 (6 adults and 5 kids aged 5–13) and overall had a really lovely stay at the Grand Yazici Club Marmaris Palace. Travel & airport: Transfer from Dalaman took about 2 hours, which was just about bearable. Dalaman Airport itself is fine but very expensive, and frustratingly we couldn’t charge our phones while waiting to head home. Our bags were checked three times which felt a bit excessive. Hotel & facilities: The hotel is well-presented and spread over multiple floors/areas. Air con was just about ok, though we did hit 40°C while there which made it harder. The beach area isn’t really a “beach” but it did the job for us. Food & drink: The main restaurant food was very good, although I have to say the staff there weren’t great – quite disinterested at times. By contrast, the bar staff were excellent everywhere – always friendly and couldn’t do enough for us (a 200TL note helped too). We loved the snack bar and main pool bar, and in the evenings the food was consistently good. Our kids (5 & 7) even felt confident going up to the bar and snack areas on their own, which says a lot about how welcoming the staff were in general. Out & about: The water taxi to Icmeler was brilliant – we ate out three times at Coco Beach Bar, Waterfall and Love Boat – all excellent. Taxi back was about 400TL and drivers don’t hang about! We also booked a boat trip through our Jet2 rep – it was a fantastic day out from 9am until about 4:30pm, costing £320 plus drinks. Worth every penny, but if you want to save a bit, speak to Albert (the beauty salon rep) as he offered something very similar including drinks. Highly recommended either way. Negatives: • Sun loungers – if you don’t get up early you’ll struggle to find good spots. It’s a big, busy hotel and while that makes for a great atmosphere, it does mean choice is limited if you’re more relaxed with timings. • Our room (141 near reception) really needs updating. The air con struggled badly in a bigger room, and the mattress was rock hard – and I normally like a firm one. Overall: Despite a few negatives, we had a lovely holiday. The atmosphere, food, and especially the bar staff really made the trip for us. With a few updates to the rooms and better service in the main dining area, this would be an outstanding place to stay.