Blue Bay Platinum Hotel, Marmaris

Marmaris is now one of the most popular tourist places in Turkey to go on holiday - due to its never failing gorgeous weather and many attractions and things to do - as well as the cheap cost!

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My first visit to Marmaris was in June 2006 - a total of 4 of us went and we opted for an apartment, which was a part of the hotel. The apartment consisted of 2 decent sized bedrooms and lots of storage, a kitchen and living area, a bathroom and a large balcony which overlooked the pool and entertainment area. This first holiday we were down as self catering so didn't actually get to try any of the hotel food on this occasion but we got full use of the hotel facilities. There was also a small internet cafe at the front of the hotel where you could check emails/facebook ect.

We were recommended Marmaris by the sister of a person in the group who had been the previous year and loved it. We couldn't argue with the cost when enquiring compared to other holidays - less than £350 each for a fortnight!

Being quite honest this first time we went we didnt really spend a lot of time at the hotel - was just really a place to shower and sleep so can't comment on the entertainment aspect either apart from unfortunatly our apartment overlooked the entertainment area and there was normally a noisy annoying DJ shouting down a microphone until a really awful hour. However there was always plenty of kids running round and games being played so it was a child friendly place.

There is always little buses which pass the hotel every couple of minutes so getting around is very easy and there is also a medical centre right across the road incase its needed.

The main bar area goes right along the sea front along with all the water activities you can take part in - which is just around the corner from this hotel in walking distance. There is also plenty of nice resturants around to grab food as well.

The only issues I had with the hotel at the time was that you had to pay a deposit to use a safe downstairs behind the reception - I didn't see a point in calling it a deposit as you don't actually get your money back! And you also paid an extra charge for air conditioning - which again you don't get back... And the air conditioning was broken in our apartment the first night so you can imagine how uncomfortable it was!

Another major worry was when we first got into our apartment - there was a plug ripped out of the wall leaving live wires hanging out - we reported it to the reception thinking someone would come and install a new plug but instead they sent out a handyman while we were out and simply plastered over the wall... Needless to say we didn't go near it the rest of the holiday...

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My second visit to this hotel in Marmaris took place in June 2010 - I went here with a different group of friends and I recommended the place and hotel because of what a great holiday I had the previous time despite the issues I had with the hotel the last time.

Again we had another apartment overlooking the pool and entertainment area. What made this second holiday different was that we were not given the option of self catering but had to go all inclusive. To be honest it wasn't really an issue, I knew the price would go up as I had been very lucky the first time getting a holiday that cheap and it had been 4 years since so it would of gone up anyway. We still ended up paying less than £600 each for a fortnight.

There was a few great improvements I noticed at the hotel on this visit - they had built on a spa to the hotel - which we attended for a turkish bath which is a must have if you want to go home with a great tan! The hotel also had a hairdressers, a henna tattooist and a group of photographers which came round taking great professional pictures which they also could sell to you.

The main area's of the hotel including the reception and entrance seemed to have undergone a huge revamp from the previous time - and it looked great!

We did get to try the food on this visit due to the all inclusive status. They served 3 HUGE buffetts a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I say huge I mean huge. You had a choice of everything. Even a vegatarian would be very happy there! My only issue with the food would be don't eat the meat. We all had stomach upsets during the holiday after we had all eaten a certain meat from the hotel.

We also did get unlimited alcohol and soft drinks throughout the holiday - limited to 3 drinks to each person each time they went to the bar. One thing I hated was that there is only one bar a the hotel and was always seriously undermanned - about 2 people there each time - which isn't a lot considering how many guests used to be there at night time.

Another great thing about the hotel they tend to organise a lot of day trips - wheather it be a drinking night further out in Marmaris or going on tours / going to shopping bazaars - in a place like Marmaris you are always booking this kind of thing through the hotel no matter what sales men outside it say, because there is a lot of con artists there.

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Both times I was there the rooms were cleaned to a suitable standard and there was maids in everyday and always leaving fresh towels and toiletries... the staff are just as friendly and helpful as you can expect...

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Be wary about going to this hotel now as it went another revamp in winter 2011/2012 - it now accepts persons 16+ so it is no longer child friendly. I expect I will be back at some point in future and looking at the photos of the new revamp on the website it looks better than before!