Pros

  • Relaxed hotel with a prime waterfront location near restaurants and shops
  • Design-forward guest rooms with modern decor
  • In-room flat-screen TVs, minibars, kettles, and free coffee/tea
  • Most units have balconies, many with sea views
  • Sandy beach, dock, and pool with sunbeds and umbrellas
  • Well-reviewed restaurant provides dockside seating and occasional piano player
  • Pool bar for cocktails and wine
  • Breakfast-only, half-board, and flexible dining options available
  • Small lobby library and public computer
  • Free Wi-Fi in public areas
  • Access to spa and gym at neighboring hotel
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Cons

  • Guest rooms are on the small side
  • No in-room Wi-Fi
  • No organized entertainment or activities
  • Closes from mid-October to May
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Bottom Line

This three-and-a-half-pearl hotel with a prime spot on the Marmaris waterfront draws mostly European couples looking for a relaxed stay. Its 84 guest rooms are on the small side, but they're streamlined, with design-forward, modern decor. All are nicely equipped with flat-screen TVs, generously stocked minibars, electric kettles with free coffee and tea. Most rooms have balconies, but units lack in-room Wi-Fi. Features highlights include a sandy beach, outdoor pool, and a well-regarded restaurant, although there's no organized entertainment or activities. Guests can choose from breakfast-only, half-board, or a mix of the two packages for the duration of their stay. Note that the Marbella closes from mid-October to May. Travelers with kids in tow looking for a more family-friendly property can consider nearby Ideal Prime Beach, which has a water park. 

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Oyster Hotel Review

Hotel Marbella

Scene

Relaxed, small hotel catering mostly to European couples

The Marbella’s light and airy lobby, with its cheery lime-green walls and floral displays, sets a tranquil tone at this small beachfront hotel, where European couples make up the majority of the guests. Hailing from England, as well as Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries, many are repeat visitors, who book with a half-dozen different tour operators. The lack of organized activities keeps things quiet and relaxed, though some guests have complained about noise from music at neighboring hotels spoiling the laid-back vibe. Like many other hotels in Marmaris, the Marbella is open from May to mid-October.

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Location

Beachfront location on the waterfront promenade, with restaurants, bars, and cafes

Right on the shoreline, the Marbella offers a convenient location with good views of the sea. The waterfront promenade that runs in front of the hotel stretches for blocks in either direction, and is full of restaurants, bars, and cafes, most of them catering to tourists. It’s a 15-minute drive to the Marmaris Castle, old town, and harbor, where excursion boats and the ferry to Rhodes, Greece, dock. The main road behind the hotel has more places to eat and drink, as well as some shops. Minibuses stop along here and run to the bus station (a 15-minute drive) and to the neighboring resort of İçmeler (about 10 minutes by car). The nearest airport is about 90 minutes away by car in the town of Dalaman.

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Rooms

Airy with a streamline, modern look, plus minibars and kettles, but no in-room Wi-Fi

Guest rooms at the Marbella are compact, but the crisp, white walls and light-wood furniture give them a pleasant and airy feel, and decor is streamlined and modern. Tropical flowers accenting walls behind beds and etched in semi-opaque glass panels between bedrooms and bathrooms add a splash of color, as do the silver throw pillows and bed runners. The 34 Family Rooms are slightly large than the 50 Standard Rooms, with space for a double and a single bed. Almost all units feature spacious furnished balconies, three-fourths of which offer full or partial sea views. All units are well-equipped with air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs, generously stocked minibars, electric kettles with free coffee and tea, and safes, but there's no in-room Wi-Fi. Bathrooms are sleek, with walk-in rainfall showers and removable showerheads, tube-style hairdryers, and basic toiletries.

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Features

Private beach, outdoor pool, and a restaurant, plus use of a spa and gym 

Features here are focused on food and the outdoors. The Marbella has a small semicircular pool, but the private beach just across the waterfront pedestrian path is a much more appealing place to catch some rays. Both the pool and beach have sunbeds and umbrellas, and additional sunbeds are set on the hotel's dock, which extends from one end of the beach. 

At night, the sunbeds on the pier are swapped for dining tables, and the space is converted to the hotel’s well-regarded restaurant, which serves a mix of Turkish, British, Indian, Chinese, and other world cuisine. Most guests at the Marbella opt for room rates that include breakfast, which is set up as a continental buffet in a dining room overlooking the pool. Half-board and flexible dining options (e.g. half-board for four days out of a one-week stay) are also available, with dinner served in the waterfront restaurant. Room service isn't available. There's also a circular pool bar with a marble countertop and wicker chairs. 

A piano player often adds a musical backdrop to mealtimes, and there are occasional live bands in the evenings, which is the only on-site entertainment. There aren't any organized activities, but tour operators on-site can book excursions for boat trips, Jeep safaris, scuba diving, and the like (extra charge).

For wellness, if guests want to use a spa or gym, hotel staff will walk them next door to Hotel Sunrise, under the same ownership but currently closed. Having to go into an empty hotel is a bit off-putting, but the pleasant, small spa area has a mini Turkish bath with colorful traditional tiles adorning its water basins and main marble slab. There are two massage rooms (extra charge) with their own showers, one for a single person and one for a couple, and a basic fitness area with a few cardio machines and weights.

Wi-Fi is free in public areas, and there’s a small library and a computer in the lobby for guests to use. Laundry service is available (extra charge), as is a no-commission currency exchange. Though the hotel has one elevator leading up to the guest rooms, stairs between the street and the main floor mean the property isn't disabled-accessible. 

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Oyster Hotel Review

Hotel Marbella

Scene

Relaxed, small hotel catering mostly to European couples

The Marbella’s light and airy lobby, with its cheery lime-green walls and floral displays, sets a tranquil tone at this small beachfront hotel, where European couples make up the majority of the guests. Hailing from England, as well as Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries, many are repeat visitors, who book with a half-dozen different tour operators. The lack of organized activities keeps things quiet and relaxed, though some guests have complained about noise from music at neighboring hotels spoiling the laid-back vibe. Like many other hotels in Marmaris, the Marbella is open from May to mid-October.

See More Scene

Location

Beachfront location on the waterfront promenade, with restaurants, bars, and cafes

Right on the shoreline, the Marbella offers a convenient location with good views of the sea. The waterfront promenade that runs in front of the hotel stretches for blocks in either direction, and is full of restaurants, bars, and cafes, most of them catering to tourists. It’s a 15-minute drive to the Marmaris Castle, old town, and harbor, where excursion boats and the ferry to Rhodes, Greece, dock. The main road behind the hotel has more places to eat and drink, as well as some shops. Minibuses stop along here and run to the bus station (a 15-minute drive) and to the neighboring resort of İçmeler (about 10 minutes by car). The nearest airport is about 90 minutes away by car in the town of Dalaman.

See More Location

Rooms

Airy with a streamline, modern look, plus minibars and kettles, but no in-room Wi-Fi

Guest rooms at the Marbella are compact, but the crisp, white walls and light-wood furniture give them a pleasant and airy feel, and decor is streamlined and modern. Tropical flowers accenting walls behind beds and etched in semi-opaque glass panels between bedrooms and bathrooms add a splash of color, as do the silver throw pillows and bed runners. The 34 Family Rooms are slightly large than the 50 Standard Rooms, with space for a double and a single bed. Almost all units feature spacious furnished balconies, three-fourths of which offer full or partial sea views. All units are well-equipped with air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs, generously stocked minibars, electric kettles with free coffee and tea, and safes, but there's no in-room Wi-Fi. Bathrooms are sleek, with walk-in rainfall showers and removable showerheads, tube-style hairdryers, and basic toiletries.

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Features

Private beach, outdoor pool, and a restaurant, plus use of a spa and gym 

Features here are focused on food and the outdoors. The Marbella has a small semicircular pool, but the private beach just across the waterfront pedestrian path is a much more appealing place to catch some rays. Both the pool and beach have sunbeds and umbrellas, and additional sunbeds are set on the hotel's dock, which extends from one end of the beach. 

At night, the sunbeds on the pier are swapped for dining tables, and the space is converted to the hotel’s well-regarded restaurant, which serves a mix of Turkish, British, Indian, Chinese, and other world cuisine. Most guests at the Marbella opt for room rates that include breakfast, which is set up as a continental buffet in a dining room overlooking the pool. Half-board and flexible dining options (e.g. half-board for four days out of a one-week stay) are also available, with dinner served in the waterfront restaurant. Room service isn't available. There's also a circular pool bar with a marble countertop and wicker chairs. 

A piano player often adds a musical backdrop to mealtimes, and there are occasional live bands in the evenings, which is the only on-site entertainment. There aren't any organized activities, but tour operators on-site can book excursions for boat trips, Jeep safaris, scuba diving, and the like (extra charge).

For wellness, if guests want to use a spa or gym, hotel staff will walk them next door to Hotel Sunrise, under the same ownership but currently closed. Having to go into an empty hotel is a bit off-putting, but the pleasant, small spa area has a mini Turkish bath with colorful traditional tiles adorning its water basins and main marble slab. There are two massage rooms (extra charge) with their own showers, one for a single person and one for a couple, and a basic fitness area with a few cardio machines and weights.

Wi-Fi is free in public areas, and there’s a small library and a computer in the lobby for guests to use. Laundry service is available (extra charge), as is a no-commission currency exchange. Though the hotel has one elevator leading up to the guest rooms, stairs between the street and the main floor mean the property isn't disabled-accessible. 

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Best Rates

Amenities

  • Air Conditioner

  • Balcony / Terrace / Patio

  • Beach

  • Cable

  • Children's Pool

  • Internet

  • Kids Allowed

  • Mini Bar (with liquor)

  • Pool

Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.