Majestic Mamaia

The food tasted good, but there weren’t many options to choose from. Parking was scarce, and the hotel staff weren’t helpful. Our room felt tiny compared with what I expected, especially with our 2 years old daughter. They seemed ready to squeeze us into a tin can, and the place didn’t feel family friendly. You can still feel the communist-era mindset here. It felt like they only wanted to take our money without providing quality service. For this price, you could go ultra all inclusive in Turkey. One of the worst hotels I’ve visited.

The main draw is the pool, since this is the only hotel with one within 500 m to the south and 1.2 km to the north. The rooms are average, neither the best nor the worst, and the view isn’t great because the hotel only has rooms on the sides and other buildings stand in front. The rooms aren’t fancy, and breakfast is about what you’d expect from a 3-star place.

This was a really poor stay, and I wouldn’t recommend the hotel. The food was okay but not very varied, and after a week you could get tired of it. The shows were okay and seemed more suited to older guests, though they finished after 10 pm. The all-inclusive bar in the garden was a bit far away and only open from 10 am to 9 pm. Its drinks selection was limited: Ballantines scotch, Absolut vodka, 2 Zarea vermouths, 2 types of wine, beer, Pepsi-branded sodas, coffee, tea, and “fresh juice” from bottled Prigat in orange and cherry flavors. The barman didn’t make cocktails. The inside bar had a wider selection, but drinks there cost extra, as did ice cream. The beach was far away, and the beach bar was paid, with a cup of beer costing 7-9 lei. All-inclusive guests could pay 15 lei for a lounge chair for the whole day, but had to leave their towels there or lose the paid spot. There were very few pool spots, though the crew did pick up towels when people reserved chairs and left them unused for an hour or so. Accessibility and parking were badly handled. When I asked about ramps suitable for people with disabilities, they said yes, but the ramps were too narrow even for baby carriages. They also said there was accessible parking, but the lot was so small you had to leave your keys at reception and wait about 2 hours to get your car back. I specifically requested a first-floor room and was promised one, but was put on an upper floor instead. The elevators didn’t always work. I paid full price for a room as a single guest, but was given one of their backup rooms without a balcony. The bathrooms weren’t very clean, with hairs on the floor. The locks and air conditioning had problems, though those were fixed. Reception didn’t seem client-oriented: staff didn’t know what to do, a blonde lady had an attitude problem, and they messed up my receipts and took a long time to correct their mistakes.

The food was good, the staff were really nice, and the pool was the best I’ve seen in Mamaia. The rooms felt a bit small, though, and the furniture was old. I also had trouble with the AC because its remote wasn’t working properly.