Kumburgaz Marin Princess Hotel

The location is good, close to the beach, and the staff are awesome. Service was no problem. The halls and dining areas look luxurious, there are indoor and outdoor pools, and you get free water every day. Food was okay, the value is very good, and the bed was comfy. Everything was clean. The rooms, though, were terrible, with cracked walls and broken buttons. My TV cable kept falling out at night, so I had to fix it myself. I liked the analog TV, thought that was dead, so points up for that! It’s sad that the rooms drag the place down. It doesn’t deserve 5 stars, but for what it is, it’s great value. Another bravo for the staff.

The beach and pool made the stay enjoyable for me, and breakfast was decent, though nowhere near what I’d expect from a five-star place. The beach was clean, but stony like many Istanbul beaches, and there wasn’t any service there. The pool uses seawater, which I liked, though I noticed some waste in it while swimming. I can’t say whether that came from guests, and I’m not blaming management. The restaurant was somewhere in the middle. There were lots of baked pies that all tasted alike, plus other options. I ended up having salad every day. In the room there was a bed, towels and a TV, but no kettle, coffee machine or other facilities. They did leave us complimentary water each day. It’s an old hotel, with facilities that don’t work well and poor service. The elevator takes ages. This may have been a good hotel 20 years ago, but it urgently needs renovation.

The beach, pool, and food were all okay, but the room had a terrible smell the whole time. Maybe something is wrong with the air conditioner ventilation. It doesn’t feel like a five-star hotel 😉

The pools were nice, though there weren’t enough umbrellas and many of them were torn. It also bothered us that the beach and pools closed at 18:00. Our room was okay, but we wished it had a kettle. Most rooms don’t have balconies, and ours looked out at a wall, which was alright. We were promised bottled water every day but got it only once. Food was my least favorite part. Breakfast was the same daily, the dishes were bland, and the bread was stale. The juice machines looked dirty. For dessert there were only chocolate spreads and jam to have with that stale bread. I didn’t expect much from a five-star hotel, but some things really should be better.