"Firstly, i'd like to note, I never write reviews unless positive, I usually give the benefit of the doubt to negative services. I'd also like to note, we are a young couple in our 20s' who usually don't care about these types of things, but due to the money we have paid for this holiday, I feel it needs to be said. It would be interesting to hear if others had the same opinions (especially regarding the Aqua challenge event).
We booked Marti Resort in Turkey through TUI for what was meant to be a peaceful and romantic holiday to celebrate both our anniversary, our first holiday abroad together in our 5 year relationship, and then surprise engagement. Sadly, it turned out to be disheartening and upsetting.
Room & Cleanliness
We booked the Deluxe Sea View Double Room.
Our room had serious maintenance issues. The air conditioning unit was full of black mold, which we only discovered on the last night. Earlier in the week, both my partner and I developed sore throats, blocked noses, watery eyes as if it were hayfever and I had worsening asthma symptoms and had to use my inhaler a few times. Once we stopped using the AC, our symptoms improved, clearly not a coincidence. Please see photos of the vents.
To make matters worse, the kettle had old water and leaves inside when we arrived, completely unhygienic. Although staff replaced it when we reported it, there was no apology or concern shown. The shower also leaked badly, flooding the bathroom every time we used it. Despite reporting it, nothing was ever fixed, and we ended up using towels to soak up the water each day.
Noise & Overcrowding
We specifically booked this hotel for a quiet, relaxing break, but were never told that the Aqua Challenge event would be taking place during our stay. The resort became overcrowded, noisy, and chaotic, with entitled athlete types walking around and acting like they owned the place. We had a few occasions where they would barge in front of us at the buffet and take the last of some of the food items when they could see we wanted some too.
Loud announcements and music started as early as 6:30 a.m on the Saturday, and the atmosphere was anything but relaxing. Aqua Challenge participants were treated like VIPs, while regular guests (like us, who booked months in advance) were largely ignored. We found this funny - as the management were putting on a show and acting as if they had the best hotel ever, yet the guests in their rooms are inhaling black mold spores from the air con units.
Don't get me wrong, we love to party and have a laugh and at first we were excited to see this event take place, but this wasn't what we had booked for, and by the previous reviews we were excited to stay here. We would expect for an event like that, that pre booked guests be made aware by TUI or the hotel just in case they hadn't seen it advertised at the time of booking. (Which we didn't), and maybe offered an alternative hotel or something.
The hotel seemed amazing at first and don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful hotel and has beautiful views, but it seemed to get worse the more we took notice of things.
Service & Staff Attitude
We informed both TUI and the hotel that we were celebrating our anniversary, yet there was no acknowledgment or gesture, I know that sounds entitled - but there was an option with TUI to select "Anniversary" and we also chose "High Floor" which we did get, and the hotel made a large deal about this when we arrived, but seemed to not mention the fact we were here for an anniversary.
Honestly, we would have expected just a small gesture even, like some towels folded into a swan and some petals or something (which we would have tipped for), we have seen this everywhere else so we were excited. We even got engaged during our stay actually in our hotel room and were considering maybe getting married at the hotel in future. (Before we noticed the negatives).
The entertainment schedule kept changing without notice, we would turn up for what had been put on the board and it didn't happen or had changed but we weren't made aware, bars opened and closed randomly, and one bar (Physkos) was open for the first 2 days of our stay but then had shut for the rest of the week, but conveniently reopened for the Aqua Challenge crowd. It honestly felt like paying guests outside that event just didn’t matter.
There were a few staff members however who were very polite, one of note was Dogan, the lovely man on the roller skates and another man whose name we can't remember who worked in the serving area. But this review is not aimed to flame the staff as such as they are hardworking and do their best - but more so the management and the way they deal with their guests.
We also felt that when the Aqua challenge guests arrived, the staff had been more attentive to them by way of making sure they had drinks at breakfast and lunch - whereas we didn't get taken any notice of.
Overall Impression
For a trip that was supposed to mark two major life events, this stay was dissapointing. Between the poor maintenance, lack of communication, and inconsiderate management, we felt completely disregarded as guests.
We’ve already decided to cancel our 2026 holiday with TUI because of this experience, and I’ll certainly be reconsidering using TUI for our wedding plans.
I genuinely hope TUI and Marti Resort take these complaints seriously, because no couple should have their special trip ruined in this way."
