"My boyfriend and I stayed at the Ideal Pearl Hotel for 10 days at the end of July. Before booking, I wish I'd read a review like this, so I hope it helps anyone considering staying here. This isn't intended to criticise the staff personally, but rather to give an honest reflection of the hotel overall, particularly as it's marketed as a 4-star hotel.
The Positives:
1. The housekeeping staff were lovely. Our room was cleaned to a high standard every day, and fresh towels were provided whenever we left the used ones on the floor.
2. The food was generally good. There are two serving areas, and the outdoor grill is by far the better option. The freshly grilled meat was great and definitely the highlight. The indoor buffet was much simpler and the overall selection wasn't particularly extensive, but we always found something to eat.
3. The bar staff were friendly. They even remembered our usual drinks after a few days.
4. The pool is nice. There's a separate seating area attached to the main pool, which is great if you want to cool off without swimming. The hotel also provides inflatable floats for guests to use, although it isn't always obvious which ones belong to the hotel and which belong to other guests.
5. The location is excellent. It's easy to get into Marmaris town and the Grand Bazaar. We only used taxis, and a local told us the fare to the town should be around 400 lira. If you're a tourist, some drivers will try to charge more, so it's worth knowing this beforehand.
Areas That Need Improving:
For a hotel advertising itself as 4-star, there are several areas that fall well below that standard. Personally, I'd rate it closer to 2.5–3 stars.
1. The sunbed situation was the biggest issue. Guests were reserving beds from around 4am. Yes, 4am. Unlike other hotels we’ve been to, staff did nothing to prevent this and also didn't remove towels from sunbeds that remained unused for hours. The sunbeds are also very cheap and the metal part on them heats up in the sun and burns to touch - which is very easy to do given how packed together all the beds are. You also have to bring your own towels which is inconvenient.
2. There aren't enough umbrellas. If you choose not to join the 4-6am towel race, you risk not getting anywhere shaded. We experienced this ourselves. When we pointed out that some guests had multiple umbrellas while others had none, staff simply shrugged and said there was nothing they could do. We ended up spending part of the afternoon back in our air conditioned room because sitting in direct sun wasn't an option. Beds with umbrellas generally became available from around 3–4pm, but that's not ideal when you've paid for an all-inclusive holiday.
3. The pool rules aren't enforced. Signs clearly prohibit smoking, drinking in the pool and diving, yet all of these happened regularly with staff watching and saying nothing. The same applied to guests playing loud music through personal speakers or repeatedly dive-bombing into the pool. It created an environment where considerate guests were left feeling frustrated.
4. The Wi-Fi was very poor on the fifth floor. It constantly disconnected, making it almost unusable in our room. If you intend to bring a tablet to watch things on, make sure everything is downloaded beforehand otherwise you won’t get 5 minutes into your show.
5. The air conditioning failed overnight. We woke up at 4am sweating because the air conditioning had stopped working and the top floor is sweltering. Reception advised there had been a local power outage, which obviously wasn't the hotel's fault, but there was no apology or communication afterwards. We didn't get back to sleep until after 6am.
6. Related to the air conditioning, you're only given one room key. Unlike other hotels, where you can leave a key card in the room so the air conditioning stays on, here it switches off whenever you leave. This means you return to a hot room and have to wait for it to cool down. It's not a major issue, but it's another feature that didn't feel very 4-star.
7. The drinks selection was disappointing. As non-drinkers, we were hoping for a better range of branded soft drinks such as Fanta Lemon or similar. The options were very limited and everything is served in small plastic cups, even cocktails. There’s no ‘special touch.’
8. The snack offering could be improved. Ice cream was only available at dinner. Other all-inclusive hotels we've stayed at offered it throughout the day, which is especially appreciated in the heat. The afternoon snack was usually a dry burger, followed at 5pm by small shortbread biscuits. It didn't really feel like an all-inclusive experience.
9. Reception didn't handle an emergency particularly well. We experienced an incident in the room next to ours that left us feeling uncomfortable and wanting to move rooms immediately. We first tried calling reception on the phone in the room and the one in the bathroom, but nobody answered. This is particularly concerning as if a guest was phoning reception due to a medical emergency, I fear no one would have found them until house cleaning the day later. When we went downstairs, they showed no accountability and we were asked whether we'd dialled the correct number - we had. Initially, we were told we could only change rooms if the incident happened again, which seemed completely unreasonable given we'd already explained why we no longer felt comfortable. We eventually moved rooms after insisting, but I would advise anyone in a similar situation to stand their ground.
10. The excursion representatives charge a significant markup. We paid £70 in total for the water park, only to discover afterwards that tickets were available elsewhere, including directly through the water park, for around £20 per person. Our minibus transfer was also overcrowded, with one passenger standing while I had to sit on my boyfriend's lap. We also mentioned we'd found the Sunshine Boat trip online for £20 per person, but the representative claimed he hadn't heard of it, despite it being one of the first boats you'll see in Marmaris harbour. We booked it ourselves and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a more relaxed and affordable boat trip.
11. The music around the pool was extremely loud. This is more of a personal preference, but if you're hoping to relax or read, avoid sitting anywhere near the speakers.
12. No courtesy room was available before departure. Our airport transfer wasn't until 7pm, so we asked whether there was a courtesy room to shower before leaving, as we've had at other hotels. Either our request wasn't understood or it simply wasn't offered. We ended up using the spa showers, which were perfectly adequate, but it was another example of the hotel falling short of what we'd expect from a 4-star resort.
Overall
Would we return? No.
Would we recommend it? No.
Did we still enjoy our holiday? Yes - but that was largely because of each other's company rather than the hotel itself.
The Ideal Pearl has some good qualities, particularly the housekeeping, friendly bar staff, food from the outdoor grill and its convenient location. However, until issues such as the sunbed policy, lack of rule enforcement and inconsistent customer service are addressed, I don't believe it offers the 4-star experience it advertises."
