The Marmara Taksim

I have stayed at the Marmara multiple times in the past because of the location and decent sized gym. However, the service seems to have gone down hill and I do not intend on returning anymore.

(1) The check out process took excruciatingly long. I checked out at 4 am when no one was waiting and it took an extra 10 mins. They conducted a manual check of the room before check out can be completed. Feels like quite backwards in this day and age when they have your credit card on file to pay for any incidental expenses. I can’t imagine how long the process would had been during normal hours.

(2) The front agent accused us of taking a mini bar item when we did not. I told her that we did not take anything but she didn’t believe me and insisted on charging me $5 usd for the coke. It was only after I consulted my friend to double confirmed that nothing was taken, and challenged to go back to the room to check before she agreed to refund the 5 usd. Seriously, having paid hundreds of dollars for a room, I doubt anyone would like about consuming a bottle of coke from the minibar.

(3) When checking in, there were 2 staff in the reception area. I was waiting in line to talk to one person. Upon finishing checking in a customer, the agent decided to have a conversation with a friend that have just showed up. I waited another 3-4 minutes before he concluded his jovial conversation to help me.

Nice property but don’t stay here if service is important to you (which apparently is a sentiment shared by other reviews)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1 out of 5 stars)

Review:

I recently stayed at this supposed 5-star hotel and unfortunately, my experience with the air conditioning system was extremely disappointing. From the moment I checked in, I noticed the AC was not functioning properly and the room was uncomfortably warm.

I immediately called the front desk and informed them about the issue, expecting a prompt response from a supposedly high-end establishment. However, I was met with a dismissive attitude from the staff. Their response was shocking - they simply asked me to close the AC and wait for the room to cool down naturally because they have a general system and on heater and the weather outside is cold This kind of response is completely unacceptable and far from the service one would expect from a luxury hotel because not everyone can sleep with a heater on or without ac.

Despite their suggestion, I tried closing the AC and waiting for the temperature to drop, but it did not make any significant difference. The room remained stuffy and uncomfortable throughout my stay. It greatly affected my ability to relax and enjoy my time at the hotel.

Over the course of my stay, I reached out to the staff several more times, stressing the urgency of the situation and requesting assistance. Each time, I was met with the same unhelpful response - close the AC or they come and make it worse . This lack of concern and unwillingness to address the issue left me frustrated and dissatisfied as a guest.

In addition to the failed attempts to rectify the AC problem, I also found other aspects of my stay to be lacking. The attitude of the staff was consistently indifferent, and their lack of professionalism was evident from the beginning. The overall customer service fell far short of the expected standards for a 5-star hotel.

It is truly unfortunate that a hotel of this caliber failed to provide a basic necessity such as functional air conditioning. It's even more disheartening that their solution to the problem.

Checked into the hotel, hoping for a chill stay, but the room was like a sauna! We tried to get the AC fixed, but the hotel staff just brushed us off and even got snippy when we called to follow up. Not the cool experience we were hoping for, literally and figuratively. It's a bummer when you're looking for comfort and get the cold shoulder instead. Not the best service from the staff.

The location was fantastic and the hotel looks great, but honestly, our stay was pretty uncomfortable in the suite itself. We went for the flying carpet suite, thinking it'd be a lovely experience during the last leg of the trip for our three-night stay in the middle of chilly February. But, oh boy, were we wrong. It felt like they cranked the heat up to something like 24 degrees and disabled the thermostat entirely (it takes in your input and temperature preference but deceiving does nothing to lower the temperature)! We believe that everyone should get to choose their own room temperature – it's a big deal for individual comfort. Every room should have its individual thermostat working as it does in every other hotel.

After tossing and turning the first night because it was just too hot for the family, I mentioned it to the staff, hoping for some relief. They sent a technician, but I never got the full scoop on why our room felt like a sauna. The next night, after another round of tossing and turning, instead of sleeping, I found out at 1am that the hotel had turned off the AC for the whole building and decided that hot air was the way to go as some guests preferred hot air, even though I was desperately trying to get our room down to 19 degrees.

I’ve been hopping around various hotels in Turkey for the last 6 days, and this place was the only one that didn't seem to care about what guests prefer temperature-wise. It might have been cold outside, but inside was equally unbearable. Not the comfortable getaway we had in mind!

I asked for a pedestal fan and they have none of those either. The solution they offered was to turn the AC off entirely so that hot air stops blowing in and open the windows. It’s the 15th floor and windows open 3 inches - not enough for the room to cool down. There is also a night club below and a busy Taksim square so the traffic noise coming from the open window is worse. If every guest is going to have their room heated forcibly, and turning off the heater is the only choice, I think keeping a few fans around makes sense. Why should the hotel decide what temperature to keep the guests in? Those that prefer a warmer room should in fact turn the AC off and close the windows.

If you care about temperature and cannot sleep in anything over 21 degrees, you may wish to bring a fan with you or shop around. Very disappointed to say the least.

Rooms are not clean. On the second day of my stay, there was too much dust on the surfaces. Housekeeping didn't clean it and didn't sweep the floor. I am allergic to the dust and had to buy medicine from the pharmacy because of that. After check-out I stayed in the hotel for 30 more minutes waiting for my driver and nobody informed me that I forgot my bag with my belongings. Even until now nobody tried to reach me, regarding my forgotten stuff.
At my first impression I was thinking to stay at the same hotel during my next trip to Istanbul, but after all this issues, definitely I WILL NOT. This is very disappointing.
It cannot be a 5-star hotel with this type of attitude. Maximum 3 stars.