Wyndham Grand Istanbul Kalamis Marina Hotel

We booked a “partial sea view room” but we could barely see the water at all unless we got up very close to the window and turned 85 degrees (our view was really just of a neighbouring building). I don’t think this hotel should hold a 5 star rating based on the minimal level of service provided. Most staff were unfriendly and disinterested in doing anything but the bare minimum. I don’t think we had a single door opened for us during our 4 night stay even when struggling with luggage. The food and drinks were very average and overpriced. You’re supplied with just one coffee pod per person per night (housekeeping forgot to restock on one day), and they charge more for any more. The location is poor - the surrounding neighbourhood is mostly unattractive and you really need to get a cab to go anywhere interesting or nice.

We were so excited to stay in this hotel with a nice facility and a FIVE-STAR HOTEL; however, the great hotel facility did not serve us to have a great vacation. Our stay turned out to be an absolute frustration and even life-threatening!!! The hotel has one indoor and two outdoor pools. One day, my wife and I decided to swim in the indoor pool and then use the spa and massage. However, we were asked to leave the indoor pool because there was a class for non-guests who were a swimming class members. I thought we paid to use the facility in regular hours that we were told about during booking and checking in. Actually, this was the smallest frustration we experienced. On the third day, I was taking a shower, and the water cut off. I asked my wife to call the front desk and ask for help and what they said was that " we try to resolve the problem in two to three hours" while I was waiting in the bathtub for water to rinse. After several calls to the front desk and not receiving any solution, and had a plan for the day, I had to rinse with a bottle of drinking water. After an hour, a gentleman showed up and said the basement still had water and I could use the showers in the basement, and this was his solution to the problem. Third, At night we were in the room listening to music when we heard the alarm for emergency evacuation on TV. We ran out quickly and even did not waste time picking up wallets and passports to save our lives. The hallway was all smoke. When we arrived at the lobby, we were guided outside and we saw the bar (or restaurant) exactly above our room was on fire and the fire had almost been extinguished. It was crazy that our room was the closest room to the fire, yet we were the last people who received the alarm. We ran downstairs immediately after hearing the alarm on TV but still, we were the last. We stayed in the street for about an hour until they said the situation was clear and it was safe to go back to the room. Later, we saw the pictures of the fire on local news websites, it was enormous right above our room, and this lack of an effective rescue plan could cost our lives. When we returned to the room, it was all smoke and I felt dizzy because of the smoke, and the AC did not work. When we asked the staff, the only response we got was “We opened the windows and everything will be fine soon” We hoped to be offered another room that was not affected by the fire. The staff had opened the window but it was not sufficient to lower the smoke. So we went outside and sat in a neighboring park until 2 AM and when we returned to the room and slept in a smoky hot room with no AC. For such a luxury hotel with luxury rates, they could, at least offer, some drinks like tea and try to help us get out of such distress and frustration. Instead, they said we had to pay for a tea we drank in the lobby. The next day, which was our check-out day, we ate breakfast in the hotel. The boiled eggs were rotten and stunk. We paid 18 euros per person for such a breakfast. During breakfast, the same guy who came to resolve the water issue came to our table and asked “Is everything all right?” This question seemed ironic and weird after all these events.
I hope that the management of the hotel has a more comforting response than “We regret you had a bad experience”, “we work hard to improve…” or other types of useless and flirty pre-fabricated responses.