Hotel Grand Cettia

We’ve just returned from a 7-night family holiday at Grand Cettia, travelling in mid-August.

Overall, we had a really enjoyable holiday and there were plenty of positives, although there are a few things worth knowing before booking.

The staff were one of the highlights 5/5. Everyone we came across was friendly, helpful and always happy to assist.

The food was good overall and, importantly, nobody in our family had any issues with it 3.5/5. There were different themed nights throughout the week, which was a nice touch, although we did find the food became a little repetitive. The queue for items cooked on the grill could also get quite busy at peak meal times. For UK visitors, it's also worth knowing that there isn't bacon at breakfast. We just think that they really try and manage the all inclusive too much, small cups etc. Only certain drinks included, we just expected a little bit more to be honest.

The Pools 4/5. There are two pools, including a separate kids' pool, and both were good. The slides ran three times a day and were decent fun for the kids and adults haha. The main pool could get busy at times, although we have to remember that we stayed in mid-August, which is one of the busiest times of the year. We're early risers anyway, and between 7–8am there were always plenty of sunbeds available (although people putting towels out as soon as 6am but only a minority). After 9am you'd probably struggle, particularly if you needed more than two together.

The pool activities/ day entertainment were good and there was plenty going on during the day 5/5.

Evening entertainment 4/5. The mini disco was OK and the boys enjoyed it. We didn't experience much of the evening entertainment as most of it was after 9pm, which was a little late for our boys.

The gym 1/5, isn't really a selling point for the hotel. I didn't use it during the week as it's quite small and has very limited equipment. If having a decent gym is important to you, I'd probably look elsewhere. I normally always train on holiday and I just decided not to.

The room, and cleainess 5/5 we didn't spend much time in the room, but air-con was fine, we all slept well, no issue with bathroom, we stayed room 303 which was a view of pool (helpful for seeing the sunbed availability) and sea.

The location is reasonable 4/5. There are a few shops, bars and restaurants nearby and it's around a 15-minute (steady) walk to the beach with kids haha. The hotel also has a shuttle to the beach, although we didn't use it. It's easy enough to get buses into Marmaris and İçmeler, and the hotel reception gave us really good information about getting around. Also the aqua dream waterpark is very close and is worth a visit, we booked this through Jet2 also as it worked out cheaper.

One thing I'd mention is to be careful with taxis. This isn't really the hotel's fault, but we were charged 400 lira going to Marmaris and 600 lira coming back. The hotel receptionist actually told us that the journey shouldn't have been more than around 400 lira regardless of the time or day, so it seems we were overcharged on the return journey. The buses are very easy to use and much cheaper anyway.

We also booked two trips through Jet2 — the rep Suat was awesome in helping us out with trips taking into account young children etc. a Jeep Safari and a boat trip — and both were really well organised. We had a great time on both.

Overall, we had a good family holiday at Grand Cettia. We stayed in mid-August, so it's worth bearing in mind that this is a particularly busy period and some of the busier areas of the hotel are to be expected. There are still a few things we think could be improved, particularly the repetitive food and limited gym, but the friendly staff, pools, activities and overall family atmosphere made for a good holiday.

Would we return to Grand Cettia? Probably not. Would we return to Turkey? Absolutely! 🇹🇷 We really enjoyed Marmaris, but after visiting İçmeler during the week, we actually preferred the atmosphere and vibe there and would probably choose İçmeler if we came back to the area. Grand Cettia did the job and we had a great holiday — we'd just probably try somewhere different next time. ☀️🇹🇷

A very pleasant holiday absolutely sad to be back and the holiday blues have well and truly kicked in. This hotel goes above and beyond for guests. From the moment we got there right up until we left they were very friendly and accommodating. Arranging a birthday cake and room decoration for our daughter. Staff Serving food and drinks all day in a very hot and uncomfortable climate & never without a smile. We always managed to find something to eat, from breakfast to dinner. Definitely a hotel we want to continue to visit & this is down to the entertainment team so a big shout out to Barney, Deniz, John, Lucifer, Amy & Lar. They definitely make this hotel enjoyable from darts , killer pool to pool games and childrens club to the mini disco and evening show they were always there chatting and smiling. They are a massive credit to grand cettia.

We had the most amazing stay at Grand Cettia Hotel and it as was our first time visiting Turkey, we honestly couldn’t have chosen a better hotel. From the moment we arrived, the staff were so friendly which made us feel completely at ease. Check in was smooth and the staff helped with everything we needed to accommodate us in the room.

The hotel was lovely and clean throughout. plenty of choice when it came to food we checked the reviews and were hesitant but there is honestly something for everyone. Snack bar outside with pizza butger nuggets etc. grill for meats and pasta veg etc inside. They do themes nights aswell I particularly enjoyed the turkish night. location was fine for getting out and exploring can get a bus to the beach. We booked some excursions during our stay and had such a great on the jeeps.

The absolute best part of our stay was the kids club and the amazing Amy and Lar. I saw amys tik tok and my daughter got very excited to meet her and join in the chef activities. It was actually the first time ever that we felt completely comfortable leaving our children at a kids club. Knowing that Amy and Lar are both British and have UK childcare qualifications gave us so much reassurance and made such a difference. They were fantastic with the children, so professional and genuinely lovely to chat to. The kids absolutely loved them and were always excited to go back!

Overall we had a fantastic first experience of Turkey and Grand Cettia. We’ve already said we will definitely be returning, and a huge part of that is because of the amazing entertainment team. Thank you to all the staff for making our holiday so special we can’t wait to come back! 🇹🇷