Grand Cettia Hotel

The curving lines of the reception desk and the captain’s-deck-like upper floor overlooking the Grand Cettia’s lobby make entering the building feel a bit like boarding a cruise ship, and the hotel’s got the facilities and all-day activities to match. The family-focused Grand Cettia draws mostly guests from the United Kingdom on all-inclusive packages for a typical stay of 10 days, with many bookings through Thomas Cook. (Breakfast-only options are available for short stays.) Though the hotel cultivates a fun, energetic vibe, it’s large enough that guests who want to do so can find some quieter spaces as well. Like many other hotels in Marmaris, the Grand Cettia is open from the middle of April until the end of October.

The castle-like Cettia Grand is set on a hill surrounded by high walls in an inland neighborhood full of other hotels and vacation apartments, with not much in the way of shops or eateries nearby. It’s a five-minute drive or a 20-minute walk to the shorefront, where there’s a long line of bars, restaurants and cafes catering to tourists, most with their own small patches of sand. It’s 15 minutes by car to Marmaris’ castle, old town, bus station, and marina, where day-excursion boats dock and ferries to Rhodes, Greece, depart. The neighboring beach resort of İçmeler is a 10-minute drive in the opposite direction. Dalaman Airport, the closest arrival point for flights from Istanbul and some international destinations, is about 90 minutes away by car.

Carpeted hallways hung with paintings lead to the Grand Cettia’s 190 guest rooms, which are spread over two buildings and a variety of room categories. The majority are Standard Rooms with one double or two single beds, desks, upholstered chairs, and large flat-screen TVs. Striped black-and-tan carpet, light-wood furniture, and curtains and bedspreads with gold or rich green hues give the good-size guest rooms a warm, if somewhat old-fashioned feeling. 

All guest rooms have balconies, which vary in size and are equipped with cushioned wicker chairs. About 60 percent of the guest rooms face the pool area. Standard amenities include AC, mini-fridges, and free Wi-Fi, but there are no coffee- and tea-making facilities, and safes and premium channels cost extra. The marble-clad bathrooms are average in size, with shower/tub combos, bathrobes, hairdryers, and a full complement of toiletries.  

Two Standard Rooms are connecting rooms, and two are handicapped-accessible. The hotel’s 20 Family Rooms have separate living rooms with pullout sofas, while four Deluxe Family Garden Rooms on the ground floor of the hotel also have their own landscaped outdoor seating areas with patios and small lawns, plus sunbeds for private sunbathing.

Five large, luxurious Suite Rooms have full kitchens with tables, chairs, sofas, whirlpool tubs, ironing boards, and washing machines. Each type of suite has a different look; a Junior Suite is one expansive room with dark-wood furniture and separate alcoves for a desk and a four-poster bed. A Presidential Suite is a huge apartment-style room with wood floors, Turkish carpets, a faux fireplace, and paintings on the wall. Arched doorways lead to the living room, equipped with a dining table with high-backed, red-velvet chairs, a couch and a full-size desk. The bedroom has a large canopy bed and a walk-in closet, and the bathroom contains a whirlpool tub and separate sink area. The bedroom and living room each have their own flat-screen TV. A Grand Suite in a quiet wing of the hotel, overlooking the nearby hillside, has similar amenities to the Presidential Suite, but a more open, modern design.

The Grand Cettia’s pool area wraps around the hotel on a broad deck overlooking the town of Marmaris and the sea beyond. The large main pool has one wide waterslide, while a separate kids’ pool has its own small waterslide and a pirate-themed aquatic play structure. For guests who prefer to sunbathe on the sand, the hotel runs a free shuttle to one of the waterfront beach clubs.

Activities and entertainment are arranged throughout the day and night by an eight-person animation team, who put on two or three shows per day, and organize competitions of darts, table tennis, water polo, and other pool games.

Children can participate in arts and crafts, watch movies, dance at the nightly mini-disco, and take part in other activities organized by members of the animation team at the kids’ club, which has indoor and outdoor play areas. There’s also a separate Thomas Cook Exclusive kids’ club.

Meals are served open-buffet-style in the indoor/outdoor Le Select restaurant, which offers an international mix of dishes as well as a children’s buffet and outdoor cooking stations for pizza and grilled meats. Special activities such as Turkish nights, wine-and-cheese evenings, and kids’ cooking classes are part of the all-inclusive packages. A snack bar near the pool and the Cafe Patisserie provide opportunities for nibbling throughout the afternoon. The patisserie is located on the ground floor of a lighthouse-shaped building by the pool; upstairs there’s an extra-charge seafood restaurant with a small number of tables on an intimate outdoor deck. The Grand Cettia has a total of four bars, including the “Sherlock Holmes” theme pub with tartan carpet, a pool table, and karaoke facilities. Imported alcoholic drinks and those served late-night incur an extra charge.

The attractive Buddha’s Spa has a gray, stone, and wood interior, with natural light in the entrance area and large fitness center. Spa facilities include a Turkish bath, dry sauna, whirlpool, indoor pool, and private rooms for massage and other treatments (extra charge), as well as cabana-style massage tables on an outdoor terrace.

Sports facilities include a tennis court, a mini soccer field, and a volleyball court, all with equipment available to borrow from reception. An indoor game center offers video games as well as pool and air-hockey tables.

The Grand Cettia has a hairdresser, mini-market, jewelry shop, handbag boutique, and souvenir shop on-site, as well as four meeting rooms for various functions. Wi-Fi is available for free throughout the hotel grounds.