Green Nature Diamond Hotel

The massive Green Nature Diamond Hotel cuts a distinctive figure on the Marmaris shoreline, resembling a pair of landlocked multi-decked cruise ships connected by a circular hub. The reception area is often mobbed, but the large lobby and other ground-floor seating areas, done up in different decorative styles, offer room to spread out and get some relative peace and quiet. Skylights in the high ceilings let in plentiful natural light but can also create a steamy atmosphere in the summer months, especially in the topmost floors. Guests are an international mix of couples, families, and large groups, including Brits, Europeans, Turks, Arabs, Russians, and Ukrainians, with Jet2 and Tui among the main tour operators. With three conference rooms, including one large enough for 1,000 people, the hotel draws some business travelers as well. The Green Nature Diamond is open year-round, operating on an all-inclusive basis in the May-to-October high season and offering breakfast-only and half-board rates in the low season.

Set right on the shoreline, the Green Nature Diamond has a central location with good views of the sea. The waterfront promenade that runs in front of the hotel stretches for blocks in either direction, with restaurants, bars, and cafes. Getting to Marmaris castle, old town, and harbor is about a 15-minute drive, and it's also where ferries to Rhodes, Greece dock, along with excursion boats. More places to eat, drink, and shop can be found on the main road that runs behind the hotel. Minibuses run along the road that that can take guests to the bus station in about 15 minutes, and to the neighboring resort of İçmeler in about 10 minutes. Expect roughly a 90-minute drive to reach the airport in the town of Dalaman.

Nearly all of the Diamond’s 639 guest rooms are Standard Rooms, varying in size depending on whether they’re for two or three people, though all are spacious. Each has its own balcony with plenty of room for a table and chairs; about half have at least a partial sea view. Since the hotel is set apart from its neighbors, units get good natural light, and in-room lighting is sufficient during the evening as well.

The subtle but pleasing decor scheme plays with tones of black, white, grey, and brown, which appear on the wooden floor and cabinets as well as in floral and geometric patterns on the bedspreads, headboards, curtains, and accent walls.

All units come with coffee- and tea-making facilities, flat-screen TVs, and minibars that are restocked daily with water and soft drinks. Air-conditioning and the in-room safe are both free to use. Electric plugs aren’t always located where most useful (e.g. one by the front door, but none along the long vanity) and though the hotel was only built in 2014, some of the wallpaper is dingy and starting to peel. Also, the hotel’s free Wi-Fi doesn’t reliably reach all of the guest rooms.

Bathrooms have a similar, contemporary look, with marble counters, large walk-in rainfall showers with removable showerheads, hairdryers, slippers, and soap dispensers. They lack the toiletries that guests might expect at this class of hotel.

A handful of Standard Rooms are offered in connecting pairs as Family Rooms, all with partial sea views. The hotel has one King Suite and eight other large suites with more flamboyant decor and separate bedrooms and living rooms, including a Honeymoon Suite with a round marble whirlpool tub in the bedroom.

The Green Nature Diamond’s massive pool is its top feature, with three waterslides, a separate kids’ pool, and a snack bar and pool bar. Towel service (with refundable deposit for towel card) is available at the pool, and at the wide stretch of beach just across a footpath, both full of sunbeds and umbrellas. Activities in and around the pool are conducted in English, Turkish, and Russian, and include water games, aquatic exercises, water polo, volleyball, and darts. Evening entertainment varies between animation-team-led activities such as karaoke, quizzes, bingo, and pageants, and shows by professional dancers, jugglers, and other performers. However, some guests say that it's lacking (one day per week is a "quiet day" with no daytime or nighttime entertainment). Children are catered to in a large kids’ club, which has an indoor ball pit and outdoor playground.

For dining, the cavernous Saffron restaurant is the main location for meals, with a hot and cold buffet of Turkish and international dishes at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All-inclusive rates include local drinks (extra charge after midnight) at the lobby bar, beach bar, pool bar, and snack bar; light meals in the afternoon at the snack bar; and coffee, tea, cookies, ice cream, and cakes at the Cafe Wien patisserie. The hotel also has four extra-charge restaurants for which reservations are required: Rubino (Italian), Diamante (Mexican), Sapphire (Mediterranean, with a focus on fish and seafood), and Le Ciel (international). Guests who stay for seven nights or more get one free meal at one of these restaurants. Premium drinks and sports on the TV are available in the evenings at The Pub, an extra-charge bar overlooking the pool and sea.

Wellness features include the large La Vi spa and fitness center, which covers two floors. The upper floor, which is free for all guests to use, holds a indoor pool (heated in winter), a Turkish bath, a dry sauna, a steam room, and a well-equipped gym with plenty of treadmills, weight benches, pilates equipment, and weight machines. The lower level is where extra-charge services are offered, including massage (in 10 individual massage rooms, including one with its own whirlpool tub), beauty treatments, a salt cave, and a snow room. The spa changing room can also be used by guests on their departure day. A professional trainer gives private or group fitness classes at an extra charge.

For business travelers, there are three conference rooms, including one large enough to accommodate up to 1,000 people. The hotel also has an on-site hairdresser, tattoo parlor, and gift shop, all extra charge, as are room service and laundry service.