Hotel Litera Royal Marin

In a general rundown state, one night was more than enough spoilt what could and should have been a good holiday.

We visited the Royal Marin for a week from the 14th September, travelling with Goldtrail tour operators.The hotel is in a nice location overlooking the bay of Gumbet, and the view from the swimming pool area is wonderful.However, the accommodation offered is unacceptable. The first room we were given was in the lower part of the hotel (commonly referred to as 'the dungeons'). The room was dark, dirty and smelled. It was completely unacceptable, the worst hotel room I've ever seen (I've visited more than 20 countries).

We complained and within hours were moved up to a 'VIP Suite' in the upper part of the hotel, which was a lot nicer - modern, airy and with a huge balcony and great view. The problem was it too was quite dirty and ill-maintained. The carpet looked like it hadn't been cleaned in decades, with lots of stains.

Apart from the massive accommodation problems, we had a nice time at the hotel. The pool is very nice, and the food in the evenings was good, although breakfast and lunch were very average with little choice and variation.There is also lots to do in the area in terms of watersports and also excursions to museums and markets.

All-in-all, I would not recommend this hotel simply because the accommodation is of an unacceptable standard. It's a joke that this hotel is rated as a 5 star hotel, 2 stars is probably more accurate taking everything into account.

Many brochures and online agents rate this hotel the Hotel Litera Royal Marin as a 5 star and by Turkey standards it is. You should remember that all countries have different grading systems. If you want to compare to UK standards this is a good 4 star property.

Gumbet in general is a hilly resort so not ideal for the less mobile traveller.