Titanic Mardan Palace

Very disappointing for a 5-star hotel

We arrived on 12th August as a party of 9, made up of one family of 4, one family of 3, and another room with one adult and one child. Unfortunately, our experience so far has been very disappointing and certainly not what we expected from a 5-star hotel.

On arrival, we were not greeted or welcomed in the way we would have expected from a hotel of this standard. When the family of 4 went to their room, there were only sleeping arrangements for 3 people. We immediately raised this with reception and also asked if we could change rooms. We were told there was nothing they could do as the hotel was fully booked. We were also reminded that we had booked a standard room, despite the amount we had paid for our holiday.

Someone did come to the room and make up another bed, and we were promised that a proper additional bed would be provided. However, now a week into our holiday, we are still waiting. Despite raising this, nobody has followed up with us or provided a satisfactory solution.

There have also been several other issues during our stay. The showers have repeatedly been cold, and in 6053 of the rooms the shower tap has actually come off the wall. The TV doesn't work, the balcony is dirty and not maintained to the standard we would expect, and the fridge in room is not working. We was told we would have our room changed after 2 days and still waiting for the manger to come and speck with us a week later

The hotel itself is also looking quite dated in places, with maintenance issues that we wouldn't expect from a 5-star property. For example, there are tiles falling off around the pool area, which doesn't give the impression of a hotel being properly maintained.

One of the biggest concerns has been an incident involving broken glass near the pool. The glass was accidentally broken by us, and we immediately reported it to the hotel and asked for it to be cleaned up because we were concerned that children could get injured. We asked every day for three days for the area to be properly cleaned, yet the glass remained. Unfortunately, one of our 6-year-old children ended up getting a small piece of glass in their foot. This was extremely upsetting and completely avoidable, particularly after we had repeatedly reported the broken glass and asked for it to be removed.

The main restaurant/canteen can also become extremely overcrowded on some evenings, to the point where there is no space for us to eat. This has resulted in us having to use the bistro instead. To be fair, the bistro staff have been extremely helpful and welcoming, so this has been a positive experience, but unfortunately the menu there is quite limited.

On one evening, rather than having to eat at the bistro again, we chose to go outside the hotel for a change, simply because we wanted a different option. We also have two à la carte restaurant bookings for our second week, which we are looking forward to, but we shouldn't feel that we have to look outside the hotel because of overcrowding or limited dining options.

We have also spent an additional £200 on a cabana during our stay in an attempt to make our holiday a little more enjoyable and get the most out of our time here. While we are happy to spend money on extras when they enhance a holiday, it is disappointing to feel that we have had to do this because the overall experience has not been what we expected from a 5-star hotel.

To be fair, some members of staff have been very helpful and pleasant, but unfortunately we have also encountered other staff members who have been extremely rude and unhelpful. The inconsistency in the service has been very disappointing.

It is extremely disappointing to spend a significant amount of money on what is supposed to be a 5-star holiday and then have to repeatedly chase reception about basic things such as suitable sleeping arrangements, hot water and working facilities.

We still have a week left on our holiday and would genuinely like the hotel to address these issues, but so far the lack of follow-up and communication has been very frustrating.

Based on our experience so far, this has not felt like the 5-star experience we were expecting. We came away expecting a relaxing, high-quality family holiday, but unfortunately we have spent far too much of our time having to raise issues that should have been dealt with without us constantly chasing

We had a wonderful experience at the Rino Kids Club! There was a great variety of activities to choose from, so the children were always entertained and excited to participate. The staff were incredibly friendly, kind, and attentive, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone.

It was lovely to see how enthusiastic and engaged the children were throughout the activities. We really appreciated the professional and caring team, as well as the wide range of fun and creative activities available.

Overall, a fantastic Kids Club that we would happily recommend to other families!

This was our third visit to Mardan Palace and our first since it became Mardan Palace rather than Titanic Mardan Palace, and we’ve had just as wonderful a holiday as we did on our previous two visits.

We’re a family of four with children aged 9 and 7, and we genuinely love this hotel. It is spectacular, walking into that incredible main lobby still has the wow factor even when you’ve been before, but what keeps bringing us back is how well it works as a family holiday.

The kids’ club in particular has been brilliant this year. The amount on offer seems to get better every time we visit. There are bookable activities including woodwork, fashion, ceramics and T-shirt printing, alongside lots of other activities that children can simply join in with.

Everything feels incredibly well thought out and, most importantly, safe. The staff really look after the children. Our 9 year old has always been slightly reluctant to spend time at kids’ clubs in the past, but this year we genuinely struggled to get her out! Our 7 year old absolutely loved the games room too. It’s just a really lovely environment for children.

We also think the food is excellent. There is a huge amount of buffet choice and, as a vegetarian, I have never struggled to find plenty to eat. I’ve noticed some recent reviews mentioning poor allergen labelling and have to say this really surprised me. Every dish we saw had a clear label stating what it was, with allergens clearly indicated underneath. At breakfast there is also a dedicated area with large glass jugs containing different milks; oat, soy, almond, lactose-free, cow’s and goat’s milk, all clearly labelled. Obviously anyone with a serious allergy should always take the precautions appropriate to them, but from what we personally saw, the labelling was very visible.

We had one à la carte restaurant booking included as part of our holiday and chose the Turkish restaurant, Ala, which was exceptional. The food was amazing and the dancers brought such a brilliant atmosphere to the evening – we absolutely loved it. On previous visits we’ve also eaten at the Sakura Asian restaurant at the top of the tower and, again, the food and service there were incredible. The à la carte restaurants are definitely worth experiencing during your stay.

Likewise, I’ve seen reviews describing Mardan Palace as a 3 star hotel and I simply don’t recognise that description. We’ve stayed in 5 star hotels around the world and, in our experience, Mardan Palace absolutely warrants its 5 star rating.

That doesn’t mean everything is perfect.

We did feel there were fewer staff around the pool this year, which meant drinks could sometimes take longer to arrive. There are also areas of the swimming pool that could do with retiling – we noticed a patch missing tiles last year and it has definitely become larger. But these are relatively small criticisms within what is an amazing pool area. It is enormous, which means that even when the hotel is busy it rarely feels overcrowded. We had music playing around the pool throughout our week, creating a lovely atmosphere without being loud or overbearing.

Yes, the resort is sprawling, but personally we think that’s part of its appeal. It gives everything space and makes the hotel feel much less crowded.

The beach and kids’ club are away from the main building, but it really isn’t an enormous trek, around a 10-minute walk from the beach to reception, and there are now shuttle buses running around the resort, which is a great addition since our last visit.

Another thing I’ve seen mentioned in reviews is the availability of ice creams and snacks. Our experience was completely different. There is a large, very accessible freezer of ice lollies and ice creams at the kids’ club, and the Haydarpasa Café beside the main pool is open from 11am–5pm and has an amazing selection of ice creams, as well as cakes and pastries. These can be eaten in, or taken out to enjoy by the pool. This is in addition to the main ice-cream cafe by the main stage and Stellar’s Bar.

There were also snacks such as crisps and nuts available, which were lovely with a drink during the day.

The evening entertainment was excellent too. Now that our children are 9 and 7, it was lovely that they were able to stay up and enjoy more of the shows with us this year.

I also have to mention the staff because we experienced exceptional service when I was stung by an insect during our stay and needed medical attention. I was given a personal assistant who accompanied me first to the nurse and subsequently to the doctor. I was treated on site with steroid and antihistamine injections and needed additional medication from a pharmacy. Someone went out to collect my prescription and it was waiting for me at the main desk within about 20 minutes. The whole process was incredibly smooth and reassuring, and I cannot thank everyone involved enough for how well I was looked after. I particularly want to thank Yağmur who assisted me.

Overall, yes, there are a couple of areas where we feel things have slipped very slightly since our previous visits, but they are minor in the context of the holiday we've had. Mardan Palace remains a spectacular hotel with fantastic facilities, brilliant activities for children, excellent food and hardworking staff.

I actually feel quite sad reading some of the recent reviews describing it as a 2 or 3 star experience, because that couldn't be further from the experience our family has had across three visits.

We’ve had another fantastic family holiday, we’ve recommended Mardan Palace to friends and we would absolutely love to return again. Thank you for another wonderful stay!