Dan and I stayed at the Izmir, Turkey Marriott hotel for four nights in July 2023. We choose the Izmir Marriott over some other properties because the hotel looked nice online, was reasonably priced, and offered a rooftop pool and lounge, plus our trip was concentrated more on sightseeing than beach/pooling so the beaches surrounding Izmir did not appeal to us on this trip. This post reviews our stay in the Izmir Marriott, which we really enjoyed!

THE IZMIR MARRIOTT & ITS LOCALE

Opened in 2021, the Izmir Marriott is a modern property located on the waterfront in central Izmir. Hotel guests can walk to numerous restaurants, shops and sites of interest, including the Kemeraltı Bazaar (that we toured) and Konak pier, from the hotel. The Marriott in Izmir is comprised of 8 floors, in addition to a usable rooftop and basement Turkish bath and spa.  During our stay, the clientele was mostly foreigners, including many Americans. The majority of the staff spoke good English, and we received a very warm welcome on arrival.

The first floor and entrance of the Izmir Marriott is smartly decorated and holds the checkin area, as well as a coffee bar and the waterfront Lima restaurant, where a large breakfast is served daily, in addition to lunch and dinner. Guest rooms largely comprise the remaining seven floors. The Marriott’s fabulous spa is located in the basement level, and the main hotel pool and a late night bar and restaurant occupy the rooftop.

OUR ROOM AT THE IZMIR MARRIOTT

We booked a standard King room with a City View with cash at the Izmir Marriott, which only cost about $145 USD in July 2023. We also requested a  Suite Night Award (“SNA”) upgrade for all four nights that we had available due to our Marriott Platinum status, which we actually received (yay!).  In light of the SNA upgrade, we stayed in a Corner King City View suite, which offered both city and (partial) sea views.  As you can see in the below pictures, our the room is located on front left corner of the hotel and opened into a small hallway, with the bathroom on the left and a closet area on the right. At the end of the small hallway, the room expanded to include a very comfortable, and American style, King size bed, a  work desk, a small kitchenette area, including a fully stocked mini bar (for pay) and a coffee and tea maker, safe, hairdryer, a very chic chair overlooking the partial sea view, and a couch and small table on the opposite side of the room. The main selling point of this suite were the curved floor to ceiling windows on each corner, which was really very cool. We loved opening the curtains and watching the city go about its day, especially in the early morning and at sunset.

The bathroom ran along the hall and included a toilet, sink, large mirror and shower, all in one room. While not super spacious, the bathroom was big enough not to feel cramped. Marriott Izmir was generous with the free toiletries and every day left a loofah, mouth wash, a tooth brush and tooth paste, a make-up remover, razor, and the standard shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and lotion. And, these bottles were personal size – no gross large bottles here!

Due to my Platinum Status, we also received a welcome amenity of twelve real Turkish Delights waiting for us in our room! This was a nice touch and the Turkish Delights were delightful!

AMENITIES AT THE MARRIOTT IZMIR

For a smaller hotel not in a major tourist destination, the Izmir Marriott offered a good amount of guest amenities, from a lovely executive lounge, to two pools, an amazing Turkish spa, and multiple food and drink outlets.

The Rooftop Pool.

Our favorite amenity at the Izmir Marriott was probably the rooftop pool, which is open to hotel guests and, I believe, guests of the Pagos rooftop lounge. The rooftop pool is done in an infinity style overlooking the Aegean Sea. While some people complained that the pool was too cold in July, I though it felt good in the 90 degree heat. It did get a bit windy on the rooftop, but what can one do?  The pool is surrounded by lounge chairs, including some hammock style seats and lounger beds, all of which are first come, first serve. We used the rooftop pool a couple times during our stay, and it never felt crowded.

The Indoor Pool.

The Izmir Marriott’s second pool is located indoors in the Turkish Spa, which is on the basement level. This pool is open to all hotel and spa guests, and no reservation or paired treatment is required for hotel guests. We visited the indoor pool twice and both times, we were the only occupants. While slightly cold, the indoor pool was usable and good for swimming laps. There is also what I thought was a hot tub or spa in this area, but it was just as cold as the pool.

Sauna, Steam Room and Gym.

The Izmir Marriott’s sauna, steam room and gym are all located on the basement level in the same indoor pool/Turkish Spa area. Again, these amenities are complimentary to all hotel and spa guests and no reservation is required. We enjoyed the sauna a lot, but the steam room could have been nicer.

Turkish Bath and Massage.

The Turkish Spa offers paid treatments, including the traditional Turkish Bath and massages. I booked a 60 minute massage during our stay, and it was fantastic. It also only cost $42 USD with tip! Highly recommend taking advantage of the paid services at the Izmir Marriott.

The Marriott Izmir Executive Lounge.

A hotel lounge is always welcome, particularly in a country where alcohol is expensive, such as Turkey. Located on the fourth floor, we received complimentary access to the Izmir Marriott’s Executive Lounge due to my Platinum Status with Marriott (higher status tiers also receive access).  Guests without status need to book an “Executive Room” to access the lounge.

We were pretty impressed with this Executive Lounge, which offered breakfast, tea, happy hour and a served dinner daily, as well as general access and sodas, water, and coffee throughout the day. The Executive Lounge was also nicely decorated and even included a small outdoor area overlooking the Aegean! We sat outside most days for happy hour.

Breakfast was served in the lounge from 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM daily. We stopped in the lounge only once for a Diet Pepsi during breakfast hours, but the breakfast offerings appeared to be a much smaller selection of what is offered at Lima Restaurant. I forgot to take any photos.

We also largely missed the daily tea from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, but did stop in for drinks once during tea time. A variety of sweets were set out for guests to enjoy with tea and coffee, including an entire freshly baked cake!  One thing I will say, the desserts here are gorgeous.

Happy hour, our favorite part of the Executive Lounge experience, coincided with the dinner service and as a result, was very busy daily.  The happy hour lasted from 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM – extremely generous – and consisted of a selection of red and white Turkish wine and a few bottles of liquor set on a small table for self service (although staff would also serve on request). The wine was unexpectedly good – the red being a Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot blend.

The daily dinner served with the happy hour (but stopped at 7:30 PM sharp) consisted of a small buffet offering a selection of small bites, such as salad, hummus, cheese, Turkish mezze, etc. and at least two hot offerings that would be appropriate for dinner. Pasta and chicken or meat were popular here. We never tried the “dinner” options, as we ate out every night, but they looked quite decent. And, I would note that the dinner service was truly that, with wait staff assisting patrons and tables being set for dinner service. We saw many guests taking advantage of the dinner serivce.

Finally, available at all hours of the day were tea, various types of coffee, soft drinks and water. The beers were added just before 5:30 PM and taken away promptly at 9:30 PM. The soft drinks and water were replinished throughout the day.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE AT THE IZMIR MARRIOTT

As we had complimentary access to the Executive Lounge, and Izmir has great restaurants, we did not utilize the on site restaurants and bars often. However, there are three venues on site: the Alcedo Lobby Bar, Lima Restaurant, and Pagos Rooftop Bar. We did not visit Alcedo Lobby Bar, but its basically a coffee and light bites bar in the main entrance area of the hotel.

We ate breakfast every morning at Lima Restaurant, which offered a grand breakfast spread daily. Lima Restaurant also has indoor and outdoor seating, with the outdoor seating covered and overlooking the famous Izmir fisherman and the Aegean. On the buffet was everything from ten plus types of olives, salad, breads, dessert type breakfasts, fruit, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc. It was quite impressive. Guests could also order from a small made-to-order menu, which we did almost daily.  Due to our Platinum Status, we had the option of taking breakfast in the Executive Lounge or in Lima Restaurant. Lima Restaurant is absolutely better for variety and quality, while the Executive Lounge is faster for those in a hurry.

We also had lunch and drinks at Pagos Rooftop Bar. For lunch, while I didn’t take photos, we tried the pizza, which was ok (what one would expect for a pizza in a country that doesn’t make pizza!).  We also enjoyed drinks on the rooftop one evening. I highly recommend coming up for a sunset cocktail during your stay. That being said, Pagos does rent out for private events, particularly on the weekends. Confirm that it is open to the public before planning your day around a rooftop sunset. And on that note, Pagos is open to the public, so anyone can visit for drinks and good. The rooftop lounge was pretty crowded on Saturday night, with a live DJ playing music well into the night.

STEAL OUR HOTEL

Izmir Marriott Hotel: Alsancak, Akdeniz Mahallesi, Gazi Blv. No:1, 35220 Konak/İzmir, Türkiye.

ON A BUDGET

While feeling luxurious, the Marriott Izmir was a steal at $145 USD per night, especially when coupled with our free breakfast and access to the Executive Lounge.