Royal Marmin Bay Boutique & Art Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Agios Nikolaos

We had a wonderful vacation at Royal Marmin overall | Value for the Money = Improveable.

We would like to share our positive impressions as well as some suggestions for improvement, shared with good intentions, considering the hotel category and rates/ price you pay as a guest, and to truly make the guests' stay exceptional for the future.

Room (Private Pool Room): The room we stayed at was spacious and very comfortable. We booked a room with a private pool outside, offering a lovely sea view. Worth calling out is the walk-in closet inside the room which provided good storage space (unlike other hotels in the area that lack this kind of space if you travel with two people). The balcony and private pool were very nice as well. A basic add-on, which we suggest to improve, which most other hotels around the world offer, is at least a daily replenishment of still water. Other missing items: Water boiler/ kettle in each room and an iron with an iron board. Breakfast: The true star at the breakfast is the chef, Chef Manuel. Don't miss to meet him! That said, the breakfast variety could be slightly optimized while adding additional healthy options, considering the hotel category and latest food trends to cater to all wider range of guest preferences, if we compare it to other key hotels in the same area. We admit we are picky food-lovers and enjoy a general healthy lifestyle including sugar-free items (quality over quanity). However, despite from our personal preference, we believe many other guests would appreciate a bigger variety of healthy items (examples: Chia Pudding, Overnight Oats, Bircher Muesli,...). Despite our small food suggestions, we do want to call out again Chef Manuel who is the kindest and willing to go above and beyond to accommodate any request or wish you have as a guest during breakfast. So, if you are missing anything, simply ask for Chef Manuel - we certainly did so - who is so kind and showcases true hospitality, spreads so much positivity, and makes you feel so welcome. Beach: The hotel's private sandy beach is very nice with an easy access to the sea and nice cozy sunbeds (that need a little extra attention to maintain the cleanliness of the sunbeds' mattresses on a regular basis). The private hotel beach is much nicer than most hotel beaches in the area. Tennis: As a passionate tennis player, I always like to book a hotel that provides a tennis court. It was a bit disappointing that the hourly rental fee for hotel guests is 30 EUR - in my opinion too high for hotel guests at such a 5-Star-property. Just keep this point in mind as a guest when booking. Gym: Another key factor for my partner and I, when selecting a hotel over others, is the gym. The gym at Royal Marmin is generally very well equipped. However, it does lack focus and quite some maintenance. Dear Royal Marmin Team: Kindly make sure that you get the machines and other equipment checked regularly - ideally by a fitness expert (machines, ropes, cables, yoga mats,..., bathrooms, water dispenser (cleanliness),...) - for the hygiene & safety of the guests. Others: In terms of opening hours for the Gym & Spa, we would appreciate longer operating hours, to enjoy a treatment or workout after a day at the beach or so, from 6pm onwards. The Spa closes at 6pm, the Gym at 7pm. Maybe it's worth considering to at least extend the operating hours 3 times a week, as a suggestion and compromise, for those guests that like to enjoy the day outside and use the facilities after 6pm or 7pm (e.g., also just to be able to use the saunas in the evening and not necessarily a massage treatment). Conclusion: Overall, we had a wonderful vacation and felt very comfortable staying at Royal Marmin, beautifully located on a hill, offering one of the most breathtaking views onto the sea & the area. However, as a classy 5-Star-Hotel that considers itself as "eco & unrivaled luxury hotel", further staff training & attention to detail are recommended. Many thanks to: Marios (Guest Relations), Vassia (Reservations), Maria & Aida (Housekeeping) & Chef...

Whilst the hotel is ascetically impressive and affords some amazing views (great if Instagram posts and impressing the folks at home is your thing) the devil is in the detail and those details are for me what separates truly 5 star hotels from 3 and 4 star which I would say is more representative of the service you receive at this hotel.||Positives:||Staff - are generally pleasant with one exception who I’ll come to…||Service - pretty good in terms of response times, I’ll come to that too ||Hotel & Grounds - impressive and well maintained||Negatives:||Staff - whilst most are friendly and attentive the restaurant staff are poorly organised and so you find yourself chasing a response from most when you need something which is more often than it should be as such details (table being laid, drinks order taken etc) should be basics that are fulfilled||Restaurant - poorly run and organised with limited choice and/or variations on the same base items.Nothing to wow you which you expect from a 5 star rated hotel/restaurant and that we have experienced from various other 5 star hotels in Rhodes etc. The food is as quite often missing or pending refilling which again demonstrates that the staff are one step behind the demand - again not really what you expect ||Rooms - as per other reviews the hotel is set into a steep hill and so bring climbing gear if you want to walk but otherwise the valet buggy service was good and a great view!||We had a room with a private pool and wet room - nice but the wet room did not drain and so we raised and were moved to an alternative room. I’m not sure the wet rooms are the same in all rooms or whether this was an isolated issue but no attempt was made to fix the drainage so unless you’re happy padding around in water and for the water to overflow into the room, something to consider. We ended up with a shower over a large bath which was much better.||One bottle of water for your entire stay and coffee pods charged when used is just a bit cheap for me unlike the cocktails which are around €15 each. Didn’t use minibar as similarly expensive to most hotels.||However, what prompted the 3 star rating as opposed to 4 star was the really poor service and attitude we experienced on checking out. We were presented with our itemised bill for the two rooms we had booked which included two minibar items despite not using this. When raised we were practically accused of lying by the female receptionist who declared in a theatrical way as “strange that the items are on the invoice but you have not used the minibar”||I had to reiterate that neither room had accessed the minibars in the rooms and that clearly this was a mistake only to be met with the same statement from the same receptionist. Ultimately she agreed reluctantly to delete the €9 with or items (yes €9!) but it’s almost as if we’d stolen it from her own purse. To be honest had we been so minded we might have haggled over some of the other items included in our €1135 invoice for our 8 night stay but merely pointed out an error on their part and did not expect such an aggressive response. Bear in mind too that we left €20 tips to each of the room maids and drivers so we are not looking to scam anyone and we’d be pretty rubbish at it if it were for a €9 gain!||Anyway, as the saying goes “you pays your money and you takes your choice” and we will not be returning as this fell some way short of what could reasonably be expected and the finale just...

We recently stayed at this hotel as part of a family holiday, in which we shared many of the same observations as others, but our main call out is that our overall impression was hindered, and this very much came down to the moment we checked out.||Positives:|The views are truly exceptional — among the best we’ve experienced anywhere. Every angle offers a photo-worthy moment, and the hotel’s design makes the most of its elevated position. The overall cleanliness throughout the property was also great. Rooms, public areas, and even the pool spaces were spotless and clearly well cared for (the beach could do with a little maintenance). For the most part, the staff were courteous and accommodating, and the facilities were modern and well-maintained.||Early negatives — the devil is in the detail|Before the checkout incident even occurred, there were multiple things that made us question the hotel’s five-star claim. These weren’t one-off niggles but consistent operational shortfalls:||Restaurant & Food: The menu offered limited variety and many dishes felt repetitive. At times the kitchen and service were out of sync — items missing, delayed or not refilled — which left the restaurant feeling poorly organised rather than refined.||Service consistency: While most staff were pleasant, restaurant staff often seemed one step behind demand. Basic service tasks (tables being set, drink orders taken promptly) needed chasing more often than they should.||Evening entertainment: Lacked imagination and failed to elevate the evenings — nothing memorable that justified five-star expectations.||These operational details added up and felt more representative of a 3–4 star experience than a true five-star stay.||Checkout — what spoiled the finale|Unfortunately, our lasting memory of the stay was marred by the checkout experience. Upon settling our bill (which totalled €1,135 for the two rooms alone, part of an overall spend of over £4,000 across our group for the week), the receptionist challenged us over two minibar items we categorically did not have.||We were not disputing anything substantial — in fact, the difference was €9 — and we had only raised it to ensure the invoice was correct. It’s laughable to think that if we were intent on “working down” our bill, we would target €9 rather than any of the many €56 cocktail instalments we’d happily paid throughout our stay!||What followed was a rude and confrontational exchange, where the receptionist loudly and repeatedly implied we were being dishonest. It was both uncomfortable and unnecessary, especially given the amount we had spent and the otherwise enjoyable stay we’d had. To make matters worse, after we shared this feedback directly when contacted post-departure, we received no response or apology, which speaks volumes about the hotel’s approach to guest relations.||In summary:|The hotel is beautifully positioned and the views are unforgettable. But for a property positioning itself as a five-star experience, the lack of variety, attention to detail and finally grace and professionalism at checkout was deeply disappointing. When you’ve spent over £4,000 and are accused of lying over €9, it leaves a sour note on what was already feeling like a lesser experience than anticipated upon booking.||It’s a shame — as this is very much a “style over substance” situation. With a little more focus on finer details plus the service culture and guest respect, it could easily live up to its...