Just returned from a stay at the Royal Marina and although we had an excellent stay there and we would highly recommend the apartments, our holiday was seriously tainted with ear infection problems for our kids. Whilst there we had heard of people, kids especially, having ear problems after using the pools however, one of ours now has severe ear infection requiring 3 hospital treatments, 2 courses of antibiotics, lots of pain killers and anti-inflammatory tablets as well as sleepless nights for all. We were even concerned that the airline might not of let us fly back to the UK such was the pain. The pool maintenance people were on-site during our stay but it looks like they weren’t able to treat the water well enough to prevent this becoming a problem for several other families staying in the Royal Marina. Whether this was due to the extremely high temperatures (49º+ on some days) and the cocktail of chemicals in the pool from sun tan lotions etc is open for discussion but it is an issue that does need addressing by Oracle who run the Royal Marina. We made our point during our stay but whether anything has been done about it could possibly be answered by future reviewers of Royal Marina on Trip Advisor.

There are a couple of bars within 5 minutes walk from the Royal Marina (Sky Bar, Moon Shine and the new bar across from the main entrance run by Lorraine and Cobra) but more or less everything else is in Altinkum which is a 5-10 minute walk away. The complex has 2 pools, both of which have smaller, shallow pools integrated within them which is great for smaller children. There is a large area around the pools for sunbathing and the bar is centrally located between them. We only ate at the bar once during our stay due to the prices being higher there than other places nearby. Immediately outside the boundary of the Royal Marina there’s a 24 hour shop which stocks all the basic essentials necessary for self-catering. There’s also useful chemist nearby which we did use (see above).

For our main food shopping, we used the Carrafour. Take a dolmus there (1.5 Tlr) and a taxi (with all your shopping) back (15Tlr). There’s lots to do in Altinkum and the surrounding area including boat trips, jeep safaris, water parks, historical monuments etc as well as the tee-shirts, bags and watches that are offered for sale.

We’ll certainly be going back there.

The apartments are 10 mins downhill walk to the main beach/main resort. There are a scattering of bars/restaurants about 5 mins, some places will give you a lift back if you eat at their establishment. Taxis were about 15lira ( £7). The bar noise went off at about 12 and wasnt a problem. The Turkish people come to Altinkum on holiday so can be very busy!

The apartments were nice and clean, cleaned weekly. The pools were lovely. The issue with the sunbeds still exists though as our apartment had no sunbeds, those you see in the photos are often owned by someone and are tied up, I strongly recommend you ask about sunbeds as there are no free ones if not. A pool table and table tennis table in an underground grubby area. You could pay to use the internet, although some apartments can get it free from some link!

Overall nice apartment with a friendly feel because lots of the owners still go there, a bit of a walk if you are not unfit maybe, over 300 restaurants in Altinkum so lots of places, still some harrassing by restaurant owners - just smile say no and walk on :) I would recommend it.

Just got back from Royal Marina complex and loved it. The staff were excellent and not at all rude ( were told they are all new this year). Our apartment had it's own sunbeds around the pool so we had no problem at all with sunbeds. It looks like most of the apartments have their own now, because everyone seemed happy.
The pools are lovely and our apartment was immaculate with a 3rd floor view over Didim and a gorgeous sunset. The apartments are quiet in the evening but only 10 minutes away from the nightlife. It was 45 degrees Celsius while we were there but the lovely breeze on the terrace made it comfortable. Absolutely loved it !!

I have just returned from a two and a half week stay at the Royal Marina Apartments and had a fantastic time. After reading the reviews on here i was slightly put off especially the one regarding the boys working at the pool bar. All the staff this year are new, so please dont be put off by this! They are all very friendly and happy to asist you with anything. Kobra and Orhan speak fantastic english and Lorraine who also works in the bar is always on hand to have a chat and give you the English point of view on things. The staff this year fantastic and are definitely nothing like i read in the reviews about staff last year. They have BBQ nights on Wednesday at the pool bar and Curry and Quiz nights on Fridays, I would definitely recommend them both! The food is lovely and only a couple of lira more than you would pay in the town so its worth having a lazy night by the pool bar. Room service from the pool bar is also available for when you just want to stay in. The complex is nice and clean and the apartments were furnished to an excellent standard with everything you need for a home from home holiday.
The noise from the bar is minimal and wont disrupt any early nights that you want.
I would definitely recomend the Roayl Marina Apartments and the Bar there.
Royal marina is also only a short walk from everything but far enough away to not be kept awake until the early hours.
I will be returning to Royal Marina later this year and cant wait.