Marina Bayview

We stayed at Marina Bayview for five nights B&B and overall had a really enjoyable, relaxing stay. For what we paid, we felt it represented good value and it was exactly what we wanted for a few days of sunshine, reading and doing very little.

We stayed in duplex apartment D106 and the location of the room was excellent. The solarium area, with sunbeds, jacuzzi, shower and lovely views, was literally a few steps from our door. This ended up being our favourite place to spend the day. It was quieter and felt more private than the main pool area, and being able to pop back into the room for a cold drink or ice cream was a real bonus. The jacuzzi was often occupied, but there seemed to be a nice unwritten etiquette amongst guests of taking turns rather than monopolising it when the area was busy.

The apartment itself was very clean and comfortable and the air conditioning worked well, which was definitely needed in August. Housekeeping was five days a week and we were happy with the standard.

There were a few small practical things about the room design that could be improved. Storage was fairly limited, including in the bathroom where there was only a small shelf for toiletries. The sink itself is a huge solid ceramic unit which takes up a lot of space without providing any useful storage. It looks stylish, but a more practical design with somewhere to store toiletries underneath would have made much better use of the space. The bathroom mirror also isn't particularly practical for applying makeup without leaning right across the sink, so I'd recommend bringing a small handheld mirror. In a duplex apartment, a mirror downstairs near the entrance would also be useful for a last check before going out. The kitchen only had very small drinking glasses, so some larger tumblers would be a simple but welcome addition. The bed was two singles pushed together rather than a proper double.

Breakfast was good, with plenty of variety, and the whole experience was calm and relaxed. We've previously stayed at the sister property, Marina Suites, and unsurprisingly Bayview felt much quieter at breakfast and around the hotel because it is adults only.

The main pool area was clean and well maintained, as was the rest of the hotel, although we only really used the pool for the occasional cooling dip. The main frustration here was the sunbed situation. By around 8.30-9am most beds had been reserved with towels and, once claimed, they tended to remain 'taken' for the rest of the day whether people were actually using them or not. We much preferred the quieter solarium area.

One thing the hotel could improve is enforcement of its no-smoking policy. Bayview is advertised as a non-smoking resort, but we saw people smoking on balconies on several occasions and even encountered someone walking through the hotel smoking when we were on the way to the pool. It happened often enough to become a recurring theme rather than an isolated incident. I don't particularly want to spend my holiday reporting other guests, so it would be better if the policy were proactively enforced by the hotel.

It's also worth being aware that this is a very stair-heavy property. We knew this before booking and it wasn't something that concerned us. However, after I twisted my ankle one day, navigating all those stairs suddenly became quite a chore and really highlighted how difficult the hotel could be for someone with reduced mobility. If stairs are normally an issue for you, I wouldn't recommend Bayview.

The peaceful atmosphere is both a positive and something to be aware of. This isn't a party hotel and the bar closes at 6pm. Personally, I would have liked the option of getting a drink at the hotel until perhaps 8 or 9pm, but equally I appreciate that the quiet atmosphere is part of Bayview's appeal.

One final word of caution: we booked and paid for an excursion through the Marina app during our stay, but unfortunately our transfer simply didn't turn up. To be clear, I don't hold Marina Bayview responsible for the excursion company's failure. However, as this was a service being promoted to guests through the Marina app, I do think they need to be aware of the reliability of the companies they are advertising. We had planned our final day around the excursion, so waiting around for a transfer that never arrived and then spending time trying to establish what had happened was a very disappointing end to an otherwise relaxing stay. We did ultimately receive a refund, but I'd be reluctant to book an excursion through the app again.

Overall, we'd recommend Marina Bayview if you're looking for a few peaceful days of sunshine, relaxation and lovely views. It isn't somewhere I'd choose if I wanted nightlife or lots happening around the hotel, and accessibility is a definite consideration, but for switching off with a book in the sun it worked very well for us.

Booked this hotel for my partners 40th along with 6 friends, on arrival hotel looked lovely very clean and amazing views, we arrived just before 1pm and was told had to wait for rooms which we did but could use hotel facilities until our rooms were ready so we did. Our rooms were lovely spacious and clean with all you needed in them our group had a mixture of 1 and 2 storey rooms and all were nice, beds were comfy pillows amazing only flaw for me shower wasnt great and plug didnt seem to work great so water was filling up in shower tray and almost over edge so had to shower quick. Hotel itself is lovely and clean. We managed to get beds every day around pool but only because we went down at half 7 and 1 of us took turns staying at beds while others had breakfast. The breakfast was really good amazing choice and plenty to chose from highly recommend going b&b option. We also had lunch a couple of times and food was really good and very large portions. The daiquiris were delicious! We had b&b option so ate out and used commercial centre and Mogan mall for this €5 in a taxi and hotel can call them for you. Also dirty nellys Irish bar for food down the steps at side of hotel was good too. My only gripe with this hotel is we came as a group of 8 ,not rowdy but there to enjoy ourselves and it seems alot of people think thats not aloud we had dirty looks around poolside most days,a very small handful of people were friendly and had a laugh too, Because of this we wouldn't return to bayview as I pay my money to go to a hotel the same as everyone else and dont expect to be made to feel out of place or watched! Also the bar shuts earlier than any hotel ive been to abroad and sometimes due to staffing food was stopped at 4pm, just not what we are used to on holiday and disappointed with this ,but hotel itself was in a lovely location and staff were lovely just not for us unfortunately.