Turkey’s top spots will soothe senses
EVERY week our Holiday Hero NEIL SIMPSON takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Five-star hotels transforming Turkey.
TURKEY will turn heads this summer, offering a range of fivestar hotels and resorts, many for far less than you’d pay elsewhere.
‘It’s a fantastic choice for a greatvalue luxury holiday in a boutique retreat or beachside resort,’ says Simon Lynch, sales director of luxury travel company Scott Dunn.
One of its top choices is Six Senses Kaplankaya, where 141 rooms and suites sit amid the olive and cypress trees of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Relax on the resort’s three beaches, sail from its marina or take to the skies from its helipad.
There’s a two-storey spa, one of the largest in the Six Senses family, which includes a Turkish hammam, and an alchemy bar where you can craft bespoke, organic lotions. A week in early summer including flights and private transfers costs from £1,800pp (scottdunn.com).
A favourite with boutique hotel club Mr & Mrs Smith is Macakizi hotel, set on a rocky peninsula a 30-minute transfer from Bodrum airport. The hotel’s 74 rooms are set in gardens that tumble down to a wooden deck beside the Aegean. At night, octopus with black risotto is a signature dish in the lantern-lit restaurant, where the light-hearted dress code is described as ‘boat club billionaire’. From £360 per room per night excluding flights (mrandmrssmith.com).
The Hillside Beach Club is a favourite with Elegant Resorts and an hour-long private transfer from Dalaman airport. The resort is large, but guests can spread out across four private beaches, two of them adults-only. A week including flights costs from £1,889pp (elegantresorts.co.uk).
Another resort hotel with several beaches to offer is D’Maris Bay, which is popular with travel agent Kenwood Travel. Set where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean, most of its five beaches offer restaurants so guests can relax there all day. The hotel is set in the middle of a nature reserve – and you can see it from above in the resort’s helicopter, which also offers transfers from the airport. Guests can use the hotel’s motorised and sailing yachts for jaunts to nearby islands and hard-to-reach coves.
Choose a modern sea-or-mountain-view room or upgrade to a two-bedroom suite, an option popular with families. Weeks cost from £1,359pp including flights (kenwoodtravel.co.uk).
Away from the sea, luxury with a light touch is promised at Ariana Lodge, a new, eco-friendly hotel in Turkey’s Cappadocian mountains. Yoga sessions, massages, winetastings and meals can be arranged in shaded corners, often while hotair balloons float past. Just 11 rooms are available, all individually designed with a mix of old mosaics and modern art. From £251 per room per night, excluding flights with the Small Luxury Hotels group (slh.com).