Macakizi, Bodrum
The Original Turkish Riviera spot
They do beach differently on the Turkish Rivera – now towels in gritty sand here. It’s better, so say the denizens at Maçakızı, to build wood decks over the water and lounge on luxurious cushions, just above the water level where the dazzling Aegean waters are both gorgeous and cooling. Maçakızı is one of the original Bodrum resorts to have developed this oft-copied concept, and remains a seminal destination among Turkey’s elite hotel offerings.
Maçakızı’s story began in 1977, when a young woman named Ayla bounced down a hillside track in a van, looking for inspiration. She descended toward the sea on a road near the Bodrum seaside, and found Turkbuku, a little fishing village of white homes and shops. She and resolved to open a hotel that would capture the atmosphere, yet also inject world-class style and luxury. Vibrant, relaxed and proudly hedonistic, the space she created has helped define the standard for Aegean seaside resort living.
Days here are whiled away on the deck, with water on all sides and a reed shade atop. It’s a lazy walk up to the waterfront restaurant for a lunch on the terraced slope – charcoal grills of fish or meat. Dinners feature the finest in Mediterranean and Aegean cuisines, often blended into creative fusions by international chefs. Rooms here follow on a theme of elegance and chic simplicity, each one unique in its appointments, view and atmosphere.
Though set as an escape from modern life, Maçakızı does offer proximity to some of this region’s finest in historical attractions. Turkey’s Ionian coast includes the magnificent ruins of ancient Ephesus and the time-tested sturdiness of the Castle of St. Peter, built by the Knights of Malta in the fifteenth century.
-81 rooms and suites
-open year-round
