The Marmara Bodrum

Hotel description

The first rule of the Marmara hotels seems to be: build somewhere with a view. This is the Turkish mini-chain that brought you the world’s first revolving hotel building, high on a hillside above Antalya; the Bodrum outpost, fixed though it may be, is hardly less dramatic, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city, the picturesque harbor, and the confluence of the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas.

Visually, it’s striking, in keeping with the Eastern Mediterranean predilection for expanses of blinding white; though it shares the same designer, the Frenchman Christian Allart, this one is less minimalist than its sister in Antalya, its monochrome sparseness leavened by rich woodwork and dabs of vivid color in the furnishings and artworks. It’s not just pretty either — there’s real substantial luxury here, with huge windowed bathrooms and a balcony or terrace for every one.

If you want to splash out big, there’s the Party Animal suite (most would call it a penthouse), a seventy-square-meter apartment with its own Jacuzzi, rooftop terrace, and a DVD library of a hundred films. If not, though, even guests in the Standard rooms can live like party animals — there’s a spa, a gym, and two swimming pools for spoiling the body by day, and a restaurant and bar to facilitate Bodrum’s nightly transition from sunny vacation spot to decadent nightlife mecca.