VILLA MACAKIZI, BODRUM, TURKEY
Villa Maçakızı is the expansion of a noble tradition of hospitality in Bodrum. Sister hotel Maçakızı opened in the 1970s and its success helped propel the peninsula into public consciousness (its founder, Ayla Emiroğlu, was nicknamed Maçakızı – Queen of Spades – for looks that resembled the playing card character). Emiroğlu’s son, Sahir Erozan, took her unpretentious boho-intellectual pension and transformed it into an upmarket 73-room hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant on the smart Türkbükü bay. In 2019 he ratcheted things up by renovating and opening Villa Maçakızı, a not-so-humble Aegean abode on Cennet Koyu, which aptly translates as Paradise Bay. The long, low white house is slung with purple bougainvillea and surrounded by herb gardens, a secluded private beach, infinity pool and multiple bars. Barbara Pensoy’s understated interiors are airy and light, with a muted, organic palette and lashings of crumpled linen; each of the 10 rooms has a sea view, large bathroom and striking handmade Italian blue-and-white ceramic floors scattered with kilim rugs. Erozan’s partner in this venture is Carlo Bernardini, an ebullient Venetian chef who has gathered experience from Four Seasons hotels around the world; his menus, tailor-made daily, propagate a farm-to-table-and-bar philosophy and centre local fish, cheeses and olive oils. What makes Villa Maçakızı special is that it runs like a seamless hotel with a permanent staff of 50, featuring a 24-hour butler service, an impressive wine cellar and a wellness centre with trainers, massage spaces and hammams. The Maçakızı Hotel is a quick, thrilling speedboat ride though tranquillity reigns here.SEVIL DELIN From about £34,240 per night, villamacakizi.com