Forget France and Italy: The Turkish Riviera’s Macakizi is The Place To Be This Summer
Turkey’s Bodrum peninsula is an absolute gem. Fringed by the crystal clear Aegean sea and peppered with authentic and pretty towns and villages, the Turquoise Coast it’s known is inevitably and rightly getting more and more attention from wealthy vacationers around the world.
That has brought with it a glut of luxury resorts – Aman, Mandarin Oriental and a particularly ugly Hilton hotel all occupy prime spots up on pine-flecked hills over luminous blue bays. but it’s the Turkish owned Macakizi that’s the pick of the bunch. While not the most luxe (though high-end nonetheless), its more amenable price point (double rooms start from €425 ($475) in low season and €595 ($655), in high season including breakfast and dinner) and unassailable status as the best beach club in Bodrum make it the most compelling choice.
Set on the northern tip of gorgeous hay near the fashionable village of Türkbükü, Maçakizi climbs its way up a steep hill over four tiers from waterside dunking and bar to the open-air restaurant, pool and spa, and villas and suites. It’s a triumph of planning and implementation. Gorgeously landscaped grounds bursting in color front magnolia and oleander-rich gardens hide a tangle of stone stairs and walkways snaking their way to the water’s edge, connecting everything like arteries to a beating heart.
Among them sit 53 simple but comfortable rooms and 21 suites, many, but not all offering ocean views. Beds are big and comfy, doused in feather-soft covers and Rifal Özbek-designed cushions. My vast Bose TV sits unused on the wall as I prefer the views from my small private terrace. Bathrooms are travertine tiled with rainforest showers and Aqua di Parma toiletries.
Sensibly placed close to the rooms the airy breakfast pavilion alongside a quiet, deserted pool — conundrum quickly answered when compared to the waterfront setting. Below, a spa offering hammam and massage and a gym so buried behind plants it feels like working out in an airconditioned rainforest.
One tier down emerging from the green, and silver-leafed olive trees, the open-air a la carte restaurant is stylish but relaxed. It serves a mix of the Mediterranean and Turkish cuisine with a modern twist under the watchful eye of head chef Aref Sahakyan, who’s worked with the owner for more than 25 years.
Daily, fresh and flavorful breakfast and lunch buffets invite residents and day guests to drift in and out as hunger demands, keeping things buzzing but never too busy. Don’t miss out on the manti, ground beef dumplings and daily octopus, which pair beautifully with a sizeable international wine list alongside excellent Turkish wines, in particular, those from the nearby Urla Winery. As darkness descends, soft lighting and candles add elegance and atmosphere. The service day and night in, in a word, faultless.
But it’s the expanse of wooden boardwalks connecting warm waters to rows of cushioned day beds to a large central bar that are Macakizi’s star attraction. Fanning out along the shore in an angular Aegean hug, they give well-heeled guests direct access to the water from their sun loungers while serving staff glide by silently behind white smiles and black Ray-Bans, topping up champagne glasses, delivering fresh towels to bathers emerging from the water, A live DJ curates a soundtrack to the entire show — well-chosen tunes that complement rather than intrude on the atmosphere.
Sahir Erozan, the Macakizi’s owner and beating heart, is omnipresent. A hugely gregarious yet grounded character who named the resort in honor of his mother, – it translates as ‘queen of spades’ and was in turn the name of the artist retreat she set up in the 1970s – his spirit and personality seeps into every corner. He is a man who has no guests, no acquaintances – only very good friends who he greets more often than not by name. The Macakizi is all the richer for his presence, as his love of Turkey and enthusiasm for the good life lingers around him like the smoke from his ever present cigar.
Pack your most stylish swimsuit, your chicest shades and forget the rivieras you already know this summer, because you’ll find the best party on the shores of the Turquoise Coast and the boardwalks of the Macakizi. But if the crowds and in-scene don’t do it for you, the private Villa Macakizi is only a quick boat ride away sheltered in the cove of the aptly named Paradise Bay.
Fully serviced (including butlers), its ten rooms can host up to 20 people in complete luxury. There’s a spa, huge pool, endless indoor-outdoor social areas – and those glorious trademark gardens that stand the Macakizi out from the crowd. It also has its own private jetty and waterfront scattered with loungers that take advantage of the idyllic setting.