Maçakizi Hotel Bodrum review: a retreat for the glitterati on Turkey’s riviera

In the northern part of Bodrum peninsula, 30 minutes or so away from the main town, Maçakizi (meaning Ace of Spades) sits in the quiet town of Göltürkbükü on the Turkish riviera. The hotel was established in the 1970s by Ayla Emiroğlu who, captivated by the quiet charm of the area, built this cool, subtle retreat which the glitterati soon flocked to.

The vibe is established immediately upon arrival, with plants and trees forming an organic entrance. Follow the stairs down to an open-air lobby decked out with modern art on the walls, maritime-themed murano glass and hunks of driftwood. The table is, of course, covered in achingly cool books and art mags to browse. The juxtaposition of eclectic modern pieces paired with soft and shapely wood continues throughout.

Turn a corner and a canopy of hanging plants frame a perfect window onto the light-splintering Aegean and rambling, crumbling stone shores in the distance. The hotel is set into a steep hill down to the sea and offers up glimpses of blue at every turn.

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Why stay here

The full-on flora theme continues throughout the hotel with living roofs serving as a natural way to keep rooms cool and making the hotel feel intimate and secluded. Cacti and carpets are the decor here, perched on nearly every surface, spiky and alien (and making me feel slightly self-conscious about the size of mine at home). They dig the climate here, dry and hot even in October – a warm and delicious time to visit, quiet once the summer’s crowds have returned home.

There’s a pool which is “just for show”, we’re told, as Maçakizi is renowned for its beach bar – a two-storey casual restaurant that winds down to meet the sea, floating sun decks kissing the coast. It’s a show-stopper, gorgeous wooden decking arranged as three sides of a pentagon, sun loungers flat on the deck, all neutrals, greys and whites, the sea completing the picture with a blend of cobalt and teal. It’s a bit of the French rosé scene – a spot where the cool kids come to party, where boats that wouldn’t look out of place in a Slim Aarons’s shoot drop their passengers off to play. It makes great people watching and is, at this time of year at least, a relatively chilled affair.

For those wanting things a bit quieter, the deck is an ideal spot for late night moon-gazing with the glittering sea reflecting big, clear skies – a portrait of endless pinholes in the midnight blue. The early morning is ideal for a quick pre-breakfast dip. If you’re lucky (and I mean really lucky) you might even get to see a dolphin or two – the inquisitive mammals have been known to pass right through the swimming area.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 74 rooms including 21 suites; these are comfortable and have spectacular views. The morning light floats in through the white linen floor-to-ceiling drapes. If Maçakizi’s design does one thing incredibly well, it’s the pulling of materials and styles from the outside in. Sand colour stone tiles are naturally patterned with tan and coffee flecks. Light wood makes up the majority of the furniture, decorated with traditional Turkish textiles, while beds are all white linens. One mirrored wall does the usual trick of making you feel like the space is far grander than it is – it works well here, paired with the large windows, filling the rooms with light, leading out to the balcony onto which plants spill their tendrils and vines. Bathrooms feature sizable rainforest showers and Acqua di Parma toiletries.

Eating and drinking

After the beach bar, a secondary focal point of the hotel is its relaxed dining space – a large deck, open-air, that the sun cuts across from its easterly rise. An eclectic mix of modern and vintage furniture, sleek chairs and chunky wooden tables sitting on old, stylish Persian rugs set the scene.

This is the spot where breakfast is served, deceptively simple without all the usual fanfare. There are local breads like simit, thin, crisp and fluffy inside, peppered with sesame seeds on the outside; wonderfully juicy tomatoes, the size of small melons, peeled and diced into chunks, ready for a generous splash of olive oil and pink sea salt; crisp cucumbers; and some fun local cheeses like dil peyniri – a grown up version of cheese strings. It’s unapologetically Turkish – which sounds, quite probably, a little obvious, but it’s hard to escape a hot buffet of sad eggs, dodgy sausages and crusty beans and other Western trappings. This is perhaps why Maçakizi is so popular with Turkish tourists and locals.

Dinner happens on the tables up from the deck. It’s a slick affair with a mix of local and more mainstream dishes – Mediterranean sea bass ceviche; scallops with burnt butter and herbs; lamb chops with aubergine puree; and a spectacular, Paris-patisserie-level mango cheesecake with passionfruit sorbet. The wine list is predominantly Turkish with some great options by the glass.

If you want to venture out, I’d recommend getting in a cab for 20 minutes over to the western coast of this part of the peninsula to Kahraman (Yalıkavak, Şendoğan Cd., 48965 Bodrum/Muğla), an ideal spot to catch a spectacular sunset. It’s not cheap, but the food is great and the staff are really friendly. To start, choose from a tray of tasty, interesting mezze from the classics like smoky aubergine to more unusual dishes like yogurtlu semizotu salatasi (sea purslane swirled into garlicky yoghurt) all served with grilled bread. The mains here are all about seafood – grilled or fried tender calamari tarted-up with a squirt of Turkey’s wonderful green lemons; a whole sea bass, split and grilled served with some of the seriously peppery local rocket.

What to do

If you happen upon one of Bodrum’s rare rainy days or you fancy a bit of a chilled evening after dinner, Maçakizi has its own mini-cinema. It feels like part of a mid-century San Franciscan dream (just google Ursula Le Guin’s house), all thick, varnished beams and floor-to-ceiling glass windows lining a comfy, butterscotch-coloured auditorium. The trees outside provide an atmospheric backdrop to whatever you want to pick from Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. We had it all to ourselves on our visit.

The hotel also has a couple of very cool open air shops where you can pick yourself up some ultra hip swimwear, great ceramics and luxe homewares.

Maçakizi Hotel Bodrum, Kesire Mevkii Narçiçeği Sk. 48400, Göltürkbükü, Turkey. Rooms start from £473 (€550); macakizi.com