The sunkissed, art filled, waterfront, luxe CASA DELL ARTE on the Bodrum Peninsula, Turkey
Our Turkish anniversary adventure was capped off by a week on the Bodrum Peninsula in Southern Turkey. As I am a curious girl and love exploring different hotels and areas, we split our time between three different hotels in three different towns on the Peninsula (when people refer to "Bodrum," they are often referring to the whole peninsula which is comprised of many little towns and coves although there is a Bodrum town as well).
Torba
We kicked off our stay at the gorgeous Casa Dell Arte in the town of Torba which is teeny tiny and aside from a handful of waterfront hotels, houses, and a smattering of restaurants, there is not much here. Torba is located only 10-20 minutes from Bodrum town if you do want to do some shopping, check out the historic Bodrum Castle and other restaurants/cafes/nightclubs. Bodrum town is also where most of the gulets (Turkish yachts) disembark from-- as we did!!
Casa Dell Arte is a luxury property comprised of 12 suites, each named for a different zodiac sign. The hotel is the former private home of the owners who are hip and fabulous and have a serious art collection. The art is displayed throughout the hotel and its grounds and the charming staff are art history majors who can walk you around and fill you in on pieces that are of interest.
my favorite artwork on the property by Robert Montgomery
Eduardo, our favorite member of the staff, was fantastic-- not only did he give us an art history tutorial after dinner one night, which was awesome- essentially wandering around a gallery in which you're staying with a glass of wine in hand admiring noteworthy works of art, but he also ran to buy me sunscreen, and escorted us to dinner at the adjacent Gonka Balik along the shore to be sure we had the best table and ordered the absurdly delicious grilled octopus. Our suite, one of two seaview suites, the Taurus suite, is magnificent. Literally the size of a large apartment and so chicly decorated with a bed like I've never seen, a red cowhide rug, colorful modern paintings by Turkish artists and a huge patio with insane views (I found this was a perfect spot for sunset yoga!).
All of the other rooms are incredible, each unique in their own way-- some are duplexes, one has a ceiling that looks like the night sky twinkling with "stars," all are sublimely decorated and adorned. Although you might think you'd miss having a sea view, I don't think you would-- especially as the house and its grounds are vast so there's always somewhere to be outside soaking up the sea and the view if that's your objective.
The "beach" at Casa dell Arte is a lovely dock out front of the hotel perfect for lounging and swimming. There actually also is a real (albeit small) beach in front of the hotel -- rare for the Mediterranean/Aegean....
The bar, set up before the cheaper and family friendly branch of the hotel which did not appeal, is built on a deck with lounge areas suspended over the sea. What a romantic spot for a sundowner!!
Dinner at the hotel (on the residence side) was one of the most delicious of the trip and also enhanced by the sublime waterfront setting. Tables with white tablecloths, candles and sprigs of bouganvilla perched literally at the sea's edge were a divine spot for dinner!
an artistic and scrumptious grilled calamari and our view for dinner
I can't be effusive enough about this property. It is a special gem with a lovely staff and a backdrop that is inspiring and restorative. I can't wait to return one day....
Coming up-- a full report on the budget friendly 4 Reasons Hotel in Yalikivak and the glitzy, boho chic Macikizi in Turkbuku!
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