Bodrum Loft

You'll need a car to reach this luxury resort, which sits a little off the beaten path. It feels mainly geared toward Turks rather than tourists. The grounds are so large that they drive you around in buggies. We liked the restaurant and lounge, Paper Moon. Parking costs 450 TL.

I wasn't staying at the hotel, but I went to the restaurant and used the facilities more than ten times. It's quite a drive to get there, but the place feels like an oasis. I haven't found anywhere with the same calm, beauty, and peace, not in Dubai, Mykonos, or Ibiza. I've spent more than six months at a time in each of those places, so that says a lot.

The villas cost a lot, and breakfast isn't included. We also heard loud construction across the property from 8 a.m., so it wasn't the peaceful holiday we'd hoped for. At check-in, security stopped our taxi rudely and kept asking why we were there and for our names. Even after we answered, he called someone who asked us the same questions again. English was a struggle for most of the staff. Two people at reception had to work out how to speak with us and get us checked in. The reception area was hot in the direct sun, and no one offered a drink or cold towel. We also got no clear rundown of breakfast hours, facilities, or restaurants. We had to figure things out the next day, when at 8:10 a.m. everything was still closed until 9. Our two-bedroom villa was another mess. A staff member showed us four rooms, so we thought we'd been upgraded or that this was the villa. We picked a room, unpacked, and were about to head to the beach when the manager came by to say there'd been a mistake. Our rooms were on the ground floor, while the top two floors were for someone else. He showed no apology or empathy, and we had to move. Ridiculous. It's a beautiful property, but the price didn't feel justified, and the communication and service were awful. We paid a lot and didn't get what we expected. It was an expensive lesson for us, so stay away. ❤️

The food at Paper Moon was fine, but the draw is really the atmosphere, and that felt priceless to me. We did have a fly in one of our wine glasses. They took it away without replacing it or apologizing, just joked about it. Weird. The prices are fine if you earn in euros or dollars.