Honest review
This place has always drawn people with its natural beauty. Homer himself wrote of the “wine-dark waters” of the Aegean, amid which lies a peninsula adorned with sweet orange and linden trees. To this day Bodrum retains that beauty and gentle decadence, where the dazzling rays of the sun meet the breathtaking blue of sea and sky.
When Ayla Emiroğlu moved here in 1977, Bodrum was more a village of a few houses than the popular resort town we all know today. Yet she still saw it as the embodiment of freedom — a spirit that helped turn this town into a paradise on the map for the world's elite. Emiroğlu was the founder of this resort, in which simplicity and discipline came together perfectly. Her kitchen was always filled with homegrown Turkish produce, yet the dishes were refined and rich in flavor, and the people she worked with loved and respected her immensely. They followed in her footsteps — even when she set off to open the first-ever beach club in a cove that could be reached only by boat.
Maçakızı — the queen of spades — is a symbol of intelligence and beauty, and it was this that essentially inspired naming the hotel in honor of Madame Emiroğlu. Imbued with her refined yet subtle style, what began as a small guesthouse in the center of Bodrum grew into one of the most cherished temples of luxury in the Mediterranean. It was her personality that created the special charm and atmosphere that drew so many intellectuals and artists to this quaint town. Where else could you find Ahmet Ertegun, Mick Jagger and Nureyev dining by the sea, if not at Ayla's table?
The next chapter of this place's story was written by her son, Sahir Erozan, who was building his career in Washington. He created several fashionable restaurants and clubs in the US capital, yet he always missed the scent of the garden at the little guesthouse in Bodrum. On a trip back to his homeland in the early 1990s he fell in love with the peninsula all over again and decided to work alongside his mother.
Erozan combined an authentic village style with his own vision of modern luxury. The rooms were designed with the expectations of a new generation of travelers and contemporary innovations in mind. Plenty of changes were made to adapt the hotel to new realities and a rapidly changing world, but one essential aspect remained the same: Ayla Emiroğlu's bohemian Bodrum spirit, present here from the very beginning. It is the atmosphere of a private members' club, where a celebrity basks in the sun, the staff know everyone by name, and guests may run into the owner and chat with him casually while he smokes his favorite cigars.
Sahir Erozan created an atmosphere of luxury not only in the interiors but also in the hotel's gastronomy. Early in his career, Aret worked with Roberto Donna and Yannick Cam, among the most respected chefs in Washington, D.C. He then trained under Francesco Ricchi at I Ricchi and Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate before taking the reins at the restaurant Cities with Sahir. In 2000 Aret joined as head chef, and he has been creating Maçakızı's famous gastronomy ever since. The menu has been enriched with flavors from around the world. Lovingly crafted by the brilliant hands of chef Aret Sahakyan, the restaurant offers guests a delectable contemporary menu of fresh Mediterranean dishes and staples of traditional Turkish cuisine.
