Glam Hotels by the Seaside

For two years Turkey’s elite have been enjoying the sybaritic pleasures of Bodrum Loft as their own; finally the rest of us are invited. The resort consists of 36 two, three and four-bedroom serviced villas which can be taken by an individual for a whole season, or chopped up into rooms and sublet.

Each is modern on the inside, decorated in cool creams and blues, but authentically Turkish on the outside, with cantilevered wooden decks jutting out over stone walls above the wooded incline of a gorgeous bay. With gardens lush with bougainvillaea and jasmine, and forests of local olive, sandalwood, laurel and citrus, the air is sweetly scented as you stroll (or summon a buggy to take you) to the communal areas. As well as an infinity pool overhanging the bay, there are two bars; an open-air gym and spa (where I had the best massage I’ve had at a hotel), a swanky French patisserie and a buzzy outpost of Nobu. Further down there is the Italian restaurant, Paper Moon, which offers the perfect location for a sundowner, overlooking the calm blue of the Aegean and distant islands, a view unchanged since Homer’s time (although when Odysseus washed up on a beach he did not have the option of a luxury sundeck and flunkies bringing him ice-cold cocktails). For those who want to venture beyond the resort, the excellent concierge can arrange trips to get a sense of the gastronomy, architecture and art scene-by gulet, motor yacht, helicopter or private plane. Bodrum is a half-hour drive away, a pretty marina town with one of the world’s foremost museums of underwater archaeology and waterfront restaurants serving my new favourite treat: baklava stuffed with ice cream.