Don’t be surprised if you bump into billionaire Roman Abramovich at Casa Dell’Arte, a quietly elegant boutique hotel on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula.
Casa Dell’Arte is also an art gallery, and Abramovich has popped in to browse its collection.
Art hotel
Walls are decorated with exquisite canvasses by artists such as Nese Erdok (Turkey’s greatest living female painter).
Patrons of the arts, the hotel’s owners also offer an artist-in-residence program.
Ten up-and-coming artists from around the world are hosted for two terms a year. Their works, created on location, are also displayed in the hotel.
Separate adults-only and family residences
The adults-only Residence side of the hotel has 12 individually decorated suites flanking a rectangular lap pool.
Ivory walls and blonde wood furniture allow artistic touches to predominate – like huge boat-shaped beds and silver-and-black cow hide rugs. Our Aries suite came with a glass bathroom ceiling lit by tiny twinkling lights at night. Even the air conditioners are minimalist works of art, covered by hologram paintings.
Families are welcome to stay in Casa Dell’Arte’s neighboring Family Suites, with its own pool and beach area.
The sea is key at Casa Dell’Arte
Strolling about the hotel is a visual treat. Marble public rooms and breezy stone passageways contain antiques, grand iron chandeliers from the Napoleonic era and outdoor fireplaces from Cappadocia.
But always, by design, the eye is eventually drawn to the brilliant turquoise sea just beyond a swathe of manicured lawn.
There, the hotel’s wooden dock juts out into the water, where the sunbathing is all very civilized (no icky sand in your bikini). Cushioned cocoon chairs invite lounging under the shade of an umbrella, and there are ladders to climb down into the sea for a cool dip.
A few charming fish restaurants are a short walk down the beach.
Casa Dell’Arte is about 20 minutes from buzzing Bodrum town. But, really, you may feel no reason to leave.
What we loved about Casa Dell’Arte:
- All the glorious art on the walls
- Huge, individually-decorated suites and bathrooms
Be aware:
- Luxury comes at a price (dinners at the hotel’s restaurant are expensive, as are the suites)
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure at Sand In My Suitcase.
What an elegant place to stay! Love it~
Yes, it was very delightful, to say the least!