We check into the Maxx Royal Bodrum Resort

We kick back at the hottest new hotel in Türkiye

Maxx Royal is the new suites-only resort in Bodrum, located on a beautiful peninsula with a private beach and a food and beverage programme to rival any global resort out there. There’s a private island that’s home to Scorpios Bodrum, sister to the infamous Scorpios Mykonos, plus Caviar Kaspia, Spago by Wolfgang Puck, The Maine, and Oro by Alfredo Russo as well as many of their own spots, including a very good on-site chocolatier, patisserie, and ice cream parlour. 

The hotel’s very own helicopter nestled on its landing pad, and the welcome champagne, sets the scene as you enter the gates – safe to say this is a playground for people with big bank accounts. Rooms come in three categories starting with the 1-2 bed suites, moving up to 1-3 bed Lagunas that connect to the seawater pool, and then the 2-5 bed villas. We stayed in one of the suites overlooking the pools, right down to the private beach and sea.

You get around via golf buggy, which we were thankful for with the blistering 40-degree heat. If you do want to keep up your fitness levels, the gym is off the charts and the classes included in the room rate are brilliant – we tried both aerial yoga and fusion pilates. There are also many swimming pools to do endless lengths, including an indoor one, and a huge spa with a host of therapy rooms, and of course, a beautiful marble hamman.

Food-wise we enjoyed fresh locally-caught fish at La Pont with some interesting Turkish wines; a beach supper at Casa Sol with our toes in the sand; very good Turkish breads around the pool; the best ice lollies and freshly churned ice cream at the ice cream shop; and sugar-loaded pastry creations and house-made chocolates from the chocolatier. And to burn all of that off, we put on our dancing shoes and headed to Scorpios for sundowners long into the night…. and early morning. Safe to say it’s the hottest spot in Bodrum right now, if not the whole country, and if you’re staying at Maxx Royal you luckily get priority entrance.

There’s no doubting this hotel is a place to see and be seen. Go for the bragging rights, stay for the breakfasts – those Turkish breakfasts sure take some beating! Just take your credit card (and up your limit before you arrive).

Gölköy Mahallesi, 312 Sokak No:3, 48483 Bodrum/Muğla, Türkiye
maxxroyal.com