Bodrum is Turkey’s St Tropez with infinity pools and amazing food

IBIZA, Mykonos, Marbella, St Tropez . . . 

All locations of influencer desires, with their picturesque backdrops, fashionable seashore golf equipment and overpriced bottles of Whispering Angel.

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And, clearly, as a showbiz editor, all my common haunts.

However with value of dwelling going by means of the roof, and my financial institution steadiness by means of the ground, it was time to department out.

Brilliantly, it seems, there’s a brand new “cool” vacation vacation spot on the town — properly, port: Bodrum.

Referred to as each the St Tropez of Turkey and the Turkish Riviera — relying in your earlier posh level of reference — this wonderful spot on the Aegean is prospering. And deservedly so.

It’s additionally round half the worth of its aforementioned Mediterranean rivals, however with wonderful, unspoiled seashores, and climate to rival any of them.

And, oh, the meals! However extra of that later.

As somebody with a pathological concern of high-rise accommodations, I booked into the newly opened METT Resort, which is located on one among Bodrum’s most pristine stretches of seashore, Haremtan Cove.

The minimalist boutique resort options 68 fantastically designed visitor rooms and 35 villas, full with personal pool or backyard.

Upon checking in, I used to be requested for my cellphone quantity.

Seems I hadn’t pulled, quite the completely faultless Visitor Expertise Workforce makes use of numbers for Whats-App updates to area any questions and usually be on name 24/7.

It was a service I’d by no means, ever skilled earlier than and makes each single visitor really feel they’re getting a uniquely VIP service.

Dancing on tables

Clearly that is the way forward for accommodations, and saves dialling 0 on the in-room phone.

Our seafront room boasted a sizeable balcony, which was good for watching the dawn with a cup of espresso, courtesy of the in-room espresso machines.

Whereas there was no tub — however then who bathes in 30-degree warmth? — the bathe was a blissful jungle one, and the mattress got here with a “pillow menu” which, for a semi- insomniac, gave me no excuse to not sleep.

(Nicely, that and the industrial-strength melatonin and nightly bottle of Turkish wine).

Whereas I settle for not everyone needs to train on vacation, for me, it’s non- negotiable.

Fortunately, there was a state-of-the-art health club overlooking each the out of doors infinity pool and ocean — plus the METT’s in-house bodybuilder private coach, who strutted round wanting like The Rock.

After a fast infrared sauna (no concept, both) and a steam room, we had a {couples}’ therapeutic massage within the resident spa.

This will likely sound romantic, however in actuality noticed us being respectively pummelled by two totally different therapists, concurrently. It was bliss. In a form of masochistic approach.

A crack-of-dawn departure noticed us mendacity on the seashore by 2.45pm, simply in time for a leisurely, wine-filled late lunch.

It seems Turkish wine is scrumptious. We discovered a fairly priced £13 bottle of home-grown Sauvignon Blanc which was refreshingly dry, and slid down somewhat too properly.

Conveniently, the METT has one of the unique seashore golf equipment and eating places in the whole province, Folie, which seems like a cross between the Aztec Zone from the Crystal Maze and an uber-trendy Ibizan al fresco restaurant.

Providing a variety of Mediterranean-fusion meals, freshly caught fish specials and a resident DJ that spins suburb remixes, it’s just about unbeatable. Saturdays are the day to go to, with a cabaret efficiency full with acrobats, singers and a dance troupe.

By 5pm, the place was rocking. Visitors have been dancing on tables, and nonetheless the enormously affected person serving workers have been smiling. It was sensible.

The restaurant is a child-free zone, so probably not the place for toddler-heavy households.

The METT’s different restaurant is an Italian known as Isola Manzara and overlooks the entire of Bodrum, together with its Fifteenth-century fortress.

All of the pasta is made by the cooks, and the cocktail bar wouldn’t look misplaced in buzzing London or New York, solely with a backdrop significantly prettier than Tottenham Court docket Highway.

Water sports activities are on supply, too, and we had some gratifying and infantile afternoons out on inflatable “doughnuts”, being towed alongside by a speedboat. My neck nonetheless aches.

Whereas we might fortunately have stayed on the resort all week lengthy, we determined to take a look at one other seashore bar on the Bodrum peninsular.

The Buddha-Bar Seashore, a 15- minute drive from METT, was equally unique and supplied a variety of cocktails, champagnes and wines.

After a few pretty watery frozen margaritas, we wandered over to the Barbarossa restaurant.

For the subsequent 5 hours, I had the most effective meals of my life. And I’ve eaten a number of meals. Run by the charismatic Lambros, this Greek restaurant deserves its personal evaluate.

The meals, seemingly unending, included an beautiful prawn saganaki — large prawns wallowing in olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, feta cheese and chilli — adopted by a lobster spaghetti and a Greek model of Eton Mess.

It was washed down with extra native wine, and a bit extra native wine.

When you go to Bodrum, be sure to test it out. One other must-have, in the event you like a discount, is a wander around the city itself, which sells a variety of, properly, fakes.

Title your designer, and you should purchase it — just for a fifth of the worth.

I got here away with a “Louis Vuitton” wheelie suitcase (£148 versus £2,140) which, in the event you don’t examine the zips too carefully and squint barely, seems like the actual deal. And a “Hermes” bracelet (£24) was equally convincing, though I drew the road at some faux Birkenstocks.

It’s additionally enjoyable, in an adrenaline- fuelled approach, to haggle with the shopkeepers all swearing blind their merchandise are “real leather-based”.

See, you wouldn’t get that in St Tropez . . .

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