Arriving in Bodrum early morning, a driver from Casa Dell’Arte had been sent to meet us at the airport, and bring us back to the hotel. We were really excited to spend this impromptu day in Bodrum, and experience as much as we could in 12 hours!  I could already tell while we were driving along the peninsula’s coastline for the short 25-minute journey, with sailboats, speedboats and jetski’s zipping by, that this was going to add a great element to our Turkish experience. This is exactly the kind of summer playground atmosphere that we usually seek out as a family.

On arrival, the gorgeous, glittering waters of Torba Bay, trendy high design of the Casa Dell’Arte and artful touch of a beautiful red rose icon-brand are such a great welcome. The mustangs and sports cars outside add to the aura of glamour. The hotel manager, Barak Cankat couldn’t have been more gracious.  The whole feel of the 12-suite property is more like a stunning, large family home than a hotel - which is my favorite kind of space to stay in. The architecture is clean, modernist and cube shaped with a lot of old Turkish influences worked into the modern design.

Sheira loved the playfulness of the architectural detailing, where clean white rendered walls are made richer with extra layers like the beautiful local, grey-brown ‘highlight stone’ from central Anatolia: halfway up a wall the material will just change. Old-world dome chandeliers hang over an internal courtyard that floods the interior with light, and there is a stunningly slick glass staircase to the floor above.

This is not an anonymous, public space; you can tell that Casa Dell’Arte is owned by someone with vision who believes in interesting design choices. But the thing that really makes the hotel an attraction in itself is the owners’ passion for showcasing modern Turkish art. The premise of this CONCEPT ART HOTEL is to continue the owners’ family history as collectors and patrons of the arts.

The Casa Dell’Arte is billed as a “hotel of arts and leisure:” the massive white walls are filled with drama, colour and expression. From the confronting stare of a portrait to a blurry landscape of figures walking by boats in the rain, each corner comes alive with the exotically named, Buyukkusoglu family’s amazing permanent collection - much of it for sale.

On mantels, fireplaces and easels the high energy and bright colours of the modern abstracts mix freely with the 19th century landscapes and fabergé enamel objects - all lit with beautiful accent lighting, giving each part of the hotel its own personality. The massive, double height living room and elongated, over-sized couches with huge slabs of raw stone as a glass table base create a super minimalist effect. It is simply amazing. In the TV room guests can play on beautiful, old fashioned Turkish chess boards, surrounded by cabinets full of old, quirky jewelry. The look is a Mediterranean modernist party house, with history.

Sheira wanted to live here… but one thing is for sure: even just relaxing here is another kind of art form! 

SUITE DREAMS
THE RESIDENCES Whether it’s a space age bed right out of 2001 Space Odyssey, a sculptural spiral of lights in a bathroom or the swoop of a female nude in a bedroom, each of the uniquely decorated 12 suites, or ‘residences’ has amazing objects that create their own artistic atmosphere. We also like to fill our home with art and became familiar with names that are totally new to us: stars of the Turkish art world like deco-era artists of the “New Group’ school, Nuri Iyem and Fikret Moualla. 


The suites  have slick designer lounges, plasma TVs and very cool coffee table books; the bedside lamps are practically sculptures themselves. The décor conjures up the atmosphere of a fabulous, urban art dealer’s apartment - on the coastline of the Adriatic peninsula. Each suite is named after an astrological sign. Taurus and Leo are the tower suites with sea views. We were given ‘Capricorn’ for the day - a dome suite with whitewashed pale timber, a cow rug on the floor, amazing furniture and inspiring, mood altering paintings. Sheira commented on the quirky tissue boxes in gold and silver cardboard with dice patterns printed on them...fresh and innovative. We would have loved to stay on…

PRICES:

THE RESIDENCES: 2 SEAVIEW ROOMS at 800 Euros per room. 2 DUPLEX SUITES at 600 Euros per suite. 2 DOME SUITES at 575 Euros per suite. 

THE VILLAGE This 37-Suite hotel next door had just opened this summer for guests who want to take their art experience to the next level and interact. 
PRICES: ROOMS overlooking the garden 250 Euros DELUXE SUITES are 350 Euros. 

YOUNG RESIDENT ARTISTS are going to teach art workshops all the way from children’s classes to painting, drawing and sculpture tuition. It will be their artwork hanging on the walls for guests to see… This is a brilliant new direction for a hotel and I have never heard of anything like it in any hotel. So if your four-year old is a budding Matisse (they all are at that age!) or you yourself fancy busting out to express yourself, not just have a flop and drop getaway or passively enjoy art at a distance, then the Casa Dell’Arte has created an art haven with its own sapphire-blue pool on the sea.