Bodrum, Turkey, is an increasingly popular luxury travel destination, earning comparisons to European hotspots St. Tropez on the French Riviera and Mykonos in Greece.
The city is located on the Bodrum Peninsula on Turkey's southwest coast, on the shores of the Aegean Sea.
Bloomberg named Bodrum one of the best places to travel in 2019. "With slick infinity edge pools facing the Aegean, celebrity-approved beach clubs, spas with steamy hammams, and sunbathing nooks shrouded by olive groves, the see-and-be-seen destination is a revitalized alternative to St-Tropez and Mykonos," the publication wrote of Bodrum.
Indeed, the port city is dubbed the "St. Tropez of Turkey" for its luxury hotels, beach clubs, food scene, and abundance of superyachts.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdJenny Southan, founder of Globetrender, described it as an emerging "hotspot for celebrities, models, upper-class bohemians and the monied elite."
In addition to its nightlife and luxurious boutique hotels, Bodrum is known for its early 15th-century castle ...
... its charming, white-plastered back streets ...
... its marina filled with sailboats and yachts ...
... and its markets, where vendors sell fresh and dried fruits, herbs, vegetables, local cheeses, olives, olive oil, and more.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdBodrum is a favorite spot for billionaires to hang out on their yachts. Kazakh billionaire Alijan Ibragimov has been spotted there on his yacht, I Dynasty ...
... as has Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich on his vessel, Eclipse.
One of Bodrum's most luxurious hotels is the Mandarin Oriental.
All the suites and villas at the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum have private pools ...
... and the massive spa includes indoor and outdoor pools, hammams with private scrub rooms, saunas and steam rooms ...
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip Ad... and outdoor spa cabanas where you can get a massage with a view of the Aegean Sea.
The hotel overlooks two private sandy beaches.
A stay in the resort starts at about $568 per night for two people in a sea view room; suites start at about $1,000.
The hotel also includes several villas, which range in price from about $1,400 to nearly $23,000 per night.
"There are newer, flashier, trendier resorts in Turkey and all over the Med, but the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum seems poised to become one of the classics," Ann Abel wrote in Forbes in 2018.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdMandarin Oriental may be the classic, but the past few years have seen openings of several trendy new luxury hotels, including Lux Bodrum, Nikki Beach, and Bodrum Edition, a boutique hotel from Studio 54 cofounder Ian Schrager.
LUX Bodrum sits among landscaped gardens and offers 91 rooms and suites, 19 residences, and a one-of-a-kind villa.
A night's stay ranges from as low as about $260 per night for two people for a Sea Front Room, all the way up to more than $4,200 for the Presidential Villa, which comes with a private garden and swimming pool.
In June 2018, another of-the-moment luxury hotel brand, Edition, opened a location in Bodrum.
Bodrum Edition is only open in the summer months and rooms start at $761 per night.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThe pool at Bodrum Edition overlooks the Aegean Sea.
But the hotel that Condé Nast Traveller called the "the hottest spot in Turkey right now" is the latest location of Six Senses, a brand known for its elegant wellness retreats.
Bodrum's Six Senses Kaplankaya includes 141 guestrooms and suites as well as 150 residential villas. It reopens in April 2019 with rates starting at $410 per night.
It's not difficult to see why Bodrum just might topple the likes of Mykonos and St. Tropez as a go-to luxury destination.