Antique Theatre Hotel

Frommer's Turkey, 1st Edition, Paperback (August 2000)

By Lynn A. Levine

Cover of Frommer's Turkey This enchanting sanctuary is a sophisticated yet unpretentious refuge from the stresses of daily life. The hillside location allows for truly stunning views of the castle from every room, a view even more breathtaking from the inside of the hotel pool. All rooms connect to either a shared or private garden lined with trellises overgrown with bougainvillea, and you can't get much closer to nature than this with the sun streaming through the curtains of your French doors to greet you to a new day.

The owners have taken absolute care in every detail, from the landscaping, to the handmade linen bedspreads, whose creator, overwhelmed by the number ordered by the Antique Theatre, refused to sew any more when one or two regrettably wound up on a recent guest's plane out of Bodrum.

Bathrooms are suspiciously like the facilities you'd expect on a yacht, except that the ingenious marble shower basin, designed by the architect, leaves not a drop of water on the floor. Separated by the bedroom by two louvered doors, the bathroom setup is quite intimate and extremely cozy, but alas, perhaps a bit tight for people of larger size. .

Antique Theatre Restaurant

French & Mediterranean

Hosts Selmin and Zafer Basak live in Paris, where they acquired a passion for fine food and good living, but rather than withhold their hard-won know-how, they've dedicated themselves to perfecting the dining experience at their Bodrum hotel and restaurant. Having already received accolades and a glowing review in the New York Times, the Antique Theatre's restaurant was recognized in 1999 by the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the 752-year-old bastion of gastronomy.

Dinner is served poolside by candlelight or in the cozy dining room; poolside is best when the tables have been purposely arranged to take full advantage of the sparkling views of the city and of the castle. The aubergine boat filled with seafood and a Halicarnassus sauce simply whets the appetite and just when, you think you've had enough sea bass, it arrives in a sumptuous fennel and champagne sauce that leaves you begging for more.