Review: The Bodrum EDITION Hotel

Selfish leisure travel is why we can't have nice things.

You had me until “DJ on the beach”

Very nice review Ben! Lovely to hear that you had an enjoyable time in Turkey and that our Turkish hospitality made you feel at home 🙂

Looks shockingly empty, even the beach photos.

As a point of order I do not consider this leisure travel as this is what you do for a living. Very comfortable business travel, but business travel nonetheless.

My travel desires are looking at SE Asia and Japan, but this is on my short list. Always wanted to go to the Mediterranean Sea and only ever thought of Greece.

@ Lucky... One question. Is there good street food or is it mainly restaurants?

After traveling to Sorrento, Nice, and Monaco in both summer and immediate shoulder season I do not see much reasons of going there especially if you are located in US. Beaches and cities are just too crowded. But we did enjoy Portopiccolo Sistiana in the end of September - not many people even though the weather was kind of bad - too much of rain. It looks like this year was the perfect time to visit Turkey in summer - not too crowded. Lucky, thank you for the review! Well done.

I’ve wanted to stay here for a while and this looks really excellent. I am also a big fan of the EDITION brand, it has a heavily targeted demographic (design-led millennials / Gen X or similar) and seems to get a lot of criticism because either i) people stayed there that aren’t in the target market or ii) people have only stayed at the two terrible EDITION hotels in NYC that shouldn’t have been EDITIONs in the first place. The Asian ones are great, Shanghai is a contender for me for best hotel in a city rammed with excellent hotels, for example.

Wonderful review! I want to go there soon! I stayed at Edition Barcelona and loved it too.

Looks like a really nice property! I don't think I've seen it in the article or the others, but how long were you there ?

@ Clem -- I stayed twice, so about 10 night. 🙂

Looks really nice. Outside of the larger rooms, did you like Bodrum more than Mykonos?

@ R B -- The Barcelona EDITION is the next one on my list (along with the one in Shanghai, as well as the upcoming Tokyo and Reykjavik locations, when they open and I'm allowed in those countries).

@ Tom -- Well said about the EDITION brand. 🙂

@ EC2 -- Thanks! Good question regarding street food. There were definitely some street food options in the actual town of Bodrum, but otherwise it seemed to mostly be restaurants, best I could tell.

@ ABC -- Hah, unfortunately it wasn't actually as empty as the pictures make it look. I just go out of my way to photograph hotels when there are few people out and about, in order to respect peoples' privacy. So that usually involves taking pictures at the crack of dawn.

@ Luis -- That's a tough question, and frankly it's probably tough to answer because I've only seen Bodrum in coronavirus times, so I'm not 100% sure that this was a fair reflection of how it usually is (though I hope it is). The Aegean in general is my favorite place in the world, so I have a hard time ranking different towns/islands.

In general I preferred the hospitality in Bodrum, as I found people across the board to be friendly and honest. I also loved the hotel options. Beyond that, though, I'd say the vibe is a bit different in Bodrum vs. Mykonos, depending on what you're into.

Excellent review.Nice hotel.But with SO MANY good hotels in Bodrum.Stayed twice in one trip seems a little wast of the opportunity.

Looks awesome. They can’t build these fast enough

@ Lucky...Forgot to ask, but was your flight from Istanbul to Bodrum part of your award ticking? Also, have you stayed in Istanbul ever and reviewed any hotels there? Searched you site, but Istanbul as a search just showed lounge reviews and other posts. Trip to Turkey would likely include Istanbul. Obviously any other reader recommendations are also very much welcomed.

Great review.

Is the hotel/area gay friendly?

Looks lovely... I’d love to go buy two things have to happen for me to even consider:

1. End of Covid
2. Regime change

So, guess I’ll never get to go because 2 ain’t happening anytime soon.

How was the water, good for swimming?

@ James S -- I'm not a huge fan of going in water (it's the shark's house, as far as I'm concerned), but Ford seemed to enjoy it. I will say that the bay near the EDITION can get a bit rough (if you're jet skiing), but the swimming area right by the EDITION seemed to be good.

@ Aaron -- I absolutely felt it was. In general Bodrum is about as liberal as Turkey gets, so at no point did I feel uncomfortable. Bodrum isn't Mykonos, though, depending on what you're looking for...

@ EC2 -- I flew from Munich to Bodrum direct on Lufthansa, so skipped Istanbul altogether on this trip. I reviewed the Park Hyatt Istanbul many years ago, and hope to return to Istanbul soon. We would have gone on this trip, but given coronavirus I figured a resort area where it's easy to spend most time outside would be better than a city.

@ tuotuo -- Don't worry, there are more hotel reviews coming from Bodrum. But yeah, the fact that we returned here should give you a sense of how much we enjoyed it...

We actually booked a stay at this property for early September, based in large part on your high praise. Had considered Istanbul as well, but ultimately decided it was too crowded. We found biz availability on Turkish from JFK via Aeroplan (we'll miss the usual food but don't mind saving our appetites for when we arrive). Excited that Brava is now open. Any other restaurant recommendations?

I’m at the Edition Bodrum right now and while I agree with the majority of the review I would like to point out a few things that I think readers of this blog should be aware of:
1) all the “chakra cocktails” are premixed and poured directly out of a container into a serving glass and then garnished. This was really disappointing especially when paying ~$15 USD each. I don’t think it’s too much to expect bartenders at a high end luxury hotel to be capable of making a fresh handcrafted cocktail.
2) securing a spot at the beach can be really difficult because the hotel allows the general public to pay for access to the lounge chairs as well as the cabanas. Hotel guests should be the priority and when at full capacity in August, the hotel desire to make incremental revenue it put ahead of the hotel guest experience.
3) while the people watching is certainly a highlight of staying at this hotel, be aware that it attract a certain type of demographic, including older Russian men with groups of of very young/barely legal girls.

This is a great review Lucky. I hope you also stayed at Mandarin Oriental in Bodrum. The vibe is different than Editio. Definitely more serene and luxurious. The staff there is also top notch. They were overbooked and upgraded me to an incredible suite with a private pool for one night. It was amazing but even their regular rooms were awesome.

We stayed at this hotel last summer and loved it. The service was top notch and we even went to far as to write the General Manger about 2 employees in particular that really went out of their way. Also, when we were there they served their fabulous breakfast until 4 pm. I guess that has changed.

"In general Bodrum is about as liberal as Turkey gets, so at no point did I feel uncomfortable."

Ok, but...how comfortable is it? Comfortable enough to hold hands? The occasional PDA? Just to give people who would visit an idea of what is acceptable there...

Great review, sorely needed since the situation right now just doesn't make travel enjoyable, so you'll be my surrogate!

Hope people don't give Lucky such a hard time, this is literally business travel for him and he probably took precautions beyond 99.999% of the travelers out there. The only way he could've been more safe (minus Ford's snafu with his mask, which they already apologized for) is probably to wear full hazmat...

What's so special about the people watching ? Loads of hot bikini babes at the beach?

Personally I was quite disappointed by the EDITION Barcelona. Style over substance, moderate service and the only place I used a particular credit card in Spain that got cloned the day after checkout. The tiny rooftop pool and bar is a ridiculous excuse of a facility. But it seems to appeal to the millennial audience!

Very nice review! Thank you,Love Turkish Hospitality.

@Aaron, you can hold hands and no one would blink an eye if you kissed your bf or hugged him. There is a gay bar in downtown Bodrum as well.

Great review. I just finished several nights there while in Turkey, and while I echo all of Jules’s points, I would also say that these resorts treat single travelers a lot differently than couples or families.

I loved the food and accommodation, but the service and attention from the staff (except Ali who was great) seemed a bit lacking for me, a solo traveler.

I know you did a lot of solo flying back in the day and I don’t know if you would have gotten the same experience then as now going as a couple.

We stayed at the Bodrum Edition in October and I agree! It was fabulous in all categories. Especially fab was the breakfast! I LIVED FOR IT day after day after day. Staff superb and the whole experience left us with life long fond memories. Beach music was not loud as I remember (in fact we asked them to turn it down once and they promptly did so). No DJ there either, just wonderful new age etherial music which was truly enjoyable and relaxing. So from me, a solid "10" during our Bodrum Edition Marriott Redemption week. @Lucky, surprised your room did not have a private steam room? Especially with the upgrade you got. Surprised to find the top level rooms do not include one... We had one, it was an added amenity we never expected, but with that said, we did not have an ocean view category room like yours. If I had my choice, I would take your ocean view any day of the week over our luxurious garden view room w/private steam room.

What a treat to wake up to on a Sunday morning! I just returned from a few days in Hamilton Island and the rooms at the Reef View Hotel are not quite (at all) the same! Thanks for a wonderful review Ben, glad both yourself and Ford had an enjoyable visit to Bodrum.

Great review with a ton of detail! Looks like you guys had a good time.
How would you think this stacks up against LXR at Bodrum?

Seems very similar to the Caresse in Bodrum. Absolutely stunning hotel with amazing food and wonderful service.

As a Plat, I was upgraded to a suite for my weeklong stay last summer. The views were absolutely breathtaking and I still think about them.

Guests there were mainly Turkish as well, and one family apparently sent their kids there on a yacht with their nannies (our kids hung out with them every day and that’s what the nanny told us).

We also saw some famous soccer players, and there was a Qatari royal sitting next to us for lunch, lovely gentleman.

Bodrum itself is an absolutely stunning city. We rented taxis and boats and everyone was honest and friendly and generally seemed to love their lives. Who wouldn’t, living there?

I feel like even the low season 300 EUR per night is quite ridiculous for Turkey. I mean, if I want to pay that much for a beach resort holiday, I would rather stay in the EU and go to a 5 star Greek all-inclusive. And for 1000+ EUR per night? Ha. I mean, that is just ridiculous. Especially in a country like Turkey...

Seems like a very nice, though expensive, hotel. I've been to Turkey many time, both for work and pleasure, and always enjoyed it. However, so far I never made it to Bodrum, since I'm not really a beach person, who spends the entire day on the beach. I really love to do a walk on the beach in the morning - so the nice but small hotel beach doesn't do the job, I'm afraid ... After that, I usually want to visit some places. I wonder what Bodrum has on offer?

Thanks for this - we’re there in two weeks time, flying the “luxury” of Club Europe! Having read this report I cannot wait. Any good out of resort restaurant recommendations you can share? And any boat trips out for a day?

The prices are very expensive. Hardly inexpensive. Even more expensive than Mexico. I suspect you could save 50-70% on food and wine expenses if you stayed at a different hotel or in the next resort community.

The dreadful , discordant crap ‘music’ blaring on the beach would turn me off, and especially so at those insanely high prices. There’s a lot to be said for a tinkling piano, or discrete soft guitar: spare us the tuneless, meaningless ,shrieking drivel, DJ or not..

LOL @ "As someone who goes from white to lobster-colored in five minutes flat"... how do you survive in Miami? I can't stay outside for more than 30 min in Orlando!

Btw, excellent review! I am guessing the food prices are in TKL and not in Euro.

@ KK13 -- Super easy, I just don't go outside in Miami. 😉 I live here because it's a cosmopolitan city, has a generally warm climate (I hate cold weather), and I'm close to family, and not because I like going to the beach, or even outside, for that matter.

And yep, prices are in Turkish Lira. 🙂

@ Eddie -- You're right that in absolute terms the prices are high. And you could absolutely save money on food and drinks by staying at a different hotel (and for that matter, we had most of our meals outside the hotel). But I think no matter where you stay/what you do, there's always a cheaper option. When Tiffany and I went to Romania last fall, several people couldn't believe we spent $100 per night for a hotel in Romania, when you could book a hotel for a quarter as much.

Ultimately I'm comparing the prices in Bodrum to other high-end summer destinations, whether we're talking about Mykonos, Porto Cervo, Saint Tropez, whatever. By comparison to those places, Bodrum was quite affordable.

@ Savour Faire -- I should have taken notes about all the restaurants we went to, but I forgot to. From memory, here are a few recommendations:
-- Melengeç Gümüşlük is probably the most "famous" and Instagrammable restaurant in Bodrum, though it's excellent as well, so I highly recommend it (it's a bit pricier than the other restaurants we went to)
-- Kahraman is an excellent fish restaurant just around the corner from the EDITION, with excellent food and views
-- Gonca Balik was also an excellent fish restaurant, and we went there while staying at Amanruya
-- Bistro Marina Neyzar was a great restaurant that had more than just seafood, and we ate here while staying at Caresse

We ate lots lots more places, and if I figure out any of the other names I'll report back. I should also admit that we went to Nusr-Et. They have a location in Miami that I visited once and didn't love, but I couldn't help but try one in Turkey. The Nusr-Et Bodrum is a tiny fraction of the price of one in Miami, but it was awful otherwise. That's the only restaurant we went to that I don't recommend.

@ Andy -- I'm not much of a beach person either, so I don't go on these trips with the intent of sitting on the beach all day. For me it's about having a leisurely breakfast, sitting on the balcony with a great view while working a bit, having some cocktails and drinks at the beach club, maybe sitting on a lounge chair at the beach for a couple of hours, going on a run, going out to dinner, etc.

In addition to the town, Bodrum also has some great hiking. And if you're willing to drive a bit, there are also plenty of ruins and other historical sites.

@ Grey -- Prices at luxury properties are never entirely rational (kind of like the cost of flights), but rather it comes down to supply and demand. The fact that the hotel is charging these prices while running near 100% occupancy suggests that just enough people find it to be worthwhile. And if you know of any Greek five star all inclusives for 300EUR per night, I'd love to hear about it!

@ Tahsin -- I didn't end up visiting the LXR, though was considering it. It's my understanding that it's the former Nikki Beach property. It looks nice as well, but I don't think it's quite to the level of the EDITION or Caresse.

@Savour Faire - We're also going to be there in 2 weeks. Still looking for a good boat trip option, and also considering hiring a driver for a half-day trip to Ephesus, which looks incredible. We also booked ENT for dinner one night, which looks great.

Ben, your commitment to corporate branding by capitalizing every reference to EDITION, even within the comments, is to be commended.

Good review. I wasn’t quite sure if points bookings included breakfast still or not. The website wasn’t clear as well as I think all paid rates mentioned it in the details of the room, but points did not. I skipped Bodrum this time. I was going to finally use my 60k certificates but Stefan convinced me via a WhatsApp group to save those for properties where location matters like in big cities where it’s all about location. I would have gone to the EDITION in a heartbeat if it was still 35k. That was a definite steal. I hope they keep the free breakfast.

Are you planning to review the new Hilton LXR there too? Was considering it too using my free night certs.

Seems you like the Edition. Honestly I don't care for this brand. Most of my experiences there have been not good. The staff are snobby and rude and treat the customer poorly. They also do not offer many benefits that other Marriott properties offer. Basically it's a business decision because people will pay anyway, so they do not need to be as competitive as the others.

@Ben, enticing review of the hotel and the locale generally. Our favorite Med locations so far have been Puglia and coastal Croatia. We are neither gen Y'ers nor looking for a party location. For instance, Mykonos is okay but we much prefer less party centric islands like Paros and Hydra. In Puglia we absolutely love the Borgo Egnazia and really appreciate the locale as most days we rented a car to visit charming close by hilltop and seaside communities. In Croatia we have done the same on Brach and Korcula and on the Istrian peninsula. We also fell in love with the Villa Dubrovnik on that trip. I tell you this to set the context for asking, if you know, how Bodrum compares to these locales.

And, fyi, my husband and I live in Fort Lauderdale and I empathize with your perspective on sunning! I literally burn just sitting in the shade on my deck from the reflective collateral exposure that seems to seep through. But the warm weather cannot be beat and we love the easy access to FLL.

Thanks for this review! It's nice to know that they have a decent amount of vegan options too!!!

seems like a lovely hotel, but when i look to go to a beach destination, the beach is the main priority, and the beach here looks just....fine. so i wouldnt race to come here, id rather go to mykonos!

Yes Please Go there!

We just finished a weeks stay at the Reges in Cesme. If you are looking for a more economical option, I would recommend it.

@Dale We stayed at Reges in Cesme when it First opened last year.Beautiful Place,amazing scenery,Great people,a little windy.otherwise very reasonable.Hundreds of restaurants in nearby Towns.
p.s. Bodrum is not far from Cesme!

@Matt I agree with you about the Mandarin Oriental. It's on a totally different level than The Edition! I hope Lucky checked-it out. I would love to hear his review.

Great insights! Will you be reviewing the Aman?

I'd strongly recommend revising your suggestion to use Marriott gift cards for on-property purchases. I almost did this last week, having taken part in some of the recent sales, but I first asked about the exchange rate, which was about 16% lower than the official rate. This actually seems works out well in terms of rewards earned, since the Lira-denominated bill gets converted to dollars at their rate to determine how many points you earn. But much better to use a US-credit card if you can and process the transaction in Lira.

We just checked in after booking fairly last minute thanks to your review and we got your exact room! Hopefully that’s a good sign.

Your new format doesn't work for me. Along with your pop-up adds at the bottom. I out of here.

Just got back from a 5-night stay award stay.

Quick update on breakfast at the hotel, since this question has come up here and elsewhere. They indicated at check in that breakfast was not included because we were there on an award stay. BUT, they said, because I have platinum status, we could choose between daily free breakfast or 1,000 Bonvoy pt gift. Easy choice, and they ended up giving us the 1,000 Bonvoy pts too.

I am at the Bodrum Edition right now. I can only second your review, especially concerning the staff and the breakfast!
Their drink and food prices have gone up quite substantially since your visit a year ago, but then again the TL has been devalued in parallel.
If you decide to visit Istanbul next time, which we did the last five days, I strongly recommend the Bank hotel Istanbul, a Design Hotel associated with Marriott. It is in a perfect location, has stylish and comfy rooms. And a breakfast that is just a few tiny notches below the Edition‘s.

Seem no more Elite perks like breakfast.

The policy changed and this review is no more accurate unfortunately.

Hey Lucky,

Question - before you posted this review, did you get it approved by the hotel's brand team? Or do you ever do that for any of your reviews?