Marriott has just announced the latest luxury property it has signed. It’s one that I’m looking forward to, though we’ll have to be (really) patient…
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St. Regis brand coming to Bodrum, Turkey
Marriott has signed an agreement with Kuzu Group to bring the St. Regis brand to Bodrum, Turkey. Specifically, the beachfront St. Regis Kazikli Cove is expected to open in 2030. For those not familiar with Bodrum, this is one of the country’s most popular and high-end resort towns, on the Aegean Sea.
The St. Regis is expected to feature 138 guest rooms and suites, multiple dining venues, and a range of facilities, including an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, kids club, spa, and meeting and events spaces. The property will also have 221 residences, ranging in size from one to five bedrooms. So it sounds like it’ll be a pretty huge complex.
Here’s how Jerome Briet, Marriott’s Chief Development Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, describes this:
“The signing of a St. Regis resort and branded residences in Bodrum reflects our commitment to growing our portfolio of brands and the demand we are seeing for luxury experiences in Türkiye. Bodrum, with its azure waters, rich heritage and contemporary allure, continues to attract travelers from around the world seeking refined leisure experiences. We look forward to bringing the timeless elegance of the St. Regis brand to the remarkable area of the Kazikli Cove, offering guests and residents unparalleled service and sophistication.”
This property will be Marriott’s second collaboration with Kuzu Group, as the company also owns the JW Marriott Hotel Istanbul Marmara Sea. The St. Regis marks the 100th planned Marriott property in the country. Currently, Turkey has 60 Marriott properties, with more than 9,000 rooms across 21 brands. As you can tell, that’s quite a pipeline, since the number of properties is expected to increase by around 67% over the next five years.
I’m generally looking forward to this property
I’m a huge fan of Bodrum, and enjoyed my visit several years back. It’s a great alternative to some islands in Greece, and a little less American centric, which is nice in many ways. That being said, a few thoughts…
First, let’s see if this property actually happens, and if it does, if it ends up being branded as a St. Regis. With a best case scenario opening in five years, I imagine construction isn’t even anywhere close to starting. When you consider the general unreliability of these projects so far out, plus the sources of money in Turkey, I’d say it’s probably 50/50 if this actually opens as planned.
Second, as of now details about this project are really limited. There’s a single low quality rendering. I’m a fan of the St. Regis brand and the one rendering looks nice, but that’s not much to go off of. Furthermore, while the hotel doesn’t have such a big room count, the number of residences is massive, so I could see this being a bit of a resort factory, depending on how its laid out.
Last, Bodrum has a large number of high quality hotels, so there’s no shortage of options as things stand. On the points from, the Bodrum EDITION is pretty awesome, and is my favorite EDITION I’ve stayed at (though there are other good points hotels in the region as well). Then there are a variety of five-star non-points hotels, ranging from the Aman, to the Mandarin Oriental. There’s also a BVLGARI planned for Bodrum, expected to open in 2027. So yeah, it’s not like this is some game changing property in a market that doesn’t otherwise have good options.
Bottom line
The St. Regis brand is coming to Bodrum, with a resort and residences expected to open in 2030. Five years is a long time to wait for a new property, and that’s best case scenario. So we’ll see how this plays out, but this is a project that I’ll keep on my radar, and would definitely be interested in visiting.
What do you make of plans for the St. Regis Bodrum?
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