hips don't lie: A delight! From jaded to jaunty in a dreamy Turkish five-star resort

By

Alison Cork

PUBLISHED:

13:11 EST, 5 April 2013

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UPDATED:

13:11 EST, 5 April 2013

The best holidays often start badly.

At 1am, after a late flight, with humidity hitting us like a sledge hammer and a no show from our pre-arranged taxi, I wasn’t at my most generous. In fact I was about to let rip with my particular brand of Anglo/German indignation, but realised that there was no point unless I could do it in Turkish.

Some 80 miles later along variable roads, through dense forests and in a bone shaking vehicle that resembled a vintage Hovis van, things hardly improved. Only when we spotted some sparkly lights of what transpired to be the driveway of our hotel, did I feel less sulky.

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Sailing by: Hisaronu Bay is a quiet escape on the south-west coast of Turkey

We awoke to see the hotel we should have seen the previous evening. Set in a natural crescent-shaped bay and surrounded by thick pine forests in Hisaronu on the south western coast of Turkey, Marti Hemithea is a spanking five-star boutique and spa hideaway.

Just 32 rooms, one pool, one restaurant (not even strictly part of the hotel), this is unpretentious luxury built out of the cliff face and opposite a marina. It is not for children.

For a change, I am here only with my husband. Given that we only had five days, I decided to make the time last longer by doing absolutely nothing – my default position on holiday normally being to issue a daily activities timetable to my two children. I allowed breakfast to merge into late morning.

The ever decreasing bit between breakfast and our waterside lunch was spent either by the pool or in the sea. We swam, ate, and at one point succumbed to a cleansing trip to the spa’s impressive Hammam. But that really was about it.

I found myself settling very comfortably into the non routine of our quiet days. It was so hot that anything other than a slow saunter, or a seal like slide into the pool was almost out of the question, which made me feel a little less guilty about my complete and utter sloth.

On one of the days somewhere in the middle of our trip, we decided to take a skippered boat out for a few hours to explore the coastline.

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Noisy neighbour: Alison could have headed into Marmaris for a host of adrenaline-fuelled activities and shopping opportunities

We stopped at a waterside restaurant where apparently Prince Charles had visited some 20 years ago. We watched a languid turtle playing around the prow of the boat and Captain Ibrahim entertained us with tales of game hunting in the forests – partridge, mouflon and wild boar – and after a particularly good lunch my husband declared that he knew I must be relaxed because I was finding his jokes funny again.

From jaded to jaunty in three days. That’s a great result. We should really have made the 25 minute trip to the neighbouring town of Marmaris and enjoyed the full panoply of quad biking, waterspouts and nightlife, but the temptation to stay put and enjoy the beguiling charms of Marti Hemithea was too great.

The location helps. The unassuming natural grandeur of the countryside reminded me of Greece 30 years ago, and more recently, of Corsica.

Marti Hemithea is about nature – clear, warm and calm water, aromatic pine forests, mountains and alpine like architecture, the thick scent of the pregnant fig tree outside our room, fiery sunsets and fresh food.

In that environment you forgive any small hiccups.

When I went to have a wash and blow dry in the hairdressers, I realised that I might just be their first English speaking customer. “Please lift my hair from the roots”, I asked.

Clearly related to the Turkish Olympic wrestling team, the stylist proceeded to lift my whole body from the roots. Not the best blow dry I’ve ever had, but certainly one of the more endearing.