A first look at Bulgari Resort & Mansions Bodrum

Standing with your back to the land on the peninsula of Cennet Koyu, looking out over the Mediterranean, it’s not hard to see why the stretch of the Turkish coast around Bodrum has captured hearts and minds of pleasure seekers for millennia. All the clichés are justified – it is magnificent. The views out to sea on three sides of the Cennet Koyu peninsula were the principal attraction for Bulgari in selecting this site to become the 13th location in their Hotels and Resorts collection. Turning away from the sea momentarily, the peninsula is undergoing a remarkable transformation with Turkish developers AHEN and Milanese ACPV (Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel) Architects. Bulgari Resort & Mansions Bodrum is due to open its myriad doors in 2027.

In July we were treated to the unveiling of the very first completed mansion, in the presence of Silvio Ursini, Executive Vice President for Bulgari Hotel and Resorts, and Patricia Viel of ACPV. The first mansion will be joined by a further 100 residential units in four types, ranging from 850 to 2800 square metres, and three to six-bedrooms, all with private pools, gardens and Mediterranean views. Elsewhere on the peninsula, the Bulgari resort will have 43 rooms and 40 standalone villas. Mansion dwellers will have access to all resort amenities, which will include two beach clubs, several signature dining experiences, wellness and fitness, and an open-air sea-facing 300-seating amphitheatre.

Alongside the interior of the completed mansion, we were introduced to a model of the peninsula (complete with moving speedboats) to be guided through the impressive master-planning of a built intervention at such scale. Care is the operative word here. It’s a jigsaw of clever terracing, with the elevating of gardens and lowering of entrance levels layering of properties, subterranean parking and plant, combined with hefty green roofing and meticulous, locally appropriate landscaping. The result, we are assured, is that residents will feel private, safe and secure in their own paradise. This symbiotic responsibility, to the local environment and its incoming audience, is one that Bulgari takes seriously.

While the 40-degree July heat throbbed outside, the cool interior of the mansion was most welcome. Residents arrive at the rear of each mansion and enter at first floor level, to be greeted by a curtain glass wall of sparkling sea. The soaring double height living area is descended into via a dramatic bronze staircase. Bedrooms and ancillary spaces are sensibly laid out off the main living area to maximise privacy and ease of coming together for big families with various friends and/or staff in residence together.

If it all sounds grand and aloof in description, take it from us, the feeling could not be more comfortable. This is in large part thanks to the masterful use of materials and finished that Viel and her team have deployed. Local brushed travertine, oiled teak, honed marble – each material is used in abundance and finished exquisitely with tactile diligence, rather than shiny brashness. The overall effect makes for an environment that feels comfortable, soft, sensory, embracing – not coldly luxurious in a grandiose, Trumpian way. The level of luxury is implicit and felt by all the senses.

‘We’re not interested in making people feel expensive,’ Viel says, with the unquestioning authority of someone who understands taste, rather than photographs it. ‘We want people to feel comfortable. Our material palette has a grounding quality. That said, my favourite area is in the bathroom of the master suite. There is a small outdoor terrace, where you can lie on a sunbed next to the plants. You are on the first floor, above your garden and the pool, and you look up only at the sky. The feeling is like suspended reality.’

Viel and her team at ACPV has worked with Bulgari for 25 years on the entire portfolio of hotels and resorts, defining how the 150-year old Roman jewellery brand domes to life in the realm of residential and luxury hospitality. ‘It’s no exaggeration when we look back over the last 25 years,’ Viel says, ‘to say that we’ve shifted the dial of what luxury looks and feels like in this sector. When we first worked together, hotels were design hotels. Philippe Starck and Ian Schrager were at the height of their powers. We explored a more informal luxury that could cross different types of architecture, different generations and cultures. We prioritised privacy with social energy, still, and super high quality fundamental aspects like food, acoustics, technology. We wanted to make sure simple things were exquisite. And the possibility of opening windows.’ A breath of fresh air, in every sense.

Down by the wet tickle of the Mediterranean’s edge, Ursini describes the blessing of being able to explore the residential and hospitality sectors through the lens of a brand such as Bulgari: ‘We spotted 25 years ago the desire for people to expand their understanding of luxury brand allegiance beyond products and into experiences,’ he says. ‘We have a strong design legacy and an intimate understanding of our audience: their needs, whims, desires. We are fortunate that the Italian nature of the Bulgari brand materialises into design, service, food, wine and atmosphere beautifully. For us the challenge is to always strive for integrity and authenticity.’

What does that look like in relation to the extraordinary project unfolding on Cennet Koyu behind us? ‘It’s an approach, a mindset and a sensibility,’ Ursini explains with a disarming intensity that suggests his care runs very deep indeed. ‘Every project we do is an enrichment of some sorts: we work closely with the community and culture so here we have beautiful materials, textiles, craftsmanship skills, food. It’s important to us that our projects have local roots. This is authentic. With globalisation has come too much cultural misrepresentation. We want to avoid Italian-ness that feels transplanted, like an ultra-curated version of reality. As a warning, I use the example of the American tourist who visited Venice for the first time and said he preferred the Venice in Las Vegas. We do reality, beautifully. That’s enough.’