Sunny Weekend in Bodrum with Torbahan Hotel

Bodrum, Bodrum...

Yaz aylarinin vazgecilmezi, güzel Ege'mizin bize sundugu o cennet... güzel Bodrum! Bu yazimda sizlere kisa Bodrum tatilimden bahsedecegim ve yazin gittigim muazzam manzarali bir yere iliskin kücüüük bir tüyo verecegim. 

Have you ever been to Bodrum? I have been there a few times and think that it's one of the most beautiful places at the Aegean coast. In this post I want to talk about the weekend I've spent there last time and give you some tips. 

Bodrum'un aslinda ne kadar hareketli bir tatil yeri oldugunu hepimiz biliyoruz, ancak o kalabaligi bu sefer hic cekemeyecektim - daha sakin bir ortamda Bodrum mimarisinin verdigi huzurla, gösteristen uzak, sakin bir tatil yapmak istedigim icin tercihim Torba Koyu'ndan yana oldu ve burada bulunan Torbahan Otel'de kalmaya karar verdim. Iyi ki!

In summer season, Bodrum is really dynamic, loud and full of energy. Of course sometimes it can be pretty cool, but this time I just wanted to relax a little bit and enjoy the calmness in a beautiful place. So I chose the Torbahan Hotel which is located in a small and calm village of Bodrum called Torba. And I must say that it was the best choice!

Otele cok sevdigim canim arkadasim, sevgili Demet'le gittik. Bence herkesin kendisi gibi deli arkadaslari olmali, "hadi gidiyoruz" dediginde "nereye" degil de, "tamam hazirlaniyorum" diyen. Ben bu konuda gercekten cok sansliyim, cevrem en az benim kadar deli insanlarla dolu ve her biriyle inanilmaz egleniyor, dünyayi geziyor, güzel anilar biriktirebiliyoruz. Bu arada, insanlar birbirlerini en iyi yolculukta tanir, kim ne derse desin. Kural 19263: Eger birini gercekten tanimak istiyorsan, onunla yolculuk yap. 

I was so happy about spending some relaxing days with my best friend Demet. I think it is the most amazing thing on earth to have friends who are as crazy as yourself. Anytime I am like "let's go", they even don't ask where to go - the first answer is always "okay, I'm in". So lucky that I have always someone to travel the world with! And by the way, I have experienced that you get to know each other much better whilst travelling because travels reveal the 'real' personality. So, rule number 19263: If you want to get to know a person closer, go on a journey with her/him. 

Torbahan Otel'e ulastigimizda otel personeli bizi cok samimi bir sekilde karsiladi ve valizlerimiz hemen alindi. Check-in esnasinda otelin sirinligi hemen dikkatimi cekti, kücük detaylara önem verilmis ve sicacik bir ortam yaratilmis. Giris islemlerini tamamladiktan sonra, odamiz gösterilmek üzere üst kata agirlandik.

When we arrived at the Torbahan Hotel, we were welcomed very warmly. The cute entrance made us feel comfortable right away and after the check-in, the staff took our luggage and guided us to our room upstairs.

Odamiz kücük ve sirindi. Bu tatilde odanin genisligi cok da önemli degildi bizim icin, zira odaya sadece uyumak icin giriyorduk. Genellikle otelin havuzunda veya iskelesindeydik. Bu yüzden bizim icin asil önemli olan seyler odanin temizligi ve banyosuydu. Her ikisi de gayet temizdi, biz hicbir kusur bulamadik. Penceremizdeki manzara da harikaydi, Bodrum'un büyüleyici mimarisi ve yesiliyle cok huzur veriyordu. Odadan gayet memnun kaldik.

We had a small, cute room. It wasn't that spacious but there was definitely enough space for two. But it wasn't so important for us because we went to our room just for sleeping. Most of our time we spent by the pool and by the beach. The room was absolutely clean and we felt comfortable during our stay. I really liked the view of our room: Bodrum's typical cute white houses, pink bougainvillea and palms!

Odaya yerlestikten sonra, otel tesisini biraz kesfetmeye ciktik... Ve hayir burasi Santorini veya Mykonos degil, burasi Torbahan! Tipik Bodrum mimarisiyle kücük detaylar harmanlaninca öylesine güzel bir manzara cikmis ki ortaya! Yani burayi görünce söyledigim ilk seyi tahmin edebiliyorsunuzdur: BURASI TAM INSTAGRAMLIK! Öylesine güzel dekore edilmis ki, biz hayran kaldik dogrusu. 

No, this isn't Santorini or Mykonos, this is Torbahan! I was obsessed with the cute decoration of the hotel and while exploring the hotel complex, the first thing I thought on was: THIS PLACE IS SO INSTAGRAMMABLE! They definitely paid great attention to details which made us feel well and gave us a home-feeling. 

Otel tesisi acayip fotojenik, her kösesine tirmanip fotograf cekilme dürtüsüne hic karsi koyamadim. Otel personeli o kadar tatliydi ki - beni ne zaman fotograf cekmek veya cekilmek icin bir yerlere tirmanirken görseler endiseli bir sekilde gülümsüyorlardi, sanirim düsecegimden korkuyorlardi - ben aliskinim, sakin olun ve fotograflari bekleyin. 

The entire hotel complex was so photogenic that I couldn't resist climbing everywhere to shoot some cool pictures. The hotel staff was just too cute - every time they saw me climbing anywhere to take photos they were concerned about me and probably thought that I would fall down and injure myself - but hey, I am a travel blogger who is used to it, so just keep calm and wait for the pictures. 

Ancak bizim asil highlight'imiz havuzdaki manzara oldu. Burasi adeta bir cennet! Görüntüsü öyle dinlendiriyor ki, biz burada vakit gecirmekten inanilmaz keyif aldik. Hatta neredeyse bütün zamanimizi burada gecirdik ve günesin tadini cikardik, havuzda ferahladik. Anlayacaginiz, burada zaman dursun istedik, durmadi tabii ancak biz en iyi sekilde tadini cikardik ve hafizamiza kazidik.

My personal highlight was the view from the pool. It looks like heaven! Most of our time we spent here enjoying that mesmerizing view and feeling the sun on our skin. It was absolutely relaxing and felt so soo good! The pool was also very refreshing!

Otelin bir de kendine ait iskelesi var, buradan kendinizi Torba'nin buz gibi denizine birakabilir ve günesin tadini cikarabilirsiniz. Bu yaziyi yazarken o anlari tekrar yasiyor gibiyim, keske orada olsam!

The hotel features also a small pier, here you can jump into the sea and enjoy the salty cold water or just relax on the sun loungers. Can we just turn back time please? This is where I would rather be right now!

Bütün gün havuzda, denizde eglendikten sonra aksam yemegimizi yedik ve Torba sahilinde biraz yürüyüse ciktik. Burasi cok sirin bir Koy, kücük dükkanlar ve restoranlar var, fazla kalabalik degil, ama inanilmaz huzurlu. Ayrica Bodrum'un merkezine gitmek isterseniz dolmuslari kullanabilirsiniz mesela, 15-20 dakika sürüyor sadece. Biraz dolastiktan sonra gece iskeleye oturup ayaklarimizi suda sallayarak uzun sohbetler ettik. Günlük seylerden mi konusmadik, hayatin anlamini bulmak icin felsefe mi yapmadik... Bodrum'un isiklarinda, serin suyunda ve ilik rüzgarinda gecen harika bir gecenin sonrasinda, sabah uyandigimizda inanilmaz acikmistik ve hemen hazirlanip asagiya otelin restoran alanina indik.

In the evening, we went out to explore the village a little. In proximity to the hotel, there are some small shops, cafes and restaurants. Also you can go to Bodrum center, it only takes 15-20 minutes by a collective taxi for example to get there. After we strolled around and had some ice-cream, we sat at the pier in front of the hotel by night and dangled our feet in the cold water and had great conversations. This place is heaven!

Kahvaltiya indigimizde nefis kokular burnumuza geliyordu. Kim ne derse desin, tipik bir Türk kahvaltisini hicbir seye degismem, bu yüzden beni yurt disindaki otellerin kahvaltilari tam anlamiyla tatmin edemiyor. Torbahan Otel'in kahvalti büfesi oldukca zengindi ve her seyin cesitleri mevcuttu. Peynirler, receller, zeytinler, taze sebzeler ve meyveler, sicacik pogacalar, ev yapimi limonata ve tabii mis gibi demlenmis cay! Her sey nefisti! Kendimi anneannemin evinde gibi hissettim, cünkü en cok onun kahvaltisi bana böyle taze ve sicacik geliyor.  

When we woke up in the morning, we were already hungry. So we jumped out of the bed and got ready for breakfast. If you ever had a traditional Turkish breakfast, you'll know that it is absolutely rich and fresh. And so was the breakfast buffet at Torbahan Hotel. The buffet offered everything you can imagine from delicate pastries to fresh bread, from olives, fresh vegetables and fruits to various cheeses and jams. I really enjoyed the homemade lemonade and the traditional black tea in the morning! It was like I was in my grandma's kitchen, 'cause I love the traditional Turkish breakfast she prepares most! 

Böylesine nefis bir kahvaltiyla muazzam bir manzara esliginde güne baslamak inanilmazdi. Sirf bunun icin bile Torbahan Otel'i tavsiye edebilirim. Burada gecirdigimiz 3 gün ne kadar cabuk gecti hic anlamadik. O kadar huzurlu ve dinlendiriciydi ki, bize gercekten bu birkac gün iyi geldi. Bodrum'u hic bu tarafindan tanimamistim dogrusu; sakin, gösteristen uzak, simsicak bir atmosfer. Tabii ki bunda Torbahan Otel'in de katkisi büyük. Otel cok kalabalik degildi, böylece kendimiz icin yeterince genis bir alan vardi. Burada dinlenebildik ve cok güzel vakit gecirdik.

Having breakfast by the pool and with a view like this made us start the day right. Even this would be a reason to recommend the hotel. We were really surprised when we noticed that time flew so fast and would rather had stayed longer. Our weekend at Torbahan Hotel was just dreamy and we had so much fun and time to relax. Like I mentioned above, I had been in Bodrum a few times before but never experienced this district so calm and peaceful, because Bodrum center is a place which is dynamic, loud and filled with tourists. In contrast, the small village Torba is an absolutely calm and relaxing place. The hotel also was not overrun, so we had enough space for ourselves. Summing up, I can say that we had the most relaxing vacation ever and felt comfortable during our whole stay.

Burada keyifli vakit gecirebilmemizi saglayan ve ilgisini eksik etmeyen otel personeline cok tesekkürler. Ayrica sevgili Sirel Hanim, sevgili Melissa ve Yasemin'e de misafirperverliklerinden dolayi cok tesekkür etmek istiyorum. O kadar sicak ve samimiler ki, insan kendini burada kesinlikle yabanci hissetmiyor. Bizde bu otel, 'evimdeyim' hissini yaratti ve cok memnun kaldik. Buraya ilk gelisimdi, ancak kesinlikle son olarak kalmayacak. 

Torbahan Otel'i kendi websitesinden detayli inceleyebilir, rezervasyonunuzu yapabilirsiniz:

www.torbahan.com

Many thanks to the whole hotel staff who made our stay unforgettable. Also many thanks to Mrs. Morhayim and the lovely Melissa and Yasemin for their warm hospitality. They always were so friendly and attentive so that we felt comfortable from the first minute and it was like home away from home for us. It was our first time here, but certainly not the last one! 

For more details, you can visit Torbahan Hotel's website and make your reservations:

www.torbahan.com

Eylem

In cooperation with Torbahan Hotel.