Have you ever visited a good friend of you, who lives in this beautiful house, not too big and yet not too small. Where you once you enter feel your shoulders are lowered. Where the home is a true home, with all its furniture, decorations and surroundings that are uniquely picked out . Where everything is spotlessly clean yet the surroundings and atmosphere never sterile. And not least, the friend that always takes good care of you, spoils you, serves you great food, and most of all makes you feel happy and relaxed. The friend that treats you like you are in a 6 star hotel, but still in the surroundings and atmosphere of a truly loved home.
Well, this is what you can experience in Sedirli Ev.
My boyfriend and I, both in our early thirties, just recently got back from a three-week holiday in Alacati. Alacati is a beautiful small village near Cecme, on the north-west coast of Turkey. As we are windsurfers, we discovered Alacati three years ago and decided to give it a shot. And although we had almost no wind during our first stay, we enjoyed the place so much, that we decided to return this summer – hoping for more wind this time.
Three years ago, Alacati felt like a very undiscovered place, and we wondered why, as we were positively surprised by its charm, lovely old stone-buidings, cozy restaurants, and trendy atmosphere. We never expected to find this at a place that is mostly known for its windsurfing (and hardly known at all).
Anyway, during these three years, the tourism has grown rapidly in Alacati. More hotels have been established. More houses have been built. More people and younger people. And beautiful women are often seen dressed up in the many nice restaurants. Alacati seems to have become the St.Tropez of Turkey. But as I am not a big fan of St. Tropez, I find this up-and-coming place a lot more to offer. First of all, it’s a up-and-coming place. Who wants to go where eyeryone else goes? Second of all, though many of the visitors apparently are quite wealthy, you avoid the tiring I-am-rich-or- want- to-be-rich-attention-attemps, that you are likely to find in St Tropez and similar places. The atmosphere in Alacati seems to be reflected on people having a good time together, relaxing. Chatting. Enjoying.
If you decide to go to Alalcati, you should probably rent a car to be able to get around. In the city of Izmir, you can have a taste of urban atmosphere and find a good selection of shopping, and it is only a one hour drive from alacati.
Anyway, I should probably tell you more about Sedirli Ev and the accommodation in Alacati. Three years ago, there were hardly any hotels at all, and we struggled to find a nice one. This time it was not hard to find a hotel, but to choose a hotel. There were so many nice hotels to choose from! In alacati you will find lots of boutique-hotels. Luxurious / trendy small hotels, with only 6-8 rooms. Most of them are newly-build, and seems to be modernly and tastefully decorated and furnished. Though, since the prices have increased the last few years, some of them are quite expensive . I found most of the hotels in www. smallhotelsofturkey.com, and contacted the hotels that I found interesting. I contacted about 15 hotels, but only 4 responded to my emails(!). That was truly disappointing. Though, the hotels that responded, responded quick. The owner of the Sedirli Ev, was very helpful from the beginning. I was not quite sure about the rooms, and she provided me extra pictures immediately. She was very welcoming and friendly. She also spoke English fluently, which seems to be quite rare in Alacati (also in the hotels). After quite a few emails, we booked the flight and the stay at Sedirili Ev.
We arrived late at night, and were welcomed by the owner and one of her employees. We were offered something to eat and drink, even though it was long past bedtime, and she showed us to our room after a quick chat. She also showed me another room if we wanted to change, but both rooms were perfect.
I didn`t see all the rooms while I was there, but in general the rooms are quite spacious, they are very clean. All rooms are air-conditioned too, which were lovely as we had some very hot days during our stay. All the staff in Sedirli Ev were extremely helpful, polite and very nice. We were always taken care of. The owner, Zeynep Erdem, she is like your friend that you have known for ages. She is very social. She likes chatting. She likes treating people like her friends staying in her home, no matter if you stay there for 2 or 20 days.
If you are very particular about modernly decorated rooms, you will probably find other hotels, that have emphazised this more than Sedirli Ev.
But Sedirli Ev is not about being in a trendy decorated hotel. Its all about the atmosphere. You truly are in your best friends beautiful home, sophisticated, yet relaxed. There is no stress. Everything is taken care of – if you want. When the other guests arrive at breakfast – its like your friend`s other guests. You are especially invited, and so are they.
The breakfasts were great – always plenty of food. The afternoon tea with cake was served by by the pool every day. If you don’t want to go out to dine in one of the nice restaurants in Alacati town, you can order dinner in Sedirli Ev in the morning and they will prepare a very tasty meal for you in the evening. And I think I may need to warn you, it’s a big possibility that you will eat too much of the lovely food and desert that is served especially to you. We did so – each time we had dinner "at home".
We really enjoyed and appreciated our stay in Sedirli Ev - and we can truly recommend it.
I f you want to try something new. Go to Alacati. If you are picky when it comes to accommodation and you want to be in a relaxing, sophisticated and friendly atmosphere. Stay in Sedirli Ev. You will not regret it.
I can promise that you will return with newly charged batteries and probably a new friendship in Sedirli Ev.
Enjoy Alacati, Enjoy Sedirli Ev!