We just came back from a week in Turkey where we stayed in the most beautiful, relaxing hotel: the 4 Reasons hotel on the Bodrum peninsula. It was like a dream! The hotel is just amazing: it's located on a hill top, overlooking old olive orchards with the little village of Yalikavak behind it, located on the Aegean sea with its many islands.

The hotel gardens are stunning, with the grand palm trees, the olive trees in bloom, the Murlberry trees full of fruit ready to be picked (the kids loved it), the shady grass area with a lily pond full of quacking frogs and at least one turtle... There's bocce ball to be played (a ball game similar to pétanque), a huge refreshing swimming pool, an award winning barman who makes the best lemonades in the world and loves children, a well filled library, a pool table for entertainment at nights (my husband and I were both crap at it but so competitive!).

We were spoiled with an extensive breakfast on the terrace every morning, overlooking the beautiful bay area and village below, and lunch and dinners were equally lovely and tasteful. The service was impeccable, the staff super sweet and helpful, and never intruding.

The village is a pleasant 20 minutes walk and there are a few nice restaurants, a little harbour, and some touristy shops -- it makes for a lovely little outing. We greatly enjoyed the local market with the most amazing fruits, vegetables and textiles on Thursday!

A trip to Bodrum was fun with the local mini buses (dolmus). We spent most of the day visiting the 15th century Bodrum castle with in it the underwater museum with treasures and ship wrecks, a worthy visit -- the castle is beautiful, with great gardens, peacocks roaming around, and amazing views over the city and the sea.

We also visited the insignificant (but still impressive!) remains of one of the seven ancient world wonders, the Mausuleum of Mausolus. The Bodrum daily market was fun with stalls filled with spices, fruits, veggies, housewares and some handmade wooden toys and utensils.

We stayed in one of the 'functional' rooms, which was not at all big but very nice, fresh and functional, with a separate bed and bathroom area for the two bigger children (5 and 6). We had Ava (1) in a cot in the room with us. We took a flight to Bodrum airport and the ever so nice and helpful hotel staff arranged transfers to and from the hotel for us. All in all, this was a vacation I can totally recommend if you like to go somewhere relaxing and beautiful with little children in tow (or without!). We'll certainly be back.

xxx Esther