Niche Travel

WHEN YOU STAY in a hotel, the view matters. It’s why they charge more for a good one. For travel bathos, nothing compares with booking into a hotel in a spectacular location only to find yours is the room looking out over the boiler.

With one exception. I once stayed in a super hotel in Copenhagen, in a room which, in theory, had a great view out over a busy square.

In reality, however, because management had placed large Perspex safety-sheeting two feet in front of each window, as soon as the occupants of the room next door turned on their lights, all I could see out my window was them.

Their every move was reflected onto the Perspex outside. Worse still, I was presumably providing a floor-show for them. I had to keep the curtains closed for the entire stay.

At least one hotelier has, however, gone to admirable lengths to ensure that all guests are fairly treated on the view front.

The cliff-top Marmara Antalya, on Turkey’s southern coast, is the world’s first and only revolving hotel, offering the best view from every room in the house, at some part of each day.

Go to bed looking out over the darkening Med and wake up looking towards the snow-capped Taurus Mountains.

The building sits on a special pool system in which water drives the mechanisms that turn the building 360 degrees every seven hours. This means that not alone will you get to experience every view but over a period of a few days you’ll get to enjoy them at every time of day too.

It’s slow enough, however, as to be imperceptible to guests so, if the room is spinning when you leave the bar, that’ll be down to you.

[ themarmarahotels.com ]