Introduction MGallery Bodrum Hotel Yalikavak has only been opened since July 1st so my expectations were modest with potential for service failures or a malfunctioning room, but I wanted to take a quick look to steer my future stays in Bodrum. As expected there were some hiccups but nothing dramatic. In this price range the two hotels I could most easily compare to are Le Meridien and Swissotel. Overall I am not sure I can draw solid conclusions yet, MGallery can measure up with these two in a number of ways but Diamond benefits would have to improve to compete and offer a better value proposition because right now it’s a laggard. Location MGallery is away from the action of the old Bodrum city center - instead it’s in Yalikavak which I like as well, so for me the location is a positive. Both LM and Swissotel are in far more remote areas not close to anything and the price tag of MGallery reflects a premium location on the Bodrum peninsula. Room I booked the entry level room and received a modest one-category upgrade to Deluxe Sea View despite all suite types being available online at time of check-in. In their defense I checked in at noon but given the pre-arrival e-mail exchange I had with the hotel I think they intend to limit upgrades to Diamond guests at +1 only, which is not competitive with other hotels where I stayed in Bodrum in the past. The view is not the only difference between the standard rooms and the sea view rooms; the Deluxe Sea View is marginally larger (35 sqm) than the entry level room (32 sqm).The positive was that my room was on the top floor (6th) and probably one of the better ones in the entire hotel because on any other floor, rooms are mixed with hotel facilities such as the beach bar (1st floor), spa (2ndfloor), meeting rooms (3rd floor), pool and restaurant (4th floor), and lobby (5th floor). The hotel being quite compact many rooms are strangely very close to these public areas which is a problem compounded by the fact that soundproofing was not very good and I could hear what was going on in the hallway. Thankfully on the top floor there are only guest rooms, nothing else. Obviously this is a brand new hotel so the hardware was nice, the air conditioning worked great, and quality was similar to Ikea style so nothing luxurious but in mint condition and functional, and the room had great sea views which Bodrum is famous for. However unlike many modern hotels of this kind which designed the room to maximize the views even from the bathroom, at MGallery it was not the case because they put the closets between the bedroom and the bathroom making the bathroom an entirely window-less room. There were other issues with the bathroom, first of all the shower did not drain properly, and more importantly the vanity was not fixed to the wall and was simply a loose table aligned with the wall with a sink in it. That’s an accident waiting to happen and a guest could rip out the plumbing by mistake some day. Because the hotel is quite small, on the terrace outside the room the neighbors were very close and it was possible to hear everything from the conversations as only a small metal panel separated the balconies. I was informed that all soft drinks in the mini-bar were free as Diamond guest which I am assuming counted as the welcome gift. The bathroom amenities were Atelier Rebul, a Turkish brand which I also had at Susona Bodrum (LXR from Hilton), a luxury hotel double the price of MGallery. Service Service was hit and miss, mostly miss, but I can give them a pass since they are still new. All rate types seem to include breakfast at the moment so I called BS when I was told a Diamond benefit was free breakfast. Also for lunch my order at the beach bar did not come after one hour so I told them it was too long and I had to go back to my room, and I asked to please deliver to my room instead. One extra hour later I still had nothing so I called and explained the situation. Instead of offering a fix they just said sorry so I ended up ordering food delivery from outside the hotel. At check-out since I was paying with points I only had a small leftover to pay by credit card. The hotel credit card machine rejected my payment because my card does not have a PIN, which has never been an issue at any other hotel in Turkey. Because the amount was small they let me leave the hotel and told me that they would send a link for payment by e-mail. Once I received the link I tried to pay a few times and their system rejected my card again – I confirmed that it was not my bank declining the charge. They asked me to try another card which still did not work and this issue is still ongoing as of now for a grand total of 4 EUR, so they apparently have some growing pains with credit cards. Dining Breakfast was a smoother experience than lunch as I was almost alone in the restaurant. There was no menu and no buffet, it was a simple set breakfast with a choice of eggs so a bit below average for a hotel of this caliber. However the venue was great near the pool with sea views. Beach MGallery has a beach, kind of. They brought in sand and installed chairs on a platform near the water but it’s not a natural beach going straight in the water, there were steps to go in the sea with pebbles on the sea floor. So for the beach, Le Meridien and Swissotel are better. Pool and Spa The main pool was near the main restaurant a few floors above the beach. Also one interesting feature of the hotel was that it also has an indoor pool. They will not open this upcoming winter due to low demand and covid, but they told me they will consider staying open year-round in the future, unlike many luxury hotels in Bodrum which only operate 6 months per year. The downside is that the pool was in a dark room so not nearly as impressive as the one at Le Meridien which is a bit like a greenhouse with huge windows set on a hill and overlooking the sea. Back to MGallery, they also have a Turkish bath, sauna, and steam room which would be other interesting options especially in the winter. Wifi Wifi worked ok with speed of 10 Mbps. Overall Overall I liked the location, the view, the room, the facilities and for a new hotel it performed ok in the circumstances. That said the Diamond benefits are quite weak, in fact I probably did not get anything more than I would have as Platinum or even Gold. If they had rates including and excluding breakfast I could save some money and still get breakfast, but unfortunately that is not the case now. Also room upgrades are far more generous at other hotels so in the summer I would probably not come back to MGallery unless I read reports that they altered their upgrade policy. For the winter with less competition I think the indoor pool and sauna can be an attraction so I could consider it.