Introduction *** sorry no pictures, it seems the functionality of hotel reviews has been messed up for several weeks; I will add pictures later when the bug is fixed ***I had a couple of stays last month at Six Senses Kaplankaya. I did not necessarily plan on staying twice; my first stay was mostly to see the property and steer future stay decisions. I really loved the hotel so I decided to make another stop there towards the end of my stay in the Bodrum area to enjoy the property for a few more days. I will return again in the future for sure. Location Access to Six Senses is via Bodrum airport but the resort is not in Bodrum at all, which can be a good thing for guests who want a quiet resort far away from the action rather than a location which appeals to the masses. Six Senses is about a one-hour drive from BJV airport on rural winding roads, in the opposite direction than Bodrum itself, so for people who want to visit Bodrum proper it will be roughly a 1.5 hour drive each way. It might be fine to visit Bodrum once during a stay at Six Senses, but most likely not more than twice. There is very little in the vicinity of Six Senses so most guests probably spend all their time on the resort. Common Areas Thankfully, guests not leaving the resort are kept occupied. First off they claim having the largest spa in Europe – I visited their facilities and I was quite impressed. As Ambassador Spire guest I also had a complimentary massage included – they provided the IHG stated benefit proactively and they did not need a reminder like some (newer) properties who are sometimes not fully up to speed when joining a new hotel chain. They also had a large gym, several fitness rooms, a basketball court, ping-pong, etc. They also had an indoor swimming pool, which combined with all the other facilities I thought it was one of the rare luxury resorts near Bodrum which could stay open year-round. They informed me that they might indeed stay open this winter – they will try it out and see how the demand is. Given that pretty much all other 5-star hotels close in the winter in Bodrum (Aman, Mandarin Oriental, EDITION, Caresse Luxury Collection, Kempinski, Bodrum Loft LHW, etc.) then Six Senses will be the only game in town for the winter and I hope they will succeed.The outdoor swimming pool was being worked on during my stays so I could not fully judge but its location on the resort seemed a bit odd; I did not think it was the highlight of the property. The beach was much better, in fact many hotels in Bodrum have a so-so beach; Six Senses has one of the nicer ones and I enjoyed spending time at the beach bar and restaurant as well, which included a live cooking station in front of guests. I would also note that this resort is very children-friendly including organized activities and a kids club. Room The entry level room type at this property seems to be the Ridge Terrace room, which would be the one if booking with points. In low season paying 80k points might not be the optimal choice, but in high season it will be a no brainer and to be honest, I am surprised this is indeed the entry level room rather than the “superior” rooms which are in the main building. I would be perfectly content in a ridge terrace room if paying with points.For both stays I booked the “superior” room type, and for one of the two stays I was upgraded one category to the “deluxe” room type. Deluxe rooms are the same as superior except that they have more direct sea views than superior which partially see the roof of the rooms below. On the other stay I was upgraded to a ridge terrace with pool which are far more expensive, so it was a generous upgrade. The villa was great including cathedral ceilings with sky lights in both the bathroom and closet. There were also stairs to go on the roof of the villa to get a better view of the sea from up top. Admittedly I was in Bodrum in shoulder season when occupancy was not very high, but nonetheless I do not know of other resorts nearby where an upgrade to a room with a private pool is within reach. When walking around the resort I could see those villas with a pool have considerably different degrees of privacy. Mine was great but for some others the pool was visually exposed from the pathways so I would guess it would be useful to contact the hotel ahead of time to get one of the better villas, and that having elite status will help especially since they clearly treated me well as a first-time guest (and second-time guest!). The quality of the superior room and the villa I had was excellent, in fact I would have expected the hardware to be a bit more dated considering the resort is perhaps 10-15 years old. I suspect they have renovated when they reflagged to Six Senses a few years ago. Dining Instead of only having the traditional Turkish breakfast, there was an interesting a la carte menu with excellent choices and for that reason I would rank it the best breakfast I had in Bodrum before. The only one which could rival would be Kempinski because they have free-flow Prosecco but for the food itself Six Senses was my favorite, ahead of EDITION. Service Service was excellent however it was not flawless. Before both stays I was contacted ahead of time by e-mail. Since I was transferring from another hotel, I asked them to call me when my room was ready for the first stay and they did so as planned which I appreciated. The welcome at the hotel was excellent as well, including staff guiding me to my room both times. I also had a quick visit of other room types to help me get a better understanding of the resort. On my second stay I came to the hotel before my room was ready but they gave me a temporary room (superior) in case I wanted to relax there or freshen up which was a great gesture, even if only for a couple of hours. The main area for improvement regarding service would be at the restaurant during breakfast. Many times service was slow, too reactive and not proactive enough, orders missed occasionally, or not replacing cutlery, not offering refills, etc. It was somewhat in contrast with the rest of the resort which had great service in many ways. Also as a minor note, room service did not offer wine by the glass, only full bottles. For one glass they forced guests go to the bar to get a take-away order; in a hotel of this caliber it should not be necessary. Wifi Wifi worked without interruptions but speed could have been better; it was 10 Mbps. Overall Overall I was very happy with my stays and I can highly recommend Six Senses Kaplankaya. Travellers should be aware that they are not really going to Bodrum due to the remote location – it can be a plus or a minus. For people who want to relax, stay put and enjoy the facilities and the great weather, for the price paid relative to other 5-star alternatives in Bodrum, Six Senses is hard to beat.