Now, restaurants choose the hotel

Ebru Erke

Antalya’s iconic 7 Mehmet has brought its cuisine to Bodrum under the name Daha, serving dinner in the hotel’s largest outdoor dining space.

It was one of those warm Bodrum evenings, with a gentle breeze drifting in from the sea. As we enthusiastically shared a seafood pasta served in a gleaming copper pan, the elegantly dressed East Asian couple at the next table suddenly struck up a conversation in English. “This was our favorite dish too,” they smiled before asking, “So, what do you think of this chef?”

I told them that Osman Sezener is one of my favorite chefs in Türkiye and someone whose work I have followed with great admiration for years. They smiled. The gentleman pointed at his partner and said, “We were actually planning to stay at another hotel in Bodrum. But she insisted that we had to dine at The Kitchen. So we changed our hotel and booked here instead.”

The restaurant they were referring to was Kitchen by Osman Sezener, inside The Bodrum EDITION.

I have to admit, that single sentence impressed me just as much as the meal itself.

For years we have compared hotels by their beaches, pools, rooms and sea views. But the rules have changed. Across many of the world’s leading resort destinations, travelers are increasingly deciding where they want to eat before choosing where they want to stay. Gastronomy is no longer simply another hotel amenity; it has become a strategic asset that drives reservations, sells rooms and even influences destination choices.

One of the best examples of this new approach can be found here. Behind this vision stands the hotel’s General Manager, Mustafa Bulmuş. According to him, among all EDITION properties worldwide, The Bodrum EDITION currently ranks at the very top in profitability, guest satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Gastronomy is certainly not the only reason behind this success. The exceptional level of Turkish hospitality undoubtedly plays a major role. Yet it is equally clear that the hotel’s culinary program has become one of its strongest competitive advantages.

The food and beverage concept itself is equally important. Rather than offering restaurants that compete with one another, the hotel has created a carefully balanced culinary ecosystem where each venue has its own distinct identity. The line-up includes Daha by Antalya’s legendary 7 Mehmet, the Michelin-starred Kitchen by Osman Sezener, the intimate Italian restaurant The Trattoria by Stefano Ciotti, Japanese favorite Inari, the much-loved burger destination Zula, and Morena, led by Chef Adnan Öztürk, which carries the weight of the hotel’s all-day dining operation.

This season, Antalya’s iconic 7 Mehmet has brought its cuisine to Bodrum under the name Daha, serving dinner in the hotel’s largest outdoor dining space. The menu faithfully preserves the spirit of the original restaurant, offering everything from traditional olive oil dishes to slow-cooked kid goat specialties. Since Osman Sezener’s cuisine naturally focuses on seafood, Daha complements it by placing greater emphasis on red meat and classic Mediterranean flavors. The restaurant is fully booked almost every evening, with discussions already underway about introducing a second seating. It illustrates an important shift: Hotel restaurants are no longer seen as places where guests dine simply out of convenience. Strong restaurant brands do far more than fill tables — they elevate the reputation of the entire hotel. Today, many diners are perfectly willing to book a hotel they have never visited before simply because they already trust the restaurant inside.

Downstairs, an entirely different atmosphere awaits. Inari, which has built a loyal following in Istanbul over many years, has successfully carried that same clientele to Bodrum. Every evening the restaurant fills up, and many of its guests are not hotel residents at all but regular Inari customers who come specifically for the restaurant. It is another reminder of how a powerful restaurant brand can expand a hotel’s appeal, while also reflecting — as I wrote last week — the remarkable and still growing enthusiasm for Japanese cuisine among Turkish diners.

Kitchen by Osman Sezener, meanwhile, is firmly on the radar of Bodrum’s international visitors, thanks in part to Sezener’s Michelin-starred reputation. His seafood-focused cuisine is presented here in a way that feels both refined and wonderfully relaxed, perfectly suited to a luxury seaside holiday. There are no unnecessary theatrics; the ingredients remain at the center of every plate, with the flavors of the Aegean interpreted through elegant, restrained technique. The seafood pasta served in that copper pan is a dish I suspect I will remember for a very long time.

The entire experience made me reflect once again on how dramatically luxury hospitality has evolved over the past decade. Once upon a time, great restaurants were simply considered prestigious additions to luxury hotels. Today, the relationship has reversed. Exceptional restaurants have become powerful engines that influence occupancy rates, strengthen hotel brands and enhance international visibility. It is no coincidence that Michelin-starred chefs and acclaimed restaurant concepts are increasingly becoming central to the identity of luxury hotels around the world.

Bodrum is no longer competing solely with its beautiful bays, beach clubs and spectacular sunsets. Increasingly, it is competing on the strength of its dining tables. And it seems increasingly clear that the hotels leading this new race will not necessarily be those investing the most in their rooms, but those investing the most in their kitchens. Because today, many travelers reserve the restaurant first — and only then choose the hotel. To me, this is one of the most significant shifts taking place in the world of luxury travel today.