Growth strategy By raising its own crops, the estate can supply its hotel and earn extra revenue
The fashion for authentic, locally sourced produce being what it is, more and more hotels are developing their own organic gardens and farms, and the Dionysos Estate in Kumlubuk, Turkey, is one of that swelling number. Besides running three restaurants, a spa, an infinity pool and a beach club, the estate produces an award-winning olive oil (there are tastings and guests can help with the October harvest) and is set to bottle wine from its own vineyards next year. The farm, meanwhile, supplies the hotel with cheese, eggs, milk and many of its vegetables and herbs. (Guests can get a glimpse of life on the muddier side of the fence via a special farm lunch.) Plans are also afoot to make aromatherapy oils from the herb garden's fragrant crop.
Accommodation, with capacity for just 92 guests, is laid out village-style with 22 simply designed rooms, 16 cottage suites and four bougainvillea-clad villas. They are tiered dramatically above a canyon overlooking the Bay of Kumlubuk, on the Bozburun Peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean.
It's an imaginatively run property, very much the brainchild of its cosmopolitan owner Ahmet Senol, who was in the manufacturing business until he saw the potential of Dionysos' mountainside site and its forested surrounds, which lie in a conservation area. The farm and olive-oil business were added in the nine years since the enterprise began and could well expand, given the demand for organic food. But Senol won't increase the number of rooms — which means more good things for the lucky few to enjoy.
Call (90-252) 476 7957 for enquiries.
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