Mehmet Ali Aga Mansion

T he main room, a dazzling firework of colour and detail, must be one of the worlds ten most spectacular hotel rooms. The building itself is a work of art. Its maker was the lord of Datça in the early 19th century, when the writ of the Ottoman state hardly ran in these parts. The re-maker is a businessman of private means who poured a fortune into the challenge. It is a work of obsessive passion, and a world-class restoration. The original house is revived in precise fidelity, down to the 70.000 individually hand-forged nails and the untold cubic metres of sweet-smelling cedar wood. An army of specialist painters repaired the wall-paintings. The result exudes elegant repose - a very "Oriental" sort of aristocratic poise, less cluttered and less noisy than its European counterparts of the same era.
   The modern wing, with 13 rooms, shows much refinement on its own right. Ms Pir, daughter of the owner, runs the hotel with understated grace and friendly courtesy.
   Reşadiye-town offers not much beyond a pleasant square and some nice citrus gardens. This is a hotel that must be savoured on it own merits alone.