Yazz Collective hotel review: beachside bliss on the Turquoise Coast

Zooming across the water and around the rocky headland in a speedboat, the early-morning start and four-hour flight recede into the distance as fast as the quay you've just come from. The speedboat trip is the second, shorter stage of the airport transfer, which starts more conventionally on four wheels on land, taking about an hour from Dalaman, the closest airport.

Why stay here? 

Only accessible by boat, the Yazz Collective cove is flanked by rugged cliffs dotted with pine trees. The accommodation is thoughtfully positioned amid lush planting. Boardwalks lead down towards the restaurant, bar, shop, spa – and the Mediterranean.

Padded single and double sunbeds are lined up on the narrow, fine-shingle beach – half of it reserved for Yazz Collective guests – and there's a jetty, with mooring on a pontoon, for yachts. Each sunbed has a wooden table with a buzzer to summon someone to bring you food and drinks. Overhanging trees and umbrellas provide welcome shade; average summer temperatures are in the mid-30s, although when I was there it was over 40ºC.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The accommodation

Each of the 13 suites and three deluxe rooms is decorated in muted, neutral tones and natural finishes. Our 'comfort suite' offered exactly that: a massive bed, separated from the living area and its squashily deep sofa that invited lounging by a sheer-curtained window. Floor-to-ceiling windows open on to decking with Adirondack-style chairs and padded sunloungers, topped by a shade sail and surrounded by lush planting. 

As well as the amply cushioned sofa, there's a chunky wooden table on a coir rug, and a wall-mounted swivelling TV, and we enjoyed a few minutes of a Turkish soap (with alcoholic drinks blurred out; the country banned their promotion in 2013).

Thankfully, the air-con was quiet and efficient, making the room a cool sanctuary. A lighting guide would be useful – there are bedside reading lights, hammered copper pendants, subtle recessed wall-washers, but it took us 48 hours to work out how to turn off the light in the top-opening display fridge next to the minibar!

The bathroom has a recessed double basin with plenty of room for toiletries alongside, and a view to the outdoor shower in a tiny courtyard next to a tree. There is, of course, an indoor shower too, with heavenly scented body wash, shampoo and conditioner. The loo is separate, so you can both use the facilities at the same time.

The twin open wardrobe area features shelves and drawers, lengthy hanging rails and unusually plentiful hangers. Two robes and the squashiest-soled slippers ever encourage indolent lounging.

What to see and do

The water here on the Turquoise Coast is clear, calm and warm. The salty Mediterranean is renowned for its buoyancy, meaning you can continue to take it easy even while swimming. Swim or float on your back admiring the blue sky with no need to worry about approaching boats in the roped-off beach zone. If you feel a little more energetic, take out an SUP or transparent-bottomed kayak, or, for a lot less effort, let a sea scooter tow you up and down. 

Feel like fresh water? Head up to the two swimming pools, or reserve a private pool.

If the novelty of doing nothing should start to wear off, the Yazz speedboat will ferry you to Fethiye, with its markets, cobbled old town, marina and harbour. Although much of the city has been destroyed by earthquakes, you can still see the ancient, and enormous, rock tomb of Amyntas above the town, carved in 350BC.

And for a sense of exploring without actually moving very much at all, set up a sunset cruise in the Yazz speedboat along the rugged coast to a spot where the sun drops perfectly into a dip in the mountains, while you sip sparkling wine and nibble on a platter of fruit and nuts. For a cosmic experience, turn around and see the moon rise simultaneously.

For hands-on assistance in achieving a blissed-out state, visit the spa. The massage rooms are simple wooden open-air affairs, screened with curtains, and located just off the beach so you can hear the lapping waves below, adding an extra sensory dimension. I went for a Balinese massage by a therapist from Bali. Intense at times, her strokes were fluid, sometimes super-soft, sometimes brisk, but always at my preferred pressure, and afterwards I wafted homeward with a dreamy smile on my face. 

There's yoga every day at 8am by the beach, and an indoor/outdoor gym. In the evening there are workshops, which rotate on a two-week schedule. We just missed mask-making, but I was an eager participant in a cocktail-making class with the head bartender, who showed us how to make two margaritas: one with smoked salt, and his signature chilli margarita. The latter, topped with passionfruit foam and shreds of pepper, is the bestselling cocktail here by far, and the tangy fruit froth complements the spicy heat beneath. And purely to check my shaker-wielding prowess, I of course ordered them later from the bar to compare.

In the craft bar, the quieter open-air venue, there's a shuffleboard-type game, and films are also shown here. Here we were served by Onar, who remembered how bubbly you wanted your beer.

There are two on-site shops: the Yazz Boutique featuring fashion and accessories by upmarket Turkish designers, a rich hunting ground for high-end swimwear, and one for everyday essentials, like suncream, toothbrushes and snacks.

Eating and drinking

There's only one place to eat here (unless you go for room service), but don't fret; the food is absolutely delicious, a fresh fusion of Turkish and dishes from the wider Mediterranean. 

The restaurant is part open-air, part under cover, finished in natural materials, with solidly rustic wooden tables, squashy-cushioned bench seating and incorporating at least one large tree. Sitting right by the water, you can watch the boats, then gaze at the ombréed layers of mountain range across the bay as the fairy/outdoor lights come on.

The evening menu features, as you might expect, fresh seafood such as octopus, sea bass, lobster and catch of the day, as well as Turkish specialities such as lahmacun, a pizza-like base with mince and other toppings. The menu is light on vegetarian mains, but with help from staff, it's not hard to eat well, with options like cheese-filled filo pastry börek, crispy fried courgettes, and creamy cacik (tzatziki) topped with fennel and almonds. Everything is perfectly cooked, and prettily presented. Guided by our waiter Burak, we chose a crisp, dry Thracian wine. 

For breakfast, there's the best avocado toast I've had, layered with yoghurt, rocket and pesto, or eggs however you want, including Benedict, or pancakes with compote and ice cream.

Try the lavish and lengthy Turkish breakfast at least once. Don't expect to need lunch that day. From a massive round tray your server will unload plateful after plateful. Breads include croissants, simit, or Turkish sesame-encrusted bagels, plus standard ekmek, or white village bread. Top these with guacamole, tahini, honey, jam, cheeses, pomegranate molasses… Homemade granola was accompanied by yoghurt, banana and strawberries. And if you feel like something fresh, there's tomatoes, cucumber and salad from the garden, and a platter of cherries, apricots, grapes and almonds. 

The beauty of a spread like this is that you can create your best breakfast. Take your time, order more coffee and pick at the olives, those dried figs, the grilled hellim (halloumi)… tear off another piece of the doughnut-like pişi and decide what to dip it in.

The verdict 

There was a little bit of a language barrier with some staff, which did cause a few misunderstandings, like me repeatedly trying to log in to the Wi-Fi with my own passport number when I needed to use my partner's. However, that was dealt with swiftly and smilingly.

So, for a few days' total relaxation, Yazz has you. The low number of guests on site, no traffic noise (apart from boats) and no roads to navigate all contribute to a calm, unhurried atmosphere. That pervading sense of peace lends itself to doing a bit of a digital detox – although there is Wi-Fi. Meals are unhurried, without the bustle of people coming and going. Decision-making is pared back to what to wear, what to eat and drink, and whether to go for another swim. 

Adrienne Wyper was a guest of Yazz Collective, near Fethiye, Turkey, where a comfort suite, sleeping two, costs from £530 per night.