At 4.30pm, I became punctual. This was an unexpected development for a holiday on which my main achievement had been moving between places to sit down. But during my stay, Cullinan Belek served complimentary Moët & Chandon between 4.30pm and 6pm, and apparently I can commit to a routine when the incentives are right.
Until then, the days had been pleasantly slippery. Breakfast drifted into the beach, a swim remained under consideration, and a book provided respectable cover for doing very little. I had arrived assuming curiosity would eventually overcome the sunlounger. It never quite happened. I can devote several hours to decoding a Taylor Swift Easter egg, but apparently researching an excursion was asking too much.
On Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast, the resort has enough distractions to occupy a considerably more energetic guest than me. An 800-metre private beach stretches along the sea; pools thread through the grounds; restaurants offer competing reasons to dress for dinner. There is golf, a substantial spa, beach clubs and a chocolatier. You could spend the flight drawing up an itinerary, then abandon it before unpacking.
This is a big, glossy resort capable of accommodating several holidays simultaneously. Somewhere, someone is exercising. Elsewhere, children are being entertained and golfers are concentrating. My contribution was to establish how comfortably one could opt out. The beach area reserved for guests aged 16 and over became my favourite spot. There was space, sea and a welcome sense that nobody required anything of me. Something cold arrived where I was sitting. Occasionally, I moved.
The quieter corners matter when there is this much going on. An ambitious entertainment programme is all very well until you want to read the same page three times without a soundtrack. I could enjoy the atmosphere when I fancied company, then retreat without feeling I had checked out of the holiday altogether. That freedom made the scale work.
C’Espace Spa occupies 8,000 square metres of softly lit rooms, water and natural tones, with indoor and outdoor pools, a hammam and steam rooms. What stayed with me was the change in pace as I entered. The sociable bustle outside receded, and an afternoon could disappear without much assistance. It was very easy to stay.
Dinner restored some purpose. With so many restaurants, there is always the possibility of eating broadly similar food beneath different lighting. The four à la carte venues I tried had enough character to give each evening its own mood. Hasır serves Turkish and Anatolian cooking, a welcome reminder of where I was amid the international repertoire. Pascarella takes an Italian and Mediterranean direction, while Yamas supplies Greek food alongside music and sirtaki, the dance that makes a quiet dinner increasingly unlikely. At Nori, teppanyaki chefs cook on the grill in front of guests.
I began planning around dinner reservations with an enthusiasm conspicuously absent from my sightseeing efforts. Before dinner came the Champagne bar. With music playing and the afternoon heat easing, it became a favourite stop between beach and evening. A glass of Moët by the Mediterranean deserves very little interference.
The chocolatier complicated matters, chiefly by existing within easy reach. Around 30 varieties are made using Callebaut chocolate, including pralines incorporating regional flavours. The adjoining patisserie supplies cakes, desserts and ice cream. I had ample opportunity to consider whether chocolate counted as an activity.
Guests wishing to offset such decisions have Gallant Sports Club, with padel, Pilates, yoga and functional training. The golf course sits between the sea and a river, with the Taurus Mountains beyond. There was ample opportunity to return home with an athlete’s physique. Following Taylor’s lead and simply dating one seemed less strenuous, although finding Belek’s answer to Travis Kelce would have required leaving my sunlounger. And my husband.
Families have UPUPA Kids Club, with ceramics, science, fashion design and music workshops, plus a farm where children can grow and harvest vegetables. It stays open until 2am, a detail parents may absorb with more interest than the acreage of the spa.
Cullinan Belek suited the version of me who wanted a good dinner, a peaceful beach and few logistical responsibilities. I liked having plenty available without feeling obliged to use all of it. I returned without a charming story about a tiny restaurant discovered down a side street. I did, however, discover that I could be ready on time every afternoon. All it took was Champagne.
@cullinanbelek | cullinanhotels.com
Kadriye mahallesi, Üçkum Tepesi Caddesi, No:4/A, Antalya, Turkey 07525
