If you’re searching for one of the best luxury family hotels in Türkiye, Six Senses Kaplankaya near Bodrum should be on your radar. As a mum of two boys aged 7 and 3, and a luxury family travel content creator, I’m always looking for hotels that prove travelling with children doesn’t have to mean compromising on luxury. In this Six Senses Kaplankaya review, I’m sharing our experience of staying here as a family including the design, the rooms, kids’ club, food and the beaches, activities, spa and wellness facilities and why it’s one of the best luxury family resorts in Europe and Türkiye.
Have you ever had really resonated with the concept of a hotel brand? Maybe it’s just me but I feel like the Six Senses brand really sums up everything that I loved about luxury family friendly hotels. The Six Senses is a hotel concept that goes beyond polished luxury, the brand combines wellness, sustainability, nature, local culture with a sense of place whilst still not only welcoming children but including them in that philosophy rather than the hotel changing its identity to accommodate families.
I’ve only actually stayed at Six Senses Zighy Bay but I’ve had lunch at The Six Senses Yao Noi which located on a small island in Phang Nga Bay between Phuket and Krabi in Thailand, plus dinner at the one in Koh Samui with every experience being quite simply exceptional.
Last year we had the most brilliant group holiday with our friends at Ikos Aria and this year we decided to replicate it with children one year older and ready for more fun together. Six Senses Kaplankaya Bodrum, Türkiye was the hotel of choice for a week’s holiday and it was pure perfection.
What is the Six Senses
Six Senses is an ultra luxury hotel brand with 27 resorts located all over the world from Asia, Europe, Middle Eat, Africa and the Americas and even more coming up. Each resort is designed to connect guests with its destination through local culture, food, architecture and experiences, while wellness is woven into everything from sleep and nutrition to fitness, mindfulness and world-class spas.
The Six Senses has a very personal approach to guest relations and everyone has contact with a GEM or Guest Experience Maker.
Sustainability is also central to the concept with properties in remote locations designed to work harmoniously with their natural surroundings. This isn’t just about marketing; they bottle their own water, minimise single-use plastics, grow and source food locally and invest part of hotel revenue back into environmental and community projects. At Kaplankaya this extends to marine conservation, organic gardens and protecting the surrounding Aegean landscape.
The idea is eco-conscious but without feeling worthy or overly rustic – you can still have a luxury holiday, eat ice cream and drink wine without feeling guilty.
There’s not a cookie cutter brand approach here, each resort is different and reflective of the destination. And while these are not fully family-focussed the resorts they are more than just family friendly. Children experience their own version of this philosophy particularly with the ‘Grow with Six Senses’ programme which I’ll come to later.
Six Senses Kaplankaya Bodrum, Türkiye fits perfectly with the Six Senses brand identity and to find out more read on.
The Vibe
The vibe at Six Senses Kaplankaya is barefoot ultra-luxury, but with substance to it. The service is polished, but it doesn’t feel showy or like it’s trying to impress you. Instead, everything feels calm, natural and understated with stone, wood, huge expanses of glass, incredible Aegean views and architecture that almost disappears into the hillside, kids are included but quietly and naturally, wellness is the focus but without guilt. A sense of seclusion that you feels like you’ve escaped normal life rather than checked into a luxury resort.
Design
Design is a big part of the Six Senses brand – whilst design feel minimal and natural it still feels intentional. Six Senses Kaplankaya occupies an incredibly secluded position on Türkiye’s Aegean coast about an hours drive from Bodrum airport.
The isolation is part of the magic, you arrive and almost feel as though the outside world has disappeared with no distractions or other hotels, or crowded beaches in sight.
The architecture blends into the hillside using natural materials, while huge floor-to-ceiling windows and open spaces constantly draw your eye back towards the sea and surrounding landscape. The rooms themselves almost look like rock formations and as your walk around the beautifully kept landscape you can hardly even seen the main building but it’s actually a tardis that home to a huge spa and wellness facility.
Around the hotel there’s two playgrounds, a kids’ club, the family beaches but they don’t dominate the resort and make you feel like you’re walking around a children’s hotel, these features blend in just as perfectly as everything else.
All the restaurants (which I’ll go into later) allow for outdoor dining, so you’re not just enjoying the food you’re experiencing it right in the place that it was grown and though actual design is minimal and natural, it’s completely beautiful.
The Room
We booked at Ridge Terrace Family Sea View Suite at Six Senses Kaplankaya, Bodrum. We’re increasingly finding the option of a family room or suite works really well for us, often this kind of room has a more minimal living areas (the definition varies throughout hotels) but does have two bedrooms and is often cheaper than a suite. Though not every hotel offers this room category.
We stayed in Room 6006 which was standalone from the main building and accessed by stairs, giving it a more private view.
We had a gorgeous spacious balcony area which had a view of the sea from a distance but also overlooked the reception which wasn’t the greatest view!
The room is on two floors with a master bedroom downstairs, in true Six Senses still, finishes are natural and minimal whilst still feeling luxurious. The bed was soooo comfortable as promoting good sleep is part of the Six Senses philosophy and there’s a separate pillow menu for even greater comfort. There’s a mini fridge with drinks and snacks plus extra helpful amenities like a beach bag and yoga mat.
There’s a large walk in wardrobe and while there was lots of hanging space, we could have used a few more drawers.
The bathroom is a beauty and I loved the marble sinks. The shower is amazing and. you just need to press one button to turn it on – it’s a pet hate of mine when it’s the crypton factor to work out how to turn the shower on! There’s a gorgeous day bed but there’s no bath, I don’t know if that’s for sustainability purposes but it was a little awkward as Noah is scared of showers.
An interior staircase leads up to second bedroom and usefully there’s a stair gate at the bottom and at the top. Good for peace of mind if you’re with toddlers!
This contains twin beds which can be separated or pushed together. It’s so important for us to have separate sleeping spaces so that everyone gets a decent night sleep and this room really worked well. I love the fact that the hotel had considered the practicalities for children without compromising on the aesthetic.
There’s also another terrace upstairs so plenty of outdoor space.
The iPad in the room was great from controlling different elements of the room like the curtains, calling rooms service and even had a direct messaging app with the GEM.
Our friends had opted for a private pool on their terrace which had the most amazing view of the sun set. Some nights we had a pool party in the rooms with drinks and nibbles which the kids splashed – it was the highlight of our holiday and though the our room was great, I regret now opting for this category.
Activities and Entertainment
Oscar and Noah’s main activity on holiday is splashing about in the pool but we were quite surprised when we saw the pools at Six Senses Kaplankaya. I actually thought I was missing something as the pools were sooo quiet – definitely no sunbed wars here! In fact there were actually hardly any sunbeds at all.
This a kids pool which is shallower with a baby area and it’s right by where the Kids Club is found.
There’s not really a bar or service around this and actually not shade, honestly I found it really unusual.
Upstairs from the kids pool is the main pool. Again there’s no bar or even a pool menu but it’s right next to restaurant and they will bring you drinks. There’s not a huge difference between the two pools just the main pool is a little bigger and had a deep end.
So if the pool is so quiet where do people hang out? Well the beach is the thing at Six Senses Kaplankaya and there’s actually three of them. The main beach is beautiful and sandy and like all areas of the hotel very quiet and uncrowded.
The family beach is more shady with a long stretch of shallow water (giving great peace of mind) and a beach cafe where you can enjoy burgers and salads with your feet in the sand!
The family beach also had a sweet play ground – I love the fact that even the playgrounds were beautiful and fit the vibes of the hotel.
Our favourite was Anhinga, a beautiful beach club about ten minutes away by shuttle. We spent an absolutely gorgeous day there with lunch and sand castle building.
Of course the signature activity at Six Senses Kaplankaya is spa, heath and wellness. It’s part of the resort’s whole identity and at 10,000 square meters and is actually one of the biggest spas in a luxury Mediterranean resort. Children can even get involved with treatments available from age 7 (though there is guidance on which areas of the spa that they are permitted in).
There are 38 treatment rooms, with hydrothermal facilities including Finnish saunas, crystal steam rooms, heated loungers, experiential showers, hydrotherapy pools, an igloo, salt grotto, foot therapy pools and a cold plunge.
There’s also an indoor aquatic therapy/exercise pool, Watsu pool, Meditation Cave, beauty salon, hairdresser and barber. At the hotel’s Alchemy Bar you can create your own body scrub before using it in your treatment!
I personally had the most wonderful massage – possibly one of the best and most relaxing I’ve had! A true chance to switch off from the mental load that builds up before a trip.
Six Senses Kaplankaya goes even further beyond the traditional luxury spa offerings. There are dedicated yoga, Pilates, cycling and cardio studios, a weights and movement room, squash court/TRX area and a waterfront space for yoga and meditation and a 24 hour gym. Guests can have wellness screenings, body-composition analysis, cardio-metabolic testing and VO2 max testing, with specialists including exercise physiologists and medical doctors. Six Senses then offers personalised programmes covering sleep, fitness, detox, yoga, weight management and longevity. This hotel isn’t just about having a quick massage, is about genuinely leaving feeling better than when you arrived.
Outside the wellness facilities there’s plenty of options for getting your heart racing like hiking, biking, water sports, tennis and volley ball. To be honest, exercise is not my thing (especially on holidays) but if it is yours, you will be spoilt for choice.
The hotel’s Earth Lab also runs daily classes for adults like candle and suncream making and Turkish marbling among other things.
One important thing to know is that Six Senses Kaplankaya doesn’t offer much in the way of evening entertainment. If you want a resort with big evening shows, entertainment, music in the bar and parties on the beach, this isn’t the hotel to choose. There was a movie on the beach one night but that was the only evening activity.
The evenings here are much more about long dinners, watching the sunset, enjoying the setting and having a slower, more intimate evening. Personally I think there could have been a quiet / classy bubble man or something but that’s just not the vibe.
Kids Club
The Grow with Six Senses kids club is complimentary for children over 4. Under 4s can join in activities if you come along or book a one on one baby sitter for your little one.
I love the idea behind the Kids Club which get the kids involved in the overall philosopy of Six Senses and the Six Senses Kaplankaya’s sense of place. It’s not just arts and crafts and cookery but it’s local food using local ingredients, yoga, garden tours, candle making, scrub making and outdoor sports. Activities aren’t an afterthought here they reflect what the adults are doing in the rest of the resort.
Recent places that I’ve stayed have screens in the kids club room but there wasn’t one in sight here, just lots of opportunity for interactive play.
They do run a cinema / film night but it’s not a case of kids can just go on screens whenever like at other resorts.
Food
Food is a really key of the experience at Six Senses Kaplankaya and it follows the same philosophy as the rest of the resort. The idea behind Eat With Six Senses is fresh, seasonal food, lots of plants, local produce and ingredients sourced locally, lots of which are grown in the resort’s organic garden. Having said that this absolutely isn’t somewhere where you’re expected to live on green juice and salads (though there is a wohle matcha menu). There are indulgent dishes, desserts, cocktails and wine alongside all the healthier choices. Everything was excellent quality and we didn’t have a bad meal here!
There are three main restaurants at Six Senses Kaplankaya. Breakfast at Sage & Sea in the hotel’s main building is one of the food highlights and feels very special. I love it when a hotel has a small curated buffet of amazing food food rather than a massive buffet of rubbish!
There’s a Turkish-style spread alongside international breakfast choices such cheeses, olives, meats, yoghurt, nuts, honey, pastries and breads, as well as eggs and other dishes cooked to order. The gözleme station, where traditional Turkish flatbreads are freshly prepared and filled with ingredients such as spinach and cheese or spicy meat was dangerously addictive. It gives kids a chance to try new things but also to fall back on dippy eggs, pancakes and croissants of necessary!
Sage & Sea transforms from the breakfast restaurant into an Aegean and Mediterranean-inspired dinner venue. The menu is pretty eclectic with Turkish classics alongside sushi.
Our favourite restaurant was Mezze by the Sea which specialises in seafood cooked to perfection… and the setting is as special as the food with the most gorgeous sunset views (top tip get there early and head to the adjacent Sunset bar first!). Order a whole fish between you and some delicious mezze between you.
Ortakoy Beach Bar & Barbeque Grill was our daily lunch venue as it is right by the main beach and the perfect place to get salads, pastas and burgers.
This beef salad was to die for!
In the evening it becomes Kebab and Oak and serves Turkish specials, I really recommend the beef pizza thing!
Every restaurant is child-friendly, I had wished there was more menu variety as it’s the same menu at each restaurant for kids but it’s very high quality – yes there are chicken nuggets but they are good ones!
Reiken is inside the hotel and by the main pool but has outside management so slightly different menu, it’s a predominantly Japanese restaurant serving excellent food both for lunch and dinner. Oscar loves the salmon sushi.
Anhinga, 10 minutes away from the main property, gives you a chance to feel like you’re leaving the hotel without actually going! The setting is beautiful and the menu is crowd pleasing with salads, pizza and seafood. It’s also open for dinner though we never went for dinner there. It is very expensive but they generally all are!
It’s worth noting that the restaurants were always very quiet and mostly empty meaning there was never any problem getting a reservation even with 8 of us!
Good to Know
Service – The GEM (Guest Experience Maker) was excellent and always on the end of a what’s app to organise restaurant reservations, spa treatments, activities and transfers. They had a super quick response time and made everything feel so personal and seamless. The buggy collection was very speedy too. Restaurant service was brilliant and responsive.
Mosquitos – I got bitten a lot! Bring your spray.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a luxury family holiday where you can have incredible food, beautiful surroundings, space, wellness and genuinely thoughtful experiences for your children, I think Six Senses Kaplankaya is an amazing option.
You definitely don’t have to choose between having a fantastic holiday for your children and having the luxury experience you want as a parent. But bear in mind that it’s peaceful and experiential rather than about parties and entertainment.
Great for Kids
Kids experiences aren’t an afterthought, they’re integral to the philosophy
Activities are intentional and unique
Family focused spaces such as pool and beach.
Great for Parents
Beautiful design both exterior and interior, natural and fitting the enviroment.
Spacious and well designed family rooms.
Huge spa and wellness offering.
PIN IT!!!
