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Char Me Boutique Hotel, Antalya

Olga
Char Me Boutique Hotel’s illuminated stone façade, wooden upper floor and entrance on Zafer Sokak.

Char Me Boutique Hotel is a small hotel on Zafer Sokak in Kaleiçi, Antalya’s old town. With nine rooms, a garden and an outdoor pool, it offers a manageable way to stay close to the city’s restaurants, historic streets and harbour. I found it simple yet charming. The location was its greatest advantage.

We had come from the Dominican Republic, where we lived at the time, by way of Istanbul, with very definite ideas about what made a good swimming beach. This journey had other priorities: Turkish culture, good baklava, some work, and returning to places where I had lived and worked. Antalya was my first foreign city. I wanted to show Kostya something of the country I knew.

Most importantly, many of my friends still lived in Antalya and worked in tourism. Long dinners at outdoor tables in the old town suited those reunions wonderfully. Staying in Kaleiçi made far more sense for us than an all-inclusive hotel along the coast.

Kaleiçi on foot

The hotel gives you the old town as part of your daily life. You can leave on foot for dinner, wander down towards the harbour, or walk out through Hadrian’s Gate into the wider city. We liked being able to make those small outings without turning each one into a car journey.

The sea is close, though staying here is a different proposition from booking a hotel with its own stretch of beach. Mermerli is a small beach beside the old harbour, reached through the streets of Kaleiçi and down towards the water. The coast was somewhere we walked and looked out over; swimming was never the purpose of this stay.

If I were returning today, I would also make time for the Suna & İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum. A restored house introduces the domestic customs of nineteenth-century Antalya, while the former church beside it holds a collection of Çanakkale ceramics. It is a good way to give the old houses around you a little more meaning.

Boats and waterfront buildings around Antalya’s old harbour, seen from above.
Antalya’s old harbour and the Mediterranean coast beyond the marina.
Olga looking over Antalya’s old harbour from a railing above the marina.
A morning walk above Antalya’s old harbour.

Our Deluxe Room

We booked a Deluxe Room. The appeal was the character of the house and the convenience of the address. I would keep that in mind when choosing a room: “Deluxe” here belongs to a small old-town hotel, with a very different scale from Antalya’s large resorts.

Our room had a long table behind the bed, useful to know about if work is part of your trip. The hotel currently lists desks, air conditioning and free in-room Wi-Fi. I would ask for photographs of the particular room before booking, especially if you need a comfortable place to work for several hours. The rooms have different layouts, and a desk in an amenities list tells you less than seeing the space.

The bed beside arched windows and exposed stone walls in our Deluxe Room at Char Me.
A double bed, white wardrobe, writing table and air conditioner in our Char Me Deluxe Room.
Our Char Me Deluxe Room, showing the bed and storage behind it.
The bed facing two windows and a television in the stone-walled Deluxe Room at Char Me.
A long writing table and chair behind the bed in our Deluxe Room at Char Me.
The writing table, arched windows and kettle in our Char Me Deluxe Room.
Our Deluxe Room, from the bed to the writing table.

The bathroom had a shower. For anyone who finds stairs difficult, the layout of this small house is another detail to settle directly with the hotel before reserving; the central wooden staircase is part of its character.

The toilet and grey tiled walls in the bathroom of our Char Me Deluxe Room.
A washbasin, mirrors, hairdryer, bathrobe and towels in our Char Me bathroom.
The shower and grey tiled walls in our Char Me bathroom.
The bathroom in our Deluxe Room.

Breakfast in the garden

Breakfast was included in our reservation, and we ate in the garden. It was a Turkish breakfast served to the table, an easy beginning before heading out into the city or along the coast.

Breakfast is still offered, but check whether it is included in the rate you choose. A room-only price and a breakfast-inclusive price are not quite the same offer in a hotel where the morning meal is one of the pleasures.

Olives, cheeses, preserves and orange juice at breakfast at Char Me Boutique Hotel.
Breakfast dishes and the Char Me logo on the table setting.
A close view of olives, preserves and cheese at Char Me’s garden breakfast.
Eggs in metal pans, bread, olives, cheeses, preserves and tea at Char Me Boutique Hotel.
Eggs in metal pans, bread, olives, cheeses, preserves and tea at Char Me Boutique Hotel.
Breakfast in the garden.

A garden between outings

The garden gave us somewhere to sit between walks and drives. Kostya made good use of a suspended lounger. That outdoor space is a useful addition to such a central address.

A garden table and wicker chairs beside a brick wall with flowers at Char Me Boutique Hotel.
Kostya relaxing in a suspended garden lounger at Char Me Boutique Hotel.
The garden at Char Me, with Kostya in a hanging lounger.

There is also a small seasonal outdoor pool and a bar. Together with the garden, they make the hotel more inviting for an afternoon at home, although the city remained the main attraction for us.

A small outdoor pool with loungers and parasols within the stone-walled courtyard at Char Me.
The pool. Courtesy of Char Me Boutique Hotel.

Dinners and the coast I knew

I had worked for a destination management company along this coast, so driving around it meant revisiting a familiar part of my life. The car was useful for those days; Kaleiçi was where we wanted to come back for the evening.

Friends gave this visit its rhythm. We could meet over dinner in an outdoor restaurant and let the conversation run on. There was Turkish food to return to and a great deal to catch up on. Our baklava came from Şerbetçi, in Balbey, just north of the old town.

One of our meals took us out to Günaydın in Lara, where we ate on the terrace. It was a reminder that choosing a hotel in the old town need not confine the trip to it.

Three plates of meze on a white tablecloth at Günaydın in Lara, Antalya.
An outdoor table set for dinner at Günaydın in Lara, with palms and the sea beyond.
A kebab with yoghurt and tomato sauce served at Günaydın in Lara, Antalya.
Meze, the terrace and kebab at Günaydın in Lara.

Bringing a car

The hotel provided parking for us. In this location, that was a considerable plus: we wanted both the freedom to drive along the coast and the ease of staying in the old town.

I would arrange that directly before arriving. Ask where to leave the car, how to reach the hotel, and whether there is a charge.

Char Me Boutique Hotel’s illuminated stone façade, wooden upper floor and entrance on Zafer Sokak.
Char Me on Zafer Sokak. Courtesy of Char Me Boutique Hotel.

Char Me worked well for the Antalya we had come to see. A small hotel, breakfast in the garden, the car taken care of, and dinner within walking distance. For this return to the city, that was plenty.