Review: Susona Bodrum, Hilton LXR

I visited Susona Bodrum for one night on my recent trip to Türkiye. After an amazing stay at The Bodrum EDITION, I was looking forward to trying out another one of the small handful of hotels bookable on points here in Bodrum and seeing how it would compare.

Susona is a member of Hilton’s LXR Hotels & Resorts brand, which is a collection of nine independent luxury resorts around the world. This would be my first-ever stay at an LXR property, so I arrived on the property with high hopes for the brand. 

Susona Bodrum – Booking

With cash rates running at over €600 ($780) for a one-night stay, I was more than happy to use my Hilton Free Night Reward for this booking, which helped me save significantly on what would have otherwise been a very expensive trip.

Using points, I would have paid 95,000 Hilton Honors points, which also would’ve been a steep price to pay. In contrast, with the Hilton Free Night Reward, it was completely free.

This is a good example of how valuable these Hilton certificates can be – unlike, say, Marriott’s Free Night Awards, Hilton’s free night instruments are uncapped in terms of how luxurious of a property you can book. 

Upon making the reservation, I reached out to the hotel via email to ask about an upgrade. Unfortunately, there was no chat function on the Hilton app for me to connect with the hotel and see if I could swing an upgrade to a nicer room.

The hotel responded a few hours later and confirmed an upgrade to the King Junior Suite with Balcony as a Hilton Diamond member. I did inquire about a possible further upgrade to one of the suites with a private pool, though to no avail. 

 

Susona Bodrum – Location

Susona Bodrum is a seaside resort along an endless stretch of coastline on the Aegean Sea. The exact location is in a quiet area around 35 minutes south from the airport and 20 minutes north from the city of Bodrum by vehicle.

Susona is also a bit further away from the town of Yalıkavak, where many other resorts in the region are located, including The Bodrum EDITION.

The surrounding area has everything you’d hope for out of a sleepy coastal peninsula, with charming homes on rolling hills that blend in seamlessly with the landscape.

The main tourist attraction in the area, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Other attractions include the ancient city walls and other Greek ruins that can be found in the city of Bodrum, only 20 minutes to the south.

From Bodrum, a short 20-minute speedboat ride takes you to the Greek island of Kos, which would make for an excellent day trip if you had the time.

Susona Bodrum – Check-In

My check-in experience was friendly and smooth, as I was treated to some excellent Turkish hospitality by the resort’s very enthusiastic staff.

The staff member proactively offered me some iced orange juice as a welcome beverage, and afterwards, gave me a rundown of the resort’s amenities and facilities.

As warm of a welcome as I received, it was also somewhat rough around the edges, in a way that I’ve come to anticipate as part of Turkish hospitality.

For example, one of the bellboys said we’d be waiting for a buggy to take us to the room. After about five minutes, there was no buggy to be seen, and apparently all of the buggies were busy, so we ended up having to walk.

Despite this rather small inconvenience, the staff were well-intentioned and friendly, and this didn’t change my opinion of the check-in experience as a whole.

During check-in, the staff also confirmed my King Junior Suite with Balcony upgrade, as well as my Hilton Diamond breakfast entitlement for the following morning.

While walking around the resort, I thought the interiors of the hotel were less luxurious or ostentatious than I might have expected from the LXR brand.

I really didn’t know what exactly to expect from this brand coming in, but I had envisioned LXR to be something along the lines of Hilton’s equivalent to Marriott’s Luxury Collection brand, and I would’ve perhaps expected just a little bit more sophistication in all the finishes.

Susona is situated on its own little peninsula here on Bodrum’s coastline. We walked down a circular path that goes all the way around the resort, leading to the individual blocks that house the suites, rooms, and villas.

Susona Bodrum – King Junior Suite with Balcony

At the end of the walk, I was shown to my villa block and escorted upstairs to Room 26, a King Junior Suite with Balcony.

My first impression was that the layout of the room was slightly odd.

Immediately upon entry, there was a foyer with a little sitting area situated a half-step down, overlooking the interior of the resort grounds.

Compared to the suite’s other sitting areas overlooking the water, there’s no reason why one would spend time here, and I didn’t think the space made too much sense.

As I stepped into the shared bedroom and living area, I took in my surroundings of the trapezoid-shaped space leading to the balcony.

I noticed the colour tones were light with a cream, beige, and blue colour palette, resembling that of the Aegean Sea mere metres away from where I stood.

My attention was immediately drawn to a huge mirror wall behind the bed. While this certainly contributes to a lot of natural light bouncing throughout the room, it still struck me as a somewhat odd arrangement.

There was a sleek white all-in-one minibar, pantry, and television cabinet that was certainly an interesting design, and not one I’ve seen before. 

The pantry contained a Nespresso machine and ample bottled water for both drinking and brewing coffee.

Opposite from the wall unit was a three-piece sectional couch with pastel-hued pillows. In the middle of the room is a two-tiered coffee table, where I also found my welcome gift of strawberries, chocolate, and a choice of still or sparkling water. 

A walk-through closet takes up the entire section behind the bed, with ample space to unpack.

I would’ve certainly made better use of the large closet, which also had a small vanity, if I were spending a longer time at the resort, as it contains a lot of space to organize and settle into the suite.

The two-sink bathroom was fairly upscale, with nice glass and marble finishes.

The toilet is housed in its own glass enclosure on the opposite end of the bathroom.

The shower and bathtub were housed in a single glass-enclosed wet room, which is a style of bathroom design that I always appreciate.

The highlight of the suite was definitely the balcony, which offered a spectacular sunset view. I spent a lot of time soaking in the view and enjoying the warm breeze.

The balcony also had a view of a small jetty in the distance, from which you could take a dip in the sea, as well as a jealousy-inducing view of another suite’s “private” pool downstairs.

Overall, I mostly liked the King Junior Suite and enjoyed my time in here. As much as I thought it had a strange design, the killer sunset views from the balcony certainly made up for it.

Susona Bodrum – Breakfast

Breakfast was the highlight of my stay at Susona Bodrum, served at the Ezi main restaurant from 7–11am. 

I was served a full Turkish breakfast mezze spread with all the trimmings: from smoked salmon to flatbread, all the way to simit (Turkish bagels).

There was also a selection of cheeses, butters, breads, and vegetables to peck away at, all served up on a colourful arrangement of small plates.

If the entire spread isn’t enough, it’s also possible to order more dishes on the side, such as menemen – Turkish eggs.

The breakfast spread here very much stays true to its Turkish roots, and I really enjoyed it – although it paled in comparison to the even more outstanding breakfast over at the EDITION. 

Susona Bodrum – Dining

The resort has two main sit-down dining options. Ezi is the more casual poolside dining venue where I spent one of my meals, enjoying some food and scenery.

I ordered a tasty burger with some delicious French fries on the side, at what I felt was an expensive but not outrageous price point of around $25 (CAD).

I didn’t get a chance to try Malva, which serves local Aegean cuisine, the panoramic views from this restaurant looked spectacular from the elevated outdoor seating area. There’s also a cocktail bar on the outdoor patio, which would be a great place to enjoy a drink.

Susona Bodrum – Pools & Beach

Near Ezi, there is a hot tub and infinity pool, which I suppose offers a true infinity edge when viewed at just the right angle. 

Next to the pool are a few cabanas, although the amount of seating here is much less than down at the Frankie Beach Club, the resort’s other poolside venue.

The Frankie Beach Club is on the lower level of the resort, and also operates independently from the hotel. 

Here, you’ll find a larger pool with many chairs dotted around for you to relax, sunbathe, and enjoy some poolside catering.

Susona Bodrum doesn’t offer a “true” beach. Instead, there is a series of jetties jutting out into the ocean, where deck chairs are available for relaxing.

From these jetties, ladders lead down to the water for those who wish to swim, akin to an experience you might find in the Maldives.

Having just visited the Maldives myself earlier this month, I wasn’t necessarily feeling keen to participate in this scaled-down version of the “Maldives experience”, but I saw many other guests getting great use out of the facilities.

Susona Bodrum – Other Facilities

The resort also hosts a spa and a fitness centre, housed in a bulbous building with floor-to-ceiling glass panels. Like many other things at this resort, it’s certainly an interesting shape!

The fitness centre was well-equipped with a wide variety of machines. There was also an impressive outdoor workout area with pull-up bars, rings, and an aerobic space.

The indoor space was surrounded by high-reaching windows, letting in a lot of sunlight. The workout options were plentiful, with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and strength-training equipment.

There was an additional, smaller workout room which contained every kind of exercise ball and foam roller you could possibly desire.

It’s a shame that I didn’t have time sneak in a workout here, as it would’ve been a unique place to do so. 

Conclusion

I found Susona Bodrum to be a nice enough spot for relaxation and enjoying the poolside vibes, but I wouldn’t say it was an outstanding resort experience that I might have expected from Hilton’s LXR brand.

On one hand, the breakfast was very satisfying, the views of the surrounding area were spectacular, and the staff operated with a charming enthusiasm. Despite these positives, I found the resort to be a little rough around the edges in terms of its physical features, enough to detract from the overall experience. 

I can’t help but make comparisons to my experience at The Bodrum EDITION just before this, a resort that I found to be much more polished or sophisticated. Should I return to Bodrum, I’d definitely revisit the EDITION or try a new property rather than coming back here.

Despite my rather indifferent stay at Susona, I’m still curious to try out more LXR properties in the future, and I do hope to discover a better representation of the brand somewhere among its eight other locations.