HotelChatter

Revolving restaurants have been around for years, so we knew technology was there. Several, like the Skydome Lounge in Crystal City, Virginia, sit atop hotels. (In this case, The Doubletree Hotel.) In fact, there are over 20 revolving hotel restaurants in the U.S., per this Wikipedia entry. There are also revolving restaurants atop hotels sprinkled around the world in places like Quebec City, Cairo, Mumbia, Tokyo.

The idea of turning, as opposed to tossing and turning, in your sleep is intriguing even in this era of hoteliers one-upping each other with their caves and treehouses and ice palaces.

Whether you stay in the Revolving Loft or not, the Marmara Anatalya looks like it's got the makings for a great stay. For starters, it's a visual delight. Modern, bright, whimsical, spacious. The Tuti Floor, a common space, looks like something straight out of Fellini's Julieta of the Spirits. The design team (architects Ertur Yener, Zafer Gülçur, Erdoğan Elmas for YEG Mimarlık, with rooms decorated by the French designer Christian Allart) was nominated last year for the Best Hotel Architecture Villegiature Award.

There's a private beach on the Falaz cliffs, an Olympic-length pool and, for paddling fanatics, an artificial river. We found rates for this weekend (why not?) at 78 Euros for the main building, 108 for the Revolving Loft.

The eight reviews on TripAdvisor were generally favorable, though one poster griped that staying in the revolving wing sometimes meant that your room looked out onto ... guestrooms in the main building. Somehow we think we could put up with that. After all, it wouldn't last forever.

[Photo: Ltesch]