Alaçatı Boutique Hotel

On one of Alaçatı's stone streets, this 24-room boutique hotel — formed from a restored group of stone houses — sought the balance between preserving local architectural identity and offering contemporary comfort. We began the design process by understanding the original character of the existing stone buildings; our aim was not to erase them but to let them speak again with a contemporary life.

At the heart of the hotel are the shared spaces composed around an old courtyard. Reception, lounge and breakfast area are linked in an organic flow around stone walls, timber beams and a great tree in the shade of the courtyard. In these spaces we left the original stone surfaces as they were; every newly added element — furniture, lighting, textile — was grafted onto this historic fabric with respect.

The rooms were designed so that each is unique. The original geometry of the building did not allow a standard room plan; we treated this not as a constraint but as an opportunity. Each room was composed according to the view of its own window, its own ceiling height and the character of its own stone wall. A restrained palette — lime wash, natural linen, brushed timber and local stone — gives the rooms a calm, restful atmosphere.

The bathrooms were designed as small but refined spaces. Micro-cement surfaces, brass fittings and natural stone basins define luxury through the quality of material rather than display. Each bathroom has a small window or rooflight that draws in the Aegean light.

The hotel restaurant was composed to host both guests and visitors from outside. An open kitchen, a seating area opening to the courtyard and warm lighting that takes over in the evening turn the space into a meeting point. The stone terrace in the garden becomes one of Alaçatı's most enjoyable dining spots on summer evenings.

Lighting design was one of the most important layers in setting the hotel's atmosphere. The openings that draw the strong Aegean light inward in a controlled way by day give way in the evening to warm, low, layered light. The courtyard and garden lighting was planned to emphasise the stone textures softly.

Over a nine-month restoration and build, we managed the whole process, from the restoration of the stone walls to the production of the room furniture. The reception desk, the bedside units in the rooms and some of the restaurant tables were made in our own workshop. The Alaçatı Boutique Hotel became a project that shows it is possible to offer contemporary comfort while preserving the soul of a place.