Anantara Heads Inland at Çeşme as the Mediterranean's Second Tier Draws the Capital

Minor Hotels has confirmed Anantara Retreat Çeşme and Anantara Residences Çeşme, a 54-key retreat with 50 branded residences in the village of Çakabey, in the Çeşme district of İzmir Province, scheduled to open in 2030. The project forms part of the Castello Fontana masterplan, developed by Arikan Proje Geliştirme A.Ş., with vineyards and hills around it, a rooftop skygazing bar, an Anantara Spa & Wellness centre, tennis and padel courts and a Kids & Teens Club. It sits roughly an hour from İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport.

Amir Golbarg, Minor Hotels' COO for the Middle East and Africa, called Çeşme "one of Türkiye's most exciting emerging luxury destinations"; Orfea Tito Arıkan, chair of the board at Arıkan Proje Geliştirme, framed the partnership around experiential tourism.

The move follows a broader repositioning of Mediterranean investment away from the marquee coastlines. Malta has gained Delta's first nonstop from New York JFK and expects French beach club Bagatelle this summer, in a market shaped by Corinthia founder and executive chairman Alfred Pisani, whose group now runs 32 hotels. In Mallorca, restored fincas inland — Son Xotano at Sencelles, Finca Serena at Montuïri, Can Beneït at Binibona — are pulling guests off the coast, while Ischia's kitchens, among them the D'Ambra family's Trattoria Il Focolare, trade on volcanic-soil produce rather than sea views.