EliteVoyage CEO Petr Udavský is one of the first to experience Bijal, Antalya’s first “ultra-luxury” resort.
He discovered an exclusive and highly boutique beach property, with only 19 villas, a destination resort that’s completely new for Antalya.
Bijal is still in a soft-opening phase and not everything was perfect about the stay.
Here, Petr shares his detailed feedback about Bijal, including why it’s so distinctive and everything you should look out for.
Petr’s Summary of Bijal
The main strength of Bijal is the all-villa concept.
This is a very boutique resort with only 19 villas, across a huge plot of pine forest and beach. Elsewhere in Antalya they would squeeze hundreds of rooms into the same space!
Other than the cicadas in the forest it’s a very silent place, perfectly relaxing for spending time together with family or your partner.
The villas are very private and the beach was almost empty throughout my stay – how rare is that to find in Turkey!
It’s this exclusivity and privacy that’s most reflected in the resort’s price, which is significantly more than other five-star Antalya properties.
I always expect to find some small issues at a new hotel. It takes time to perfect the service and operations. Bijal wasn’t an exception and we’ll happily talk to you personally in more detail, so you know whether these small issues would impact your own stay.
A Rare All-Villa Concept in Antalya
The villas are delightfully made, with lovely fabrics, carpets and features. Each has a cosy living room with a sofa and marble coffee table, stacked with Turkish desserts and a bottle of Champagne for my arrival.
One of Turkey’s most successful businesswomen Esin Gural Argat created the resort. She also created two of the best Maldives resorts, JOALI BEING and JOALI Maldives.
JOALI and Bijal were both designed Autoban Studio and you can see the similarities. Visually it’s perfect, although some of the materials don’t quite feel to the same standards as JOALI. In fairness, JOALI do have some of the very best villas in the world.
The best thing about the villas is the privacy. Each has a garden with an outdoor pool that’s completely private – nobody can see in.
The pool wasn’t heated during my stay but it was more than warm enough. Villas are a few minutes walk to the beach and they provide bicycles to get around the resort too.
Bijal has a mix of villa sizes, from the one-bedroom option for couples to a four-bedroom house for extended families. There’s not much difference between them other than the number of bedrooms.
Except for 2 villas. I recommend you don’t stay in 2 villas, as they are very close to the street and you will hear traffic noise.
Also be prepared for the cicadas who live in the pine trees. I found them really loud on my first day, but it was fine once I was accustomed to their hum.
An Unusual Play Concept
The concept of Bijal is play. Creator Esin Gural Argat told me:
We designed our concept to help guests rediscover their life energies and potentials. Play processes are beneficial for the mind and soul. We are creating a playground where guests can unleash their imagination and have fun.
I did a workshop creating a mug out of clay. When you walk from the villa to the beach there will be a speed camera, so you can run past and see your speed.
They will paint the pavement with children’s games. I found chess boards on the towels. Housekeeping will prepare a treasure hunt in your villa, hiding things to find. There are other rooms games too.
The children’s area is great too. There is a small kids club and a dedicated pool for babies. In time, guests should also be able to utilise the teenager club and kids club at sister hotel Ali Bey.
They are focused on really entertaining throughout the entire stay. And creating an environment where you can spend quality time together with the people you love.
At the same time, many things from the play concept are not at the resort yet. They are just starting with this brand new concept and it will take time for everything to come together.
I haven’t seen this concept anywhere else and I’m sure Bijal will be improving it over time, as they get feedback from guests.
Service and Dining at Bijal
With all new hotel openings I expect to see flaws in the service. It takes time for a team to learn how they best work together, so small mistakes in operations and service are normal at new hotels.
One nice touch on a service level was the airport transfer. They have a very VIP version of a Mercedes Sprinter, with televisions on the inside.
Many of the staff came from the Ali Bey, the sister resort next door. Some of them are not yet at the same level as service at a true five-star hotel. It wasn’t wrong or bad, it will just take time to train them.
For these reasons we often recommend waiting a few months after opening before staying at a new hotel.
Another area of improvement is gastronomy. There are two restaurants and a nice space to dine al fresco. Plus a special in-room dining menu which can work for families. Half board is possible too.
Recommendations for a Bijal Holiday
Still, Bijal is a really nice and exclusive beach resort, so it could be an option for your holidays this autumn. You just need to be clear and careful about your exact expectations.
Speak to me first and I can advise you personally about Bijal.
There’s not too much to do in the surrounding area. You can walk to Side, a historical town with some very impressive Roman and ancient Greek ruins, including an amphitheatre.
Collaborations with nearby golf courses are in the pipeline, but other than that, there’s not much more than the resort unless you drive for one hour.
But what the resort really benefits from is the beach. It’s a huge beach considering there are only 19 villas and each of these also has a private pool. Although it’s not private per se, the beach cabanas are exclusively for Bijal guests.
It’s rare to find such a nice and empty beach on the Mediterranean in summer, especially rare in Antalya.
At Bijal they have created a very exclusive and private resort, something very new for the region on many levels. I’m confident it will be a very strong resort in the years to come.
And if you want to travel to Bijal this year, ask me your questions.
