Travel

Europe's most extravagant hotel

The first thing you notice about Europe's most extravagant hotel is its ugliness, says Susan d'Arcy in The Sunday Times. From the outside, the Mardan Palace in Turkey, which opened this week, resembles "Soviet Barbie's wedding cake", due to its "endless layers of white and gold".

Once you get inside, it becomes clear that the hotel is a "temple of excess", says Ashley Pearson in the Daily Mail. The centre piece is its five-acre pool. It has a sunken aquarium with 2,400 fish, including sharks. So you can "literally 'swim with the fishes' – albeit on the other side of a thick wall of glass", says Pearson. Spend £13,000 on a night in one of the top suites and your money buys you the use of a £45,000 television and a grand piano. Or for £1,500 you can spend an hour in the private spa suite, accessed through a waterfall parted by a special key – perfect for indulging your inner Bond villain.

Yet beyond the vulgar exterior and gimmicks such as remote-controlled toilets, there is an impressive hotel with areas "that, while jaw-droppingly lavish, are really quite beautiful", says d'Arcy. The hotel is designed to reflect Istanbul's status as a bridge between Asian and European cultures. The lobby and Dolmabahce rooms represent Istanbul, then there are two wings; in one the rooms are designed in a "crisp and contemporary" European style, while the other has a more opulent Ottoman-style. The Dolmabahce rooms are "the most ornate" with lots of "mahogany, dark reds and intricate fittings," says d'Arcy.

When it comes to food, the Mardan has it all. Ten restaurants provide global cuisine from Russia to Japan, all prepared by Michelin-trained chefs. D'Arcy "found the dishes consistently very good" and reasonably priced, with most mains priced between £10 and £13, although alcohol is expensive. In all, "if you secretly enjoy a bit of wanton excess on holiday", this is the place for you. It's got all the bling of Dubai, but is much cheaper and closer.

• Doubles from £326 a night B&B. See Mardanpalace.com , or call 00 90 242 310 4100.