XO Cape Arnna, Dalaman, Turkey

Why book?

It’s a spanking new all-inclusive five-star resort in the crystal clear Fethiye bay that ticks many boxes: capacious rooms, 37 pools, a futuristic kids club, adults-only zones, an all-day schedule of exercise classes and a roster of international restaurants. And the best thing is, if you don’t go off plan, there is no bill to sign at the end.

Set the scene

It can be a case of spot the arrivals that aren’t from the British Isles at Dalaman airport – with its golden coastline, all-inclusive vibe, and shops selling imitation designer ware, the area is a magnet for package holidaymakers. Look beyond this, and there's so much to explore. The spellbinding terrain is home to hiking trails, Fethiye is a charming town to visit, and ancient ruins are carved into nearby hills. XO Cape Arnna stands out for its slick design, smooth service and brilliantly realised rooms. You could explore the locale, but with so many distractions on site, most choose not to. It sits on a calm bay with a sandy beach (not Maldivian white but very clean and perfect for making castles with) and stunning views of sapphire islets.

The backstory

The resort was built from scratch and opened in April 2025. XO Cape Arnna is the first hotel of the XO Collection brand, owned by umbrella company Özyer Group, a long-established homegrown conglomerate (they own other all-inclusive hotel groups and jewellery brands among other interests). Watch this space – they're looking to open more in areas including Bali and the Caribbean.

The rooms

The resort is divided into two sides – The Club, which is adults only, and the family-friendly Resort. Both offer the option of an ingenious swim-up communal pool, where all ground-floor rooms lead into a long swimming pool. The adult quarter offers calm, child-free pools and restaurants. Family rooms have twin beds in a separate room next to the front door and a master bedroom with sliding doors leading to a balcony or terrace. Some have a hot tub. All ‘included’ mini bars offer free-flowing Efes beer, own-brand herbal teas, soft drinks and snacks. Divine cedar-scented bespoke Atelier Rebul toiletries come in large bottles in bathrooms.

Try and avoid a car park-facing room (request this on booking – the price is no different, and they're usually reserved for when the resort is at capacity). The design is comfortingly neutral, with bespoke palm tree murals behind beds and sculptural wall art.

Food and drink

Eleven restaurants and cafes/bars serve everything from deftly sliced sashimi to fire-seared Argentinian steak to bubbling black-crusted Naploli-style pizza. The breakfast buffet at Mad Med is exceptional: 15 types of olive, 12 of tomato, running from postbox red to orange to saffron-hued, some oregano-flecked, others dotted in sorrel green olive oil. The salad bar is lavish: creamy bowls of smoky aubergine dips, technicolour platters of feta and raw veg salad. Gym goers file in from their complimentary reformer Pilates class, plates piled high with goodness. But around the corner lies temptation: glistening wheels of cheese-filled borek, a toastie station offering five different versions, plump sweet braided loaves, bowls filled to the brim with tahini, nut butters and dripping slabs of honeycomb next to the pancake chef. I drag my girls from the sugared almond stand, their eyes on stalks. We make a daily beeline for the juice bar, where collagen, made with beetroot, lemon, ginger and carrot, is peped up with a tear-inducing extra lug of ginger. The buffet is also available at lunch and dinner, with the Niche Quiche station catering to vegans, with dishes such as spelt pancakes with grated carrot.

Beach lunches overlooking the sandy stretch and islands dotted in the distance consist of easy on the eye poke bowls, fried chicken platters to mop up all-inclusive hangovers and seared salmon salads. Restaurants open at 7pm in the evening, and while not everything worked (the menus can go a tad off piste sometimes), the hits were the freshly made sushi at Sun Tzu, delicious steak at adults-only The Duchess and the bubbly charred pizza at Cucina dei Cugini. There is also a modern riff on a Turkish restaurant, Kafi, which we didn’t try.

All-inclusive entitles you to one dinner at each restaurant, after which you have to pay (although the steak house Mucho Gusto is always paid for). The buffet is always included.

The sugar-coated highlight of the trip was Clementine, the Laduree-esque patisserie, a pastel-hued Wonkaland where dripping fountains of chocolate lure children (and adults) like bees to honey. Here you can dip fruit, or some just let it fill a paper cup and drink it in one… (thank goodness for those fitness classes). Blush coloured fancies, mocha eclairs, and crisp-skinned mousse cakes sit temptingly behind cabinets, then there are the freshly churned ice creams to choose from. Only on the last hour of the last day do I tell my children it is all included, and it is quite literally, kids in a candy shop. This still ranks as one of life’s highlights for them.

Wellness

The spa space is well thought out, with smiling staff greeting guests, a spa lounge serving tisanes and a very warm indoor pool. Beyond this lies a peaceful network of Himalayan salt rooms, hamman, steam rooms and kneipp pools. At the time of the visit, there were no restrictions on kids' swim times, which did jar for those wishing for some peace and quiet post-treatment, or a quiet dip. Otherwise, a deep tissue massage by my Balinese therapist was as rigorous as in any big-name hotel.

The gym has ample equipment and a lengthy timetable of complimentary daily classes, from easy temptations like Reformer, weight training, padel, and yoga to ‘I’ll try it once’ pole dancing, tribal belly dancing and trapeze. A separate beach studio houses mat classes and a sandy beach volleyball court is a popular hit.

There is an excellent and friendly salon with very affordable treatments, so those who are time-stretched or disorganised can have a manicure, pedicure or haircut on arrival for half the price of back at home.

The neighbourhood

There is a lot to explore if you wish to leave the hotel, and both mountain and e-bikes, as well as maps, are available to borrow. Fethiye is a 12-minute drive away – sup a treacle-dark coffee overlooking the bay dotted with gulet boats (many depart from here for the traditional cruises). There is snorkelling nearby and trips to secluded neighbouring islands (all this can be done from the hotel too). The stunning Lycian Way hike passes through the hills framing the resort – although this would probably be for another trip to the region. A 20-minute taxi ride away, you can marvel at the rock-hewn temples of Telmessos.

The service

Generally good. There is an App service, which means you can only book restaurants on the same day, via the APP, which occasionally can result in missed tables if you aren’t quick enough. Still, the incredibly helpful Guest Service desk is well manned, and issues are quickly resolved. The staff (the women clad in smart beige dresses) wander around the resort checking in on people’s bookings throughout the day. Each pool is manned with lifeguards, and rollerblading servers weave between loungers, taking orders for swimside cocktails. The buffet is teeming with helpful waiter,s and the gym staff and fitness instructors are very professional. The girls hugged the kids’ club team on departure.

For families

For this, XO Cape Arnna is outstanding. The new kids club is ingeniously designed by 3MOMS, the first architectural firm in Turkey to specialise exclusively in child-focused design, with a robotics lab to craft an automaton, an animation studio for budding Walt Disneys, a beauty parlour where little fingers and toes are adorned and a yoga and disco room. Open till a gobsmacking 11pm (this caters for the fact that there is no babysitting in bedrooms available currently), the highlight is the post-dinner disco and theatre show (Aladdin was a favourite). There is also a huge outdoor playground and for under 5s, a soft playroom complete with slides into ball pits. My 7-year-old loved the secret spy room complete with Mission Impossible-style lasers.

One thing to note: the kids club does not cater at all to under 2s so this is not ideal for those with young babies and those age two-five have to pay a pricey £30 an hour per child, so really it is best for those with children five and above unless you don’t mind being very hands-on during your stay (or paying up). Many children, however, will not be dragged from the water park, which comes with three separate zones: splash pool, five and over with slides, and then Alton Towers style derring do loop de loops for over 10s or for some rides, over 16s.

Eco effort

The hotel participates in Linen for Life, recycling bed linens and towels. There are electric vehicle charging stations for guests’ cars, rainwater storage and solar panels in use and has used EPD-certified materials in construction. We applauded the large refillable bottles of toiletries in bathrooms, but thought the bottled water situation could be improved. We got through scores of miniature bottles of water over four days between us.

Accessibility

XO has five fully accessible rooms for guests with disabilities, and all doorways and restrooms in common areas are wheelchair-friendly and adapted for accessibility.

Anything left to mention

There can be a party vibe to the resorts and one night we were kept up late, but generally this isn’t an issue, and everything has a midnight cut-off.