We previously reported on the celebrity guest list planned for this weekend's celebrations at a new luxury hotel in Antalya, where the new 560 room Mardan Palace Hotel is opening. Further West along the Turkish coast at Dalaman, the Hilton group is putting together the final touches at its first new hotel and spa resort in Turkey which is currently taking bookings from July 15th.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is obviously placing a huge amount of faith in the future of this part of Turkey, having announced plans for 11 new hotel contracts last year, which effectively doubles their footprint in Turkey. Ongoing plans are reported to include 40 hotel openings in Turkey over the next 5 years.

The Hilton Dalaman Golf resort and Spa is a 384 room hotel located on the wonderful Sarigerme beach, just 8 miles from Dalaman International Airport. Unfortunately, despite its name, the resort will not be able to offer a golf course for guests until sometime next year, but it does have tennis courts and ten swimming pools, 7 outdoor and 3 indoor. The hotel also has a spectacular glass-roofed lobby area and its own private beach area. There is an on-site Aqua Park for children to enjoy and plenty of watersports opportunities on the beach.

As an investment area Dalaman is still thriving and developers report that properties overlooking the beach here can still be purchased at very reasonable prices. Increases to the number of flights to Dalaman airport are also making the area more accessible and therefore attractive to property investors.

One property developer recently ranked Turkey alongside Paris, London, New York and Southern Cyprus as one of the top ten safest areas in the world for the purchase of primary or secondary homes from an investment perspective. As well as Dalaman, other favoured locations in Turkey are the coastal areas close to Bodrum and Belek, which is gaining a reputation as a golfing destination.