Here he is, above, Nebi Ozan Ozdeamir, at the bottom of the steps at SIX SENSES KOCATAS MANSIONS, 20 minutes from Istanbul. The 45-room sea-set hotel is actually three adjacent buildings that were owned by the Ottoman Minister of Justice, Necmettin Molla Kocata. As is obvious, there’s a near-vertical cliff behind. Take steps and a steep zigzag path up, 30 minutes there and back – up there is the main spa, as well as the 1860 lounge, a popular indoor wedding venue.
Girlahead started thinking, in her usual peripatetic way, of steps and hotels. HOTEL DE RUSSIE in Rome has a near-vertical garden behind but few bother to climb higher than a sitting area. For the intrepid there are steps galore at VILLA D’ESTE, and Luxury Collection’s SANTA MARINA MYKONOS and, to be honest, at nearly every Mykonos and Santorini establishment.
When it comes to interior steps, BELLEVUE PALACE in Bern has plenty to offer – to be exact, 117 wide, carpetted stairs from the lobby to the top, fifth floor. In Paris, don’t try to walk down from its top floor to the lobby of LE ROYAL MONCEAU RAFFLES. The staircase peters out halfway down.
Shanghai’s 45-floor PORTMAN RITZ-CARLTON used to host marathons up its fire staircases. As far as is known no-one has attempted to run up the 118-floor RITZ-CARLTON HONG KONG or even SHANGRI-LA AT THE SHARD in London, a mere 66 floors. Oh dear, is this a challenge? Remember, every step up is said to add three seconds to life…
