How Turkish Netflix series are redefining luxury travel through Istanbul’s iconic hotels
From Midnight at the Pera Palace to Bodrum’s design-led resorts, Turkish Netflix series are changing luxury hospitality in Turkey
Millions of viewers finish Midnight at the Pera Palace asking the same question: can you actually stay at the Pera Palace Hotel? The answer is yes. In this article, author Paola Toia explores how Turkish Netflix series have turned Istanbul’s historic hotels, palatial conversions, and design-forward hospitality into destinations worth seeking out, and why they are redefining luxury travel long before travellers book a flight.
The origins of travel inspiration have changed. Today, the journey often begins not with a guidebook, but with a story on Netflix. You finish an episode, and suddenly you’re no longer thinking about the ending. You’re wondering where that rooftop is, whether the palace overlooking the Bosphorus really exists, or if the hotel where everything happened is a place you can really book.
In recent years, Turkish series have become a global phenomenon. Productions like Midnight at the Pera Palace and Thank You, Next have reached audiences far beyond Turkey, introducing viewers not only to compelling dramas, but also to a new visual identity for the country.
Grand hotels, restored Ottoman palaces, distinctive boutique properties and rooftops overlooking Istanbul now form part of the narrative, sparking a growing curiosity for destinations that feel as cinematic as they are real.
This is part of a broader phenomenon known as screen tourism, where films and television don’t just tell stories; they also shape how we discover places. In Turkey, this trend intersects with an even more interesting development: the evolution of luxury hospitality through innovative design.
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Why Screen Tourism Is Changing How We Choose Hotels
We’ve grown accustomed to discovering places through a screen long before we set foot there ourselves.
After spending several episodes inside the same hotel, you might already recognise the entrance, the lobby, the terrace, or the view from the windows. An emotional connection exists before the journey even begins. For hospitality, this changes everything.
Today, hotels are designed not only to welcome guests, but also to serve as cultural spaces with strong visual identities—destinations in their own right and memorable settings. Architecture, interiors, and atmosphere enrich the narrative, creating places audiences remember long after the credits roll.
Can You Stay at the Pera Palace Hotel? Inside Istanbul’s Most Cinematic Landmark
Turkey has embraced this evolution with notable success, using hospitality to express its spirit while showcasing luxury. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul. Long before it featured in Midnight at the Pera Palace, the hotel was already a city landmark. Opened in 1892 to welcome passengers from the Orient Express, it has hosted writers, artists and political figures for more than a century.
What makes the Pera Palace fascinating isn’t its history alone, but the way it has been preserved and reimagined. Many of the building’s original details coexist with modern comforts, allowing visitors to experience the building as a living space rather than a monument.
The same dialogue between heritage and contemporary design echoes throughout Istanbul. Hotels like The Peninsula Istanbul, which combines restored waterfront buildings with innovative architecture along the Bosphorus, or the Çırağan Palace Kempinski, where an Ottoman imperial palace has been transformed into a luxury hotel, show how design can bridge past and present, rather than stand in contrast.
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How Turkish Netflix Series Are Showcasing a New Side of Istanbul
While Midnight at the Pera Palace reveals Istanbul’s historic soul, productions like Thank You, Next showcase a different side of the city.
Stylish restaurants, rooftop terraces, boutique hotels, and design-led interiors present a dynamic, international, and deeply creative Istanbul.
The Rise of Bodrum’s Design-Led Resorts
A similar transformation is unfolding in Bodrum. Over the past decade, the coastal destination has grown into one of the Mediterranean’s most exciting laboratories for hospitality innovation. Rather than competing through excess, many of its newest resorts focus on spaces that blend into the landscape, locally sourced materials, craftsmanship, contemporary art and a slower, more thoughtful approach to luxury.
Properties like Scorpios Bodrum, Mandarin Oriental Bodrum and Maxx Royal Bodrum exemplify this evolution, integrating architecture, landscape, wellness and culture into a single, cohesive experience.
Instead of following an international template, Turkey is cultivating a design language that feels rooted in place while remaining globally relevant.
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Why Turkey Has Become Luxury Travel’s Most Compelling Design Destination
Hospitality is among the most multidisciplinary fields in contemporary design. Today, designing a hotel means thinking beyond architecture or interiors—every aspect, from furniture and lighting to branding, graphics, materials, uniforms, sound, art collections, and digital experiences, contributes to defining how a place is perceived and remembered. Few projects bring together so many creative disciplines under one roof.
Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than in Turkey’s hospitality scene. It’s not just about creating beautiful hotels, but about weaving together heritage, storytelling, and contemporary design into experiences that resonate both on screen and in real life. Sometimes, the journey begins with a Netflix series—but the best hospitality projects make sure it doesn’t end there.
Paola Toia
Editor, Milano
