To create this gem on the Bosphorous, owner Ahu Aysal was inspired by an 18th century Pasha artist; she tells Yeoh Siew Hoon why she wouldn't change one minute of her life, even the breast cancer she had six years ago.

Hotel Les Ottomans is a gem not only because of its location on the Bosphorus on the European side of Istanbul, but for the owner it has and the story she tells.

When I first met Ahu Aysal (pictured right), she had just flown in from Phuket. "I love to travel," she says. "It's a necessity and an obligation."

By necessity, she means that travelling, to her, is like breathing and by obligation, she means that she feels it is her duty to spread the love of travel.

Her first trip was to London when she was 16. "Since then, I haven't stopped."

I asked her how many trips she's made. She brushed off that question, making me feel silly for asking such an earth-bound question. "I don't know – one week a month. I have to fly, it's part of my character. I have gypsy qualities."

It's easy, when you meet Aysal for the first time, to dismiss her as a celebrity/socialite who's doing this as a hobby. Her hotel recaptures the spirit of the proud Ottoman history and with just 10 suites, it's a super-exclusive address and visited by celebrities from all over the world.

Over the three days I was there, there were at least two dinner parties held in the lobby, with the best-dressed of Istanbul elites in attendance, sipping champagne and nibbling on canapés.

Aysal herself exudes glamour and elegance. But don't be mistaken that all she has built has fallen into her lap. She's worked hard for the life she wants.

At 16, she was sent to Eastbourne College in Brighton to study by her father, whom she clearly adores. He was a well-known professor of neurology in Istanbul and "he always spoke to me like I was an adult. Even when I was three and I couldn't read and we would be having dinner together, he would give me the menu and say, you can choose what you want.

"He taught me respect and self-confidence."

At 18, she fell in love with a first year law student in Istanbul. "When I told my father I was in love, he said, you are very lucky to fall in love."

She got married at 18. "At that time, if you wanted to be together, you had to marry."

Forsaking university, she settled into married life and had children. Then came 1985 and the "gypsy spirit" obviously resurfaced and she built the first holiday village in the south of Turkey. Modelled along the lines of Club Med, the resort was targeted at domestic travellers.

Next to the village, she later built the first five-star hotel in the area where she also developed the first thallasotherapy hotel in Turkey. That was in March 2000. "I wanted to be a pioneer," she said.

That pioneering spirit prompted her to look around Istanbul for a site for a "very nice boutique hotel near the sea".

Hotel Les Ottomans facing the Bosphorus

When she first saw the site where Hotel Les Ottomans sits today, she knew this was it. She then did some research into the site and found that in the 1790s, the mansion which used to sit on the site was the seaside home of a famous Pasha calligrapher and artist known as Muhsinzade.

Unfortunately, the mansion was left in ruins after it was burned down in 1933. In building the hotel, Ahu said she was guided by the "spirit" of Muhsinzade. "I imagined him as a time traveller and what he would have built so that it would become his own house for the whole world to enjoy. He was my muse and inspiration."

In the lobby is a wardrobe display of clothes that belonged to Muhzinsade's family. "I built this hotel for him," said Aysal. "We must not forget our past. Yes, you can add new things in your life but don't forget the old times."

The hotel took seven years to build and Aysal also brought in a Singaporean feng shui master to make sure all the elements were right for her hotel. "People in Istanbul thought I was crazy. We are a Muslim country and here I was, bringing in a Chinese feng shui master."

The master, Yeap Cheng Hai, declared the hotel's positioning to be good and asked for some minor alteration work to be done. Today, a certificate signed by him sits proudly in the lobby. "I liked the energy of the place from the start but he gave us the confidence," she said, adding, "We are all energy."

When not travelling, she runs the hotel. "I am involved with everything. I talk to the guests, I have tea with my customers. Nobody does this anymore. I love being with people. I am a natural hostess, I like making people happy."

It's an attitude that is embraced by her staff. Staying at Hotel Les Ottomans is more like staying at home – or at least, the home in your dreams. It's pretty posh and palatial. A whiff of incense greets you when you enter. The service is personal. Staff know you by face and name, and are friendly and attentive. The suite (pictured right) I was in could have come out of the Arabian Nights. It's huge and well-appointed. The in-room technology is pretty impressive – there is an AMX system which basically does everything except turn down the bed.

In the hotel business, she said, "we have forgotten so many things. We have forgotten how to be gracious. The young people have forgotten their manners. They sit in front of you and they put their feet on the table. They feel they can do anything but it's a question of respect.

"The Internet has made people distant. People get together on the Internet and they forget how to be with people. I think that's why people want massage all the time – it's the only time they get touched. We need to touch and be touched. It is how we get energy."

Aysal, who has three grand-children, aged 6, 4 and 3, admits she's not doing this for money. "I don't make money and I didn't do it for money. I don't lose money. What I get, I spend it. This place is like my home and I want to share my home with everyone."

And there's no aspect of her life that she would change if she had the chance, even the breast cancer she had six years ago. "I learnt so many things from it and now I can talk about it and share my experience. Everyone gets cancer now, it's like the flu.

"I wouldn't change one minute of my life."

For more information on Hotel Les Ottomans follow the link- www.slh.com/turkey/istanbul/istott.html

Photo of Ahu Aysal courtesy of Hotel Les Ottomans; photos of hotel courtesy Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, writes a regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry for 4Hoteliers.com.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com. Get your weekly cuppa of news, gossip, humour and opinion at the cafe for travel insiders.

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