The Museum Hotel ANTAKYA

The Museum Hotel Antakya is an extraordinary revival of an ancient heritage site: a futuristic new hotel that ‘floats’ above 2,300 years of history. When the Asfuroğlu family broke ground for this new hotel in Antakya, ancient Antioch, the cradle of Christianity and one of the biggest cities in the Roman empire, little did they know what they would find or how it would change the region forever. The discoveries from Turkey’s most systematic excavation since the 1930s led to a complete re-imagination of the hotel design.

This decade-long project was financed and managed by the Asfuroğlu Group. The result is a one-of-a-kind marvel suspended above what is now a national archaeological site and museum, where a selection of the 30,000 ancient discoveries are on display in-situ including the largest single-piece floor Roman mosaic ever discovered, a rare Pegasus mosaic and intact marble Eros sculpture.

The contrast between the contemporary steel frame of the hotel with its cluster of 185 stacked sheltering rooms, 15 suites and four-bedroom Nas Konut residence over three floors, linked by walkways and bridges, above an expansive archaeological site is striking. Terraces and gardens located under the canopy enhance the experience.

The hotel is also an outstanding hospitality-concept reflecting the city’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, with five world-class dining venues, the city’s first ballroom with terrace and largest spa, fitness and wellbeing hub situated on the rooftop.

The hybrid Museum Hotel Antakya exemplifies how conservation and commerce can coexist to the benefit of both.