Cullinan Belek: Golf and Property in Full

The address

Cullinan sits in the Belek golf area, stretched along the Mediterranean in the middle of a 36-hole links course. Antalya airport is a straightforward transfer of around thirty to thirty-five minutes. National Golf Club is roughly four minutes away by car and Antalya Golf Club about five, which means a serious golf week can take in three courses without any of them requiring a real journey.

That density is what Belek exists for, and no other resort area in Turkey comes close to it. If you want the wider picture of why, my colleague Raşit covers the area's development in Lara versus Belek.

The golf

Cullinan Links is the reason this property occupies the position it does among British golfers. Thirty-six holes laid out between the Beşgöz river and the sea, with the two water features doing genuinely different things to the play — the river holes are sheltered and strategic, the seaward holes exposed and about wind management.

It is, as far as I know, the only course in Turkey configured this way. Most Belek layouts are parkland running through pine, which is beautiful and quite similar from one estate to the next. This one has a distinct character on each nine, and after a decade of playing Belek that variety is the thing regular visitors comment on.

Practical points. Green fees are not included in the all-inclusive package — standard across Belek and worth budgeting properly for a week of playing. Because the course is on the estate there are no transfers and no early-morning coordination, which is the whole argument for staying at a golf resort rather than near one. And the winter position matters: Belek's mild winters make this a year-round course, and Cullinan's heated pools mean the rest of the resort remains usable when you come off it.

The estate

Forty-two acres, which in Belek terms is substantial without being sprawling — enough for the golf, the accommodation and the beach to be separate places, but not so much that everything requires a shuttle. That balance is one of the property's quieter strengths.

The beach is around 800 metres of Blue Flag private sand lined with palms and lounge beds, and it is directly in front of the resort rather than reached by bus. On this stretch of coast that is genuinely unusual — several of the larger Belek estates put a considerable distance between the rooms and the sea.

Behind it sit eight pools, more than a hundred swim-up rooms and a full aqua park. The heated-pool point is worth repeating because it is a real differentiator: Cullinan runs more heated water than any resort in the region, so the pools, aqua park and swim-up rooms stay in use through the cooler months when other properties have effectively shut theirs.

Dining

Eleven restaurants, more than ten bars, plus a patisserie, a chocolatier and a coffee house. The line-up runs from an international buffet and a 24-hour bistro through to à la carte restaurants covering Turkish, Greek, Italian and Indian cooking.

The names guests come back talking about are the Japanese grill, the rooftop Italian and the Turkish restaurant — the group's signature concepts, which I have described in more detail in my complete guide to Titanic Hotels in Turkey. The short version of why the food is this good: the owning family came into hotels from restaurants, and the investment follows.

For a golf week specifically, the 24-hour bistro is more useful than it sounds. Coming off eighteen holes at an awkward hour and finding a proper kitchen open is not something most resorts offer.

Rooms

Over six hundred rooms and suites, plus ten luxury villas. The standard category — Superior Golf View at 45 square metres — is noticeably more generous than the Belek norm, and the view it is named for is the course itself.

The swim-up block is the headline: more than a hundred rooms with direct pool access from the terrace, which at this scale is a serious commitment rather than a token category. For couples it is the obvious booking. For families with toddlers I would steer away, for the reason Thomas gives in his first-hand family review: an unfenced body of water outside the door is a consideration rather than a feature at that age.

Family rooms run to 70 square metres with two bathrooms, and there are four Superior Golf View rooms specifically designed for accessibility — a detail worth knowing, because genuinely adapted rooms remain scarce in this market.

The three nines, and how they play

Because the configuration is unusual, it is worth setting out what a round here actually involves rather than leaving it at "36 holes on site".

The river holes are the sheltered half. Pine on both sides, water in play on several, and almost no wind reaching you. They reward accuracy and course management over distance, and they are where most visiting golfers post their better scores. In July they are also considerably more comfortable to walk, because the trees do real work on the heat.

The seaward holes are the opposite proposition. Open, exposed and entirely about wind management — the Mediterranean breeze here builds through the afternoon and can add or remove two clubs on the same hole between a morning and an evening round. British golfers who play links at home will recognise the problem immediately; those who play parkland exclusively often find them the hardest holes in Belek.

The practical implication: book your tee times to suit. A morning round while the sea is calm is a different course from a four o'clock one. If you are playing several rounds across a week, deliberately vary the time of day rather than booking the same slot each morning — you will effectively get two courses out of one.

How it compares with the other Belek golf estates

Belek has around fifteen championship courses and roughly half a dozen resorts with golf genuinely on the estate. Where this one sits:

Against Maxx Royal Belek Golf Resort. Maxx Royal remains the benchmark for the resort experience around the golf — service, suites, the general sense of occasion. Cullinan competes on the course itself, on room size in the standard categories, and on being a more relaxed place to bring children.

Against Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort and the Gloria Golf Resort estate. Both have longer golf histories and mature courses that a 2022 opening cannot replicate in character. Cullinan answers with newer everything and the sea-and-river layout. For a purist the older estates have the edge; for a group where only half play, Cullinan handles the non-golfers better.

Against Regnum Carya at Belek. The closest competitor on newness and ambition. The distinction most golfers report is the walk: Regnum is the more manicured, more formal experience; Cullinan the more varied round.

What the property does best

Who this property is for

What to check before booking a golf week

1. Price the green fees first. They are separate, and across a week of playing they are a significant line rather than an extra.
2. Ask about tee-time booking. On-estate courses allocate differently in peak golf season — confirm how far ahead you can reserve.
3. Check which courses your package can access. National and Antalya Golf Club are minutes away but are separate operations.
4. Confirm heated pool coverage for your dates if you are travelling between November and March.
5. Book the à la carte restaurants on arrival. Eleven restaurants sounds like plenty until the popular three are full for the week.

Frequently asked questions

Official guidance and sources

Related reading from our specialists

• Cullinan Belek versus Titanic Deluxe Golf Belek
• Belek beyond the golf course
• Cullinan Belek Hotel — see availability
• Browse every hand-picked Belek hotel