3 stars for a 3* hotel (Hotel Agapinor (Paphos, Cyprus))

Member Name: emma_ski

Product:	Hotel Agapinor (Paphos, Cyprus)
Date:	03/11/09 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: clean,friendly, loveley food

Disadvantages: drinks not included in half board

We stayed in Agapinor Hotel in Cyprus for 1 week during September 2009, which we booked through an online agent for £420 each half board.

CHECKING IN THE HOTEL:
After a long day travelling to get to Cyprus, it was lovely to be able to check in to our room quickly and smoothly! Check in is from 2pm, although we checked into our room at 1pm as we were early and the room was ready (lucky us!).

During check in, the helpful staff gave us a sheet of paper detailing the meal times as we were half board, as well as the opening times of the hotel café, bar and swimming pool. They also gave us a detailed map, pinpointing where the hotel was and a few interesting sights near by the hotel. We were also given the time our rep would be visiting us the next day.

Overall checking in was an easy, stress-free process, with a very helpful welcome from the staff!

OUR ROOM:
Our room was a twin room, with an ensuit bathroom, with a balcony facing in-land, which if booked directly costs £57 per night half board. The room was cleaned 6 times a week, with fresh bedding/towels when needed. The room included a TV, large wardrobe, a table and two chairs, a safe, air conditioning, a large mirror, a telephone and a hairdryer.

The room was pretty large with plenty of space for our very large cases two single beds! The room décor was basic but very clean and well maintained. We found that although we had a in-land view, we were able to sit on the balcony and catch the morning sunshine and watch the world pass by. We were next to a main road but honestly found it very quiet, only once been woken by early-morning bin men!

THE STAFF:
Upon arrival I was really surprised to find the majority of the staff in this hotel were English! Saying that the staff who were not English had amazing levels of English skills and were always happy to have a chat about everything and anything! All the staff were so friendly and helpful! They always greeted you with a big smile, which didn't seem forced but an honest nice to see you smile! The staff were all very knowledgeable about the areas such as the local bus time, good times to visit the tomb of the kings and cheap tasty restaurants! I couldn't have asked for nicer or friendly staff and they definitely deserve a 10/10 for the outstanding service they provided during our stay!


HOTEL LOCATION:
The hotel is located about a 45 minute walk from Paphos Harbour front and 5 minutes from Paphos market. We found walking around very easy as well as easily catching the local bus into town on a couple of lazy days! I wouldn't recommend walking all the way into town if you have young kids, as it is a bit of a trek and the roads are a bit awquad to cross as there are only a few pedestrian crossings. The local bus is only 2Euro's and is very frequent.

We found the area very quiet, away from the main night-life area, although there were a few bars within walking distance. The hotel itself put on entertainment most nights, such as a disco and a guest singer, although these are not aimed at 'teens'!
There are a range of cafes/restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel, although we tended to stay in the hotel for meals as we were half board and grad a light lunch from a bakery down the road!

HOTEL FOOD:
We stayed half board, which included the breakfast and evening meal. If you wanted to swap your evening meal for a lunch voucher, the hotel were very open about this so long as they had 24hours notice. Tap water was not drinkable, so if you wanted water at breakfast/lunch/tea, it cost you extra, also drinks in the evening meal were not included.
Breakfast: Breakfast was from 7am to 9.45 and there is always a table to sit at, looking out on to the pool area.
Breakfast was a buffet style event, with tea/coffee/juices. Also there was cereal, hot English breakfast items, bread roles, ham/cheese, cake and fruit salad. The breakfast was always well stocked up! Only problem I found, was the milk for the cereal wasn't ice-cold by 9oclock, but im just fussy!

Evening meal: The Evening meal was from 7-9.30.
Every evening there was a large selection of starters, including salads, rice dishes, pastas, soups, breads etc. This was buffet style again and you could go back for as much as you wanted. The salads were always freshly made and all the starters were topped up regularly. The starters varied slightly night to night, such as potato salad to chicken salad etc.
The main course changed every night and was always freshly prepared by the chef! Generally these consisted of two different mains and a selection of fresh vegetables. Some of the evening meals included, fish, lamb hot pot, mosaka, BBQ, Greek traditional meals, Sunday lunch etc. The only downside is that the main meals could be a bit limiting if you are vegetarian!
Desert! YUM! Always around 5 different desserts to choose from, including jelly's, cakes, and fruity crumbles! These altered depending on the day and were always very tasty!!

HOTEL ENTERTAINMENT:
I've already briefly mentioned this, so I wont babble on! The hotel had a range of in-house entertainment, which changes day to day so you can't be guaranteed the same night twice! Entertainment whilst we were there included a disco night, a DJ night and a guest singer. These were good entertainment although we never stayed the entire evening at the entertainment event! Other events at the hotel have included bingo-nights, quiz's, 60's theme nights and a range of guest singers.

THE POOL:
When we first saw the photograph on the website of the pool, it honestly looked rubbish! But when we got there, it was much larger than the photo and caught the sun in the afternoon perfectly! The pool was kept very clean and there was always a sun bed (or 5) to sit and relax next to the pool area. There was also a pool-bar/café, although we honestly never saw this open/staffed so I'm not sure how good the food/drinks are from there!

MY OVERALL OPINION:
I found that our holiday was very cheap in comparison to other's as it included half-board and many others had paid the same price for self-catering. I was surprised at the high standards of the hotel, as I was expecting a bit of a rundown hotel for our money! The hotel was classes as 3* which I would agree with. I found the hotel brilliant, very clean, helpful staff and brilliant food! The atmosphere was very friendly and was very close to the local market and shops. It was a bit of a trek from the Paphos Harbour front, but was a lovely walk on the way down, or an easy bus ride. The only downside was that drinks were not included in the evening meal and you had to purchase bottled water for breakfast, but for the price we got it, we still saved plenty of ££! I would definitely return to this hotel and happily recommend it to other's visiting Paphos!

A FEW OTHER FACTS ABOUT THE HOTEL....
Single inland-view room~ £35 bed and breakfast...£40 h/b...£44 f/b
Twin room-inland view~ £46 bed and breakfast...£56 h/b...£66 f/b
sea-view supplement £6perday

Meal prices: Breakfast £5
Lunch:£7
Dinner:£8
Buffet Nights:£10

Check in~ 2pm
Check out~12 noon

website: www.agapinorhotel.com.cy
Email: agapinorhotel@cyanet.com.cy
Tel: +357 26933926

Address: 24-28 Nikodimou Mylona Street, Pafos, CY 8047


Hope this review is helpful!

Summary: a fab hotel! well worth the stay