Yet More Sun, Sea And Stuff (Hotels in Cyprus in general)

Member Name: Sexy Kay

Product:	Hotels in Cyprus in general
Date:	25/01/03 (1042 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Right on the sea and by a sandy beach

Disadvantages: Building work nearby

PERNERA BEACH HOTEL -

Fur mal was anderes ich gebe Ihnen die Tatsache. Sorry about that, I thought I was back at the hotel for a moment. My goodness there were a lot of Germans staying there. Oh yes, and a few French, Dutch and Scandinavian, a real mix - which was actually quite nice, especially with us all supposedly being good little Europeans now.

It's interesting how the hotel built in different countries characteristics into their rules, 'designed to ensure that all our guests enjoy a comfortable and pleasant stay'. Like: 'We do not allow reserving of hotel sun beds ... towels may be removed by Hotel staff' - that's for our German friends. And for the British? The restaurant dress code: 'Sports shirts or athletic shorts are not allowed'. Tell me, why on earth do some English blokes, usually with big tummies, want to wear replica football shirts while on holiday?

Anyway, here we go with the facts (Tatsache), as promised, about the Pernera Beach Hotel situated in Protaras, Cyprus.

Position, as they say, is everything. The hotel is right on the coast, overlooking the clear blue sea and slap bang next to a small, sandy beach. What could be better? Absolutely nothing if you look out to sea or walk along the coast in a westward direction - you'll come across even better beaches, However, walk the other way and you may well stumble over a few building sites, as more development takes place, and hear the clunking of cranes, lorries and machinery. This doesn't effect you while in the hotel but just remember, when facing the sea, to turn right and not left if you fancy a romantic, or any kind of a walk.

The hotel is in a reasonably quiet spot (I wasn't aware of any building work while actually in the hotel or grounds). There are a selection of shops, restaurants and bars within about ten minutes walk. It's a couple of miles from, what the tour operators call, Prot
aras town and two and a half miles from Fig Tree Bay, which has a fantastic beach and beautiful clear water. As you will have guessed all of this is to the west of the hotel. Lanarca airport is a 40 mile drive.

As I cover different apsects of the hotel I'll give a mark out of ten, so ...

Position 7/10

The hotel has a lovely reception area, with marble like floors and walkways and looks very smart. When we booked in (that's my boyfriend and I) the receptionist spoke excellent English and was very helpful and informative about the hotel and area. We found the reception staff to be first class and efficient throughout our holiday.

Reception 9/10

There are 191 double rooms, some with sea views, and they are pretty typical of what you would expect to find at a holiday hotel. Ours had a double bed, armchair, small table, dressing table with a super big mirror, wardrobe and so on. There was also air-conditioning (a necessity in Cyprus), television, radio, hairdryer and a phone. The balcony was of a good size and had plastic chairs and table.

When I book a hotel room I usually request one that is on the top floor (4th in this case), and this is what we got. I do this partly for the view and because it is generally less noisy. Also, if at the top, the balcony is not normally over-looked - well, you know, sunshine, wine - oh just use your imagination!

Needless to say there was a seperate bathroom with the usual facitlities, though the shower was often more of a trickle than a full blast of water, but it was all okay. Everywhere was clean and spotless. Maids (I hate that word) came in six days a week and bed linen and towels were changed regularly. I have no complaints about the rooms.

Rooms 7/10

The hotels facilities include - deep breath - a supermarket, souvenir shop, hairdresser, squash court, sauna, gymnasium, whirlpool, massage room (heaven!), tennis courts, table-tenn
is, French bowles, TV lounge, games room with pool tables, darts and games machines, indoor and outdoor swimming pools. There are two bars and also two restaurants.

It's all there if you want to use it. We personally preferred to walk along the coast and spend our time on the beach or in the sea. The outside swimming pool is of a reasonable size and there is a shallow part for children. Around the pool are lots of sunbeds and a terrace where drinks and snacks are served. It's all very civilised except for when the hotel has organised events like aqua aerobics or water polo games for the kids - loud music then takes over. Depends what you like. If it's peace you want, this can be quite disturbing but if you are the all singing, joining in sort of person you'll no doubt love this. Personally I'm always surprised that some people like to spend a holiday sitting round a concrete pool. I prefer to get out and about.

The hotel bars are more expensive than the nearby tavernas. A pint of beer or a short will cost you C£1.60 whereas you can get these down the road, in one of the outside bars, for around C£1 each. (UK£ = C£1.10 approx)

Facilities 8/10

In the bars, or on the outside terrace, there is usually some sort of evening entertainment. The nights that we saw any of this it ranged from the almost embarrasingly awful to some that were worthy of the word 'entertainment'. Perhaps it all depends on how much alcohol you have consumed. We saw a magician who was excellent, a girl singer who again was pretty good and 'very attractive and sexy' according to my boyfriend. But then there was an overweight guy with a guitar, tight trousers and a silky shirt who unfortunately had the handicap of being unable to sing. He also made me cringe when he knelt and tried to sing a song to me - still it made my boyfriend laugh.

Evening Entertainment 6/10

We stayed at the hotel on
a half board basis i.e. breakfast and evening meal. Breakfast was buffet style and was served from 7 -10 a.m. I thought it was very yummy, with a good choice. There was a range of cooked stuff (English style): bacon, eggs, sausages, beans and so on. For those who have more of a Continental taste there was cheese, cold meats, tomatoes with rolls and various types of breads.. There was also Greek yoghurts, melon, grapes, cereals, toast, jams and marmalade. Of course, you could eat as much as you wanted, of whatever you wanted, and there were lashings of tea, coffee and juices to help it down. I couldn't fault this at all and made a right pig of myself most mornings.

Breakfast 9/10

The evening meal was in their restaurant that overlooked the sea, a perfect setting, especially if you could get the right table. This was served between 7 and 10 p.m. and again was a help yourself buffet. Being a veggie hotel meals abroad can sometimes be a problem but I managed to find something to suit me most evenings. There was a good selection of starters and salads and various choices for the main course. Desserts or puddings were mainly fruit, sickly gateaux and cakes.

We made the mistake of going to eat one evening dead on seven, as we hadn't bothered to eat since breakfast. They were queuing up ready to go in - the Germans that is. It was all a bit hectic, with pushing and limited free tables. We didn't risk this a second time and found the meals then to be relaxing and nice to linger over, with a glass (or more) of plonk, while watching the sunset - romantic or what!

Evening Meal For Veggies 5/10
Evening Meal For Meat Eaters 7/10

There wasn't a lot of night life nearby other than the bars, restaurants and other hotels - many of which had some sort of music. Again, it depends on what you want from a particular holiday. There are night clubs in Protaras town, which is accesible by bus or taxi, and the
re is generally more going on there.

Night Life 5/10

The service at the hotel from the staff was good, though not excellent. There were a mixture of nationalities working at the Pernera Beach. We got talking quite a lot to a Romanian girl and a guy from Sri Lanka, who were both waiters Both said that they were looking forward to the end of the season and didn't enjoy their time at the hotel. They wouldn't be returning next year as 'the owners expected too much'. In saying this, staff were mostly friendly and helpful - though our maid/cleaner had a bad B.O. problem! The Cypriots themselves were all lovely people.

Service 7/10

When my boyfriend and I booked the holiday we had a late deal so I thought that we recieved reasonable value for our money (we booked through Golden Sun Holidays). We paid £380 each, for 14 days half board, and this included the airfare. Brochure prices range from £499 to £699 per person, depending on the time of year. The hotel receptionist quoted me C£94 a night as their normal rate for half board for two people. This seemed excessive to me as it works out at C£658 per person, for the same period - and this is without the airfare. I have based my value rating on what we paid.

Value For Money 8/10

There was wheelchair access for the disabled in the hotel with slopes and so on - though the main entrance looked steep. We saw only one holidaymaker in a chair and she appeared to be able to get round the inside of the hotel okay. The grounds didn't look so wheelchair friendly and the roads, shops, restaurants and bars nearby could cause problems.

Wheelchair use in hotel 7/10
Wheelchair use in grounds 5/10
Wheelchair use in local area 2/10

To sum I would say that the hotel is suitable for those who want to be away from the main town but within walking distance of a few shops, bars and restaurants. Probably best for couples or families. I
f you want night life go eleswhere. The surrounding area, other than the coast, isn't anything special in my opinion. (Dooyoo has a section for opinions on Protaras in General). It's not the real Cyprus.

The hotel is family owned and not part of a chain. It has an official rating of three star.

If you simply want sun, beaches, clear sea, relaxation and to simply flop out, then the Pernera Beach Hotel may just suit you.

My Overall Rating 7/10

- Kay

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