The Atlantica Bay Hotel, Limassol, CYPRUS (listed as 4 star by Tomson and ONLY available through them in the UK).
Getting There:
We booked through Thomsons where the just over 4 hour flight was part of the whole package. There are two main airports in the Southern part of Cyprus and ... Read review
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Advantages: Great Food, Great entertainment, Superior Service, Child free (??) Disadvantages: Child Free(??)
The Atlantica Bay Hotel, Limassol, CYPRUS (listed as 4 star by Tomson and ONLY available through them in the UK).
Getting There:
We booked through Thomsons where the just over 4 hour flight was part of the whole package. There are two main airports in the Southern part of Cyprus and travelling time is 'roughly' 45 mins. Obviously other airlines fly to Cyprus but cost & times are going to be very varied.
Cost: ... ...but, flying from Gatwick last July and coming back one week later with daytime flights, the cost was about £1,300 for 2 of us, staying fully inclusive.
Who its for:
The main user of the hotel is Thomson (Gold holidays). They do not allow under 16's to be booked in, so expect the hotel to be mostly full of adults as this is specifically designed for couples. So, if your looking for a (young) family holiday, this WONT be of any ... more
The Atlantica Bay Hotel, Limassol, CYPRUS (listed as 4 star by Tomson and ONLY available through them in the UK).
Getting There: We booked through Thomsons where the just over 4 hour flight was part of the whole package. There are two main airports in the Southern part of Cyprus and travelling time is 'roughly' 45 mins. Obviously other airlines fly to Cyprus but cost & times are going to be very varied.
Cost: Obviously this will vary on many things but, flying from Gatwick last July and coming back one week later with daytime flights, the cost was about £1,300 for 2 of us, staying fully inclusive.
Who its for: The main user of the hotel is Thomson (Gold holidays). They do not allow under 16's to be booked in, so expect the hotel to be mostly full of adults as this is specifically designed for couples. So, if your looking for a (young) family holiday, this WONT be of any use for you. The packages are half board upwards but the 'All inclusive' is well worth considering.
Thomson/Tui: Our check-in going out was the 'new' South terminal at Gatwick airport. They tend to have one long queue for the +12 checking in positions and generally this was quite quick and easy. All positions dealt with all flights rather than just a couple of open counters for your flight with a jolly long queue. If you pre-pay extra money when booking they will guarantee you will sit with the rest of your group otherwise you may risk being seperated from your loved ones (that might not be so bad then!).
Arrival: The hotel reception desk is long and smart. Indeed the reception area is smart and spacious. We arrived during a 'one-off' power cut so by candle light it was romantic! Throughout the time staff were helpful and quick to help. A sheet was always pinned up giving you some clues about the weather for the next 5 days. As Cyprus has not had rain for 'some years', it was always hot.
Rooms: The hotel has 201 rooms. Most are your typical room with bed and TV in and an air con unit to keep things cool. Certainly the rear rooms all have sea views. However, there is a seperate area, on the ground level, where the area contains about six plush (superior) rooms (one is the honeymoon suite). The rooms are double the size of the other rooms and, for the plush six rooms, they have a balcony. These six also have a jacuzzi on them. FAB!! I can promise, they are quite quiet and great to use at night though the other guests will be rather jealous.
Food and Drink: The hotel can be booked as all inclusive so thats what you get and its excellent. All meals and unlimited drink from 10am to midnight. The dining room is quite large and has many tables of assorted sizes to accomodate the groups. When entereing you'll be taken to your table usually by the management or head waiter. Then its self service and off you go to get:- Breakfast: This consists of cold meats, cereals, cooked hot food, pancakes, hot drinks, fruit juices, fresh fruit, et al. A feast of goodies. Lunch: Again more hot and cold food, salad, puddings, etc. The drinks are brought to your table by the waiters and, if you book the all inclusive package, you know your not going to be faced with a big bill at the end. Dinner: as Lunch except there will usually be an item being cooked within the dining hall by a chef. You certainly wont starve.
Food Overview: Just about every day had different food both at lunchtime and in the evening over all 7 days that we were there. There was always some sort of rice at each meal time. Different meats & fish type dishes were always available, cooked in various sauces. The food was cooked 'the Cyprus' way so the head chef told me. Basically you always had some sort of sauce, usually quite light, and the fish or meat was within it. As there was about 10 choices at mininum you'd always find something you would like. You may well find chicken nuggets & chips within but also some Greek specialities like Moussaka or Kleftico. The vegetarians could eat as well. Salad items overflowed with many dips and there was usually a couple of meat free dishes. A large selection of cheese and buiscuits adorned the desert table.
The deserts started off as your basic cakes (eg. Black Forest or a meringue cake), ice cream, a pudding such as apple pie or apple crumble and then..... the Greek fancies. The small pastries, syrup laden and nut filled, or soft sponge. There were easily +10 desert items to choose from.
Entertainment: The entertainment team were superb. Whilst I was there they won an award for being voted the 4th best throughout the whole of Tomsons, and well justified too. Many of the evening acts were very good although they also did their own in-house stuff as well. During the day you have chance to take part in 'killer darts', bowls, the daily quiz, etc, etc, you dont have to. They dont hunt you done and put pressure on you to join in. Some nice prizes are awarded as well. They also have a weekly gala where they really lay it on. You get to meet the exceptionally friendly management and top workers (like the head chef or the head waiter). The cocktails flow and the food stretches for miles (OK. The tables are long at least).
Pools/Loungers: There were plenty of loungers to go around. It seemed like you could always get something. There were two sets of pools and an outdoor spa area, all of a reasonable size. See my photo's for a bit of a view.
Drinks Service: Staff are about throughout the day, from 10am to 12 midnight bringing your drinks to your table/lounger or whatever. You will have to 'sign' for all the drinks on a chitty. This charges to your bill if you're not all inclusive otherwise its just a checkback for the hotel re stock. A bar was situated within the space between the 2 pools where you could get your own drinks but the staff preferred to serve you and bring them over. Quite simply, they wanted to serve you and they put themselves out to do so.
Odds and Ends: A small shop is available with plenty of UK papers available daily. There is a small gym and a tennis court. The beach is over the road and can be accessed via an underpass. Going into town is easy as the bus stop is right outside the hotel.
Overall: A great hotel with great staff. They put themselves out to provide a super service and certainly do. The management mingle about and do put themselves out to ensure your stay is a quality one. If you want to be pampered and looked after, or impress a partner, this IS the place for you.
Advantages: A well laid out hotel, offering a peacefull and relaxing holiday. Disadvantages: A long way out from the centre of Limassol
We went to Cyprus for the first time last December. We stayed in Limassol at the HotelAtlanticaBay.
My Review on the HotelAtlanticaBay, which is a Thomson Gold property.
The Hotel was excellent, although rather large it was very welcoming, friendly and relaxing, the staff at the hotel were very friendly and helpful.
The public areas were really well decorated, with lots of marble being used, especially in the lobby leading to the restaurants, which also had a lovely fountain and marble statues lining the walls.
All meals were served buffet style in a large well laid out restaurant. The food was excellent with a great deal of choice for each course, which comprised of starters, hot and cold main courses and desserts.
The pool area was well laid out, with a very large free form swimming pool which was unheated ...
Advantages: the complex has everything you need Disadvantages: except a decent gym! (it's ok though)
where we stayed.
The Hotel
The complex comprised of two different types of accommodation, there was the AtlanticaHotel for those who were all-inclusive or half board, and The Royal Court Apartments for self-catering, which was where we were. The apartment was beautifully furnished and well equipped with kitchenette, T.V. and both a bath and a shower. They also provided a cot free of charge. The decoration of the entire place was extremely elegant and I was impressed from the start.
The Pools
The pools were fabulous; they have two outside (one at the Royal court and one at the Atlantica) surrounded by palm trees and free sun loungers, and a heated one inside. There are also squash courts and a gym, but they weren?t really very well equipped and the equipment they did have was obviously very old. Nevertheless, apart from that ...
Advantages: close to everything Disadvantages: not a good beach in sight
In the summer of 2002, my family and I went on holiday to Cyprus. This was the first time we had all ventured abroad as prior to this, I was only brave enough to book caravan holiday?s in the New Forest.
With all the kit and caboodle you have to pack with two very young children I still had my doubts right up to the departure lounge.
I have been to Cyprus four times; the last trip was in the summer of 1990, just as the Gulf war kicked off. I remember seeing the island surrounded by the British War ships and kept thinking, ?Was this a good idea??.
For this holiday, I found a perfect hotel on the Internet and booked direct, thus saving quite a bit of money.
It was the AtlanticaHotel in Limassol. The complex was amazing. When we arrived early afternoon, we were welcomed by a cold glass of fresh orange juice and within minutes ...
