I have been working, as a Manager, in the Motor trade for the past sixteen years. If you are consid...
I have been working, as a Manager, in the Motor trade for the past sixteen years. If you are considering buying a car from a Franchised main dealer and would like some friendly and free advice please feel free to contact me.
Member since:25.11.2004
Reviews:6
This was to be our second holiday abroad this year and for two weeks my family and I were looking forward to all the good things we had heard about this Island and it's people. There were six in our party, my wife and (nearly) three year old daughter, my parents in law and my wife's neice(aged 12)
We had all heard such good things about this Island, especially the warm and hospitable atmosphere created by the locals; so many people had recommended Cyprus, we just had to see for ourselves. Our brochure promised us many treats including a varied cuisine, lively nightlife and a children's club. Sadly the brochure was, in our opinion, exaggerating.
We arrived mid afternoon at Paphosairport and were all pleased with the gorgeous weather, the sun was shining and it seemed like the perfect start to a promising fortnight. The trip to our Hotel brought us, very quickly, back down to Earth.
Driving from the airport to the hotel was like taking a trip through Iraq or a building site! We all commented on how much construction was taking place. For an Island of it's popularity, it seemed odd that so much of it was still under construction. Things brightened up only slightly upon entering the resort. More construction was always just around the corner.
Our Hotel, the Theofano, looked impressive when we arrived, it boasted three swimming pools, a Children's Club and lots of activity. We were given adjoining rooms and so our holiday had begun.
The first thing we noticed on arrival to our (air-conditioned) room was that the adjoining door would not open! This was quickly remedied by the Hotel staff, but the door could not be closed again without it locking! We did all the usual things, unpack, look out from the balcony and get a safe strongbox, but we were all anxious to relax and the kids wanted to go to the swimming pool. The swimming pool was very good, the only problem was that the central feature, a fountain, was not accessible because there were some broken floor tiles and the Hotel very sensibly had barred the way by putting hazard tape accross the bridged entrance. Sadly this just served to encourage the kids to venture across the bridge, freaking out some parents and interrupting the hedonism of the others. But all in all the swimming was fantastic and very refreshing.
I went in search for the Children's Club and on the way discovered the Hotel Gym. It was very reasonably equipped, (and I took full advantage of this facility) The Childrens club was located near the Gym and from what I saw it was two recesses in a wall, with brightly coloured paintings on it. There were, however, no children in sight! This remained unavailable and unmanned for the whole fortnight.
The weather was incredibly hot. Well into the forties!! This made walking around, for any significant distance, extremely uncomfortable and tiring. The kids didn't seem to mind too much, and, once into the 'holiday', we visited the local attractions like the Harbour, Coral Bay and the Paphos Bird Park. The Harbour was very interesting, with various types of boats available for hire and lots of cafes and restaurants. Most of the traders were plying the usual wares and unusually a tattoo artist was also in attendance.
Coral bay was a smallish beach which also had a few shops cafe's and one or two restaurants, although this was strictly a day for beach lovers. Water sports were available and my wife 'bottled out' of the para-sailing, reasonably charged at 18CYP for about eight minutes. Jet-ski's and kayaks were also available, although there was some nervousness about the jet-ski's, a boy had tragically killed his girlfriend on one during the holiday.
The Bird park proved to be the most interesting attraction for me and my family, we had to pay 31CYP entrance fee, and for that we were treated to many varied types of parrots and birds including Ostriches, Emu's, Hawk's and Eagles. We also got to see Giant Tortoises, Giraffe's, Monkey's, Ponies and a Petting Farm, all finished off by an excellent Parrot Show.
Car Hire is something we had decided to avoid, we had been told so many horror stories about the 'sharks' on the Island it did enough to put us off. One family told us that they had been charged over 300CYP for two days hire of a people-carrier, and then the Hire Company (Avis) tried to change the car for another smaller car without even telling them! We only heard bad stories about the hiring of bigger cars, people who had hired small cars seemed to be getting a very good deal.
The fortnight passed too quickly, as is always the case, and we were preparing to leave the Island. Upon reflection, we all enjoyed the holiday and, although in places we had some regrets, we managed to keep things in perspective and enjoy the atmosphere and relaxation this holiday had given us.
I did mention that the exchange rate was a disadvantage, this is largely because I have always had the luxury of enjoying holidays where my Pound went further. I found Cyprus to be somewhat expensive, and my first 800CYP, spending money, going far too quickly, making me draw more money out sooner than I had expected.
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Advantages: Friendly locals, plenty of historical sites, good range of bars and restaurants, exchange rate easy to work out Disadvantages: Can get very quiet in the off season, some prices are quite high, no sandy beaches
neo1138 18.07.2000 ·
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Review of Paphos (Cyprus)
Advantages: It is very friendly, drive on the Left hand side, and mostly speak English Disadvantages: You can't lay on the beaches in the winter, and the evenings are cold.
elinor.z 07.03.2008 (20.05.2008)
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Review of Paphos (Cyprus)
Aug 23rd, 2005
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