Anassa Hotel

“Terrible start, great ending”

Our stay began in disastrous fashion when the transfer we booked via the hotel, was one of the worst we have encountered on our travels. We received no help with our luggage from the driver (even though we were travelling with our 1 year old), & who also questioned why we brought so much luggage ... more

Our stay began in disastrous fashion when the transfer we booked via the hotel, was one of the worst we have encountered on our travels. We received no help with our luggage from the driver (even though we were travelling with our 1 year old), & who also questioned why we brought so much luggage with us. His vehicle was a beaten up Mercedes, that we could have got from a taxi rank outside the airport, likely for much cheaper than what we paid. This led me to assume the hotel would be like Fawlty Towers. Luckily this was not the case. The hotel is beautiful but understated, with subtle homages to the island’s Byzantine heritage. The hotel was also very diligent in getting our child’s food sorted, which was a massive stress relief for us. The staff were also genuinely happy to see our child whenever we went out to eat, so this proves that this is a very family friendly resort. With regards the food, we took the half board option & stayed for 1 week so experienced the entire restaurant offering except Basiliko. The Italian buffet on Saturday night was ok but we could not judge it properly as we were jet-lagged so could not enjoy the experience to the fullest. The Cypriot night was magnificent, definitely in top 5 of meals we’ve had abroad. The choice was amazing & showcased the wonderful food culture of Cyprus from starters to mains to dessert. The cultural programme put on that night was also a great way to see traditional Cypriot culture. Dinner & service at Helios was excellent, however we were only allowed €150 allowance on half board if we wanted a la carte, so 2 dinners cost us an additional €300. We probably would have eaten here more if it wasn’t for the cost. Dinner at Pelagos was very disappointing, the service was very slow & our octopus main was burnt (even though there was no extra cost on half board). We were also in close proximity to cats & it was very cold in the evening despite the heaters. We did not want to eat there again. We asked the hotel to use our stipend on room service on one evening, it would be good if this was made known to families for convenience purposes, especially as amphora was not open in the evenings for buffet except on one evening of our stay. We expected dinner under the stars to be like Cypriot night but it was quite disappointing. It would’ve been better to allow guests their choice of mains & dessert via buffet like Cypriot night, but everything was brought to the table so we had to leave food that we did not enjoy. causing waste. It was also very dark so we could not see the food in front of us. Breakfast was good not great. There was no variation in the hot cuisine or pastries (apart from the muffins) which is disappointing as Cyprus makes such amazing produce, so I doubt it would be a stretch to make at least one different hot meal option every day. This is commonly done at many 5 star hotels. This sapped our enthusiasm for going to breakfast due to the monotony & I had to persuade my wife to come out for it in the morning on more than one occasion. The spa facilities were excellent & we enjoyed our treatments. The in-room bathroom toiletries were excellent from Acqua di Parma & the complimentary mineral water was from Acqua Panna. Our transfer back to the airport was excellent & was what we expected on arrival. It was good the hotel was responsive to our concerns. In conclusion we would definitely stay here again, maybe also at one of the thanos sister hotels.

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