Grecian Bay Hotel — Hotel in Ayia Napa

We had the pleasure of staying at the Grecian Bay Hotel in Ayia Napa during our visit on August 3, 2025. I wanted to share my thoughts and impressions, as our experience was truly memorable, but also highlight some considerations. ||1. Outstanding Staff and Service|From start to finish, the service at Grecian Bay Hotel was truly exceptional. Every member of the team—from the housekeeping staff and porters to the reception, poolside waiters, and restaurant staff—went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. We've had the privilege of staying at some top-tier hotels across Europe, and the level of service here genuinely stood out. A special mention goes to Lambros, one of the restaurant managers, who went out of his way to accommodate our fussy eaters on several occasions. His kindness and attention to detail made a big difference to our dining experience.||2. Excellent Facilities and Engaging Events|The range of facilities and activities available at the hotel was fantastic. We had the chance to take part in a clay pottery session, attend a few of the fitness classes, and truly unwind during our stay. One of the highlights was the traditional Cypriot dinner on our final night, complete with live music and dancing—it was a beautiful way to experience the local culture and end our holiday on a high note.||3. Delicious Food and Great Cocktails|The food offerings at Grecian Bay were generous and of high quality. We chose the Full Board option, which was incredibly convenient with young children. While the meals were consistently fresh and tasty, we did feel that the salad bar and some of the lunch options could benefit from more variety, especially for kids. The selection occasionally felt a bit repetitive. Next time, I’d likely go for the breakfast-only option, as the à la carte menus looked very appealing and offered more flexibility.|A standout, however, was the cocktail selection—absolutely top-notch. We sampled several throughout our stay, and each one was expertly crafted. None of the drinks felt watered down or lacking in flavour, and the portions were generous. We genuinely enjoyed some of the best-tasting cocktails we’ve had at a resort.||4. Beach is Perfect|The hotel has its own private beach - the beaches in Ayia Naya are so beautiful! The sand is clean, water is clear and the warm breeze made our beach experience lovely. The hotel has comfortable seating and shading on offer, and staff are at hand to help you get organised based on your needs. ||Considerations - Kids facilities overall|1. Kids Club|The one area where the hotel could really improve is in its kids' facilities and entertainment. The kids’ club, while a nice option in theory, only accommodates nine children at a time—which feels disproportionate for a hotel of this size. We were turned away twice, which was frustrating. Although the club is advertised for children aged 4–12, the activities were more suitable for younger kids. Our 9-year-old was already outgrowing what was on offer. However, Maria is wonderful, and took amazing care of our children. They loved spending time with her which was reassuring for us. ||The club also closes fairly early—around 6:00 or 6:30 PM—and there is no evening entertainment for children. We found ourselves leaving the hotel most evenings to keep the children entertained. Additionally, the club is closed entirely on Tuesdays, which, while understandable from a staffing perspective, feels like a missed opportunity during peak family season.||2. Kids Swimming|Another major drawback is the lack of proper swimming facilities for children. The kids' pool is extremely small—almost non-existent—and there are no slides or water play areas available. For a resort of this scale, it's a noticeable omission. The hotel has three connected pools, and it seems like one section could easily be adapted to include slides or a water play zone. Adding these features would significantly enhance the experience for families with young children.||Overall |All things considered, I would say that Grecian Bay Hotel is not ideally suited for families with very young children who rely on kids’ clubs, evening entertainment, or dedicated play areas like slides and splash zones. However, for families with older children who don’t require these types of facilities, the hotel is a fantastic choice. The service, amenities, food, and overall atmosphere make it a standout destination—especially if you're looking for a more relaxed and refined experience. I would definitely revisit this hotel when my children are older. Thank you to all staff who made this holiday a...

We have just returned from our family break and couldn't be happier with our experience (our 2nd time here). ||The hotel entrance area and bar areas feel lovely. Yes the family room was tired with some loose fittings, but was in no way offensive (more on this below), it was very roomy and squeaky clean, and kept extremely clean for the duration of our stay!||The staff around the hotel are incredible - they constantly asked us how we are with a smile, and the cleaners knocked every afternoon to check if we needed new towels, and gave the girls lots of complimentary chocolates which they loved! ||The breakfast was lovely - the food quality in general was very high comparably to other hotels we have stayed (including proper coffee!), there was something for everyone. It's probably the busiest time of the year for the hotel so of course it was not quiet - 9:30am probably being its peak, but we always found a table to sit with our 2 girls and never left feeling disappointed. I've had much worse experiences elsewhere!! I feel they cope well with peak season - personally. ||The pool area and sunbeds were perfect, especially as you reserve your sunbeds for the duration of your stay. There were some instances of newbies coming along and dumping their towels on our pre-booked beds, but the pool attendants were soon on the case and it never became an issue. The pool area itself is very nice with lots of garden areas, and a superb beach.||We ate at the hotel on 2 evenings - a special greek night near the pool and at the fish restaurant. The food was OK, however we felt it was overpriced (with 2 girls around 134 euros excluding drinks) - for this price you expect something spectacular or for it to include drinks, so we didn't feel it was worth it even with some additional entertainment thrown in. The greek night pool seating was also very squashed together and felt crowded. No need to eat at the hotel - there are plenty of options around where you can eat with a family for 60-70 euros or less, for example there is a lovely Tavern and Italian restaurant just to the front of the hotel which we mainly used. Bed and Breakfast is the best option at this hotel in our opinion - save your money!||The bars in the hotel are pricey but you are also paying for bar attendant service on this so it is kind of justified? 10-11 euros per cocktail and 7 euros for a beer. They deliver your drinks directly to your sunbeds via ordering from the barcode. ||During peak season there is a kids club which was brilliant for our 2 girls - they spent a lot of time in there and were very happy. It tends to run between 9-6pm most days apart from Mondays.||It's a quiet, peaceful hotel with only laid-back entertainment in the Cork Bar in the evenings (such as pianists and vocals). It's not a party hotel, but it doesn't advertise itself that way. That's why we like it! It's so relaxing. If you want a loud party style hotel then there are plenty of other local options. ||On the final day we moved to another room for the day (additional charge applies) as our flight was in the evening - it was newly refurbished and was superb. The walk in shower and bathroom especially! It felt very high quality. The hotel must be gradually refurbishing their rooms? Which is good news and explains why some of the rooms feel a bit tired. ||We will...

We were staying here for a total of 10 days as three families (one family only for three days). Our experience was very mixed. First of all, don't expect 5-star level quality across the board. They do offer a few facilities that probably gave them the local 5 star rating, but on many fronts things are at 3 star level or lower.

The positive things: The beach is very nice and despite the large number of people still well usable. Some days offer a flat sea and others nice waves. The pool area is quite large The hotel is featuring a garden area with some trees and mice views over the sea. Thanks to a well thought-out reservation system you can always find a nice place with sunloungers and sufficient shade The rooms have a good layout and feature an air conditioner The bathrooms are modern looking with two sinks and enough space The cleaning lady was super nice, reliably cleaned our room every day and gave us enough toilet paper and bottles of water every day If your flight back home leaves later on a day you can stay the time between check-out and leaving for the airport at the public area of the hotel for free and utilize the bathrooms and changing areas.

The not so good things: Some of the sunloungers at the beach were broken or only holding together quite losely (to the point of potentially risking a full breakdown, when you would use them) and some of the cushions on them were relatively dirty. A real 5 star resort would check and maintain such things on a regular basis. The garden area near our bungalow is watered frequently. This had the effect that sometimes you would hear the hissing and rattling of the water outlets in the morning. At other times they would spray water over the only path to our room giving us an involuntary cold shower trying to make it past them. In many public spaces (for example the cocktail bar outside or the outdoor restaurant areas or in a sunlounger next to you) people were smoking excessively enveloping us sometimes in a constant stream of smoke.

The bad things: Out of 10 nights, we had 9 nights with loud music playing late into the night (at least until 2 am). The music is coming from different places with different intensity. The worst is coming from a party place nearby called Kaliva Beach bar that was even hosting a wedding on a Monday! While the other music (including bad Karaoke) is unnerving when you're sitting outside, but only remotely hearable when you're in the room with closed doors, the party place is a different animal. Especially their bass made it through the walls and closed doors. We asked our friends the next day and they were also annoyed by it in their suite in the main hotel complex on the 4th floor. So if that wedding place is on fire, apparently most of the hotel is affected. The exception being the rooms facing the other side (looking over the parking place next to the entrance of the hotel). That side only gets the noise from the neighboring Melissi Hotel which is typically ending their noise activities around 11 pm. The deck chairs on our small deck with no view were comfortable, but the cushions were really dirty. As was the sun umbrella. Because of the proximity to a building not belonging to the hotel the terrace would also be in the shadow at around 4...