Paphos Gardens — Hotel in Paphos Municipality

I can echo much of what has already been said in other reviews.

The location is good and there are plenty of nearby places to eat, hire a car etc and many small supermarket type stores, so getting supplies is easy. There are two decent sized pools, although the rear one didn't open until halfway through our stay and has a lot of loose tiles. There's also an indoor pool which is handy because it did rain on two of our days. It was fairly quiet when we went (start of April) so I can imagine in summer when it is busier that it will be quite a challenge getting a sun lounger.

We had breakfast included and to be honest we are glad that we didn't go fully inclusive. There is a decent enough selection of food, but it's not very good quality and it got worse over time, so we suspect it was being constantly reheated. The fresh juice and coffee machines were good.

There's a very well equipped air conditioned gym downstairs which was an excellent way to start your day off. Although the spa lady next to it was rather rude towards my son and I and shouted at us because he was too young at 12 years old, despite reception confirming that he was ok to be in there.

There's little in the way of games for the children. An air hockey machine, a pool table and not much else. A tiny play area in a back corner outside that was run down.

Rooms were tired but clean. we were in the Azalea building and this is one I would recommend. There's lemon trees around with amazing fresh lemons that you can pick! We couldn't hear the dogs barking at night, it has car parking right outside, it's quieter but not too far away to be inconvenient and the second pool is right there.

The two seater sofa was terrible, you slide into the middle and sank - very uncomfortable. We didn't even bother with the TV. The kitchen and fridge seemed fine. The aircon has clearly been updated because there were old remote holders on the walls that the remotes wouldn't fit into. There was an aircon in the main living room and one in each of the bedrooms. The aircons worked very well and cooled the place down fast.

The beds... oh my. They are harder than concrete, so we asked for some mattress toppers, but in stead were given duvets! lol We complained again and finally got some thin but thankfully soft mattress toppers. They should really be on as standard.

Rooms were cleaned every day. Two bathrooms, which were a little tired but good water pressure. You have to switch on a immersion heater, but it doesn't take long.

There's a decent sized safe in the bedroom that you pay a little extra for. You choose your code, but they can obviously override it, which they do in the first instance in order to set it up.

The halls do smell of cat urine etc, there's a lot of stray cats around. They don't bother you and I believe this is a countrywide issue.

Whilst taking all of the above into account, would we stay there again? Perhaps, if the price was low enough. The location was a bonus and most of the staff were nice enough, although not particular enthusiastic.

However, one big issue and it's perhaps a deal breaker is the ridiculous leaf blowers that they have going from early in the morning and seemingly for hours on end. There are quite a few of them and they are incredibly loud and unnecessary being used on pavements and roads where a brush would be fine. Save the leaf blowers for the stones/soil bits if you absolutely must use them.

Ultimately, the best advice I could give is to...

The holiday in itself was ok, but the hotel wasnt great, the restaurant manager was especially rude. The pool is very very warm, not the thing you need when it's blazing hot and want to cool down and it closes at 6pm. (Management said it was due to the pool being so shallow and the weather being so hot, they can't help the pool being warm) Athough other resorts seem to have conquered this issue.. ?? Over booking also means there is never a sun lounger available and if you do manage to get one its never in the shade. The all inclusive drinks only run from 10:30am to 10pm so you have to pay for drinks before or after that, these are the usual bog standard local drinks too. The food is very good, we couldn't fault that, was always fresh and plentiful, large variety and is very tasty. Although if lounging about by the pool and you fancy a snack, you have to dry off and put a top on, as no food is allowed to be eaten outside the restaurant area, the restaurant manager rules this with an iron fist and will chase you, shouting across the pool at you, so no snacks at the sun loungers, (where all your belongs are). All drinks are to be collected by yourself from the bar inside the restaurant, although it's called the pool bar ?? and again you are not allowed in there unless you have a tshirt on and you are dry, as you can imagine this gets abit tedious when you're in the pool for a period of time and need drinks. No waited pool service, (not expected for the price, but when there were 10-15 waiter staff standing around doing nothing, all squabbling over who's going to collect your empty plate, just to look busy. You would think at least one of them could get you some drinks by the pool as they were always dry and had shirts on). But no, its all down to you to dry off properly and put a top on every 10-20mins. The little town around Paphos gardens is Dead. All the big hotels nearby, like the massive Aloe Hotel are derelict and waiting demolition and most shops and bars were closed or shutdown permanently, the remaining few, dont open until late afternoon and close early evening and they dont have much in them. You'll need to get the bus for 5-10 mins to get any signs of life, like down at the Harbour, which is lovely to be fair, plenty of great restaurants, bars and shops. The bus is only 2 euros, so quite reasonable. Booking excursions via Hotel reception we thought was easier but just be careful when buying excursions as we purhased the glass bottom boat cruise, but once on the boat leaving the harbour it was in fact not a glass bottom boat, so the receptionist at paphos gardens had mislead us. Once back from a very long hot day we confronted her only to be told this was the cruise we had asked for ?? We did make the most of it however, and enjoyed ourselves. But if we go back to Cyprus we will not be going back to Paphos gardens...

First of all if you don't like cats what are you doing in Cyprus? They are kings and Queens in Paphos and very friendly. If you don't like them just shoo them away otherwise you could well end up with your own cat for the evening just send someone else to the bar. This is a very good value place set a bit back from the beach but within walking distance of bars and restaurants, the beach and supermarkets. The shopping mall which is very modern and good for clothes shopping is a good half hour walk. We were all inclusive and couldn't fault the food. Variety of salads and selection of hot food and a roast at dinner. Always a good selection of desert tended to be pastries but always delicious. There were a variety of themed nights so if you stay more than one week they will be repeated but your not having to cook! Breakfast had a small selection of cereals, fruit and hot which was always good. Comparing with a four star that we stayed with it was good value. The outdoor pool is not heated just get in and get used to it very refreshing! The indoor pool is warmer although we didn't use it. More than enough sun loungers to catch the sun around the pool. Two bars open in the winter, one pay bar. The all inclusive bar is handy for the pool you have a walk from the lounge in the evening. Several cocktails included in the all inclusive menu expertly made in the evening in particular by George, the most friendly bar person that you could meet. Entertainment was mixed but they were competing with football. There's an excellent duo singing one night. During the day there is normally meditation and yoga in the morning which everyone who went rated very highly. The clients were mixed many older people lucky enough to stay for a few weeks. There's also a group of Italians who work in Cyprus and a group of students but no noise at night the balcony doors cut out the noise. The rooms are comfortable they are dated by modern standards but this is a three star, over bath shower which was hot and decent water pressure. There's tea and coffee making facilities in the room. Sea views from the balcony. There's currently construction work going on about a mile away but it wasn't noisy. The hotel is very particular about cleanliness and everywhere is immaculate. Last thing is the staff, they are all very friendly and attentive. Refreshing to see a genuine interest in working in the service industry. If you want a four or five star holiday in a very corporate hotel you have plenty of choice. If you want character and friendliness try...