Avlida Hotel

The Hotel I have to say was OK but I Would agree a bit in need of update

The staff were excelent very friendly and Helpful especialy Cosmin the entertainment manager who spoke to us everyday and tried to make us feel at home as we felt out of place due to the number of Russians there, we understood there would be Russians at the Hotel but never expected to be outnumber by 95%

We would like to Thank Cosmin for ensuring that our all inclusive rights were kept until our transfer to the Airport

Pam & Alan

Where to start. Paid for a four s star holiday and got two star instead and thats being generous. The lobby,bar,entertainment area,resteraunt and pool were ok but when it came to the bedrooms thsts when then the nightmare began.The horror stories were wide and varied. The decor was from the 70s.the fixtured and fittings dated and some not usable.The worst thing in our accommodation was the bathroom. Our white shower curtain was brown.Grout was missing and also brown. Tiles had not been cleaned in ages.The bath filler filled the bathroom not the bath.We dare not use the fixed shower.I am definatly not reccommending place to anyone. I thing you should stop using it or at least recommend to the management that it needs a total refurbishment to try and attain maybe a 2 star plus rating.

A good stay, underlined by the realy fair price we paid, kinds on 50% discount location convenient enough so that we could walk almost every where (believe me, you will want to walk everywhere due to traffic all over paphos in the summer months). You got your KFC, your pizza hut and your o'neils within 10 minutes walk. Personally we wouldnt mind one bit if the whole road side was pedestrian, but we where told that it is in the plans. Now, about the hote itself: Quite good entertainment, very good food, clean and comfortable room... Now about the room, I dont quite understand what people expect really, the beds were clean, the towels were soft and fresh, the airconditioning worked silently, the TV was a bit small but picture and sound was crystal clear, and there was enough space for our stuff 2 adults and 2 very well "prepared" kids aged 7 and 9. We have been to many hotels in europe and all over the place and for the price we paid this is prety much what we would expect. what trully excited us was the pool, very very nice, and the staff where always (well, almost always) happy to help and friendly. The Avlida hotel was an excellent choice and we recomend for families

there is no way the Avlida Hotel should be advertised as 4*, 2* would be a better description,that was the overall opinion of most of the quests. The entertainment in hotel was a d.j? who played his kind of music with the help of the kids who followed him around. The food was plentyful but not enjoyable,with not much variation. Tea and coffee facilities in the room cost 6euros a day for two.2euros aday to have fridge.I would like to have known when they were issued 4* I think it was many years ago when it was refurbished.I will not return and it was our first time in Cyprus which did not make a very good impression. The hotel was shabby and the rooms very basic.Glad we were only half board,people who were all inclusive felt they had to stay in the hotel to eat and drink as they had paidfor it, which was not cheap.

The Avlida Hote was a total let down everything tired and worn out breakfast chef lacked basic cooking skills cold food or overcooked

rooms shabby and dated whole hotel needs urgent attention

families do not consider as too far from amenities

Overall, be realistic and look at what you are paying. Some comments on other sites would have you believe it is the hotel from hell. It is not.

The public areas, other than perhaps the pool, are easily 4*. The corridors, rooms and pool are tired and in need of renovation. They are by no means unreasonable for what you are paying.

The food is good if a bit monotonous, but no more so than some 5* tourist hotels.Like most of us, individual staff members tend to respond well if they are treated with respect. I doubt I could walk around with a smile on my face all day if I had to live on what they get paid.Obvious lack of training means that certain things like charging items to your room can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Just because there are mistakes does not mean that someone is trying to rip you off. The week we were there there was a drinks promotion, like all hotels an attempt to get you to remain on the premises and spend your money. The problem was that the management did not appear to have briefed the bar staff. Not the end of the world.

Be realistic, it is not by any means a bad hotel. It is commensurate with the price. Spare a thought for the staff, the young lady who is still serving at the bar when you got to your bed at night and is serving breakfast at 7 the next morning is no more likely to at her best than you or I would be. Relax and you will have a nice holiday.

The first impression given was positive, as the lounge is top class.

It was a bit of a hassle checking in as it was a bank holiday weekend for the island and the reception was packed. We soon went off to our room which we found to be up to standard except the TV which was a bit on the small size.

The food served was hot and plentiful always, never had a bad meal.

Some of the salads were not to our taste personally, but there was a lot to choose from as happens in buffets. Be sure to go to breakfast and leave before 9:00 if there is a large number of kids as it can get loud.

All the waiting staff were excellent, and the pool area was very nice.

The hotels location is quite good, a few days on the beach opposite are enough, there are better beaches after 15 minutes and on our last 2 days we were recomended to go to Latchi, which had beautiful beaches and is less spoilt by buildings, but there were no hotels there just small hotel apartments.

Anyway, the location was very good for the price we paid.

Mmmm the Avlida Hotel! This was the hotel we chose as a honeymoon destination for two weeks.

On first entering the hotel, it definitely had the WOW factor with its marble flooring and lovely reception area.

My husband had already emailed ahead to say we were a honeymoon couple and asked if they could do anything, I.e. upgrade or maybe flowers or champagne. They emailed back to say that we would have something. But there was nothing. He had to make a complaint, then someone came to our room with Champagne and fruit!

So, they upgraded us, but we couldn't see how as we had already booked a double room. On walking into the room, it seemed apparent to us that this was not 4*. We couldn't even class it really as 3* as we had stayed in better 2* accommodation. The room was very basic, en-suite bathroom, bath, shower, etc. Towels was not very white/big and very old. The shower curtain was ripped, stained and had mould on it. The floor was filthy, until my husband complained, then it was mopped.

The air con wasn't even working properly, so first stop was reception to get maintenance to look at it. By the time it was working it sounded like a jack hammer going off all the time and was so bad that we had to ask for a fan.

Looking around the hotel it was apparent that all was not well. The cleanliness and the hygiene was not what you could call 4* at all. In fact it wasn't very good at all.

Bed Linen was not changed frequently and in fact when we did complain, we had sheets put on our bed that had blood stains on!

The food hall was nice but not airy enough for me. I could not open the window and there was as far as I could see only one fan blowing through a filter in the wall. It appeared that the air con had been turned down/off maybe to encourage people to drink more.

The food was OK. Breakfast and Lunch being by far the best in my opinion. If you want English food still then this is the place. For most of the chef's are from England!

Dinner time was like feeding time at the Zoo. Some of the food was lovely, but we found the most popular dishes was stopped after a couple of days to make room for more less savoury dishes. Plenty of Chips and Burgers on though!

The main bar! What a joke, there are more chiefs than Indians and the beer and coke was flat. One guy we became friendly with made the bar manager pull 8 pints of larger out and not one of them had a bit of fizz in it. If you have to pay for this, it's total waste of money and the drinks are not cheap.

The Pool area was nice, but again, not very hygienic. In our second week there, people was starting to come down with ear infections (including my husband) and tummy bugs, myself included. The Pool Side is the place where Lunch is served. Its all very well, but the floor gets very slippery and can be dangerous, especially when you have kids running in and out soaking wet!

There is an indoor pool, I thought it was again filthy dirty, and a gym, which was pretty basic and sauna, steam room and alternative therapies offered at a price.

Entertainment, was by far the oddest thing going. It ranged from bingo (which is another story) to a nightly quiz, karaoke, some lady singing very old songs and playing a keyboard and a 'Greek 'evening! Which wasn't worth a pee in a pot in my opinion! Very boring.

The BOSS MAN, to whom we called the Don, just walked around shouting at the staff all the time, to which was all working their socks off and never had a moments rest, although there was a couple of members of staff which were completely lazy. The staffs morale appeared to be very low. This was very apparent to everyone and on one occasion I saw two members of staff in tears. They was all very pleasant and very polite.

Bingo - I'd stay clear if I were you. It isn't all it is cracked up to be. Some friends from Belfast counted 66 tickets being sold at ' 5 each, this added up to ' 330 and yet the top prize was ' 70 - so where was the rest being pocketed to? And if you won you had to pull some kind of stunt, like jumping in the pool. Might be fun if you're stunned!

The quiz was the same in the second week as it was in the first and the only prize was a cocktail, which came if you was all inclusive! So as you can see the management never gave much away. We paid for all inclusive 2 weeks stay, and was told that everything was all inclusive, but don't be fooled by this, because we had to pay for some drinks and even bottled water.

We heard so many people complaining, it was ridiculous.

On a positive note, we made some very good friends out there and the people were very friendly and our flying trip to Egypt made it worthwhile!

Caution is to be taken when people outside the hotel stop you with scratch cards and tell you that you have won £600 in holiday vouchers, I'd advise not to get sucked in.

Asking if we would go back, definitely not. To Paphos, maybe, but definitely not this hotel! In both of our natures, we don't usually moan, but this time, we feel we had to say something.

We have just returned from a good holiday at the Avlida Hotel. We were happily impressed with the hotel as a whole and with the area.

The beach near the hotel is ok, and it is really close, about 2 minutes on foot. There are better ones about 10 minutes drive or 15-20 on the bus.. Generally the location is good, near everything of interest. The hotel facilities and service were of good quality, meaning the rooms, pool, waiter service, food etc. Service from the bars and restaurant was always quick and with a smile. Reception was very helpful with bus times, getting hold of the rep, answering every enquiry we had. Entertainment was a karaoke night, a fire show, Greek/Cypriot dancing which was especially entertaining and should not be missed. The air conditioning was strong and the room condition was good also.

We stayed at the Avlida for a week and we really liked it. Generally speaking, it was well suited for us and we would recommend to people similar to us.

Had a good time at the Avlida Hotel in Paphos, considering the price paid. South Cyprus is expensive compared to other destinations, so you should compare it to other hotels there; not Turkey or the Greek islands. One weeks all inclusive for half term was a very good deal. I too looked at the ratings and the reviews on different websites, and I felt quite worried. But as we have been to Cyprus every year for the last 22, I consider myself an experienced traveller that should share his experiences and knowledge. I feel like I should make some things clear:

1. You will not find ANY hotel that gives tea and coffee making facilities for free. Some "good" five star hotels don't even have the facility available, even if you pay, but they have 24 hour room service. Which really means that you can't get a kettle, or buy your own tea bags and milk and make as much as you like, but have to pay around 3 pounds per cup each time. This happened to me at the Annabelle hotel.

2. I have not heard of any hotel that does not charge its AI customers for mini bar drinks. In fact, I was charged 6 pounds a day x 7 days = 42 pounds, because I had just managed to cram a bottle of water bought from a nearby supermarket in the small fridge we had in the room. I was told that I had transformed the minibar into a mini fridge by doing that, and therefore I was charged for renting a fridge and not keeping it as a minibar. And I wasn't told until check out. Did I make a fuss? Yes. Did I end up paying? Yes again. It was stated in the hotel directory. Am I happy about it? God no! The Avlida did not charge me for use of the minibar as a mini fridge, but beware: if you take something out to make room for your own things, put it back before the maids go to service your room.

3. The AI resorts that I have visited in the past (Phaethon and Askos Beach) operate in an almost entirely self service system with regards the bar drinks and snacks service. You will not manage to have drinks at your sunbed unless you get up and get it yourself. However, we were served properly at the Avlida.

4. If the hotel does not explicitly state that it is situated on the beach, then it is simply not on the beach. YOU WILL have to walk outside of the hotel gardens and outside of the hotel plot, maybe cross a road to get to the beach.

I feel that I am a very experienced traveller, and that all of the above can be confirmed by calling up the hotels mentioned or asking an honest travel agent to give you specific answers. With the above, I have to say that the Avlida has been more than OK for us. They charged reasonable prices for tea and coffee making facilities, they did not charge at all for using the mini bar, and the polite waitresses did their best and were mostly successful in giving quick table service and to our actual sunbeds. Our drinks were only moderately late on one or two occasions, but we had placed a large order as we were drinking with friends we made there.

The entertainment was about average overall. We watched a fashion show, which I am sure was meant to be purely for fun, I don't think anybody was expecting the latest clothes from Italian designers as seen on the catwalks of Milan. The Greek dancing night was not so interesting personally, but I have seen so many of them over the years, so it would probably be nice for someone that hasn't seen it too many times. There was an English lad that played the electric guitar one night, and he would do requests too, although he was probably better with rock songs.

The food was great. A previous reviewer said that lunch was not kept warm, which it was when I was there, as the metal "trays", or to be more precise, gastronorm pans, were placed over steaming hot water that was kept hot. The same happened in the dining room, with the hot lamp added. It is called a bains marie buffet with a wet-heat operation, and I would like to hear from anybody that has ever had a good buffet meal that was not like that. It is the standard way that a buffet works: heat lamp on top, boiling water underneath. Those amongst you that have done some basic cooking classes should know that food is served at around 70 - 75 degrees, any hotter and most dishes such as pasta or meat would either stick or melt, thus destroying the flavour.

The room was alright too. Clean, fresh towels, hot water, comfortable balcony, nice if moderate decoration, hairdryer, air conditioning and TV. Adequate space for our things.

Staff were very good at all times and at all positions. None of them seemed to be overworked, as they were quite happy and smiling.

The location is pretty good too. Not too far from anything, Kato Pafos and bar street, the golden sand beach of Coral Bay or the market. Tombs of the Kings is now developing too, and has its own nice bars and restaurants on both sides of the road.

As a closing point, try to be realistic about your expectations. The more you pay, the better you will get. Everything has its price.

Overall, I would say that we had good time at the Avlida, and at these or slightly higher prices we would be prepared to return. Enjoy your hols.