Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort

We stayed at the paphos gardens in May 2010 for 2 weeks with our 14mth old baby.

We stayed in an appartment which was lovely with the patio leading straight out to the pool which was handy as we could leave the door open and go in and out all day ! The appt was clean and well maintained the only thing it lacked was a bath for the baby but we bought an inflatable boat which we used instead !

The location was brill and within walking distance to the harbour, resteraunts and bars but not too close, and the beach is at the bottom of the road.

The pools were lovely and our baby loved the baby pool as it is on a graduated decline so he could walk into it and it was really warm.

The animation team was fantastic and you were made to feel really welcome as its only a small complex they get to know regulars really well and you can join in the activities but aren't forced to take part !

All in all we had a fantastic holiday and would definately return !

We stayed in Gardens Holiday Resort on half board, [as opposed to self catering apartments] at the beginning of September 2005. I would recommend this complex to anyone wanting a relaxing holiday. All the building work that was going on in the self catering appartments has been completed and they are very impressive, even equiped with dishwashers. The food is good but repetitive. Poolside and evening entertainment is good and the entertainment staff earn their money trying their best to get people to join in water polo, water volley ball etc. Also the evening shows were good. Beer was £1.70 [Cyprus pounds] which was about £2.00 UK pounds. The rooms were good, the staff very helpful and polite and we had a very enjoyable two weeks. So much so that we have already booked for next September.

Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort is a building site. We were booked into a room next to one where all the internal walls were being demolished from 7.00 am. Even after a move to another block we found that there was no control over owners of purchased properties in the same block. Bang, crash wallop being the order of the day. I think that if a block or room is being modernised in this way then the block should be closed and the Leftos compensated for loss of income whilst work is in progress. However nothing will be done, the reception staff are trained to blame the owners and make a note of everything, just to pacify the complaining holiday. A very pleasant site ruined by the noise and lack of either consideration or compensation.

Having read many negative reviews about the Paphos Gardens we were quite concerned about our holiday. We booked a safety deposit box a week before our arrival and would recommend this. Although we heard nothing about thefts it is obviously a problem.

We had booked a one bedroom superior apartment. On arrival we had been given a 2 bedroom apartment which was incredibly spacious. All looked good with laminate flooring and all furniture new apart from an old looking sofa. The apartment was painted white and you could tell it had been used all summer as there were many marks on the walls where kids had been playing. All in all though very pleasantly surprised.

There are two pools at the resort and we found no problem in getting sunbeds in sun or shade. The apartments are set in gardens and we saw workers tending to these every day. I have also read in some reviews about staff being rude and unhelpful. We did not experience this - our cleaner was lovely and most the staff on reception were very helpful. Our TV broke one day and was fixed within an hour.

Another point to note is that the entertainment at this complex was second to none. Activates all through the day for children and something going on every evening for a good 2-4 hours.

The location of the apartments/hotel is excellent with hundreds of restaurants within walking distance. Yet still far enough away to feel uncrowded by it all. We strongly recommend eating at ZaZa's and Les Amis - both on the road leading to the apartments. Contrary to the above review we also enjoyed a lovely meal at the Mandarin Palace.

All in all we had a good holiday here and if you have booked a superior apartment and you book a deposit box you really should have nothing to worry about. The facilities and location are really excellent.

And by the way... I only saw one cockroach. BUT if you don't like cats this is not the place for you as Paphos and in particular this complex has hundreds roaming around. That's not a bad thing... they do not hassle you at all and they can infact be very cute!

PAPHOS GARDENS

Our first concern on arriving was securing a safety deposit box after reading on this website about the amount of burglaries going on. And it's sad to report that thieving in the apartment complex is obviously still a problem as no sooner had we set foot in the hotel lobby than two separate residents were up at the desk complaining how their apartments had been robbed.

We secured our safety deposit box soon after this introduction to life at Paphos Gardens but during our stay we also heard of another three instances of apartments been robbed and this is obviously something to bear in mind when booking a holiday here.

Following on from this our first night actually turned into something of a baptism of fire as the apartment was not particularly clean on arrival, several cockroaches decided to pay us a visit and we had an ant infestation too. We also discovered the sleeping arrangements for our 13-year-old boy consisted of a broken sofa and a camp bed that looked like it had first seen active service in the Somme.

We obviously complained about these and the bed was eventually sorted out but the insects continued to pay us repeat visits and only diligent spraying kept them anywhere near at bay. While we appreciate cockroaches and ants do feature in hotter climates we didn't expect them to be permanent features in an apartment that we'd paid a decent amount of money for. The mould in the bathroom was also something we weren't expecting.

We heard there were nicer apartments elsewhere but by the time they offered us one we had two days of a 14-day holiday left and basically couldn't be bothered to move.

The complex itself does have a nice pool near the hotel and a few of the staff were very efficient when we aired our grievances. Sadly a few of them were also useless and the cleaners were hardly the most industrious workers we'd ever seen if the state of our apartments was anything to go by after they'd been.

Basically the place is quite shoddy and we won't be booking there again. In fact we're looking at self-catering in Treblinka next year and we envisage this may well be a step up in class.

PAPHOS

Paphos itself was actually OK in an ex-pat and Brits-abroad kind of way.

Bar Street was the home of the various British pubs and nightclubs and obviously has ambitions to being Playa Las Americas with its resident tat and all-day English breakfasts. Most of the shops around also sold fake designer t-shirts and all the usual holiday souvenir junk you'd expect, including a nice line in hardcore porn DVDs. Samurai swords also worryingly featured quite heavily.

Paphos Gardens was quite close to the beach and this was pleasant enough if a bit seaweed-infested. But buy mats and an umbrella as it works out about £5 per day if you want to use the sun-loungers and umbrellas already there. In fact everything seemed to be quite pricey and we live in London and are used to paying over the odds for most items so if we noticed it then it must be quite expensive.

The Archeological Park was pretty cheap and very good, although it gets very hot so head out there early if you plan to do the lot in one visit. The Tomb of Kings was similarly impressive and some of the mould in several of the tombs was in fact a distant cousin of what we saw in our apartment bathroom.

There were also plenty of other sites of interest dotted around Paphos and it's worth getting a map or a guide book and locating them as it gives a flavour of what the place has gone through and reminds you there is more to the place than shops selling tat.

A trip to the old town is also worth a look. The market mainly sells tourist tat but the fresh fruit is very cheap and the Ethnographic Museum, the Paphos Archeological Museum and the Byzantium Museum are worth a look if you make the journey.

EATING OUT

We ate out most nights and tended to stick to the set menus as these were cheaper. Our advice would be:

The Mandarin sells largely tasteless and very expensive Chinese food. Avoid at all costs.

After our Mandarin experience we avoided Oriental food for a while and only ventured out to Asiana on our last night. But the food was very good, the service excellent and the set menus very reasonable. The buffet also looks like it's good value.

Phivos was a Cypriot fish restaurant which was pretty good and pretty reasonably priced.

We ate at Brothers on several nights and on each one the food was excellent and the service very good. The lamb kleftico and beef stifado were excellent too.

Michaels was the eating highlight of the holiday. A family-run Cypriot restaurant where the food and service was excellent. Try the mezze as the food just keeps coming and it's all wonderful.

TRIPS

We only ventured out of Paphos once on a jeep safari to Lara Bay to see the turtles, then up to the beach at Laatchi which was truly beautiful and to the Baths of Aphrodite.

This was our best day of the holiday and we booked it much cheaper by checking out a few shops nearby rather than booking it through our travel company rep.

There were also trips to the Troodos Mountains and day trips and cruises to Egypt. If you do book any trips, though, shop around for prices as the reps charge way over the odds.

CONCLUSION

The holiday wasn't too bad but the apartment was shoddy and we wouldn't go back to Paphos Gardens ever again. It's a shame as Paphos itself was on the whole not too bad if a little pricey.