We purchased a ticket through an intermediary from the Biblioglobus tour operator to the Pola Costa Beach Hotel 3 * Cyprus Protaras from 10/25/18 to 10/31/18. there has never been a more disgusting holiday, although we are resting in Cyprus for the sixth time. We also took breakfast and dinner. We arrived at the hotel at 5.
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We purchased a ticket through an intermediary from the Biblioglobus tour operator to the Pola Costa Beach Hotel 3 * Cyprus Protaras from 10/25/18 to 10/31/18. there has never been a more disgusting holiday, although we are resting in Cyprus for the sixth time. We also took breakfast and dinner. We arrived at the hotel at 5.30 in the morning, there was nowhere to sit at all, because it was raining heavily and everything around was damp and wet. One sofa with a sign - "only for administration. " They gave out the key to the toilet in the basement with gestures and offered to change clothes there and take a walk until 14.00....After everyone had breakfast and we were only offered to eat. A girl with long hair stood behind the distribution counter, who laid out food in trays: cheese, sausage, carbonate cut into 6 pieces, about the size of a 5 ruble bill, and she did this regularly, 6-8 pieces per tray, as they sorted it out, she reported more , while she did not have special clothes, a headdress and gloves, and so it was every morning. After that, she went to clean the rooms, wash the bathrooms, clean the toilets and throw out the garbage in the same clothes, and then again laid out the products without gloves. And so it was throughout the rest, i. e. . she wore the same clothes for a week. After check-in, there was dinner in the evening. I have never seen anything like this in my life!!! ! The owner of the hotel himself stood at the distribution in working clothes, without a headdress and gloves and put hot meat on the plates of vacationers himself....At first he could scratch his intimate places, and then take a scoop and put on food, not what I want to eat, but even as much as he sees fit, and so it was every evening. Sometimes he came in rubber boots, fishing clothes, a dirty oiled hat, got up to serve food, respectively, without gloves. Once he repaired the elevator and immediately went to the distribution. He always decided how much and what should be put on each plate. I refused cutlets that were floating in oil, he threw a ladle with them, soiling the entire counter and splashing oil on my clothes. It was useless to argue with him, and everyone was just afraid of him. It was the same when he was fixing the sewers and came to the distribution of food in smelly clothes. . For breakfast, there are no tea bags at all, half of the coffee, half of the chocolate is poured from the alleged coffee machine into the cup, but everyone is glad that at least something is pouring. The contingent is mainly elderly pensioners and mothers with children. It was useless to argue with him, he shouted that he was a Turk and did not understand the Russian language. It was impossible to photograph all this horror for fear that it could be done unknown. No one speaks or understands Russian in the hotel. Your representative of BIBLIOGLOBUS, with whom Sergey Kushnirik met, tel. +35.97701584, told me that there is tea and I should ask…. . We purchased a ticket with breakfast and dinner, I ask that I don’t owe anything to anyone for everything that was paid when buying the ticket. I am required to provide the breakfast I paid for, including tea. In neighboring cafes, a breakfast with a better assortment than in this hotel cost 3.23 euros, therefore, less than 50 euros were spent on breakfast for two from the cost of the tour. For the whole hotel in the restaurant on the bar counter there are three jars of salt and two sugar dispensers with them there is a glass in which there are 3 teaspoons for the whole hotel, which are used by everyone, without exception, what kind of sanitation is in question. A jug of cold milk is full of chips and cracks, which should have been in the garbage for a long time, and not with milk on the bar. All sanitary norms are violated. Mugs and glasses stand right on the table, upside down, that is, you turn it over and go to pour yourself a drink. One single napkin on which there are cutlery and a number on the table with the number of the room where you live. Everyone is required to sit down where the owner put them when they moved in. For dinner, one piece of fruit per person, tangerine, pear or apple, is already laid out on the table strictly in a plate and it is not known whether it is washed or not. One mandarin in one hand. The entire first floor is in ads of stupid content - children under 14 years old cannot use the elevator without adult accompaniment. You can’t go in wet, etc. And most of all I was surprised that there were buckets of water in front of the stairs and signs hanging that it was necessary to wash the sand off your feet. And there are several rows of such buckets to the hotel, therefore, after this procedure, you can bring home a variety of foot fungus. This applies to all the same violations of sanitary standards. The obligatory norm of this hotel is always to hand over the key to the reception, but it was almost always empty there and the key is placed in a plate on the counter. We have never had a worse holiday.
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Three free days at work plus a weekend! 5 days of freedom. Of course, we decided to wave to the sea! There was 1 day for training. It turned out to Cyprus for 4 nights and 4 full days, on the 5th day they flew away already. Hotel Pola Costa was chosen because of its location - right next to the sea. We flew out at night, we were already at the hotel by 9 am! And this is where it started! We did not expect that we would immediately be settled, but the gloom and unkindness of the owner of the hotel struck! He looked at us unfriendly and said that the check-in would be at 2 o'clock.
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Three free days at work plus a weekend! 5 days of freedom. Of course, we decided to wave to the sea! There was 1 day for training. It turned out to Cyprus for 4 nights and 4 full days, on the 5th day they flew away already. Hotel Pola Costa was chosen because of its location - right next to the sea. We flew out at night, we were already at the hotel by 9 am!
And this is where it started! We did not expect that we would immediately be settled, but the gloom and unkindness of the owner of the hotel struck! He looked at us unfriendly and said that the check-in would be at 2 o'clock. The key to the toilet, to change clothes, you had to wait forty minutes! You can't drink drinks on the veranda of the hotel, and even more so by the pool - you can't! All reception areas are plastered with ads that begin with the word Forbidden!
We spent 5 hours in sun loungers by the pool, swam in the sea, but at 2 o'clock we were still not settled. First they said to wait another 10 minutes, then another 10, and so on. In the General, around three, crazy from the heat and lack of sleep, we checked into the room, paying a deposit of 15 euros for the remotes from the TV and air conditioning.
We had one bedroom and a living room with a kitchenette. The hotel is old, without repair, everything is shabby, plumbing is old. The bathroom had 2 small bars of soap and that was it. For 4 days we were not given more soap, the towel was not changed, the room was not cleaned. Only took out the trash twice. 2 girls work in the hotel, plow from morning to evening, first they serve breakfast, then they work on cleaning the rooms. The two of them just physically do not have time to clean all the rooms even every other day! There are no complaints about them, but the owner is so greedy that he would rather save on the service than hire more maids! Savings in everything! At dinner, he himself puts meat dishes on a plate so that no one eats an extra piece of meat. There are no drinks at dinner, the bar is closed, that is, it is physically impossible to buy them. In general, the food is poor, and the service is non-existent!
There is no cordiality and hospitality in this hotel at all. The best thing is the sea! It's twenty meters away and it's beautiful! And if you have iron nerves and you don't care about everything, you can go to this hotel! And I absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND!
And this is where it started! We did not expect that we would immediately be settled, but the gloom and unkindness of the owner of the hotel struck! He looked at us unfriendly and said that the check-in would be at 2 o'clock. The key to the toilet, to change clothes, you had to wait forty minutes! You can't drink drinks on the veranda of the hotel, and even more so by the pool - you can't! All reception areas are plastered with ads that begin with the word Forbidden!
We spent 5 hours in sun loungers by the pool, swam in the sea, but at 2 o'clock we were still not settled. First they said to wait another 10 minutes, then another 10, and so on. In the General, around three, crazy from the heat and lack of sleep, we checked into the room, paying a deposit of 15 euros for the remotes from the TV and air conditioning.
We had one bedroom and a living room with a kitchenette. The hotel is old, without repair, everything is shabby, plumbing is old. The bathroom had 2 small bars of soap and that was it. For 4 days we were not given more soap, the towel was not changed, the room was not cleaned. Only took out the trash twice. 2 girls work in the hotel, plow from morning to evening, first they serve breakfast, then they work on cleaning the rooms. The two of them just physically do not have time to clean all the rooms even every other day! There are no complaints about them, but the owner is so greedy that he would rather save on the service than hire more maids! Savings in everything! At dinner, he himself puts meat dishes on a plate so that no one eats an extra piece of meat. There are no drinks at dinner, the bar is closed, that is, it is physically impossible to buy them. In general, the food is poor, and the service is non-existent!
There is no cordiality and hospitality in this hotel at all. The best thing is the sea! It's twenty meters away and it's beautiful! And if you have iron nerves and you don't care about everything, you can go to this hotel! And I absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND!
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Upon arrival, we were seated at 15-00, waiting for an hour. . -e. The rooms are in need of refurbishment as well as the hotel. Cleaning in the rooms is done once closer to the departure from the hotel, you need to take a shower before 17-00 then there is a problem with water and pressure. Upon arrival at the room, the lamp in the room did not burn (they did not change it), then after 4 days the lamp in the bathroom burned out, they changed it on the last day before leaving the hotel.
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Upon arrival, we were seated at 15-00, waiting for an hour. . -e. The rooms are in need of refurbishment as well as the hotel. Cleaning in the rooms is done once closer to the departure from the hotel, you need to take a shower before 17-00 then there is a problem with water and pressure. Upon arrival at the room, the lamp in the room did not burn (they did not change it), then after 4 days the lamp in the bathroom burned out, they changed it on the last day before leaving the hotel. We had to wash and clean the room ourselves. breakfast and dinner always started late, the manager himself was at the distribution. At the reception, they don’t speak Russian and don’t want to understand, despite the fact that tourists only from Russia have a rest))) Well, everything like that. Two years ago we rested in 3 * everything corresponded, here I think 2 * or even less. Regarding this apartment, I don’t agree, the service should be because it’s stated that 3 * staying in these apartments is annoying (almost everyone who had a rest during this period), I don’t agree with the price and quality, I would advise you to pay extra and relax in another hotel, the attitude of the staff and the manager does not have a positive rest, except for the Russians, no one rests in the hotel. The impression is that no money is invested in the hotel at all. And the description of the hotel on the sites needs to be changed a lot does not match.
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We rested at the hotel from 06/23 to 07/03 and chose according to location and budget. We were seated within 5 minutes. We were given a room on the 4th floor. The view from the room is just fabulous. The furniture is in good condition, the room has everything you need for cooking. Breakfasts were standard - sliced sausage, ham, cheese, vegetables, sausages, fried bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juices.
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We rested at the hotel from 06/23 to 07/03 and chose according to location and budget. We were seated within 5 minutes. We were given a room on the 4th floor. The view from the room is just fabulous. The furniture is in good condition, the room has everything you need for cooking. Breakfasts were standard - sliced sausage, ham, cheese, vegetables, sausages, fried bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juices. Dinner was more varied - necessarily chicken, beef or pork, fish, 3 types of side dishes, salads, there were no drinks at dinner. Fruits were watermelons and peaches. Cleaning in the room every three days, garbage was removed every day. We had a wonderful rest for 10 days without any nuances. The hotel corresponds to the declared 3. Excellent combination of price and quality! Suitable for a quiet, relaxing family holiday! The location of the hotel crosses out all its shortcomings - if you come overseas, the sun. Would choose this hotel next time.
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Review of Pola Costa Beach Hotel Apartments Cyprus in October We rested in this hotel as a couple from 9.10 to 19.10. fourteen. This hotel has mixed reviews. Therefore, I will write in detail about how it all happened. Tour operator TPG, host of Attica Holidays. From Laraki Airport to the hotel, the bus took tourists 1 hour 40 minutes.
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Review of Pola Costa Beach Hotel Apartments
Cyprus in October
We rested in this hotel as a couple from 9.10 to 19.10. fourteen.
This hotel has mixed reviews. Therefore, I will write in detail about how it all happened. Tour operator TPG, host of Attica Holidays. From Laraki Airport to the hotel, the bus took tourists 1 hour 40 minutes. We came out last.
Location
The hotel (more precisely, class C hotel apartments, which are listed under the number 123 in the list of hotels in Protaras and Pernera) is not in Protaras, but in the village of Pernera, 10 minutes. bus ride from Protaras. From the exit from the hotel to the water's edge less than 50 m. Loungers on the grass near the hotel and by the pool are free of charge, there are 70 of them, that is, enough even when the hotel is fully loaded. From the extreme sunbeds of the hotel to the water 20 steps.
The hotel stands at the shallow bay of Perner - up to the water level to the waist to go 30 m. It is curious, but in a shallow bay the water is colder than in the open sea.
Since the windows of all rooms face strictly north, there is no sun in the rooms and the swimsuit on the balcony (you must bring a rope with you) dries for more than a day.
Vacationers and hotel workers
At the end of the season, the 3rd and 4th floors were closed in the apartments, and the first and second floors were occupied. All vacationers, about 22 people, were Russian speakers. There were women with children 1-12 years old and married couples over 40 years old.
The hotel manager Kostas does not speak Russian (or does not want to speak), but the impression is that he understands. At breakfast and dinner there was a waiter about 45 years old.
Russian-speaking Nina (Georgian by origin) works in the bar. From 9.10 to 13.10, an elderly Russian-speaking man, Nina's father, was on duty at the reception during the day. Then at the reception there was only a night attendant (the guide said - now the reception is sleeping during the day).
The rooms were cleaned (once every three days, the linen was changed 1 time) by an elderly Cypriot woman. This is the entire staff of the hotel. I am writing about this because I have not previously rested in such a small hotel.
Number
Kostas settled us in room 205, he did not take money for a good room. But the TV and air conditioner remotes, together with network adapters (deposit 19 euros: 7.5x2 + 2 x 2), we received only after 18-30, when it was no longer necessary to turn on the air conditioner (such is the hotel economy).
We had a room on the second (in our opinion on the 3rd) floor. Upon check-in, they checked everything, then they called Kostas (so that there were no problems when leaving the hotel) and showed him:
- the shower holder in the bathroom is broken off;
- the light bulb in the corridor burned out (it was not replaced in 11 days);
- the lower shelf on the door was broken in the refrigerator, they did not repair it;
- ignition of gas on the stove does not work (Kostas showed - use a lighter);
- the door to the balcony from the kitchen does not close.
The last was the most important - safety. Kostas slammed the glass door onto the balcony with a flourish (it closed) and muttered something angrily and left.
It turned out - the door latch was broken, and it was replaced with a rusty screw. To close the door, press down on the button to open it and close it at the same time. To open, push down and open. A similar situation with the window in the bedroom.
By the way, the cleaning lady praised us that we called Kostas and showed him the defects of the room.
Then we found even deeper cracks (35-40 cm long) in the faience "leg" under the washbasin in the bathroom. Fortunately, this “leg” did not fall apart before our departure.
The room had cups, 2 glasses (one broken), 1 pot, pans, spoons, forks, knives and even all sorts of whisks for beating food. There is an extractor hood above the 2 burner gas stove. There is an electric kettle, but you need an adapter to turn it on.
We did not find any falling furniture in the room - all of it was in very good condition. But if red wine is spilled on the kitchen table, it cannot be wiped off even with soda.
The whitening toothpaste helped.
Indeed, the pillows in the bedroom were very thin, but there were 3 extra pillows in the closet in the bedroom, which solved the problem.
Soundproofing is bad. At the Policarpia Issak hotel restaurant on Saturday 11.10. 14 to 2 o'clock in the morning celebrated the anniversary. All this time, the music was well audible, although it sounded from a distance of about 300 m from the back of the hotel (i. e. through the hotel corridor). In the bedroom, you can clearly hear the neighbors in room 204 moving the furniture.
Both the bathroom and the kitchen are full of small house ants. They are everywhere - in plates, on the table, on the couch.
Nutrition
The apartments work on the HB system. The dishes were put up near the bar at the reception, and the tables were first on the street under a canopy, and then inside the hotel at the bar
Breakfast 8-15. For all the time, breakfast was the same (only at the end there was no hot chocolate, Nescafe with milk and cappuccino in the machine) and was very tired.
There were: toast with jam, cereal with milk; hot water / coffee (3 types) / hot chocolate from a vending machine, a dose of about 100 grams; 3 chilled "juices"; chopped tomatoes and cucumbers; sliced cheese + ham + sausage; fried eggs, scrambled eggs; sausages (soy); fried ham; stewed beans. Separately, on the bar counter there was a sugar dispenser, oil in a package and tea bags.
When the cut was over, the waiter put it on. There is no food heating. There was still food at 9:00.
There were enough cups, plates, forks and spoons for everyone.
Dinner 19-15. He just shook with his minimalism: rice; potatoes baked in halves (for the next days or couscous or fried potatoes); beef with peas (or navy pasta or chicken); carrots + cabbage with mayonnaise (first 3 days); tomato salad + cucumbers + cauliflower + salad with butter (a couple of times there was a Greek salad); oranges (or apples or nectarine) cut into slices; toasts.
During the rest, the menu changed a little, but I have not seen such a meager dinner in any of the more than 10 hotels in different countries, where I had previously rested on the HB system. From 11.10 hot dishes at dinner were given out by the waiter, which was extremely inconvenient. Again, savings for the hotel, and there will be enough food for everyone.
That is, you will not be hungry, you will not get poisoned, but on vacation you want to eat much more varied.
Weather
Air at night 23-24°С, daytime 25-27°С. Water 24.5 - 26.5°С. It was sunny, the sea was rough (you can swim in the bay) only 2 times.
4 times it rained: 12.10 - 20 minutes during the day, sunny in the evening; 14.10 - in the afternoon, in the evening it is sunny; 15.10 - in the afternoon 1.5 hours; 19.10 - at night and until 8-00. Several times after 16-00 it was cloudy and a cool wind was blowing.
However, almost all the time there was high humidity, it was uncomfortable to walk quickly (you sweat all over) and wet things dried for more than a day.
Tours
From the hotel along a pleasant promenade in 25 minutes.
you can walk to the Protaras pier (on the way there are 3 bays with umbrellas and sun loungers, one with pebbles, the rest are sandy), and 40-45 minutes to Fig Three Bay beach. Fig Three Bay beach is really very nice. But it's full of people. Carriages with Russian children stand in two rows along the water's edge. In order for the water to be waist-deep, you need to go about 70 m. Noise, din, a string of watercraft around the island - just look, swimmers will be hit. Did not like.
For 25-30 min. you can walk from the hotel to the church of Elijah towering over Protaras.
If you go in the direction of Paralimni, and turn right behind the Wildmills hotel, then along the asphalt past a fairly large supermarket, you can take 10 minutes. come to the marina of Pernera and the coastal church near the Golden Coast Hotel.
You can ask for a map of Protaras and Paralimni at the reception. Ayia Napa map with marked sights - in Protaras in any travel agency combined with currency exchange.
We traveled on our own by bus 101/102 (fare 1.5 in the afternoon) to Cape Greco (20 min.
), in Paralimni - there is a beautiful area of u200bu200b3 churches (10 minutes drive) and Ayia Napa (40 minutes drive).
In Ayia Napa, opposite the New Famagusta Hotel, you can walk along the path to the 1.3 km long Roman aqueduct. Protected by UNESCO. Also in Ayia Napa, next to the New Famagusta hotel, there is an interesting Municipal Maritime Museum (entrance 4 e), a short walk from it on the central square, the Ayia Napa Ethnographic Museum House with funny souvenirs, the large Church of Panagia opposite which is a wall with portraits of Christian saints , and then the monastery of Ayia Napa. From there, in 7-10 minutes you can walk to the marina of Ayia Napa.
I liked the boat trip with swimming in the Blue Bay on the boat Napa King II (aka Coca-Cola) (price 10 e, tickets at the pier). This is the largest ship in Protaras with a glass bottom and an aquarium on board. He comes closer to the dead city of Famagusta than the others, the trip lasts 2.5 hours (instead of 2 like the others). A welcome drink and melon are served on board.
We bought tours in Cyprus at a travel agency opposite the Crone Resort Alamaris hotel (this is kind of like the central square of Pernera - there is a taxi rank, a lot of restaurants, cafes, a bank branch, etc. ). Go there from Pola Costa Beach about 5 min. We took 2 bus tours: Famagusta-Kyrenia (360 km, need a passport, 42 e, 11 h 20 min. ) and Kikos-Aphrodite (470 km, 38 e, 12 h). The price of the tour is half that of the host Attica Holidays. Both times the 55-seat bus was full. We were the first to get on the bus and the last to get off, because the bus went along the route Pernera - Protaras - Ayia Napa - Larnaca.
The Famagusta-Kyrenia tour (in northern Cyprus) is more interesting, because we looked at 5 objects, but I really didn’t like the old city of Kyrenia, because it just dangerously walks along the walls of the fortress - the height is 10 meters, and there is no fence. Museums have not taken elementary measures for the safety of visitors. With us, one tourist badly smashed his head at the entrance to the Casemates Museum. The entrance is low, but it is not marked in any way.
The walkways on the second floor in the museum of the sunken ancient ship also stagger underfoot.
The Kikos-Aphrodite tour is longer and it is better to sit on the right side of the bus. Take warm clothes and an umbrella with you - it is cool and rainy in the mountains. A tour with a religious focus, but allows you to explore most of southern Cyprus and swim in the bay of Aphrodite. I really didn’t like that the tour program included: “the price of the tour includes wine tasting in the village of Omodos. ” In practice, it turned out that it was just the locals who, at their own expense, gave local wines and chacha to taste. Of course, we tried them, but felt uncomfortable.
Guides Elena (Famaguchta-Kyrineya) and Alena (Kikos-Aphrodite) really liked. They talked about Cyprus continuously for about 10 hours. The only thing is that the guide Alena overfed everyone with stories about Christian rituals and customs.
money exchange
In the fall of 2014, it was impossible to buy euros in Kyiv.
As a result, we exchanged dollars for euros in Perner. The exchange rate in the bank was 0.68 e, in the shops 0.74, in the wine shops Butlegger (100 m towards Paralimni from the Crone Rezort Alamaris hotel) - 0.77, Nick's (near the church of Elijah in Protaras) - 0.78. In some shops and travel agencies, Russian rubles are also exchanged, the exchange rate is 0.018 e.
Shops and restaurants
Prices in small shops in Pernera and Protaras are quite high. We visited Lidl in Protaras (50 min walk there). A very poor choice of products, for example, there was no olive oil at all (in the end we bought it at Butlegger) quite high prices, plus the prices on the price tags are the same, and at the checkout others are high.
We were in the Metro between Pernera and Paralimni after a trip to Paralimni. Walk from the center of Paralimni about 12 minutes. (5 bus stops 101/102). Prices: tomatoes - 0.95 e / kg, apples 1-2.5 e / kg; chicken meat - 2.5 u/kg; pork 3.4-5 u/kg; carob syrup 0.25 l - 2.4 e; wine 0.7 - 3-12 e; Cypriot cognac VSOP 0.35 l - 4.76 e, Zivania chacha 0.2 l - 3.2 e, Commandaria wine 0.7 l - 9-11 e.
We made a lot of purchases at the Butlegger store, where, in addition to cheap wine and vodka products, there is olive oil (1l in metal - 6.5 e), juices (1l - 1e), local sweets (lokum - 1e), spices and natural olive cosmetics.
In restaurants, any Cypriot national dish of your choice - 8 e. Meat meze (you can order at least 2 servings) - 16-20 e / serving. Fish meze (you can order at least 2 servings) - 20-24 e. It is unrealistic to eat even one meat meze together. Meat mini meze which can be ordered alone (it turned out to be more than enough for two) - 12-15 e.
Incidents
In the evening at dinner before going on a Famagusta-Kyrenia tour, we asked the waiter to prepare a lunch package for us tomorrow. Then Kostas was asked about the same. At first, he stated that he did not understand Russian, and then, when communicating in English, he said that it was too late and he could not.
The next morning (7-10, breakfast from 8-15) the night attendant found out that nothing had been prepared for us.
We were the only ones on the bus without lunch bags.
Before the trip to Kikos-Aphrodite, we turned to Kostas in the morning with a request to prepare lunch packages. He redirected us to Nina, who said that they don't actually do this, but they will make an exception for us. As a result, at 21-00 we received two rather large sliced buns from her, which we ate the next morning with store-bought tomatoes.
The apartments have two swimming pools. There is no circulation of water in them. In 11 days we never saw them cleaned. In a small pool at the bottom near the side lies a pile of sand. Water circulation in the pools was not noticed. Of course, you can't swim in them. I told this to one of the Russian tourists (she turned out to be a friend of Kostas) who regularly swam in the large pool. On the day of departure, Kostas found out for a long time: why did I say this to the tourist, and why, etc. , etc. There was a very unpleasant aftertaste.
At the entrance to the hotel there is a basin of water, in which, in theory, you need to wash your feet from the sand. By the middle of the day, the water in it is already black (see photo).
Results
It turned out that the weather in the second decade of October in Cyprus is very favorable for a beach excursion holiday. We really enjoyed our stay in Cyprus. It was a very comfortable stay, however, everything is not justified by the expensive. The main disadvantage is high humidity.
Actually, we were not going to go to Pola Costa Beach, but we were not confirmed by the Smart Line Protaras (former Pashalia) hotel, and the travel agent suggested Pola Costa Beach and we booked it. Later, we read negative reviews about the hotel, however, for refusing to book, the hotel set a fine of 240 e (the cost of 3 days of staying in it), and we had to go to Pola Costa Beach.
As you can see, a significant part of the negative information about Pola Costa Beach given in previous reviews has been confirmed. However, we were ready for this, and this did not overshadow our holiday.
You just have to not swim in the hotel pool, take into account the complex nature of the manager Kostas and calmly eat monotonous food. If you have any questions, write to sk_lora@ukr. net, I will answer.
The main thing that I didn't like about the hotel was the ants. And so - a calm warm sea is very close. Free sunbeds and umbrellas. Convenient and pleasant promenade. Lots of shops, restaurants and bus stops nearby. There are a lot of interesting places within walking distance and by bus. Knowing the features of the hotel, you decide whether or not to go to Pola Costa Beach
Cyprus in October
We rested in this hotel as a couple from 9.10 to 19.10. fourteen.
This hotel has mixed reviews. Therefore, I will write in detail about how it all happened. Tour operator TPG, host of Attica Holidays. From Laraki Airport to the hotel, the bus took tourists 1 hour 40 minutes. We came out last.
Location
The hotel (more precisely, class C hotel apartments, which are listed under the number 123 in the list of hotels in Protaras and Pernera) is not in Protaras, but in the village of Pernera, 10 minutes. bus ride from Protaras. From the exit from the hotel to the water's edge less than 50 m. Loungers on the grass near the hotel and by the pool are free of charge, there are 70 of them, that is, enough even when the hotel is fully loaded. From the extreme sunbeds of the hotel to the water 20 steps.
The hotel stands at the shallow bay of Perner - up to the water level to the waist to go 30 m. It is curious, but in a shallow bay the water is colder than in the open sea.
Since the windows of all rooms face strictly north, there is no sun in the rooms and the swimsuit on the balcony (you must bring a rope with you) dries for more than a day.
Vacationers and hotel workers
At the end of the season, the 3rd and 4th floors were closed in the apartments, and the first and second floors were occupied. All vacationers, about 22 people, were Russian speakers. There were women with children 1-12 years old and married couples over 40 years old.
The hotel manager Kostas does not speak Russian (or does not want to speak), but the impression is that he understands. At breakfast and dinner there was a waiter about 45 years old.
Russian-speaking Nina (Georgian by origin) works in the bar. From 9.10 to 13.10, an elderly Russian-speaking man, Nina's father, was on duty at the reception during the day. Then at the reception there was only a night attendant (the guide said - now the reception is sleeping during the day).
The rooms were cleaned (once every three days, the linen was changed 1 time) by an elderly Cypriot woman. This is the entire staff of the hotel. I am writing about this because I have not previously rested in such a small hotel.
Number
Kostas settled us in room 205, he did not take money for a good room. But the TV and air conditioner remotes, together with network adapters (deposit 19 euros: 7.5x2 + 2 x 2), we received only after 18-30, when it was no longer necessary to turn on the air conditioner (such is the hotel economy).
We had a room on the second (in our opinion on the 3rd) floor. Upon check-in, they checked everything, then they called Kostas (so that there were no problems when leaving the hotel) and showed him:
- the shower holder in the bathroom is broken off;
- the light bulb in the corridor burned out (it was not replaced in 11 days);
- the lower shelf on the door was broken in the refrigerator, they did not repair it;
- ignition of gas on the stove does not work (Kostas showed - use a lighter);
- the door to the balcony from the kitchen does not close.
The last was the most important - safety. Kostas slammed the glass door onto the balcony with a flourish (it closed) and muttered something angrily and left.
It turned out - the door latch was broken, and it was replaced with a rusty screw. To close the door, press down on the button to open it and close it at the same time. To open, push down and open. A similar situation with the window in the bedroom.
By the way, the cleaning lady praised us that we called Kostas and showed him the defects of the room.
Then we found even deeper cracks (35-40 cm long) in the faience "leg" under the washbasin in the bathroom. Fortunately, this “leg” did not fall apart before our departure.
The room had cups, 2 glasses (one broken), 1 pot, pans, spoons, forks, knives and even all sorts of whisks for beating food. There is an extractor hood above the 2 burner gas stove. There is an electric kettle, but you need an adapter to turn it on.
We did not find any falling furniture in the room - all of it was in very good condition. But if red wine is spilled on the kitchen table, it cannot be wiped off even with soda.
The whitening toothpaste helped.
Indeed, the pillows in the bedroom were very thin, but there were 3 extra pillows in the closet in the bedroom, which solved the problem.
Soundproofing is bad. At the Policarpia Issak hotel restaurant on Saturday 11.10. 14 to 2 o'clock in the morning celebrated the anniversary. All this time, the music was well audible, although it sounded from a distance of about 300 m from the back of the hotel (i. e. through the hotel corridor). In the bedroom, you can clearly hear the neighbors in room 204 moving the furniture.
Both the bathroom and the kitchen are full of small house ants. They are everywhere - in plates, on the table, on the couch.
Nutrition
The apartments work on the HB system. The dishes were put up near the bar at the reception, and the tables were first on the street under a canopy, and then inside the hotel at the bar
Breakfast 8-15. For all the time, breakfast was the same (only at the end there was no hot chocolate, Nescafe with milk and cappuccino in the machine) and was very tired.
There were: toast with jam, cereal with milk; hot water / coffee (3 types) / hot chocolate from a vending machine, a dose of about 100 grams; 3 chilled "juices"; chopped tomatoes and cucumbers; sliced cheese + ham + sausage; fried eggs, scrambled eggs; sausages (soy); fried ham; stewed beans. Separately, on the bar counter there was a sugar dispenser, oil in a package and tea bags.
When the cut was over, the waiter put it on. There is no food heating. There was still food at 9:00.
There were enough cups, plates, forks and spoons for everyone.
Dinner 19-15. He just shook with his minimalism: rice; potatoes baked in halves (for the next days or couscous or fried potatoes); beef with peas (or navy pasta or chicken); carrots + cabbage with mayonnaise (first 3 days); tomato salad + cucumbers + cauliflower + salad with butter (a couple of times there was a Greek salad); oranges (or apples or nectarine) cut into slices; toasts.
During the rest, the menu changed a little, but I have not seen such a meager dinner in any of the more than 10 hotels in different countries, where I had previously rested on the HB system. From 11.10 hot dishes at dinner were given out by the waiter, which was extremely inconvenient. Again, savings for the hotel, and there will be enough food for everyone.
That is, you will not be hungry, you will not get poisoned, but on vacation you want to eat much more varied.
Weather
Air at night 23-24°С, daytime 25-27°С. Water 24.5 - 26.5°С. It was sunny, the sea was rough (you can swim in the bay) only 2 times.
4 times it rained: 12.10 - 20 minutes during the day, sunny in the evening; 14.10 - in the afternoon, in the evening it is sunny; 15.10 - in the afternoon 1.5 hours; 19.10 - at night and until 8-00. Several times after 16-00 it was cloudy and a cool wind was blowing.
However, almost all the time there was high humidity, it was uncomfortable to walk quickly (you sweat all over) and wet things dried for more than a day.
Tours
From the hotel along a pleasant promenade in 25 minutes.
you can walk to the Protaras pier (on the way there are 3 bays with umbrellas and sun loungers, one with pebbles, the rest are sandy), and 40-45 minutes to Fig Three Bay beach. Fig Three Bay beach is really very nice. But it's full of people. Carriages with Russian children stand in two rows along the water's edge. In order for the water to be waist-deep, you need to go about 70 m. Noise, din, a string of watercraft around the island - just look, swimmers will be hit. Did not like.
For 25-30 min. you can walk from the hotel to the church of Elijah towering over Protaras.
If you go in the direction of Paralimni, and turn right behind the Wildmills hotel, then along the asphalt past a fairly large supermarket, you can take 10 minutes. come to the marina of Pernera and the coastal church near the Golden Coast Hotel.
You can ask for a map of Protaras and Paralimni at the reception. Ayia Napa map with marked sights - in Protaras in any travel agency combined with currency exchange.
We traveled on our own by bus 101/102 (fare 1.5 in the afternoon) to Cape Greco (20 min.
), in Paralimni - there is a beautiful area of u200bu200b3 churches (10 minutes drive) and Ayia Napa (40 minutes drive).
In Ayia Napa, opposite the New Famagusta Hotel, you can walk along the path to the 1.3 km long Roman aqueduct. Protected by UNESCO. Also in Ayia Napa, next to the New Famagusta hotel, there is an interesting Municipal Maritime Museum (entrance 4 e), a short walk from it on the central square, the Ayia Napa Ethnographic Museum House with funny souvenirs, the large Church of Panagia opposite which is a wall with portraits of Christian saints , and then the monastery of Ayia Napa. From there, in 7-10 minutes you can walk to the marina of Ayia Napa.
I liked the boat trip with swimming in the Blue Bay on the boat Napa King II (aka Coca-Cola) (price 10 e, tickets at the pier). This is the largest ship in Protaras with a glass bottom and an aquarium on board. He comes closer to the dead city of Famagusta than the others, the trip lasts 2.5 hours (instead of 2 like the others). A welcome drink and melon are served on board.
We bought tours in Cyprus at a travel agency opposite the Crone Resort Alamaris hotel (this is kind of like the central square of Pernera - there is a taxi rank, a lot of restaurants, cafes, a bank branch, etc. ). Go there from Pola Costa Beach about 5 min. We took 2 bus tours: Famagusta-Kyrenia (360 km, need a passport, 42 e, 11 h 20 min. ) and Kikos-Aphrodite (470 km, 38 e, 12 h). The price of the tour is half that of the host Attica Holidays. Both times the 55-seat bus was full. We were the first to get on the bus and the last to get off, because the bus went along the route Pernera - Protaras - Ayia Napa - Larnaca.
The Famagusta-Kyrenia tour (in northern Cyprus) is more interesting, because we looked at 5 objects, but I really didn’t like the old city of Kyrenia, because it just dangerously walks along the walls of the fortress - the height is 10 meters, and there is no fence. Museums have not taken elementary measures for the safety of visitors. With us, one tourist badly smashed his head at the entrance to the Casemates Museum. The entrance is low, but it is not marked in any way.
The walkways on the second floor in the museum of the sunken ancient ship also stagger underfoot.
The Kikos-Aphrodite tour is longer and it is better to sit on the right side of the bus. Take warm clothes and an umbrella with you - it is cool and rainy in the mountains. A tour with a religious focus, but allows you to explore most of southern Cyprus and swim in the bay of Aphrodite. I really didn’t like that the tour program included: “the price of the tour includes wine tasting in the village of Omodos. ” In practice, it turned out that it was just the locals who, at their own expense, gave local wines and chacha to taste. Of course, we tried them, but felt uncomfortable.
Guides Elena (Famaguchta-Kyrineya) and Alena (Kikos-Aphrodite) really liked. They talked about Cyprus continuously for about 10 hours. The only thing is that the guide Alena overfed everyone with stories about Christian rituals and customs.
money exchange
In the fall of 2014, it was impossible to buy euros in Kyiv.
As a result, we exchanged dollars for euros in Perner. The exchange rate in the bank was 0.68 e, in the shops 0.74, in the wine shops Butlegger (100 m towards Paralimni from the Crone Rezort Alamaris hotel) - 0.77, Nick's (near the church of Elijah in Protaras) - 0.78. In some shops and travel agencies, Russian rubles are also exchanged, the exchange rate is 0.018 e.
Shops and restaurants
Prices in small shops in Pernera and Protaras are quite high. We visited Lidl in Protaras (50 min walk there). A very poor choice of products, for example, there was no olive oil at all (in the end we bought it at Butlegger) quite high prices, plus the prices on the price tags are the same, and at the checkout others are high.
We were in the Metro between Pernera and Paralimni after a trip to Paralimni. Walk from the center of Paralimni about 12 minutes. (5 bus stops 101/102). Prices: tomatoes - 0.95 e / kg, apples 1-2.5 e / kg; chicken meat - 2.5 u/kg; pork 3.4-5 u/kg; carob syrup 0.25 l - 2.4 e; wine 0.7 - 3-12 e; Cypriot cognac VSOP 0.35 l - 4.76 e, Zivania chacha 0.2 l - 3.2 e, Commandaria wine 0.7 l - 9-11 e.
We made a lot of purchases at the Butlegger store, where, in addition to cheap wine and vodka products, there is olive oil (1l in metal - 6.5 e), juices (1l - 1e), local sweets (lokum - 1e), spices and natural olive cosmetics.
In restaurants, any Cypriot national dish of your choice - 8 e. Meat meze (you can order at least 2 servings) - 16-20 e / serving. Fish meze (you can order at least 2 servings) - 20-24 e. It is unrealistic to eat even one meat meze together. Meat mini meze which can be ordered alone (it turned out to be more than enough for two) - 12-15 e.
Incidents
In the evening at dinner before going on a Famagusta-Kyrenia tour, we asked the waiter to prepare a lunch package for us tomorrow. Then Kostas was asked about the same. At first, he stated that he did not understand Russian, and then, when communicating in English, he said that it was too late and he could not.
The next morning (7-10, breakfast from 8-15) the night attendant found out that nothing had been prepared for us.
We were the only ones on the bus without lunch bags.
Before the trip to Kikos-Aphrodite, we turned to Kostas in the morning with a request to prepare lunch packages. He redirected us to Nina, who said that they don't actually do this, but they will make an exception for us. As a result, at 21-00 we received two rather large sliced buns from her, which we ate the next morning with store-bought tomatoes.
The apartments have two swimming pools. There is no circulation of water in them. In 11 days we never saw them cleaned. In a small pool at the bottom near the side lies a pile of sand. Water circulation in the pools was not noticed. Of course, you can't swim in them. I told this to one of the Russian tourists (she turned out to be a friend of Kostas) who regularly swam in the large pool. On the day of departure, Kostas found out for a long time: why did I say this to the tourist, and why, etc. , etc. There was a very unpleasant aftertaste.
At the entrance to the hotel there is a basin of water, in which, in theory, you need to wash your feet from the sand. By the middle of the day, the water in it is already black (see photo).
Results
It turned out that the weather in the second decade of October in Cyprus is very favorable for a beach excursion holiday. We really enjoyed our stay in Cyprus. It was a very comfortable stay, however, everything is not justified by the expensive. The main disadvantage is high humidity.
Actually, we were not going to go to Pola Costa Beach, but we were not confirmed by the Smart Line Protaras (former Pashalia) hotel, and the travel agent suggested Pola Costa Beach and we booked it. Later, we read negative reviews about the hotel, however, for refusing to book, the hotel set a fine of 240 e (the cost of 3 days of staying in it), and we had to go to Pola Costa Beach.
As you can see, a significant part of the negative information about Pola Costa Beach given in previous reviews has been confirmed. However, we were ready for this, and this did not overshadow our holiday.
You just have to not swim in the hotel pool, take into account the complex nature of the manager Kostas and calmly eat monotonous food. If you have any questions, write to sk_lora@ukr. net, I will answer.
The main thing that I didn't like about the hotel was the ants. And so - a calm warm sea is very close. Free sunbeds and umbrellas. Convenient and pleasant promenade. Lots of shops, restaurants and bus stops nearby. There are a lot of interesting places within walking distance and by bus. Knowing the features of the hotel, you decide whether or not to go to Pola Costa Beach
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• 16
Family vacation in August 2014. There are only Russians and Ukrainians in the hotel. The hotel has a great location, all rooms are facing the sea. Beautiful green area overlooking the sea, behind it begins the public beach. Significant savings on sunbeds and umbrellas. This is where all the positive ends. The room is large, clean, but the bed leaves a lot to be desired.
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Family vacation in August 2014. There are only Russians and Ukrainians in the hotel. The hotel has a great location, all rooms are facing the sea. Beautiful green area overlooking the sea, behind it begins the public beach. Significant savings on sunbeds and umbrellas. This is where all the positive ends. The room is large, clean, but the bed leaves a lot to be desired. Synthetic, tearing, gray-yellow. The smell seemed to be washed, it smelled of freshness, but the view was HORRIBLE. The towels are the same. I want to talk about food separately. Breakfasts and dinners never started on time. Breakfast starts at 8:30 and dinner starts at 19:30.19:40. If you have small children, then this is a big minus. A large queue gathered for dinner, as in the old Soviet times, and with an outstretched plate, everyone moved to the distribution. Meat and fish were given in portions. I am not a fan of food, and then I remained hungry, and men have nothing to say. If you wait and come a little later, then there is nothing to take. You ask to bring them to look at you as if you borrowed from them. They bring and throw a bone like a dog. And don’t even dream about the variety of dishes and fruits. We do not have a cult of food, but we have not seen such poor food in any hotel. This is the case when I did not believe the reviews on Russian sites, but in vain. . .
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The hotel is located on the beach, all rooms have a sea view. A bay with a sandy bottom, very suitable for children, mostly families with children relax here. there are also stones, you can swim with a mask. large room with equipped kitchen. They clean every 2-3 days, the cleaning schedule is incomprehensible.
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The hotel is located on the beach, all rooms have a sea view. A bay with a sandy bottom, very suitable for children, mostly families with children relax here. there are also stones, you can swim with a mask. large room with equipped kitchen. They clean every 2-3 days, the cleaning schedule is incomprehensible. only soap in the bathroom. Take your shampoo, etc. with you. The food is very monotonous. Breakfast is the same - sausages, bacon, cheese, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, 2 types of sausage, muesli, tea, coffee, diluted juices. There was also hot milk porridge. Dinner is more varied - there was pork, beef, fish and seafood, various salads, rice, pasta, potatoes (fries, mashed potatoes), but all without drinks.
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• 5
Economy option, good territory for a hotel of this level. Good sandy beach with breakwaters, which is good for families with children. All rooms with sea view. Sun loungers on the grass for free.
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Economy option, good territory for a hotel of this level. Good sandy beach with breakwaters, which is good for families with children. All rooms with sea view. Sun loungers on the grass for free.
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