Bellapais Monastery Village Review - 14 of 65 Reviews

A friend and I were desperate to leave an England plunging into winter behind, and head off for a week of late sunshine and relaxing. That is exactly what we found at Bellapais. The villas are a quirky upstairs/downstairs arrangement, with good airconditioning and tables and chairs for relaxing outdoors on each bungalow's individual patio space. Rooms were well cleaned promptly every day, just one example of the great service level encountered by staff there. In general staff were very friendly, eager to please and had a sense of humour - they made us feel very welcome and at ease.

The swimming pools are pleasant and refreshing and the varierty of seating/lying/lounging accommodation at the poolside and on the overlooking terrace was very welcomed. Ice cream from the poolside bar was also a welcomed (daily!) interruption to long days lying in the sun, doing exactly what we wanted to - principally, nothing that moved us from sun loungers.

Breakfast was great, lots of choice and everything freshly cooked or prepared. We only ate in the restaurant once however it was very well done. Lots of european style dishes (as they do advertise) but not much in the way of typical Cypriot fayre. The local restaurants are also delightful and we found lots of suitable alternatives with more traditional offerings, particularly up the hill in Bellapais and along the way. Half way up the hill in a restaurant, possibly called 'The Zone', we had a fabulous fish mezze one evening, with a table on the top floor overlooking the area for miles - it's very tranquil and gets a nice breeze.

It's a taxi ride or drive if you hire a car into Kyrenia, but it only takes about 10 minutes and is relatively inexpensive (c.£5). We headed there once or twice but to be honest found better and more appropriately (we thought) priced resaturants up the hill rather than down. There's more choice of bars and restaurants in Kyrenia, and the harbour is pretty to see, but in terms of people, it was quite quiet by early September. The hotel was a very relaxing place and while we were there, (out of school holiday season) the clientelle were mainly retired couples, who were very friendly. It fit our bill perfectly and if you are looking for somewhere relaxed, unassuming and good value for money then we would certainly recommend it.

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