Bellapais Monastery Village Review - 17 of 65 Reviews

I chose this hotel based on the reviews of others and the location photographs on the hotels website. The holiday to Cyprus was a last minute decision - decided on only 3 weeks before departure on 15th March. I wanted a location close to mountain scenery and with a view of the sea. This hotel satisfied both criteria and then some.

We'd booked to stay for 16 days, an early 25th wedding anniversary holiday, the first week of which was without a car, which was a mistake. We spent most of the first week walking to a variety of nearby locations. The hotel does provide a complimentary bus service to Kyrenia/Girne which runs three times a day. Though we found that the guy who drove it probably did the same circuit more frequently than that and would happily give you a lift back to the hotel if he saw you.

The service as has been said in a number of reviews is excellent, the staff very friendly and helpful. The rooms are cleaned every day.

We like other reviewers arrived at the hotel after midnight and were greeted with a hot cup of coffee and a sandwich after the 90 minute drive from Larnaca airport

We took the half board option. The food was excellent and the service was impeccable. The waiters in the restaurant felt more like family. The only complaint we have if any is that the food was too good - there were the odd days when we skipped breakfast etc and were running on reserves from the previous evenings 3 course dinner. OK we didn't have to eat it all but...

A couple of reviews I read complained about the wifi internet access - there was a fault with the system which was resolved by the second week. All was well after that.

My only other advice - nothing to do with the hotel - would be to prepare well before you go - research in advance. The locally provided tourist information literature is confusing, lists of Points of interest - don't marry with the town names on the maps. We did the 4 castles, Girne, St Hilarion, Kantara and Buffavento. Our favourite was Buffavento - around 40 minutes from the hotel - we went twice. There are some 600+ steps including adjoining ramps to climb, but the view is spectacular and well worth the effort. The first time we went we had it to ourselves for around an hour. There is also a dog sanctuary in the same area - run by Brits - so if you're missing walking your dog they'll lend you a few to exercise.

I would thoroughly recommend the hotel, and we'd certainly stay there again if we return to Northern Cyprus.

Liked — Everything - the location - the castles
Disliked — dislike is too strong a word - Misleading tourist info

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