Kaya Artemis Resort Hotel Review - 2 of 16 Reviews

My girlfriend and I needed an extra night in North Cyprus to make the most of a cheap flight deal, so we looked for somewhere different to stay - and they don't come much more different than the Kaya Artemis. It's a massive hotel built, they claim, as a replica of the ancient Temple of Artemis, thought I'm pretty certain the original never had a glittering casino underneath and a hotel inside!

The hotel grounds are like Disneyland on a Monday; pristine, surreal and almost empty, with immaculate lawns dotted with too-white classical statues. You walk in via the hotel itself, then down beside a cascade running down to pools below. The vast swimming pool is surrounded by columns and Greek-style buildings - and is practically empty most of the time.

After a morning of walking around, we wondered where on earth all the people had seen at breakfast had gone. The answer was - conferences or the casino. We chatted to one of the staff who spoke good English (not everyone does by any means), and apparently, this all changes at the weekend, when gamblers arrive from the mainland en masse and pack the place out. I think we were actually the only Brits in the hotel the night we stayed.

Our room was vast, clean and with a nice balcony, and sound-proofed to the max. Bar prices were high but no more than we expected. We ate dinner in the main restaurant, which had a good choice but wasn't as 5 star in quality as we'd hoped. Any local restaurants (or indeed anything local) was a taxi ride or 20 minute hike away.

The hotel were happy for us to leave our luggage and use the hotel after we had checked out, as our flight back from Larnaca was late at night. They also booked us a taxi back to the airport, which looked rather scruffy compared with the BMWs lined up outside!

Liked — crazy Greek temple theme
Disliked — no daytime vibe

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