Pia Bella Hotel Review - 6 of 149 Reviews

The Pia Bella is probably mainly a summer hotel, as when we went in late November, it had a rather tired feel. it was also full with a UK tour group of small we say advanced years, which was obviously good for their business but not so good for the general buzz and atmosphere! The staff were friendly enough, but not exceptional, and being asked every morning if everything was OK got very tiring.

Breakfast was OK, but judging from other reviews, probably not as varied as in the summer. We ate out every other meal, because we were touring around as November is not really a beach month in TRNC, but sometimes we had to look hard as not every local restaurant is open every day. Kyrenia restaurants such as the famous Niazi's is only a short walk into town, but we found better food and much better service by trying some of the fish restaurants in the streets back from the harbour.

Our room was light and clean and warm, as the air conditioning systems converts into a heater in the winter. Just as well; we were caught out by the chilly night winds the first evening, and took our fleece jackets after that.

The main advantage of a winter holiday in Northern Cyprus must be the lack of tourists. The roads were pretty empty except round the major towns, and the main tourists sights we had almost to ourselves. It was much warmer than in the Uk, it didn't rain and although the Turkish lira doesn't go as far as it used to, we still found reasonable prices if we were careful. Like the Pia Bella, TRNC has its scruffy corners and disappointing moments, but overall it's an interesting place that's worth spending some time to get to know.

Liked — no tourists
Disliked — bland breakfasts, lack of atmosphere

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