Riverside Holiday Village Review - 8 of 30 Reviews

After reading reviews, we decided to book a superior villa on a self-catering basis, and we glad we did. As others have remarked on other review sites, the Village is super for kids, as the staff is very friendly and the pool perfect for younger kids in terms of swimming, although I saw mums and dads occasionally having to watch their step. Great views of the mountains, and a very relaxing place to chill out even if you don't have kids but enjoy seeing them having fun, like us.

The villa was clean thanks to daily maid service, and we must have had a refurbished one because it was also nicely decorated and felt fresh. Our little hire car (torn seat, sand in every corner, went like a rocket) was invaluable for stocking up on essentials from the local shops, that had much better stock than the onsite mini mart, when it was open. Our villa kitchen was rather short of cooking utensils to put it mildly, but we tended just to have a lazy breakfast and snack lunches, eating out in the evenings. The Park Lane restaurant just down the road was full with Riverside guests the night we went!

Having seen the state of some beaches in North Cyprus, we opted for a day at the Acapulco Beach Club, which was a bit pricey but had everything we wanted, like clean sand and watersports. We went during the week; I gather it's busier at weekends with locals.

Like other reviewers, we did encounter lots of stray cats begging for food, but we had the same problem in south Cyprus two years ago at outdoor restaurant tables, and quickly discovered that a glass of water over their head really discouraged them!!

I'm not sure what some people expect North Cyprus to be like, but it exceeded our expectations in terms of dramatic mountain scenery, historic ruins to clamber over, dramatic coastline (Karpaz), pretty harbour towns (Kyrenia) and the amount of 'English breakfast' cafes near the main resorts! We holidayed in the Mediterranean 20+ years ago with the kids, and we see North Cyprus with the same problems that Spain and Greece had then; tipped rubbish, an explosion of ugly building sites, dirty beaches, and the negative effects of tourists who expect chips with everything.

Having said that, just drive a few miles inland, or away from Kyrenia, and you'll quickly leave all that behind, for a taste of real Turkish Cypriot hospitality. We enjoyed a super day exploring the western part of the country - quite different, with a 'pioneer' feel.

Liked — North Cyprus, local restaurants, clean villas, grounds
Disliked — mini market prices and lack of stock

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