We first visited the Columbia beach resort 12 years ago and loved it so much we vowed to return. Since then the Hotel has ‘merged’ with the then 4 star Columbia Beach Hotel that was next door. My review is based on the original Columbia Beach Resort, or the West side as it’s now called. The architecture is based on a Cypriot village and is beautifully designed. All the rooms are low rise and surround the huge pool, still the best Hotel pool we’ve ever come across in our extensive travels, free form, 80m long and with a shallow walk in end and a sunken bar. All rooms either overlook the pool, gardens and or sea, our room was a junior suite with pool view, absolutely fabulous. The decor hadn’t changed since our last visit and was traditional, rather than modern, but had everything you could need including a seating area and small kitchenette. The restaurants have a lovely atmosphere, either the Apollo serving a good variety of traditional and international dishes and Baccarus which has tables beside the pool and serves a weekly changing a la carte menu. The food was first class ( try the meze) and portions a good size, the half board option included all of the dishes on the Apollo menu apart from two. Half board also gives a €30 pp allowance for the a la carte restaurant. The staff with out a doubt are the nicest and genuinely friendliest we have come across, you are always greeted and feel really special. We received the most amazing service from them all. Our room was also cleaned to a very high standard, our maid found out the time we preferred and would always come at that time for the rest of our stay. We hired a car ( arranged through the hotel) driving is very easy, as they drive on the left and we never had a problem parking at the Hotel. There are a few good restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk, and a couple of small shops but not much else, so a car is recommended. Entertainment is very low key with singers and musicians most nights. We didn’t have a problem securing sun loungers, but towards the end of our stay (6th-16th July) we did notice that sun bed reserving started to appear, there are always spare beds though, just not front row of the pool, unless you join in the early towel reserving. The pool guys were brilliant at finding extra umbrellas and were quick to appear if you tried to move one! Breakfast is served either inside (air con) or outside by the pool. An amazing array of hot and cold dishes plus eggs, pancakes, waffles and omelettes cooked to order. The East side, previously The Columbia Beach Hotel We ate in the Cape Astro restaurant our fist night, it was relatively late (9pm) and very quiet, the menu was very similar to the West sides Apollo apart from a couple of dishes and the food was just as,good, as were the staff. This restaurant is very close to the pebbly beach and during the day has a lovely view of the sea. We did struggle with mosquitos during the meal as there is a low roof ( open sided) which seems to trap large numbers of them, we had to ask for a mosquito ‘smoker’ repellant, we didn’t think the atmosphere was as nice as the Wests restaurants, the view towards the hotel also isn’t a patch on the West side. The actual building is a modern high rise, and couldn’t be more different architecturally. The pool is very different and a regular rectangular shape, as opposed to free form in the West, it allows inflatables and is recommended for more boisterous children. This side doesn’t have the spacious gardens of the west. There isn’t a direct route to connect both sides of the resort, you can either walk along the path beside the beach for about 5 minutes and then up a slope or walk around the back of the hotel through the car parks, we felt this still made it feel like two separate hotels. When the Beach hotel was acquired all the rooms were refurbished and I believe made much larger by joining two original rooms into one suite. Most of the pictures you see on the website will be of the newer suites on the East side. Although we didn’t see one, everyone we spoke to agreed they were very spacious and luxurious. The majority of the pool and hotel ( outside) website pictures will be of the West side. When booking a category of room it’s not made clear which side of the Hotel you will be on, although you are free to use all the facilities of both, you may prefer to be on a particular side. To improve the appeal of the East side we felt they should have a unique ‘selling’ point, perhaps a restaurant that had a completely different menu. It’s difficult to see how they can physically make the two hotels more connected as the buildings are so different and too far apart, it’s a shame the gardens of the west can’t join a new garden area on the east so you could walk seamlessly between the two. We had a wonderful holiday and would return in a heartbeat, but only in a room on the West side.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.