We stayed at the Thalassa for 17 days in April/May for our wedding and honeymoon and had a fantastic time. The hotel is lovely and in a beautiful location.
On arrival we were greeted by name at reception (by George), offered a drink and advised that due to the late hour (11.30 pm) a cold plate had been placed in the room for us. What a lovely touch. There was also a bottle of bubbly which we had been told was part of our package, so we were disappointed when it appeared on our bill. (It was removed when we asked.)
Due to our honeymoon status we were upgraded to a suite and as previous reviews have said this is made up of two rooms joined together by an open doorway, one as a lounge area and one as the bedroom. This means that you have two bathrooms, which we appreciated. The complimentary toiletries are excellent. The decor is very minimalist, but Greek in style and the rooms immaculately clean. The bed was large and comfy, as were the sofasetc. I couldn't fault the room and the balcony was very spacious with a table, chairs and deckchairs.
We were on the sunrise side of the hotel overlooking the pool and fabulous beach. We had no problems with noise from the day trip boats because they come for about an our around 11-12 noon and we were always by the pool by that time. (What are Ipods for anyway?!)
The staff are lovely and can't do enough for you - Natalie, Georgina, Olga, George to name but a few. We loved the little fruit skewers that the pool guy brings round in the morning. The drinks are quite expensive, but when you want an ice cold coke or beer by the pool, who cares?!
The pool area gets a bit busy especially at the weekends when lots of Cypriot customers arrive, but we always got a lounger. I do think the hotel needs to stop the sunbed reserving, though - some guests just gave tips to get the beds reserved early, which I wouldn't do on principle. The hotel is very multi national - both the staff and customers which I really liked - I don't really like places that are just full of Brits.
The breakfast was extensive - with a wide choice of hot and cold dishes, my only slight grumble was the occasional flies around the fruit buffet. The omelettes made to order are delicious. The staff also come and warn you when the buffet is closing so that you don't miss anything.
We often ate lunch by the pool and would have done this everyday except we found the menu a bit limited and quite expensive. On our first day 2 sandwiches, a bottle of wine and water came to about £40! After that we just had a glass of wine which was actually better value. The beach bar also opened about 10 days into our stay and we enjoyed lunch there, but again the menu was limited for me because I don't eat meat.
We ate several evening meals at the hotel - in the Seafood and main restaurant, but did find both to be quite expensive at around £80 for two (three courses and wine) which was about double the norm for Coral Bay. The food was good, though. The service in the restaurants was disappointing - for example, at the seafood restaurant the staff make a big show of putting your wine in an ice bucket that you can't reach from the table, but then never top your glasses up! (Even when we repeatedly stood up to refill our own glasses)
The hotel does have a few service issues and they have tried to resolve this by having a very visible "Front of house" manager Stavros, who is very pleasant and friendly. However, we were never very sure what he did and the constant bon homie and hand shaking was exhausting................
We enjoyed the manager's free drinks reception (twice) again this was a nice touch, but we didn't make the wine tasting because it was too early in the evening (would have meant dragging ourselves away from the pool before the sun disappeared)
We didn't hold our wedding at the Thalassa because they didn't reply to my email enquiry for about 3 months, by which time we had booked elsewhere (but I think it would have blown the budget anyway!!!) However, there does seem to be a general problem with emailed communication, as my friend emailed asking for champagne to be placed in our room on arrival. She only got a reply days after we arrived telling her our arrival date and we never got the champers! The hotel did press my dress for me at a cost of 60 CYP - that is £72!!! They also let us have a room for the groom and best man to change in at a cost of £42 - maybe it would have been a nice gesture for that to have been complimentary? I also had a pedicure for the wedding which cost £40 - shame no one could see my feet!
So the extras are all expensive, but this is a gorgeous hotel and we had a wonderful stay. The views are fantastic - see my photos. I never tired of seeing the sunset colours on the sea and the cliffs on the other side of the bay. The hotel is in a great location as there are a few bars and restaurants nearby (Keralam Indian is the best I have tasted outside India) or you can have a longer walk into Coral Bay. (Or pay £5 for a taxi) Coral Bay itself is just a typical small resort with lots of restaurants and bars, but not too big to enjoy it all.
I hope we go back one day, but know we will never recapture the magic of our first stay here.
