Aphrodite Hills Hotel by Atlantica

Unfortunately, our recent two-week stay at Aphrodite Hills Resort was a real disappointment. This is marketed as a 5-star resort, but in our experience it simply didn't deliver the standard you would expect.

There are definitely some positives. The hotel complex itself is beautiful, the à la carte restaurants were excellent, the adults-only pool was fantastic (and thankfully we were able to use it as our son is 16), and the service from the pool bar and evening bar staff was outstanding throughout our stay. The golf course is superb, and breakfast was one of the highlights every morning.

Sadly, the negatives outweighed the positives.

The main pool area is absolute chaos. It feels like a war zone from early morning, with nowhere near enough sunbeds for the number of guests. Unless you're willing to be up at around 5:30am to reserve one, you have little chance of getting a bed. The resort has a sunbed reservation policy, but it is rarely enforced, making the situation even more frustrating.

Housekeeping was also below the standard we'd expect from a 5-star resort. The rooms were often only superficially cleaned, with floors regularly left un-mopped. On several occasions, towels weren't replaced and basic toiletries such as shower gel and toilet rolls weren't replenished. Thankfully, the housekeeping team usually came around again at around 5:30pm, allowing us to ask for the items that had been missed.

The main buffet restaurant is another let-down. It's dark, noisy and feels disorganised. The evening buffet was extremely repetitive, with little variation beyond different meats served in different sauces each night.

Guest Relations was, frankly, the biggest disappointment. We found Yiota Georgiou to be rude, patronising and completely unhelpful. When we asked to speak with the hotel manager, our request was refused. For a resort claiming to offer 5-star service, this level of customer care is simply unacceptable.

Finally, if you don't like cats, be warned. The resort has cats everywhere. While some guests may enjoy this, we found them wandering around dining areas and even jumping onto tables in the evenings, particularly at the Mexican restaurant. We appreciate animals, but this isn't what we'd expect at a luxury resort.

We still managed to make the most of our holiday, but having stayed in many genuine 5-star hotels, this simply isn't one of them. There are far better options available in Cyprus, and unfortunately we won't be returning.

A fantastic location, service and experience - I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Nisha was truly professional, exceptionally talented and patient and is a real credit to the spa. I would definitely return again and Nisha definitely gets 5 ******