A Review Of Our Holiday in Cyprus during Corona.

Here is an honest account of my experience travelling in these strange times, including a review of the hotel where we stayed in Paphos (Cyprus). I hope it’s helpful for you.  As I write this post, the situation is deteriorating, once more.  I think holidays will be on hold for a good while.  We have to hope that things will improve.

When we first decided to go on holiday, a few months ago, to celebrate my 60th birthday, we knew we were taking a risk. This was because the rules regarding which countries were safe to travel to, without the need to self-isolate, were constantly changing.

We decided to book a package deal with TUI. Our rationale was, they have a “flexibility” and” free amendment” policy in place,“at the moment”.

We didn’t fancy the prospect of losing our cash, so for the assurance TUI and a package deal brought, we thought it would be safer to book with them, in these unusual circumstances.

Original Plans and a Holiday Cancellation

Originally, we had booked a great holiday in Turkey, a country I had never visited. Then, with only a few days’ notice, Turkey was removed from the travel corridor, meaning our government didn’t think it safe to travel there. Following this, TUI cancelled flights and our holiday to Turkey. They said we could have a full refund or a £500.00 reduction off another holiday if we so wished. At this stage, we did ask ourselves, “should we just cancel?” However, with the sizeable discount they were offering, we had a little peep to see what was available.

Going back a few months, we had spotted a hotel called, “The Pioneer Beach”, in Cyprus (an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, southeast of Greece). We liked the look of the holiday. It was available to go in a week, or so. But, we then remembered that the reason for not booking this hotel, originally, was because Cyprus required a negative COVID 19 test result. This had to be submitted to their Cyprus flight pass website prior to departure.

The complication was, the test had to be done no earlier than seventy-two hours before travel. If it all went swimmingly meeting this requirement, the Cyprus authorities would then issue us with individual flight passes to allow us into the country. This information is checked before boarding the outbound flight in the UK and then, again, at passport control in Cyprus.

We had no idea how to acquire a private test. Then we discovered TUI had since hooked up with a company based in Ireland (Randox Healthcare) The latter offer private COVID testing.

With a discount code applied, the price we paid was £68.00 each with the promise we would receive the results within 24 hours, before departure.

I wouldn’t blame you at this stage to say, “no, thank you”. But the wording and process seemed straight forward, and there was the assurance we would receive our test results, the next day. So, we looked again at “The Pioneer Beach” hotel in Paphos and decided to go for it.

COVID Test Scenario

We were due to travel on Saturday, 10th October.

We ordered our test kit on Monday, 5th of October. We didn’t actually receive the COVID test kit until Thursday, 8th October. This meant we had to undertake the swab samples, ourselves, then take them to the appointed courier, who delivered them to Randox in Antrim, Northern Ireland.

We then had to wait for the test results which we were advised would be emailed to us but could take up to 24 hours.

As you can imagine, we were very anxious all would not go to plan. If Randox were to take 24 x hours to send us the results, this would leave us very little time to upload the information to the Greek authorities’ website and then make it to the airport before the check-in desks closed.

This quaint little church was situated right next to our hotel. There were a few weddings taking place while we were there.

We rang TUI to ask for advice as they did state on their website that the kits would be delivered within 24 hours, which, of course, was incorrect and misleading. We didn’t get any substantial help. Apart from their Call Centre Agents saying they were experiencing a lot of problems and that Randox were under instruction to “fast track” all TUI customers’ test results.

We eventually received our negative results at 11.00 pm the night before travel!

There is a lot more I could add to this, but then it will just become a rant instead of detailing our experience. What I will say is that we weren’t the only people having problems. A couple we spoke to, on holiday, said they had paid over £300 to get their samples couriered, privately.

The small bay outside our hotel.

The Journey

Face coverings were always mandatory, in the airport and on the flight, everywhere!!!!!

The cabin crew staff were continually checking that everyone was sticking to the rules – which was good.

We were surprised to find the flight busy (flight duration 4hr 30 mins). We had booked extra legroom – then, following take-off, the passenger next to us moved so we had three seats to ourselves – so we could stretch out. This was the same on the return journey. I can’t say the flight was pleasurable. It certainly wasn’t the usual laid-back experience we have had, in the past.

View from our room

Arrival at the Hotel Pioneer Beach

The Pioneer Beach Hotel is part of the Constantinou Bros group of hotels, based in Cyprus. This hotel is an adult-only, beachfront location, situated in Kato, Paphos. It has 302 rooms and suites (which I loved, as it was more intimate) – plus, an indoor Spa, outdoor swimming pool and a wealth of amenities.

It’s around a 45-minute walk to the harbour where there are shops, bars, tavernas and restaurants. There’s a regular bus service which stops just outside the hotel and which takes you to the harbour and beyond, including the old town of Paphos and the archaeological sites there.

We were told the police would issue a 300 Euro “on the spot “fine if you were seen not to be wearing your face covering in a public place. This certainly focused the mind.

The Covid measures in the hotel were sensible and enforced, but as unobtrusive as it is possible to be. And, everyone followed the rules with good humour.

Personally, I felt safe here!!

The Welcome

On arrival, we had our temperature checked. Then, we were welcomed by the Customer Services Manager in a very smart reception area. A glass of champagne was thrust into our hands which we gratefully accepted (without any resistance), and which did make us go a little “giddy”, following the last 48 hours. We had a lovely chat with her regarding where to eat, and which areas we were expected to wear our face coverings. They had also kindly left the restaurant open for late arrivals (it was close to midnight) for which we were extremely grateful.

Our Room

We had booked a standard room with a sea view, and what a spectacular view it was. However, the room was a tad on the small side, as was the balcony. I think there were other styles of rooms and suites available, but we didn’t look into it with just being there for one week.

Since returning, I have learnt that they have a premium package which may be different to the deal we were on.

My other half said the room reminded him of city hotels where the rooms can be on the small side (e,g. Novotels). However, the king-size bed was super comfortable, which was probably the main thing.

Restaurant and Food Standard

We booked All Inclusive (AI) – something we’ve never done before, in Europe.

Our rationale was, we’re in strange times with COVID, so let’s play safe and stay in this lovely AI hotel without any burning need to venture out.

It had everything we required to chill, nestle down, read books, and listen to music.

The reviews on this hotel were all saying that the food and drink were top-notch, so this inspired us to book this package.

There were two “ à la carte ” nights that were included in our week’s stay. And, the menu options and quality of food were fabulous. And, the drinks were of good quality, too. Sometimes, in AI hotels, the versions of alcohol dispensed can be a little substandard. But, this was all the real deal.

The open-air restaurant, where we went for all our food, overlooked the beach. This was a real treat for me, sitting having my breakfast in the sunshine, overlooking the warm Mediterranean Sea. It was simply wonderful. I really can’t think of a better way to start the day, and when I think of this hotel, this is the image I have!

 

I did mention earlier about our intention to stay put in the hotel. But, we did actually visit Paphos Harbour, with its bustling restaurants and bars, in two evenings. We had a beautiful meal in an Italian restaurant, aptly named, “Grazie”.

The harbour in Paphos. Where we had a lovely meal at, “Grazie”

Conclusion

This is a gorgeous hotel and the level of customer service is second to none. This made our stay more special.

Maybe, it was the current situation or the fact the hotel was under-populated, but the attention we received really did contribute to such a lovely experience.

We do wish that we had booked a longer stay, especially following the whole COVID testing scenario.

The hotel is spotlessly clean and beautifully appointed. The pool is gorgeous, as is the private beach, nestled alongside, with beautiful sunsets thrown in, for good measure.

You really couldn’t ask for more.

Thank you for reading my post. I hope you have enjoyed it.

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below. All products are my own.

Best wishes and thank you for stopping by.

Alison x

19 Comments

  1. Alison, I am so glad that you had such a wonderful trip to Cyprus. I know that you were disappointed about having to cancel your trip to Turkey. Your photos are lovely. And how cute that the hotel cares for all those cute kitties! Thanks for sharing your experience and linking with me.

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    • We did indeed have a lovely time Shelbee – seems like a distant dream now! Enjoy the rest of your week.
      xxx

  2. /

    It all looks wonderful Alison. I can only dream of going to sunnier places at present. I was supposed to be in Portugal in June and I’ve missed not going away. The testing sounds like a right pain in a**e though! xx

    • The testing was a real pain! If we had known what was coming I doubt we would have booked. Let’s hope this vaccine is going to work. Hope you manage to get away on holiday.
      xx

  3. Allison thanks for this in depth post- I loved it! Although I go to Greece yearly – except for this year-Cypress has been on my bucket list forever. All I hear is wonderful things about this amazing island. Love the hotel and that the service and quality of everything was so perfect. I’m jotting all this down. Dreamy getaway at its best! I’m going to be featuring this post as my favourite read of the linkup, this coming Friday- come check it out! xx

    • I love Greece too. We were holidaying on the island of Rhodes last year. A beautiful memory. Yes, I would definitely recommend Cyprus – we were so well looked after. Just a distant memory now! Hopefully, things will improve soon. xx

  4. Those cats are so cute! The hotel seems really safe and they had great measures in place to keep everyone healthy. I can’t imagine getting those results so close to departure though! How nerve wracking!

    • They really were very cute and well cared for, which was lovely to see. The whole
      COVID testing scenario wasn’t great. I think if we’d known what was ahead regarding
      the way the process was, we wouldn’t have gone ahead with the holiday.
      Many thanks to you. xx

    • Thank you so much. We did have a lovely time but it did take me a few days to get over waiting for those results. xx

  5. Alison, I loved reading about this trip to Cyprus. One of my areas of interest for my blog is traveling, but this year has certainly curtailed any of that for us! We canceled and rescheduled three times and in the end, were unable to go anywhere! So I’m super impressed that you took the plunge and made this trip. The hotel sounds wonderful! But not the journey! Lol! Thanks for linking up with Ada and me this week on Thursday Moda.

    xx Darlene

    • Thank you so much, Darlene. I love to travel too – I’m so sorry you didn’t manage to get away on holiday. Hopefully, this situation will improve next year and once again we can go on our trips abroad. xx

    • A distant memory now! We have to hope this won’t last forever and we’ll be able to travel easily in the not too distant future.

  6. This looks like such a beautiful get-away! Thank you for sharing your experience. Testing sounds like a pain, but I’m glad it all felt safe and relaxing while you were there. I’m visiting from the On the Edge linkup today. Have a great weekend Alison!

  7. Ahh, to travel again! These are beautiful photos and I am sure while you were there enjoying it, the stress from waiting for the negative tests to come back melted away!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  8. So true Carrie! From the moment the staff greeted us at the hotel, all the stress of the Covid test and the journey disappeared. Let’s hope things start to improve soon. x

  9. Interesting to read about your trip during Covid times. I am glad you were able to enjoy it. We enjoyed a terrific holiday in Cyprus a few years ago. There is a lot to see, so I hope you get back there one day when you are able to explore.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Close Me
Looking for Something?
Search:
Post Categories: