Sandy Beach Hotel

Overrated

This was the worst experience Ive received. I come from Cyprus & this hotel is an embarrassment. I was disappointed from my arrival, right until check out. The staff are rude. Upon arrival at 6am the receptionist was lying down asleep on the sofa, he did not apologise but instead greeted me with a grumpy attitude. He was so tired that I had to ask about where I can find my room etc, he didnt offer information willingly. No one to assist with luggage. The indoor gym/pool/massage area is closed on Sundays. The bedroom door didnt lock. A list of hotel services and a list of phone numbers to contact room service or reception etc within the hotel were not available. Room service is offered, however the Menus werent to be seen as they were being updated to show the Euro sign instead of the Greek Pound sign, which happened in January 2008 so they waited 10 months after the event to start updating. The TV control did not work. The buttons on the AC control had smudged writing so you couldnt see what button did what. There was no minibar. The member of staff who was friendly & willing to assist was a lovely girl who worked in the pool bar, the hotel manageress needs to take a lesson from her. I was surprised at how much they charged for use of the Safe on a daily basis. The outdoor pool area was fantastic but not heated.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Cyprus is beautiful and worth spending time exploring, particularly the mountain villages and tavernas - hire a car and allow yourself to get lost along the roads so you get to see the real place and not just the touristy spots, which are also great too. Larnaca is sophisticated and I’m a huge fan of the cafes along the Finikoudes (sea front)...

Not impressed

This hotel advertises that it has free internet when in fact it doesn’t. Further, to use the internet, you have to go to the lobby and get as close as possible to the front desk, otherwise you don’t get a signal. The rooms don’t have any direction on what to dial to get room service, operator, or to dial to other rooms. TV’s are also a joke to operate--press up once and it skips 2 channels. Overall, I would never stay in this hotel again and would tell anyone wanting to vacation here to think again.

We would go back again

Stayed at hotel in October 2007. Temp. 30degrees. Good points: Public areas were nice. All staff were very friendly. Food was good. Good location on the beach. Bad points: Rooms require total refurbishment. Stayed there 4 years ago as well and rooms are still the same, very old and dated. Rooms not very clean. Swimming pools were not heated the water was freezing. Not many shops in the area. You need to get bus or taxi to town for shops. No children club facilities apart from a table tennis table and 2 pool tables.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

There aren’t any local attractions. A car is required to get around if you want to see the the beautiful sights of the island.