Reviews of Rising Star Apartments, Protaras

Excellent accommodation in great location. Very friendly staff. Close to restaurants, shops etc but in quiet area of resort. Plenty for the kids to do if they want to but no pressure to join in.



Lovely grassy area with sun beds and parasols close to a small beach. Lots of restaurants to choose from, with varied menus. Try Astoria, (on the left going up to the main street).



This is our third visit to Protaras and second to the rising star, we will be going back to Protaras again next year.

I went with my family in 2005, the resort is very good, there was a lot of things to do, the water park was great, and the staff are funny, with their water pistols, food is great, and many clubs all around the area to go to, all the people are friendly there will be no trouble. A great holiday, going again next year, I recommend this place highly

I stayed at the Rising Star Apartments with my boyfriend, where we had a studio apartment. We found the apartments and staff very friendly and the entertainers Ben, Andrea and Janine (Jellybean) were very helpful and great fun.



An air conditioning per unit was £2.50cyp per day. As we were self catering, we didn't really try the restaurant apart from the odd burger and chips which was ok.



We tended to go and try a different restaurant every night. First we tried Georgia where the food and the service was very good. Second was Parko, which is down the other end of Protaras near Fig Tree Bay, the food in here was very good and the service. We went here twice, both times being the same.



Third was the Yana Marie Restaurant, we found the food to be great but the service was not good. We waited 20 mins for them to ask us for the drinks order when there were only 7 tables in the restaurant being used. Once they had taken your order for food is was quite quick but it was taking your order that took so long. We went here a second time to see if it was any different but the service was still the same.



Next was a restaurant opposite a pub called the Love Boat. The food in here was great and the service was about average. Prices of all the above seemed to be average for the restaurants around being based on a starter and main between £20 - £25 CYP.



We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday also doing the Coca Cola boat trip which is cheap and a great way to get a view of the island. We spent nearly every other day round the pool looking out at the sea.



We also tried the mini golf which is at the other end of Protaras which was good for something to do if you have children and it wasn't that expensive. It was £1.50 CYP per adult. This also seems to be open until late at night, which is great for something to do in the evening. Overall the holiday was great and would definitely stay here again.

After basing the decision to visit the Rising Star apartments upon many of the individual contributor’s comments to the holiday review websites, without wishing to sound too worthy, I felt it only fair to provide our thoughts so that your holiday turns out to be exactly what you want.



We were travelling with our 16 month old daughter so the potential for possible upset was always going to be in existence but I’m glad to say that the Rising Star apartment’s management did everything possible to ensure that our stay was as enjoyable as possible. And my review unashamedly focuses on exactly what it’s like to visit this accommodation and resort with a young family.



Before our daughter’s arrival, we’d normally have independently booked a holiday that would have less of a ‘package’ feel, however seeking reassurance in the safety net that a holiday company is supposed to provide, we booked this Summer’s break with Airtours. Everything that we thought a holiday company, and resort accommodation, were supposed to provide was delivered by Airtours and the Rising Star apartments.



Before we left, I e-mailed Airtours and the Rising Star apartments directly to ask that, (i) a cot was in the room for our arrival (02:30 in the morning!), (ii) we were allocated a room suffering the minimal noise disturbance possible (thanks to the comments from other holidaymakers on the holiday review sites!), and, (iii) that we could have a highchair. I received an e-mail back from Airtours saying, “we have passed on the request but cannot guarantee..blah..blah”, whereas I received a personalised reply from Alex (Rising Star manager – and a guy to know if you want things sorting) saying that this was fine and he’d try and sort it all out. I must admit that having been to Greece and Turkey on numerous ‘basic’ self catering holidays, I was fully expecting having to return to the reception after checking in to ask where the cot was but my cynicism should have remained back in England, as the cot was in place (with a fresh sheet alongside) and the apartment was exactly what we would have wished for. A massive main room (lounge / kitchen / dining room), a bedroom separated by a closing door (important when the baby needs to sleep in there whilst we’re polishing off a few cans of KEO on the balcony! P.S. No mosquitoes whatsoever – hurrah!, before we moved the cot with her in it, into the main room when we chose to go to bed) and a bathroom complete with a bath and shower – not the shower halfway down the wall in a room with just a drain in the middle of the floor, that I’ve experienced numerous times before (and again, was quite quaint before we had the little one).



Anyway, the next morning, we received a phone call from Alex, apologising for not putting the high chair in our room but saying that he had to charge £1CYP per day for this, and just wanted to gain our agreement for this before he sent someone up with one. After thanking him for this and saying this cost wasn’t a problem, there was a knock on the door signifying a high chair’s arrival within 45 seconds. Great service, and just what we came to expect at this accommodation.



As per most other reviews, it really is beneficial if you’re seeking a quieter life to be facing the rear of the hotel (towards the farm and the church on the hill) as you won’t be disturbed by the noise from the pool and bar, and the entertainments that take place in it until around midnight. Alex had sorted us with a room at the back that had a facing wall to the stairs (and as the lifts were so efficient, no-one used the staircase) and the outside, so I can’t comment on other people’s views that the walls were thin – for us we were only disturbed by the dustbin men in the first week (at 3am) but this was only for a few minutes and then we crashed out again.



Whilst on the subject, ‘yes’ you have to pay for the air conditioning when you arrive (if you want it obviously). We’d just mentally added it to the cost of the holiday when we booked it, as it was such a pre-requisite that it would be required (£70CYP for 2 weeks = £85 GBP). We did hear people complain about how hot the rooms were when we were over there (39 degrees every day) and even had some people ahead of us at reception booking it just for their final few days as they’d had enough of the heat – but obviously each to their own, we just wouldn’t have been able not to stand sleeping at night!



The Airtours / MyTravel / Escape reps were great. Pre-our daughter, we wouldn’t have dreamed of staying where kids entertainment took place in our accommodation, however, I don’t know whether we’re just regressing to being one year old but we thought Ben, Andrea and Janine were great. They did half hour slots a few times a day so it was never intimidating / annoying / overpowering and they all came round for a chat to Ella’s house (our daughter’s UV tent!) without making us feel like we needed to become involved in all that was going on. And ‘Hello’ to Janine’s sisters who we travelled back with on World Cup Final night (and by the way, we should never have waited for that couple at the Golden Star, 40 minutes late when I could have watched the majority of the 2nd half!).



Rising Star pool has more than enough sun loungers and a really great atmosphere by the pool. The grassed area is great for kids, Ella (in her bright pink UV wet suit, blue sunhat and pink fairy backpack!) and other little ones just wandered around, introducing themselves to everyone they met and we felt comfortable just keeping an eye on her from afar – it was that kind of environment. You also had the option of either walking to the small beach just in front of the hotel (2 mins) where you could make sandcastles and paddle, or walk a few mins more round the bay to the main beach (although from afar it appeared to be sunlounger central).



The Rising Star was completely full of Brits, again something that would possibly have previously detracted from the feeling of ‘getting away from it all’ but actually really helped with everyone being friendly to our daughter. In general, the whole resort spoke English and expected you to speak English, I know a little Greek (hello / good evening / thank you / etc) and I’ve never had such a positive response to my stutterings, simply because not many people make the effort. Try it, it’s worth the smiles that you receive in return.



Protaras has a main strip that is situated about 5 minutes walk from Rising Star, and this is perfect as you’re located away from the main area but within easy reach. And the road that leads up to it has supermarkets and other bars and tavernas anyway, so you don’t feel that you’re out in the middle of nowhere. The main strip is again quite English tourist focused but it does (just) still retain enough of the Cypriot nature to make you feel you’re abroad. Many of the restaurants (I struggle to call them tavernas) have kids play areas and are very welcoming of families. There’s more (karaoke) bars and theme pubs than I’d personally wish for but if you go somewhere aimed at the (slightly more discerning) package holiday crowd, I guess this is a necessary evil.



There’s a boat trip on the Coca-Cola boat from the Rising Star pier every day, that we went on and is a good morning / afternoon out. You get to see Famagusta from a distance, travel up the coast and also swim in Cape Greco caves, where we pushed the little one off the back of the boat in her ‘floatie’ inflatable cradle much to the amusement of everyone else. Just watch out for the jellyfish, myself and a girl I met on the boat got stung, not too bad at all in reality (just a really sharp pain across the top of my foot for 10 seconds and then slight itchiness for a week or so) but wouldn’t have wanted it to happen to anyone who might have been freaked by it.



We also hired a car from one of the places in Protaras. £60 for 3 days and we did what we weren’t supposed to and drove across the border at ‘Four Mile Crossing’. The hire car papers try and say that you’re not allowed to do this but the Rough Guide advised us that you can buy insurance at the border and this is what we did (£12CYP for 3 days). The hire car company would obviously prefer it if you didn’t do this but I believe you are legally allowed to, it’s just that if you do have an accident, they struggle to recoup the insurance claim as easily as if you were in Greek Cyprus. We drove to the Troodos, Nicosia and Famagusta and it made our holiday – just really great to escape the resort, nice as it was, for a few days striking out on our own.



In summary, fantastic accommodation with superb cleanliness (but without feeling like you’re in a environment without a soul), great resort where you can make of it what you will, and happy holidaymakers to share it with! Enjoy!

This hotel was fantastic. Me and my partner stayed in one of the studio rooms. It was massive for a studio. Very clean. Maids came in about 6 days a week although they didn’t always change the sheets and the towels. Everybody there is friendly. We had a fantastic view, overlooking the sea and the pool. If you were the other side of the hotel then there is not a good view though. The shower was very good. It was a proper power shower.



Tv is rubbish. Its £1.50 cyp a day. The channels were not very good but it did play all the world cup matches so that was good. The air con is £2.50 cyp a day. It kept dripping water at first because of the condensation but then after that it stopped. Also you cannot control the temperature or turn it on and off when you want to. There is no remote control which is really stupid.



The entertainment for kids is good, constant kids disco and treasure hunt etc. They play water polo as well but if you don’t want the entertainment then the kids disco can get on your nerves!



The rising sun pub is very good and the snack bars and restaurant is ok but I’m not a big fan of foreign food anyway! Hotel is just off the main strip which is good because it can be very peaceful. If you are staying here there’s no way you will be disappointed. I loved it and I would definitely go back to the hotel again.



The pool is a nice size, very cold but then good when you need to cool down. I really enjoyed my holiday and I’m sure you will if you was to go there as well. The best Chinese restaurant is the china house down the other end of the strip. Cyprus is expensive though!



Don’t bother going to the mini zoo Famagusta view point because you cant see much!

We arrived at the hotel apartments at 2am in the morning and the main reception was great its big clean and welcoming. They have a 24hr reception on each day. The room was a standard size for a family we had plenty of room. There was good kitchen equipment there and the room was cleaned daily.



They have a big swimming pool outside which is shared with 1 other hotel, and they also have a small indoor pool. The facilities on offer are a gym, and sauna.



The restaurant on site is very good and value for money, the snack bar is also good and we never once got any bad food or drink. The staff throughout the hotel are all fantastic and warm and friendly, and go out of there way to help you when needed.



The only issue we had was you have to pay for the air conditioning daily at £2.50 Cyprus pound (£3.10). When we got there end of May they had a heat wave so it is needed.

The night life at the hotel is great with the shows that are put on as well.



Overall the hotel is great and we'd go again.

My husband & I booked an allocation on arrival holiday with Airtours and we were told at the airport we were staying at the Rising Star Apartments in Protaras. This would have been our third visit to this resort.



When we arrived at the Rising Star we were very impressed, the reception staff were very friendly & welcoming on our arrival. Our room was massive & very clean & nicely furnished with a lovely sea view. Although we were staying half board the apartments were very well equipped for self catering.



The hotel has a lovely pool area with lots of sun beds & is very clean. There is a pool snack bar & the food is very good. The only downside to our stay here was the choice & quality of the food in the dining room for our evening meal, it was fish, chicken and pork. The vegetables were undercooked & the deserts were even worse.



I would recommend this hotel but eat out there are loads of good restaurants in Protaras, we liked Oscars.

Rising Star Apartments is one of the best holidays I have ever had, the location is great right on the beach, sunbeds always available either round the pool or on the grass. The reps are the best I have ever met, always friendly and helpful but never pushy.



The staff at the Rising Star are very friendly and always make you feel welcome. The Rising Star is in a good location as it is 2 minute walk from the nightlife but far enough away if you want a quiet night.

On the drive into Protaras at 3am in the morning we were greeted by lots of neon lights and then when we saw the big MacDonald’s M we thought that we were in for 2 weeks in Blackpool but with a clean sea and better weather.



The hotel was located right by the sea and was excellent - big clean rooms , 2 pools , great restaurant and an intriguing daily entertainment group which did as great job with the kids and really got on your wick for the first week but surprisingly after that we found ourselves humming “ ooh betty just like that ........” . The only downside with the rooms is that aircon DOES NOT come included and you have to pay for it in EACH ROOM - which over 2 weeks can cost £400.00




Great weather , loads of places to eat at night - highly recommended