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Holiday Reviews > Med Beach Resorts > Cyprus > Kyrenia > Kyrenia Apartments > Riverside Villas > Read Reviews
| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
anatolian |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs C Land |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
Lovely family friendly hotel,staff were very friendly and helpful,rooms basic but clean and spacious,the pools were very clean as were the hotel grounds.There are two supermarkets and a few restaurants within walking distance.The hotel has occasional entertainment in the Ranch Bar and a Turkish night and BBQ. The only negative comments about the hotel would be the prices of drinks and lollies at the bar during the day which in some cases were four times the prices of the supermarket.Restaurants in Kyrenia Harbour are well worth a visit as the food and atmosphere in the evenings was lovely. Hiring a car is essential and reasonably priced and the roads are very good.The Karpas peninsula although a long drive is very beautiful and unspoilt and well woryh a visit.Other beaches we visited were in Bafra(nice and sandy)and at the Salamis ruins. Altogether we had a lovely holiday and would recommend the riverside villas and Northern Cyprus.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
byz |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Riverside Holiday Village is one of the best holiday resorts in the Kyrenia area. We enjoyed our visit to Riverside with its fantastic gardens. There were a large outdoor swimming pool and an aqua park with water slides. The food was fresh and very good, Riverside has its own farm which provides daily fresh produces... The villa was beautiful with a lounge area as well as a small kitchen for self catering. The staff were friendly and always helpful. There were also restaurants within walking distance as well as 2 large super markets.
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| Board Basis: |
Self Catering |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Oct 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr C Mandley |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
The Riverside Holiday village in Alsancak is perfect for a family holiday. The rooms simple but spacious and the pools are fantastic. You need a car if you are to venture out of the complex. We hired one at a very competitive rate from the Riverside.
The Staff were very friendly and always on hand to help (24hr manned reception).
A great base to explore the Kyrenia region.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Oct 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Cyprus Paradise |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs M |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
Travelling from Larnaca to our accommodation according to Cyprus Paradise should have been 90 minutes, 4 hours later we arrived.
From Larnaca airport to the green line took 1 hour in a very small mini bus, very hot and cramped. At the green line there was a long queue waiting to have their visa stamped. The driver took our passports, which seemed to take forever.
When he returned to the mini bus, we crossed the green line then into a car park and changed mini buses. The next mini bus was no better. There were 6 of us in total. The rep., who wasn’t English, gave us a drink and told us it would take 40 minutes. That was it, she never spoke again.
After dropping everyone else off at different destinations on the island we were then taken to our destination, we arrived at 7pm, having landed in Larnaca Airport at 2.30pm. Half an hour at the airport, which was good going. Then one hour to the green line, then a further 3 hours to our destination, is not really acceptable, having been up since 4.30am.
Riverside is lovely; the villas are surrounded with Lemon, Lime, and pomegranate trees. The smells in the evening were lovely.
There are 3 swimming pools, one of which is in doors, which was empty. The other 2 one with slides, which was very popular, the other a normal swimming pool. All of which were very clean. The surrounding areas were cleaned each morning.
The Villa which we stayed in was on 2 levels, stairs which could have been a problem for the elderly or children.
The bedroom was very large, a huge bed. Sheets changed every day.
Bathroom - Bath, shower, and toilet. The shower pressure was useless, the water dribbled out. We did mention this and they changed the shower head the following day. The result was the same. Towels changed daily. Toilet wasn’t cleaned daily.
On the ground floor, lounge come dining room come kitchen, the kitchen sink gave off an awful smell. Not much of a problem as we kept the windows open at all times.
Between us and our neighbours were a connecting door, which was locked, but we could hear everything they said.
Also beware the maid doesn’t ring the bell when coming into the apartment.
The paths around the complex were quite dangerous, very slippery, so we had to be very careful.
The restaurant was very good, food excellent and plenty of it, very hot. The waiters were very friendly and helpful.
The downside was we had to use the bus to go to the beach, and also to the town of Kyrenia.
The beach was free, if you told them you were from Riverside.
Kyrenia has plenty of shops to browse around, plenty of places to eat, we only had a snack in a small shop, can't remember the name.
One day we did get a taxi back from Kyrenia as the bus didn’t leave until 3pm. The taxi cost us £20.
Riverside run a courtesy bus leaving at 10.30am coming back from Kyrenia 3pm and 3.15pm from the beach. Which doesn’t give you much time on the beach.
In reception you can hire a safe, this costs 50p per day with a deposit of £10 this is refunded on departure day.
Riverside had a Cypriot night and a BBQ, the BBQ was round the pool, both of which were enjoyable.
We only drank water with our evening meal, for 2 small bottles of water £6. Which we thought was a bit steep.
They will accept sterling, Cyprus pound, or Turkish Lira.
On the day of our departure we booked a taxi through the reception back to the airport which cost £45 worth every penny. From Riverside to Larnaca airport 90 mins.
I really don't think we shall return to the North, they are very friendly. But I didn’t enjoy it.
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| Board Basis: |
Self Catering |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Sep 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr R H Green |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
I have just read the other reviews and can't believe some of the whingers.
Riverside is friendly, with good food and two good pools. If you don't want to listen to kids enjoying themselves then don't go in the school holidays when you are without kids yourselves.
It isn't that near the beach but there is a regular bus. You do need a car in North Cyprus to do justice and see all the places you need to see and Riverside are as good as anybody with the car hire.
If you want a 5 star hotel then go to the Dome or the Colony but if you want a friendly relaxed place which is good value for money, then the Riverside is the place.
We have been going to Riverside for 7 years so it can't be bad, can it.
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| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss Patron |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Excellent resort and I have been to a few in my time! I have been to Spain, Portugal, Lanzarote and Tenerife and this tops the lot easy!
The staff were so warm and friendly, very good with kids, always made us smile and we miss them!
The poolside was washed daily, the beds made daily, the food was ample and of good quality; the chicken nuggets at the lunch bar were massive! The twice weekly Turkish evenings were hilarious with all you can eat buffet - invitations to dance along with the belly dancer and waiters that never made you feel out of place! At night the aroma of night lilies from the gardens were so intoxicating!
The staff are brilliant with kids and you will find yours hugging the legs of the waiters as they dance with you -Hilarious!
We had such a good time we are sure to return. The resort is also happy to arrange take away food to be delivered in if you are not up to going out too and with kids sometimes that is a blessing.
The owners are always about and are really accessible and are approachable.
Only go if you want to have a fabulous time and trust me you will miss them all when you return!
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| Board Basis: |
Self Catering |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Cyprus Paradise |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss S Davies |
| Overall
Rating: |
2/10 |
| Comments: |
Me and my friend stayed at the Villa for 10 days.
When we first got there in the evening, we had booked two floor apartment type twin room. We were put in a one floor room with a king size bed. When we requested a room with twin beds we were told when booking they were informed that we were a Mr and Mrs, even though the information they gave us when we first arrived had us as Miss and Miss. They moved us to one of the more expensive rooms nearer reception for a cheaper price, which we thought was good, however the rooms are right next to the children’s pool, which meant we were woken up at 6am everyday by screaming children.
Our main problem was with the evening reception staff, he was extremely rude to us on every occasion we went into reception. He gave us the wrong information about various things.
We were self catering, the shop they told us to use was only open for an hour in the morning and did not sell much to cook. We had to find for ourselves another shop by the staff rooms which they did not think to tell us about. Riverside was advertised as a relaxing peaceful place, it is definitely a family place especially if you have young children and does not have a relaxing atmosphere, and it reminded me of the children and family holiday parks I visited as a child. We barely stayed at Riverside, we could not sit by the pool side without getting a headache because of all the children or constantly getting splashed by them or hit by pool toys.
The reps did not contact us once to check if we were ok, we were out there at the time of the airport scares which they did not contact us about; we had to find out about when we called home. We could not contact them by phone and finally had to get a taxi to find where their office was to try to speak with them.
Not a very good holiday at all.
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| Board Basis: |
Self Catering |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs N King |
| Overall
Rating: |
1/10 |
| Comments: |
My son jumped into the swimming pool and the water filter was so strong that it sucked him to the side of the swimming pool. He was stuck to the side underwater and I had to use 2 hands to pull him free.
He was left with about 20 bruises on his back. If I had not acted so quickly he would have drowned as he was unable to free himself. The hotel staff apologised but took no action to rectify the problem with the pool. BEWARE!
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| Board Basis: |
Bed & Breakfast |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Lastminute |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs K J Flockhart |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
We stayed in a superior villa on a bed and breakfast basis in July for 2 adults, 2 children and an infant for an amazing price of £1500 all in.
Riverside were extremely friendly - exceptional with the children, all staff were polite and spoke excellent English.
The villas were exceptional value for money, with maid service every day, and clean towels delivered every day. The staff constantly kept the surrounding area clean.
Food was slightly more expensive within the complex, but still good value in comparison to UK. Only a short walk away were several excellent and also friendly restaurants.
The courtesy bus laid on by the resort was excellent, always there for the return journey too, and any of the staff travelling were always very helpful with the buggy and all the bags you carry for 3 young children.
Pool with slide kept our 3 and 5 year olds constantly entertained. Only improvement would be area for our 1 year to crawl around.
Highly recommend - excellent value for money - hot but not stiffing, constant breeze.
Young family of 5 from Scotland.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Anatolyan Skies |
| Submitted
By: |
MikeInTheLoft |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
A family of five, including three young children (ages 4, 6, and 9) we spent a very enjoyable fortnight at Riverside.
The “inland” village has two outdoor pools which kept out children entertained, especially the smaller pool with two slides - available free of charge.
Riverside staff were very helpful, friendly and polite. We paid around £2200 for the holiday but were made to feel like royalty at times.
The accommodation was clean and tidy, spacious enough for us to feel comfortable, with air conditioning (again free) which came in very useful!
Our only reservations were about Northern Cyprus which is experiencing - should that be suffering - an industrious building campaign with thousands of properties along the North Coast.
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