Reviews of Club Acapulco Holiday Village, Kyrenia

Having read your site two days before we left for the above hotel, we were somewhat alarmed and tried to change resort.


I feel that several of the comments were unjustified and wonder as to the extent of the writers experience of foreign holidays. One fault was the fact that the hotel and restaurant were on steep slopes which would have caused problems for elderly/wheelchair bound persons. Having fed back to Anatolian Sky I feel that note has been taken of this.



Although we were advised not to take drinks (bought outside) into our rooms we neither saw, nor heard of anybody being searched. Never, were we unable to get sunbeds on site, despite our holiday being taken in the height of the season. I am not sure that I would review hotels in future as the one written in July this year spoilt the looking forward to period of our holiday.

On our arrival at the hotel we were given a room with a view of the servants entrance and car park, which were scattered with pots, tables and chairs - even though we had paid £200 for a room upgrade! There were no views of the pool, sea or mountains as stated in the Cyprus Paradise brochure.


There were no plugs in the bath or basin in the en-suite bathrooms and the patio furniture on the balcony was broken causing one of our children to fall! This was not replaced despite reporting it on first morning of our holiday.


Other guests staying in the hotel bungalows were seen regularly bringing in cockroaches which frequented their room during the night. The reception staff’s advice was just to spray them with bug spray and go back to sleep!



The half board basis is only available for evening meals and the price of drinks in the resort is extortionate - e.g. £2.30 for can of coke!


The air conditioning in the restaurant was not working. The hot food was cold and the cold food, which was not refrigerated, was warm. The quality of the food was terrible and you were left guessing what in fact you were putting on your plate due to lack of labelling.



The pool area is finished in a marble like tile which when wet is like an ice rink - we witnessed numerous children and adults slipping and falling . The whole area around the pool is in poor repair with many hazards.


Also, the hotel pool, beach and it’s facilities are open to the locals every weekend and they arrive in their hundreds taking over the place - mostly Turkish youths in their late teens who run riot around the pool area.


There are open man holes and drains on the main approach to the pool , and the pavements all around the hotel are left in a terrible state with numerous pot holes and uneven edges.


Part of the beach wall has collapsed and is left in a pile of rubble with numerous areas around the beach resembling a building site with sand, cement and wheelbarrows left lying around. Watersports consist of 1 canoe! There were numerous bags of rotting seaweed left for days on the edge of the beach.



On our first evening, we took a taxi to Kyrenia harbour and purchased some personal toiletries and some refreshments for our day trip the following day. On our return to the hotel the porter escorted us to reception and pointed out to the reception staff that we had carrier bags.



We were confronted by 4 staff who demanded to look in our bags and were told that we were not allowed to take any drinks or food up to our room or consume anything that was not bought on the premises.



They tried to confiscate our bags and we were told that we could collect them when we left the hotel grounds. We explained that the drinks were for a trip the following morning and refused to hand over our bags. We then returned to our room where we put the drinks in the fridge.



We then went to the Restaurant for cocktails and on our return to the room there was a note under our door stating staff had entered our room and taken the drinks from the refrigerator. We were told we could collect them the following day when we left the hotel grounds. The note was signed with a question mark!



After 3 days of our 10 day holiday, we asked to move hotels or be flown home early as we just couldn’t stand it any more. We were fortunate to be moved to a hotel in Kyrenia which was much better although we then had to go on a B & B basis, therefore having to fund our evening meals even though we had already paid for a half board holiday.


All in all, this hotel is a health and safety nightmare, the staff are rude and their policies leave alot to be desired .



This is advertised as a 4/5* resort - it is not!.

I was grateful for the contribution of previous reviewers and took note of their comments and their contrasting “overall ratings”. Comments within the Visitors Book at “Acapulco” were very mixed although my wife and I felt that some of the criticism petty. We can only conclude that we all have different expectations and experiences. As for my wife and I (both in our early fifties), despite a couple of minuses, we had a very enjoyable holiday and would go back again.



Anyway, let’s cut to the nitty gritty.



ACCOMADATION.



We had booked a “superior de-luxe bungalow” so imagine our shock at 2.30am when we were shown to a room so small and cramped that my wife and I could not pass each other to walk around the bed. The bathroom was also small. We were assured by the night staff (as were others just starting their holiday) that we had been allocated the correct rooms. We didn’t unpack, but at the first opportunity confronted our holiday rep to complain. He realised straightaway that we were not in our rightful accommodation and within minutes we were taken to view another bungalow. This was much larger containing double and single beds, settee, tall double wardrobe, dressing table and plenty of walk around space. The bathroom was much bigger also. This was very acceptable.

The rep also arranged for others in the same predicament as ourselves to be moved.



Our tip is to book nothing less than a superior de luxe bungalow and make sure that this is what you are allocated.



COMPLEX.

The “Acapulco” covers a big area with facilities as will be shown in your brochure. The gardens are extensive and well looked after. The swimming pools are kept very clean. If seaweed is washed onto the shore-line then this is cleared early morning.



We holidayed during June and July and found the main pool area and beach to be very busy (and noisy) at the weekend as the complex is open to the public. The “relaxing” pool is much smaller but set in a quiet secluded location.



Particularly if you have young children, please note that at the time of our visit none of the pools indicated which were the shallow and deep ends, nor were there any depth markers.



BEACH.



A lovely sandy beach which gently shelves into the sea. The water is warm but can get a little rough. Red/ green flags are flown to indicate swimming conditions and there is a lifeguard on duty.



The complex is situated next to a Military Camp which has a sentry box on top of a nearby cliff. It can be a bit intimidating to lie on your sunbed and watch an armed guard on duty.

Food



We booked half board. Whether it was breakfast or evening meal time there was plenty of choice. If you expect cordon bleu cooking then this is not the place for you. However, the food was very good and being served buffet style, you can eat a little of everything and as much as you like. There is no reason for anyone (including children) to starve.



MEAL VENUE.



During our first week meals were served within the hotel building with additional use of the outdoor balcony for evening meals. My wife and I chose to eat out on the balcony and would arrive early evening to have a pre-meal drink just so we could sit at our preferred table (how sad is that). After our meal we would linger, enjoying the view and atmosphere. However, without notice, the venue was transferred to an area set on the side of the bay which we were to learn was for use in the summer. We have to say that at the new venue the stairways were too narrow to accommodate the number of guests and staff travelling to and from the serving areas, which also became compact. Eating became not as pleasurable.



NB. Look out for the owner of “Acapulco”. He sits at the only “reserved” table and always looks a little unkempt in his “old” polo shirts and shorts. However, he must be worth a fortune.



STAFF.



We found waiters and waitresses to be very hardworking, efficient and friendly. Although their knowledge of the English language may be limited there were no problems. The kitchen staff always seemed to be ready to replenish any food items that were running low in the buffet. Our bungalow was tidied up everyday by the maids with regular changes of bedding and towels. Gardeners were always working away tendering trees and plants.



HOLIDAY REP.



Our rep was called Onur. He was based at the hotel and was available to be seen for several hours of an evening. His English is very good and we found him to be reliable, helpful and friendly. He was our tour guide on an excursion to Famagusta and he made the trip interesting and amusing with his outstanding knowledge of Cyprus and it’s history.





ENTERTAINMENT.



There is plenty to keep children amused both supervised and unsupervised, right up to the evening disco.



There is live music played in the evenings at the meal venue and usually vocalists within the bars at the hotel building. There is also an amphitheatre were shows are put on from about 10.00pm.



PRICES.



This was one of the minuses. You are prohibited from bringing food and drink onto the complex from outside and as such are held to ransom over prices. Typical examples are £2 for a can of coke (£0.40 in Kyrenia) and a similar sum for ice cream. Although not a food/drink item, sun tan lotion sold from the on-site mini market was £11.50 compared with £6.50 in Kyrenia.



We did hear stories of people attempting to bring drinks into the complex but they were frisked by security staff at the main entrance and their purchases confiscated.



KYRENIA.



There is a bus service which operates from the hotel to Kyrenia for which there is a charge of about £0.40 each way. Kyrenia has a nice harbour and a castle, which incorporates the Shipwreck Museum. If you are a keen shopper then forget it . In fact, there is nothing about Kyrenia that would make you want to re-visit.



BELLAPAIS ABBEY.



Well worth a visit even if it’s just to get away from the complex for a few hours. The cheapest way to get their (if you haven’t hired a car) is to get the hotel bus into Kyrenia and then a taxi up to the abbey which is situated part way up a mountain. The taxi driver will come back for you at a pre-arranged time.



THE ABBEY BELL TOWER.



This is a restaurant and bar situated alongside Bellapais Abbey. We suggest that you break camp and have an evening meal here for a change. They will collect and return you to “Acapulco” free of charge. Enjoy sitting outside amongst the greenery, alongside the illuminated abbey, soaking up the atmosphere, watching the sun go down whilst listening to haunting music as you eat traditional Cypriot food. Idyllic.



AND FINALLY



We were well aware before we booked that “Acapulco” was isolated and that there were no nearby villages we could wander to for a drink in a local taverna. This was probably the only thing we missed compared to our usual holiday but it did not prevent us from having a wonderful time.

We found the accommodation in the hotel excellent the room was large and well appointed with a good sized balcony and efficient air conditioning. The bathroom was large with constant hot water day and night. It is worth noting that sea view rooms only get sun in the late afternoon but the mountain views are fine.



People who were staying in the standard bungalows were not so happy finding them small with cramped bathrooms and a lack of storage space. The promised renovation of the bungalows was not complete and some were ‘tired’ and worn.




The public areas were all well maintained especially the gardens.




The food provided was of good quality and was plentiful. The style of the food was Turkish/eastern Med. I can understand why the typical English child may have not found it to their taste. The Beach Bar in particular served excellent pride and salads.




The complex is rather remote. You do not really have the option to stroll to the local shops, bars or restaurants. A car or use of the Hotel bus is required if you wish to go out and discover the building site that is Kyrenia and its surroundings.




Finally they are building a conference centre next to the hotel and plan to add a fourth floor to the hotel in the near future so check carefully with your tour operator before booking.

This resort made our long awaited summer holiday, the holiday from hell!!



I do not even know were to start to say what dreadful service, and how misrepresented this hotel was.



Our inter-connecting rooms that were booked, paid for and confirmed were not available, the staff made no apologies for messing up their reservations system.



The half board does not include drinks, so be prepared for London restaurant prices for water, beer and soft drinks. If you are clever, you will go to the supermarket by cab every few days and smuggle your own drinks and nosh in at a fraction of the cost charged for by the hotel...sort of defeats the object of half board really!!



The resort is open to day visitors, which we were not informed of by the tour operators, so by 10am all the loungers are taken by outsiders and the aqua park which is designed for children, is over run by unruly young adults making it a very unsafe place for kids.



The list goes on and on. There is no suitable food for children, the token children’s buffet only serves chips!! If there were any speciality foods for the night e.g.: Doner Kebabs etc, they normally ran out of that about 1hr into the evening. With one 1 restaurant to serve 1000 guests the queues for food were always horrific at meal time.



The staff have very little knowledge of English, so unless your order is the basic beer, coke, water etc, forget it....it will not come.



This part of Cyprus has not had tourism for over 30 years, and it shows everywhere you go. The people, the infrastructure. Some people would call it unspoilt, I call it ruined, dilapidated and left for lost.



I would never go back to this part of Cyprus, and do yourself a favour and give this resort a miss.