At Herbal Hotel

Just home fro a week at the Herbal Hotel. First impressions were very good indeed. We arrived late Friday night, check in was swift (although it was only the two of us checking in) and we had been upgraded. Our room was lovely and cool, and was a big room overlooking the back of the hotel. The view was of a different hotels pool and entertainment area. The noise from the entertainment at this other hotel was very loud at night, but you could sit on the balcony and watch, or close the doors and you couldn't hear it( One night the singing was so bad, the closed door was a relief!) The lighting in the room was good, both the bedside lights were working and there was a clever light at the skirting height by the bathroom so you could see if you got up in the night. Safe in the wardrobe was included in the room charge. The bathroom had a nice walk in shower. The upgrade entitled us to robes and slippers. There was a coffee pod machine as well as the kettle. The worst bit about the room was the poor housekeeping. Saturday the room was cleaned and the towels were changed. Sunday nothing was done and it took four calls to reception and an in person visit to get clean towels. I also asked for clean cups and glasses and the lady looked shocked when I insisted. We never had a refill of the little milk cartons or tea bags or coffee pods and bought our own from the supermarket. I guess we could have taken everything from the breakfast room but we never gave that a thought. We got two bottles of water on most days, and when we didn't, we did take them from the breakfast room. We only got fresh hand towels a few times. The TV in the room only seemed to show endless news channels, in fact the only channel I found with English language was CNN (USA news channel) or PIK2, which showed the same shows every day. Couldn't find any music/radio channels in any language. Sometimes it's nice to have a sit down for an hour, watch something and have a drink in your room, I thought it was odd considering how many British ex pats live in Cyprus, I'm sure the satellite can pick up a few British TV shows. I did log into YouTube with my own account and nothing worked and it wouldn't let me log in as a guest. One night after returning from the beach the hotel had no water, I was told it was an area problem. Clearly not true as the next door sprinkler was going as well as the bar up the road who had water and didn't know what we were talking about when I asked if they had any water! It is a very lovely hotel, the lobby area is very clean and pretty to look at with nice decor. We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis, on a Jet2 holiday. Breakfast was good, plenty of choice, and freshly cooked omelettes and pancakes if you wanted. The pool area seemed clean and tidy (we only used the beach) with sunbeds and cabanas. There was a pool bar but if we wanted a drink at night once we came back from eating out, the only place to sit was a few bar stools at the bar or one of the sunbeds. Only one lot of about 5 chairs with a table . You could get the drink and take it to a sofa inside if there was space. The hotel gym looked well stocked There is an indoor pool and there is a sauna, but you have to request that it is 'switched on' We did not use the spa facilities The location is the best part of the hotel, you can walk to lots of different coves if you turn left on the boardwalk, they are all quiet and the water is shallow and safe. If you turn right, you can walk into Protaras, which is a 30 minute slow stroll. It's well lit at night. The walk is very pleasant and saves 12 euro in taxi fare! The two ladies at reception were helpful when we needed them and the breakfast room staff were all pleasant and helpful. We rented a car from platon, the guy came to the hotel and delivered and collected the car from the hotel.

Excellent staff, clean, amazing location, great facilities