Thalassa Boutique Hotel and Spa - Adults Only

This is a lovely hotel situated in an elevated position overlooking 2 beaches.

The staff are all wonderful, from the reception area, all the waiters and waitresses, house keeping and maintenance. The food on offer is amazing. Very good breakfast options. Dinner varied every evening where the focus was on celebrating food from around the world. The à la carte restaurant here, and it the neighbouring sister hotel was excellent.

Once there we decided to upgrade to AI as we were further from the restaurants on the strip than we thought. Dinner in the hotel was going to cost €40 pp plus drinks so we thought the €70 pp pd was a good deal.

In our experience, if you stay in an even numbered room, you might experience noise from the service yard in the early morning.

The bus stop to Paphos is 5 minutes walk away, as is the nearby supermarket. Car hire seemed expensive and we were told taxis are also. Day ticket on bus €6.50 but they get very busy in town to the point, in busy periods, they don’t pick up unless they drop.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

Our third time to Thalassa in 18 months.

Biggest asset is their staff. Their turnover of staff is nearly nil and that’s a good thing. Most remember you from previous visits so it’s so welcoming.

Wherever you go in the hotel they are so pleasant and helpful whether at reception or in any of the bars or the restaurant.

We were All inclusive which included everything apart from a number of cocktails which we didn’t sample. The mini bar in the room was well stocked and replenished which included a good variety of soft drinks, chocolate bars and nuts.

Rooms are well appointed, all with sea views of Coral Bay or Corallia Bay.

Location is great with great vistas and opportunity to walk along either bay or go further afield by bus. The 615 goes from Corallia Bay to Tomb of the kings terminus for 2 euro. Onwards into Paphos if desired. A bus stop is outside the neighbouring sister hotel Coral Bay hotel.

Brilliant food in the buffet restaurant themed every night with plenty of variation.

No clambering for loungers around the pool and great service from the Captains bar staff bringing drinks as you require them. Very relaxing.

Are we likely to return…yes.

Delighted to find hotel is as wonderful as ever. It really is an absolute gem.

We have a splendid second-floor corner suite with fabulous views out to sea over Coral Bay beach and Maa Palaiokastro to the side - all kept pristine by an excellent housekeeping staff - as is the entire establishment. Hotel and grounds were, as ever, fantastic, the pool lovely and never overcrowded, the excellent Coral Bay beach a short walk downstairs.

Dining was alright - we opted for the All-Inclusive (AI) option which is offered at a very good price and the food (from a buffet) was adequate, overall. Breakfasts, as ever, were fantastic, a lot of good fresh fruit and other cooked options which were outstanding - the Breakfast Chef does splendid egg-based optiuons. Dinner was mixed, excellent some nights, others not quite so much in my view - too much Pork on the menu! Lunch, to be honest, tended to not be particularly good for the most part in my opinion. All through, the offered deserts let the side down - overly sweet and samey day-on-day. A cheese board is always available. To be fair, though, we have previously spoken with the wonderfully accommodating Head Chef, Stelios, who could not have been more helpful and has indicated that they can create a sugar free desert for me (as a T2 Diabetic). Lesson here, if you're struggling with the excessively sweet nature of the sweets, have a chat and they'll sort something out. That's service for you! Also, Stelios made us a lovely Moussaka on our last day for lunch - thanks Stelios!! Alcohol-wise, we're not really drinkers, however I can attest that they do a lovely Pina Colada, as well as a super non-alcoholic version of the same.

As a part of the AI offering, upmarket dining is offered at the hotel's restaurant (Psari) and at that of the sister hotel the Coral Beach (the Romanzino, which was especially good this year). If you're taking up AI, I'd definitely recommend sampling both.

As I've said in previous reviews, and will reiterate here... one of the things that has always made the hotel is the staff and they were, as usual, beyond excellent. Particular shout outs go to: Navi, Sumita on Reception, and the overnight security lady who's name I didn't get - I like to go for a very early morning walk and always got a cheery "good morning" as I walked through the lobby at 5am. Aristos (the only 'old' Thalassa staff member still in situ) - an engaging and charming guy who's top notch at what he does and runs the Psari (the upmarket restaurant) superbly. Larissa in the restaurant, together with Dipendra such a wonderfully affable, always upbeat guy who can't do enough for you, Joti and Laden in the Bar. Last, but definitely not least, Andri, the General Manager. I have said this in each of my reviews, and I'll emphasise it yet again... the Thalassa is in very good hands.

One less than wonderful exception is the Hotel's Food & Beveridge Manager who could do with smarting up both appearance and overall attitude when interacting with guests.

Last time we were here in April, we were troubled to see the effect the USA/Iran conflict and the Israel/Gaza war had had, both on the hotel and the wider tourist economy. It's reassuring to see Cyprus is back to normality - the Thalassa and the Coral Beach were both full and buzzing...

We'll definitely be back next year.