Mayfair Gardens

We booked a last-minute break at the end of the summer holidays and travelled as a family of three — myself, my husband and our 5-year-old son.

We arrived at the hotel after midnight due to a flight delay. Despite the late arrival, we were given a snack bag containing a sandwich and a piece of fruit, along with a voucher for an alcoholic drink, as the all-inclusive service had finished at 11pm. This was a nice touch and appreciated after a long journey.

Unfortunately, our first impression of the hotel wasn’t great. The hotel itself is quite dated and the surrounding area of Paphos felt a little run down. Other than Kings Mall, which was around a 10-minute walk away, there wasn’t a huge amount immediately outside the hotel.

Sunbeds were a real issue. If you wanted a decent spot around the pool, you needed to be up ridiculously early — we found ourselves getting up around 6am to have any chance of getting a sunbed. We also noticed some families reserving beds around both the main pool and the splash park, which made it even more difficult.

The pool areas themselves were okay, and the onsite splash park was definitely the highlight for our son. He absolutely loved it and it kept him entertained during the day.

The food was okay. We mainly had breakfast and lunch at the hotel, but chose to eat out in the evenings. A taxi down to Paphos Harbour was reasonably priced and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from, with lots of options to suit different tastes and budgets. We actually really enjoyed having the choice to head into the harbour in the evenings.

Overall, this was a last-minute holiday and we went with an open mind. There were some positives, particularly the splash park and the location being within easy reach of Paphos Harbour, but the dated hotel, surrounding area and particularly the sunbed situation let it down for us.

We enjoyed our time away as a family, but based on our experience, we probably wouldn’t return.

The staff were so incredibly helpful, everyone. The kitchen/dining hall staff were very kind, the entertainment staff (Bogdan, Damian, Sanni and Jazmin) were super funny and very chill/relaxed while knowing to stay professional, and handled situations/issues as they arose (there was only ever one i saw between a party of guest), the bar staff as well were so helpful even during massive rushes during the night time/evening entertainment, and the cleaning staff were also very friendly and said hello whenever i walked past them, amazing experience overall. I would recommend this to any families, even with young children. We visited with my 5 year old sister and she enjoyed herself thoroughly. I'd love to come again

We had a great 7-day stay at The Mayfair Hotel with our 5-year-old daughter and family. Overall, we had a fantastic time and there was a lot to enjoy.

The hotel has incredibly friendly staff, a great range of activities that you can opt in or out of, and delicious food available throughout the day. There was always something going on, but it never felt like you had to participate if you didn’t want to.

The main negative for us was the condition of the rooms, which I feel are in need of refurbishment. Our room was spacious enough for the three of us and there was plenty of room for our daughter. Her bed was originally set up in the separate living room area, but as the front door was also located there, we felt it was safer to have her sleep in the room with us.

Unfortunately, the bathroom had black mould in places and remained quite wet and damp. The air-conditioning units also felt dated, and one of them had a slight smell. This was the main area where we felt the hotel fell short.

Outside of the room, however, the facilities and service were excellent. The staff and reps really made the experience. One particular rep, Sanni, was someone we spoke to quite a lot during our stay. She was lovely to chat to and genuinely seemed to enjoy her job. The other reps were also brilliant at making sure the children had a good time. During activities such as water polo, they were particularly good at making sure the younger children could still enjoy themselves and have a fair game when the adults got a little too competitive!

The chefs were always happy to help in the food hall, while the waiters and cleaners worked incredibly hard to keep the food and bar areas clean and immaculate throughout the day.

Our daughter absolutely loved the mini discos, which were definitely a highlight for her. I think the evening entertainment could be a little more varied, although there was enough to keep her entertained. One show in particular really stood out to us — the female dance show. It was fantastic and probably our favourite evening entertainment of the week.

Overall, we had a really enjoyable family holiday. The friendly staff, food, activities and family atmosphere were all excellent. If the rooms were refurbished and brought up to the same standard as the rest of the hotel, I think it would make a significant difference to the overall experience.