St Nicholas Bay Resort Hotel and Villas

So I arrived late on holiday as I do most trips - tired and stressed with an exhausted younger child attached to me and 2 teens. I had the added stress of my eldest being ill before we travelled so I was concerned whether I could even take the trip in the first place. I requested a seperate room for my eldest before we left to give her time to rest and recuperate without being disturbed and they kindly agreed. I was in a terrible mood and decided everything was bad and woke up wanting to leave.

Cut to having a meeting with the manager who showed extraordinary kindness (that I was undeserving of) as was out of kilter to my grumpiness. We moved rooms and he announced to me 'Now go be with your family and enjoy paradise.' In his wisdom he was not wrong. The place is heavenly. The sea is a dreamy blue. You can either recline by the chic pool or lie by the beach and wade into the sea that's welcoming, warm, soothing and a delight. The cliffs that hug the other side of the resort are speckles with sun loungers. Enough of them to find a quiet spot where all you can hear are the waves hypnotically swaying below.

On to the staff. Divine. Totally wonderful, kind, gentle, accommodating. Faultless. Tiny little things - I'll just give you a few examples:

My daughter asked for tacos without cheese - the waiter said a little cheese was mixed into the meat. The next day at lunch the waiter mentioned the chef had prepared it without cheese in case she wanted to order it.

My daughter lost the key to her room and the cleaning lady kindly gave her hers and went to reception herself to get herself a new key.

My daughter was ill before we came away. They gave her a room free of charge to rest. I let them know when she was better and they allowed her to keep the room for another day until they needed it for a guest. It showed huge generosity to allow her to do that and enabled her to get better quicker by not being woken by her other 2 siblings.

They would bend over backwards, always gentle, kind and thoughtful. I think the staff truely care about the place and enjoy working there. That's how it felt. In fact it was service unaparrall to any other 5 star resort we have stayed at.

Loved our room. The view was spectacular, it was luxurious and kept spotless.

On to the food. Breakfast was a delight. Buffet had local gems and you can order off the menu. Orange juice was always fresh and coffee was delicious. All food ordered on the menu if you wanted something separate from the copious choice from the buffet was 5 star.

Onto the buffet at night. I disagree with the previous review saying there was no variety. We ate there 7 days out of 8. No day was the same. From the delicious salads to lamb koftas to shredded duck. The waiters had patiences of saints - literally - how they dealt with all the adaptation to the mains - my family are fussy eaters. They went above and beyond and were ridiculously accommodating. High class, top end service. However busy it was the waiters made sure our wine glass was topped up. They were overly generous too, offering my son more than one main - zero extra cost. Desserts, again, huge variety, never the same and delightful. My youngest moaned so much the one night we went out - we didn't think it was worth leaving the hotel again for dinner.

What can I say? My husband read an entire book during our week away. He's never once unwound enough to read a book on holiday in the 20 years I've known him. That about sums it up.

It's impossible not to lean into the beauty of the place and find a slice of paradise, carved out onto hills in the exiquitness that is St Nicolas Bay Hotel.

Avoid if you don’t like package holidays. The construction quality is poor - old, also - you will hear your neighbors and their children throughout the evenings and early mornings. Quality of the buffets (inescapable buffets) is average, unimaginative. Pluses are: direct access to the sea and well managed gardens.

We just came back after spending 5 nights in this beautiful resort. The place is truly stunning. It designed as a small Greek village with white villas two stories maximum set between green grass and gardens. Everything is very harmonious and has a special role to fill. We had a sea view room and it was simply breathtaking especially in the morning! Such a nice view to wake up to! There is a 25m athletic swimming pool and being a keen swimmer, I went there every morning to do my training. St Nicolas bay is very beautiful with crystal clear waters. There is a small beach for younger children to get into the water or stairs to get straight into the deeper end. If you come to this hotel- make sure you bring your snorkelling mask. It provided hours of entertainment . The bay has amazing fish variety and with clear waters you can swim and see lots of them. I also enjoyed free yoga classes with Matilda. She is a great yoga instructor and also comes and corrects when you are doing yoga poses incorrect. It’s very important. I also wanted to say that staff was great- very attentive and even in such a space period of time, they make an effort to get to know you. We had half board option and our dinner was in Labyrinth restaurant . All starters were buffet style and then you could order à la cart your main course. Menu was changed every evening and there was enough variety to choose from. I also liked that portions for main were not massive. This gave an opportunity to also sample some delicious desserts. Similar system applied to breakfast. There was a large buffet with all different foods but you could also order from the menu . Dishes were cooked fresh and to your liking. I really had a lovely time and would highly recommend this place for family or a couple vacation in a very tranquil environment.