Louis Phaethon Beach

We visited again just after the refurb, our 6th time. Rooms are lovely and bright, cleaned to a high standard. Staff once again brilliant and all very friendly. Wasnt impressed with the new dining room, more like a canteen and no table cloths. The food now is mostly show cooking, nearly all the food is in covered dishes so you have to queue with everyone to lift the lids to look beforehand. Breakfast was still good, no mushrooms now but nice to have individual omelettes now made for you. I cant eat spicy food etc and all of the meats etc have chillies,curry or spices on them, including the vegetables, and less choices. The meats are not the quality they used to be, there is still a carvery every evening, but pork 5 nights out of 10 is a bit much, with belly pork,and pork shoulder included, along with processed chicken another evening, also none of the little extras with the desserts, ie chocolate drop etc, now just the marshmellows, so there have been cutbacks here.This is all due to them having a new head chef with new ideas,the other chef has now retired.Oh and there is no Chinese section at lunchtimes, I believe they will only have that in the summer months, my husband always looked forward to that.Doubtful if we will go back now.

Overview The hotel is located in Paphos and 20 mins drive from the airport. The location of this hotel on the seafront is idea but not much of a beach available for those who really prefer a beach hotel. Its located at the end of the line of hotels at the sea front. The staff and services provided by this hotel are excellent with such great attention to detail and customer service is what makes this a unique hotel as stated by several previous reviews. Check in As we took a package holiday with Tui, transfers were included to and from the airport where there were plenty of Tui staff and busses it was a straightforward transfer. We were the only ones on the flight at this hotel. Check in at the hotel was very smooth and straight forward. We checked in at around 7PM and first impression of our room was it was tiny for a family of 4. There were obvious signs that the room was dated especially the walls, bathroom doors but we were well aware of the planned refurbishment to commence in two weeks’ time. Our Room We had a booked a family room and so we had seen photos on TA but did not expect the room to be so crammed. The room had a double bed and 2 single beds for the kids (same rooms where the single beds turned into sofa for those not coming as family of four). There was huge luggage storage so it helped to put unpack everything and put the empty suitcases all tucked away which helped a lot in terms of space. There was a dressing table, stool and a large table which sadly was disproportionate to the size of the room as in that it took so much space. The was a patio door leading to the balcony and the balcony gave us sea view as well as had 2 chairs and a table – the balcony was a great addition to the room. There was a bedside table with bedside light. A mini fridge was available that we just turned off as did not need with all-inclusive anyway. The lighting was satisfactory. The room has a key operating safe which was available on paying extra charged (yes in this day and age!). The bathroom had a tub and shower was very powerful too. Adequate towels for use were provided as well as room slippers were supplied. A hairdryer is provided for use in the room. The bathroom could do with a little upgrade and we hoped it was part of the refurbishment plans. One bottle of drinking water is provided which you need to get refilled at the bar in the lobby which is quite a trek. There is a patio door to the balcony and like with many hotels the Heating turns off the moment the patio doors are opened. The room was cleaned daily but the timings were not consistent. Rooms were cleaned well but the floors being wooden meant they were not mopped regularly and we had to use wet wipes and clean the floors after the cleaners – 2 kids under 10 – cleanliness was priority for us! Meals: The range of choices at all meal times is indeed what makes this hotel very special. For breakfast there were 3 types of cereals , yogurts, sliced bread, bread rolls, croissants, cake, danishes, bakery goodies and doughnuts. There are choices of eggs as well as several hot options to make your own full English. Porridge was available daily as well as drinks from many machines dotted around the restaurant. Lunch contains a variety of both vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians and there was always soup if the day as well as vegetables both cooked and a huge salad bar. Dinner was themed every night and the themes were published a week in advance outside the restaurant. Desserts were ample and help available for allergies. The catering manager took special time out to walk us through options for nut allergy as well as making himself available every meal time to help us on foods that contained nuts especially the dessert area. Ice cream was available daily during lunch and dinner and the 3 flavours were consistent. Afternoon Tea One huge bonus the hotel offers to half and full board guests is afternoon tea. This was served in the same restaurant but between a fixed time and waffles, pancakes as well as cakes were available with tea/coffee. For all inclusive guests there was all day food which contained fries, fish fingers, nuggets so anytime you missed a meal for being away from the hotel could pop into the restaurant between meal times and get some hot food. This area was closed off 30 mins before each meal to allow the catering team to prep for meal times. In the reception area there is a coffee shop that serves all sorts of drinks hot and cold and is part of the all inclusive deal. This was a great place to chill out during the day and refresh ourselves. We were also able to get games such as Monopoly, UNO and Scrabble from the reception to play whilst we had our coffee’s and hot chocolate. The Swimming Pool/Beach. There are 2 swimming pools as well as water slides. As we had gone during the winter seasons the waterslides were closed and no one really dared to swim as the water was very cold. The hotel is right at the sea front but hardly any beach area and as it was a bit rainy the little bit of beach was also washed off and during the summer I am sure there is a small area available as mentioned in the reviews. There is an indoor heated pool, rather small but a pool nevertheless and a jacuzzi and sauna room both separate for gents and ladies which is a real treat! The hotel does have several lifts hence easy access for the disabled people to access every floor. The steps partially have handle bars but only in certain areas. We walked from the town back to the hotel and it took us a good 1.5 hour with 2 kids under 11 but a lovely walk near the sea front. There are bus stops right outside the hotel and you can buy one way bus pass or a day travel paying cash to the driver so buses are plentiful and have good connections as well. The kids club The hotel had a kids club which runs from 10am to 3pm with a range of activities. There is normally one staff and if there are not enough kids then the club is cancelled for the morning or the afternoon. Activities include making craft work, cards, painting, puzzles, quiz, chocolate tasting etc. Gym The Gym is located in the basement right next to the indoor pool and the jacuzzi. The gym equipment is not a lot and luckily we went off peak so not many using the gym otherwise during summer I can see a struggle as just 2 treadmills and few weights – could be updated and made nicer which I hope will be done as part of the refurbishment. Location The location of this hotel is good but at the farthest end of the line of hotels near the sea front hence a little distant from town if you were hoping to walk daily. Location of the hotel is just 30 mins from the airport and 10 mins bus ride from the harbour/town centre. The town centre has a great market as well as a mall and a great buzz in the cobbled old town where coffee shops and mini souvenir shops are plenty to be found. Play area There is a lovely play area near the outdoor swimming pool with swings and slides for younger kids. There are also a pool table and games table for older kids near the indoor swimming pool. Overall this hotel is excellent for its focus on guests, the food is more than outstanding. There are clear signs that of wear and tear in rooms and the bathroom needs a re-grout/sealant at the edges which I am hoping is all included in the refurb. However I must mention that the management of this hotel can never do enough for you. Their attention to detail an the way the look after their guests makes one feel very much at home. Overall a great family hotel.