"We have just arrived back from the Amavi Made for 2 hotel in Paphos, what an amazing experience this hotel is, if you get the chance to go to this hotel do not hesitate.
We were there when things started to politically heat up in the area and fears of whether Cyprus was safe were on the internet and the news. I can truthfully tell you that all the time we were there, we did not once feel at risk. Everything was calm and I personally wouldn't let current events put me off travelling to Cyprus as I would certainly book to go again straight away.
Even before we arrived at the hotel, the customer service was fantastic with the guest relations team contacting us to see if there was anything that they could do to help. Anna was great and arranged for us a taxi to meet us at the airport. She even rang us while at the airport just to check that we found the taxi ok.
Once we arrived at the hotel, the porters brought in our bags and showed us up to our room, and oh what a room it was. We were lucky enough to stay in the Executive Suite on the top corner of the hotel. This room is one of the best hotel rooms I have stayed in anywhere in the world. The first thing you notice is the view! All the hotel rooms in this hotel have an amazing sea view. So whichever room type you pick? You'll be able to watch beautiful sunsets. And wake up every morning to an amazing view of the beautiful blue sea. Everything else about the room was also amazing. With great free toiletries, lots of tea, coffee, milk, etc a mini-bar, which was at reasonable prices. You could also order room service food to the rooms if you wish. The room had a pillow menu. We wanted a different pillow and this was delivered really quickly by just requesting on the app.
There is definitely no fighting for sunbeds at this hotel. On your first day you just pop down to the pool hut, and on a big TV screen is a map of all the sunbeds, and the ones in green are available. You can wander around, pick the one that you want, and then that is yours for the whole week. It can also be changed to another one if its available later in your holiday. So no rush to get up and no worrying that you're not going to get a sun bed. This idea is fantastic and totally takes the stress out of mornings. At this pool hut you also get towels every day. A standard towel and a really big one that covers your whole sunbed. You can either ask the staff to help you and they will put the towels on the beds for you or you can just take them yourself. They also give you some water.
This hotel is definitely a foodie hotel with the Michelin star chef Theodor Falser, working closely with the team to design menus in the signature restaurants.
The hotel's main restaurant Ezaria, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast on the morning, was a hybrid buffet. So there were certain items that you could order off a menu and then there was also a buffet. Everything was plentiful, well-cooked so well presented.
The full board lunch was quite a formal affair with soup being served to you first, then you could choose something off the salad buffet, followed by a choice of main courses, which included things like Sirloin Steak, Lamb and chicken, then a dessert off the buffet You could also get food from the snack bar by the swimming pool, which was a lighter affair like sandwiches, Sushi, salads etc. But this wasn't included in the full board. I think one small negative of being on full board was that sometimes we didn't want to eat a formal lunch as we had eaten a big breakfast and were going to have a big dinner so we just fancied a sandwich at lunchtime. So if I went to the hotel again, which I'm sure I will, I would only book half board and buy lunch from the snack bar, but if you like a sit down lunch, then the quality of food is outstanding.
The evening meal in main restaurant was outstanding. Every night had a different theme, whether it be Indian, Oriental, Italian, etc and you felt like you were in a different restaurant every night. There was always a salad bar, soup, and main course buffet, everything was cooked to perfection and plentiful. The staff were all great but 3 stand out people from the restaurant were Lee with his wine knowledge, Katerina with her organisation and professionalism and Adrian, with his wit and banter.
There are 3 signature restaurants at the Amavi.
When we were there in late February early march Fort o Lana was closed as this is an outdoor restaurant so we weren't able to try this food. But I am sure that it will be outstanding as with every other restaurant in this hotel.
Nocturne restaurant was also available and this is a situated on the ground floor of the hotel. It's a beautifully designed space and makes you feel that that you are in a high end restaurant. This was a 7 course tasting menu and we did it with the wine pairing. Beautifully presented and cooked to perfection and with a pianist in the background making a serene relaxed environment
There was a couple of choices of variations on some of the food but it is a set menu and it's a chance to try some food that you wouldn't normally eat at home and this can be booked once a week.
We were also lucky enough to trial a new concept the hotel is thinking of doing which is a signature breakfast in Nocturne.
This started with a basket of pastries, toast, meats and cheeses on your table and then you choice off a menu. The food on this was definitely a step up from the Ezaria restaurant which I didn't actually think was possible as the food in there is great, with the advantage of it being served in a tranquil environment with a violinist playing in the corner. It made breakfast an experience and I do hope that this is something that they implement on a permanent basis. It isn't something that you'd want every day, just once on your holiday as its so special.
The actual physical space for the restaurant Immenso was closed while we were there as it's on the roof of the hotel, so it is weather dependent, but the experience of the food from that restaurant was available within the space of the Nocturne restaurant on a couple of evenings and can be booked once a week. The food in this restaurant is an Asian infusion, and you can pick different items from sets of types of Asian food. So you create your own set menu .The food was absolutely beautiful, not just taste but also to look at. There was also a high ratio of staff to customers, so we never had to wait for anything but also never feel rushed, the balance was just perfect.
The restaurants are available to book on the app. And we booked the restaurants before we got there. I would thoroughly recommend this as all the signature restaurants are quite small and at peak times I do think they'll definitely get booked up.
I love cocktails and if you do too this is your dream hotel. A lot of time and effort has been put into creating perfect cocktails and they are all served with a bit of drama. Whether it's smoke, candy floss or lights you will not be disappointed in any of the cocktail that you can get from the Selene bar. Everything is table service and the bar has some entertainment in each night. It's not overpowering entertainment, it's just a background music so you can enjoy talking and good quality drinks.
If there was one tiny room for improvement, it would be that this hotel is branded, marketed and themed as a couple's hotel. This concept really works, but while we were there, we noticed that amongst all the couples, there was a couple of single people and one group of 4 friends. I think that what makes this hotel different is that it is couples and it must have been a little awkward for the single people and group of friends.
All in all this hotel is fantastic and we will definitely be going again. From the food to the staff to the location, everything just ticks the box for a perfect holiday"
