Looking for a quick summary? Here’s my bottom-line review of Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort: I hated it, and I do not recommend it.
When I was researching places to stay during a winter trip to Cyprus, Paphos Gardens was not my first choice. However, my credit card’s travel portal was offering a good deal and most of the reviews seemed generally positive, so I chose it. I regretted that decision from the moment I walked into my room.
Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort: The Good
I’m going to go ahead and put the good things first, because there were good things.
- Friendly staff. Every employee I interacted with was very warm and kind. They smile when you pass them on the property, and when I asked a question, they went out of their way to help me.
- Breakfast was decent for a hotel. It had a freshly made omelette station and a small selection of hot food, plus pastries, fresh fruit, and cereal. There are also coffee machines that make a variety of drinks.
- Daily cleaning. My room was cleaned every day. This is critical, because you can’t flush toilet paper in Cyprus — it’s nice to have the bathroom trash removed. (That’s not the hotel’s fault; the island’s sewer system is bad.)
- Quiet. Aside from some loud neighbors on my first night, it was pretty quiet. It’s also a bit of a walk to the center of town — but if you pop down to the beach and take the waterfront path, it’s a really nice walk.
Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort: The Bad
Sadly, the negative aspects of Paphos Gardens far outweigh the positive. I should clarify that I’m not a luxury traveler — as long as a room is clean and mostly comfortable, I’m good. Unfortunately, this “resort” falls far short of that very basic standard. Here’s why I have to provide a negative review of Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort:
Mold in the bathroom
The showers at Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort have so much black mold. It’s growing along the ceiling, in the grout, and along the base of the tub. The cleaning staff clearly don’t care about it, because they made no attempt to scrub it off.
Honestly, I’m kind of speechless at this one. It’s so egregiously disgusting and obvious — it’s not like the cleaning crew don’t see the mold every day. The hotel obviously isn’t interested in solving the problem.
Uncomfortable beds and furniture
Every item of furniture in this hotel needs to be replaced. It’s old, worn out, and unbelievably uncomfortable. The beds, in particular, are terrible — they’re hard and you can feel every single spring. My back ached the entire time.
Then, there’s the cleanliness aspect. The couch in my apartment was old and gross and sagging, and I didn’t even want to touch it. (see photo below) I found every excuse possible to never be in my room. (Challenging, because there’s not a whole lot to do when you’re traveling to Paphos in the winter.)
Rooms are incredibly dated
Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort is straight out of 1991 — it’s desperately in need of an upgrade. Honestly, I wouldn’t normally care about this too much, especially if the hotel was comfortable. But in combination with the other negative factors, it just added to the overall unpleasantness of the stay.
The ancient upholstery also holds onto dust and who knows what else — by the time I left, my lungs felt awful. Thinking that you might open the windows to make sure you don’t get sick? Think again! There are no screens, so if you open a window, the room will fill with mosquitoes. And if you open the door, one of the millions of stray cats in Cyprus will walk right in.
Slow, unreliable Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi at Paphos Gardens is slow, and it drops out frequently — especially if you’re by the pool, in the lobby, or at the restaurant. The signal was stronger in my room, but still unreliable. I work while I travel (and sometimes I just want to watch Netflix at night), so this was incredibly irritating.
Cleaning staff never replaced towels or sheets
At check-in, I got a little cleaning schedule that explained when the housekeepers would replace towels and sheets. They never did — which was particularly gross, considering that the room was so damp that mold was growing everywhere. The towels never dried.
Not friendly to solo travelers
Okay, this one isn’t the hotel’s fault, but I’m going to mention it to save other Cyprus solo travelers the trouble: Paphos Gardens is designed for couples and groups. Everyone stared at me everywhere I went, whether I was getting breakfast or reading in the lobby.
What kind of travelers might like Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort?
Honestly, I don’t know. I wonder if many of the guests got bamboozled into staying at this run-down “resort,” and then had no escape because they paid for an all-inclusive package. I was embarrassed that I chose it, and I only paid for the breakfast option!
Paphos Gardens seems to attract older British people. I saw a few characters that were clearly trying to get the most of their all-inclusive — they were pounding drinks all day. First, they’d do it by the pool (in hoodies, because winter is not swimming weather in Paphos); then, when the pool closed at 5PM, they’d move to the lobby and continue drinking. Maybe if you have a constant buzz, the black mold and uncomfortable rooms don’t seem so bad?
Where in Paphos should you stay instead of Paphos Gardens?
Honestly, I’m not sure. If I was to come again during the colder months (I probably wouldn’t; it’s not really worth traveling to Cyprus in the winter), I would stay closer to the center of Kato Paphos. It’s a shorter walk to the water, and you probably don’t need to worry about the noise from clubs and bars — the town is pretty dead, at least in January.
If you have room in the budget, I would upgrade to one of the newer properties along the water. The Amavi, Alymria, and Annabelle all looked nice from the outside. I would avoid Alexander the Great, which looked pretty grubby.
Honestly, though, given the surprisingly high prices in Cyprus and the lack of things to do, I’d probably go elsewhere (Malta would be a great alternative). It’s not really worth wasting that much money on a sub-par vacation destination with old, overpriced accommodation options.
