Check in was quick and smooth and with a glass of champagne on check in who can complain! We were driven to our room in a strech golf buggy (the resort is quite big) and the room was really nice and comfy, the bathroom was huge. Our room was on the ground floor and the back doors opened up onto the 5 star gold course and views of the sea. We only ate once at the hotel and the asian buffet was great. Overall a really friendly comfy hotel.

We made a return visit this may (08) and were very disappointed with the reduced standards since May 07. It seems to be the attitude of the new general manager is to blame. Last year we were given an upgrade based on a Intercontinental loyalty scheme and club access complimentary. The main reason for rebooking was to experience the same benefit. We did in fact book a higher level room. Our disappointment was that we ended up with a room the same as last year, but only after a robust discussion and no club access. We were told that fir the two of us it would be £60 a day.
We noticed that the staff were not as cheerful as last year, questioning a couple we knew from the previous year suggested the new GM was a difficult person to work for. He did not even turn up to the Managers cocktail party, shows his interest in guests.
Our room had a number a faults that were reported; however they took two days to complete. For example shower attachment kept falling of, lights failed, and broken patio chairs. To my mind this is systemic of poor management.
A number of reports say this is a US chain, no Intercontinental Hotels Group is British and Aphrodite Hills is A Cypriot owned franchise. ICH need to get a review on this place as it is not what it was.

I booked to stay at this hotel for a week with my Mum for some R&R after reading the reviews a few months ago. As there are not many good 5 star hotels in Cyprus this one sounded the better of the 2 or 3 that are in the Paphos area. Check in was ok, free glass of cheap sparkling wine (NOT champagne) on arrival. The rooms/bathrooms are nice what you would expect of a 5 star place, BUT it was downhill from there. The first issue we had was at 4am in the morning when the people staying in the room next to ours (we had a connecting door which was locked obviously) came back they were laughing and talking very loudly in the hallway for at least 5 mins which obviously woke both my Mum and I. Then they continued to make a lot of noise in their room opening and closing drawers and cupboards and talking loudly for at least another hour. We could hear it all VERY loudly. so the walls are very thin and probably because they were connecting rooms with a door did not help keep out the noise between rooms! We were obviously very annoyed abot this as we had come for a week or rest and relaxtion. In the morning we complained to the management but they said they could not move us as the hotel was fully booked, but that they would speak to the people in that room to keep the noise down.

In the morning we went to pool area which was busy but not too busy. The pool was nice but not heated, too cold for me to get in. And the sunloungers are not comfortable at all. Cheap and not luxurious as you would expect for this standard of hotel. The Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula Hotels and most other 5 star hotels provide lounges of a high standard with cushions , The Intercontinental does not provide cushions just basic lounges!

Anyway as evening approached we went to the reception to enquire about the restaurants and whether we would need to make a reservation for dinner for the buffet restaurant, they said no it would be fine to just turn up. So we went back to our room to shower and get ready for our evening meal. Then we asked at the concierge desk the way to the buffet restaurant and they directed us. When we got to the restaurant however it was CLOSED!?! We were very disapointed to say the least as I had spent a lot of time researching this hotel and its facilities before decing to book and one of the main reasons for booking was that it had 3 restuarants! Not only that neither the hotel reception nor the concierge had told us it was closed when we asked about going there for dinner! So anyway we went back to the conceirge and told him it was closed, he seemed to have no idea as to why. So then he went to front desk and got a staff printout of events etc and info and on there it said that 2 out of the 3 restaurants including the buffet would be closed for 3 nights, because of a conference at the hotel of 500 people! Thats why the hotel was full. There was no apology and they just said you can eat at the one restaurant that was open, the asian/european fusion. We went to look at the menu which was ok for me but there was nothing my Mum could really eat as she likes her food simple. And at 30-50 eruos for a main course it was a joke! Dinner for 2 with drinks and service would have been £150 easy. So then we decided to go to the village square where most of the restuarants there were also closed. There was a pizza/pasta place and a french restaurant, neither of which suited us. We were really looking forward to the buffet afterall and I also have dairy and egg intolerances so Italian and french are difficult for me. The greek place would also have been a good option had it been open.

Other dislikes were the location which is BAD if you want to see anything or go to local resturants as its a 35 euro each way cab fare into Phapos. We tried to book the hotel shuttle to go to Phapos on the Tuesday as it only goes 2 times a week but we were told that it was not possible as the shuttle would not be going as they had to have a minimum of 10 people to operate this service!! I had had enough by now and was getting stressed. I also had a bad cold and asked the reception where could get some medicine to help so i could sleep better too and they said the nearest Pharmacy was in Phapos and they could book me a cab to go there. Im like im not going to spend 70 euros just to go buy some cold medicine.

So anyway our feelings on this hotel were that they do not care about there guests that are visiting for a holiday and that they were only focusing on keeping the 500 people that were there for a conference happy. Also the location is terrible and the food in the hotel resttaurant overpriced and very limited choice. This is NOT a hotel for a relaxing holiday and was characterless and lacked attention to detail and warm and friendly service. It is only good to stay here if you are with a conference or to play golf! We checked out after 2 nights (even tho we had paid for the week) and we went to a 3 star hotel near Coral Bay called 'The Queens Bay Hotel', yes the rooms were VERY basic but we had an excellent spot our 2 rooms facing the ocean with our own terrace and comfortable cushioned lounges, very quiet and relaxing and there were buses at the end of the street where we could go 5 mins one way to Coral Bay and 15 mins the other way to Phapos for 1.35 euros. We ate in different restaurants each night local dishes and seafood for 40-50 euros for 2 with drinks, got better service and could really chill out. All that for £550 for 2 rooms half board for 5 nights where we had paid nearly £200 a night for ONE room at The Intercontinental and it would have cost us a LOT more to eat there and go out and about for the week whilst being treated like second rate guests compared to those that were there for the conference!!!

Yes I am used to luxury and do not usually stay in 3 star basic hotels but have to say that even though the room at 'The Queens Bay' was of low standard we still had a much better holiday than if we had stayed at the Intercontinental so we made the right decision to move even though we lost the money we paid for booking The Intercontinetal for the week. DONT make the mistake we did and book this hotel!

We spent a glorious week in the Aphrodite Hills from 28th May to 4th June 2008. We upgraded to the Club Class which gave us a separate breakfast in the Club lounge away from the rest of the guests and all day canapes, afternoon tea and all day coffees etc. In the evening between 6 and 8pm alcohol was free and there was a very small hot buffet. We felt it was well worth the upgrade and for 4 of the 7 evenings we didn't even eat out apart from what was offered with the Club Class Service. The Club Lounge was in the lower part of the complex away from the pool and was very peaceful. We had a lovely room overlooking the 9th hole of the golf course and sea beyond and it was very well appointed, great quiet air conditioning and exptremely good comfortable beds. It is well worth taking the shuttle bus to the beach - we did three times. The hotel has a sectioned off area with towels, loungers, a bar, nice clean loos, and there is often a lovely cooling sea breeze. The journey is only around 15 minutes and is offered every hour too and from the hotel but you need to book with the Concierge. The Retreat Spa is world class and we had Thermo treatments for 2 days which were superb. No alcohol at the Spa though. When we were there the hotel was only around 40% full and I imagine it might be a bit different if the hotel was at capacity. The pools were pleasant but quite busy and there were quite alot of children about so beware if you want a more adult environment. Kids had a really good play area. The restaurants were better and cheaper in the Village Square rather than in the hotel restaurants which were lacking in atmosphere and customers. The hotel is only 15 mins drive from Paphos Airport which was very convenient. We found all of the staff very helpful and professional and overall we had an excellent holiday. Another reviewer spoke of the barren landscape. What else did they expect in Cyprus????!! Top marks to this hotel from us.