Hotels in Northern Cyprus

[EarlGreyPlea]

I’m looking for somewhere special for a couple of days - not particularly fussed about cost but must be luxurious. We like beaches and spas but also appreciate culture. Thank you in advance.

The Merit group resort hotels are all luxurious.They are near Kyrenia(Girne)
Merit Royal Premium Hotel
Merit Crystal Cove
Merit Park Hotel
In Kyrenia's old town and harbour there is the Rocks Hotel and nearby
Lords Palace Hotel
Cratos Premium Hotel and spa is to the east of Kyrenia
There is a brand new hotel opened called Les Ambassadeurs it has its own 150 yacht marina.
There are many good quality hotels in north Cyprus. I am not sure about Famagusta hotels but I know Kyrenia very well and have visited all of them except Les Ambassedeurs as only opened in December 2017.
There is plenty to see and do.
Car hire is inexpensive and they drive on the same side as the UK
Old Town Kyrenia , harbour. castle and shipwreck museum
Bellapais where you can visit the 13th century Bellapais Abbey ,sit under the tree of idleness and visit Lawrence Durrells house.Bellapais has fantastic views and is very quaint.
In the capital Nicosia (Lefkosa )
There is the Buyuk Han a large caravanserai built in 1572 by the Ottomans .There are free tours of the old city. You can also see Whirling dervishes.
I dont know Famagusta so well but there is plenty to see in and around Kyrenia and The old town of Nicosia.
I hope you have a wonderful time.

There's not much in Famagusta (unless you get your binos out and go to see no mans land). There is supposedly good scuba diving there though if you like that sort of thing? I vote Bellapais - it's beautiful! And a lovely village to walk around. The hotel was absolutely lovely there- very quiet but really gorgeous.
The food is great everywhere if you like shish kebab and salad (which we do)
I have heard good things about Cratos but I seem to remember it's very casino-y if you like that sort of thing?

If you want spa treatments go to the old turkish baths in Nicosia - me and DH literally went to the the knock off shops, bought swimming costumes (got me a lovely fake burberry!) and walked straight in
Also literally everything in Cyprus is no more than 3 hours drive away from anything so hire a car and go for a wander, but don't do what my mum did and accidentally drive through the border without stopping and cause an international incident!

All the resort hotels such as Cratos
Lords Palace and Merit hotels have casinos. The casinos are in their own section of the hotels
All the town centre hotels have their own casinos. Which are luxurious and highly regulated

I absolutely love the Colony and recently spent my 40th there. It is very luxurious but nowhere near a beach. Great location in the centre of town though.

We stayed at a place called the Hideaway Club a few times. It's a boutique hotel in the Hills above Kyrenia but it had bespoke furniture in all the rooms and they used to bring you breakfast as room service free of charge.

I also like the Five Fingers holiday bungalows. Very small family run complex. Gorgeous food but basic accommodation. Quaint and cheap.

We've stayed at Acapulco resort a few times. Further out of Kyrenia but just as comfortable as the luxury resorts but half the price. It has a casino and indoor pool.

Just up the coast from there there is a municipal holiday village on the beach called Tatlisu. They have a selection of wooden cabins and villas on the beach. They are very well equipped and the beach is unspoilt.

I've stayed in the Salamis in Famagusta but the Palm beach is nicer if you have to stay in Famagusta. The beach at Varosha is nice if you can get past the history as are the ruins and walled city but Kyrenia is much prettier and is probably my favourite place on the island.

Wow, so many ideas to follow up on here! Thanks to everyone who’s posted.

Sorry to hijack the thread but is it suitable destination for a tween? Apart from the obvious beach, what else can a tween do and see? Might sound like a silly question but genuinely wondering. The images I have seen are all about quietness and nature and beach.
Casinos never interest us. We like beaches but beach and nature alone, is not enough for a tween.

The Colony is gorgeous with a roof top pool and The Rocks has had a facelift and gets good reviews too. Nowhere near beaches but if you like luxury, I don’t think you can beat The Colony.

I wouldn't say there's much for tweens unless they're into culture or would be happy sitting round a pool all day but I don't have tweens so I could be wrong. My friend's were happy enough with the beach and some of the big casino hotels have water parks too. Acapulco's is great and does day passes.

Thank you mrsnec . Tweens are difficult to please and it's an expensive mistake if a wrong type of holiday is chosen.

dunnowhy North Cyprus is not commercialised, crime is very low and its a wonderful.place for a family holiday.Casinos are not compulsary
In the Karpaz National Park there are wild donkeys.
Acapulco beach hotel has a waterpark where you can go for the day.
Kyrenia Castle is worth a visit. It has dungeons and a shipwreck museum.
You can hire bicycles
Learn to snorkel
Depending what month you are there you can watch baby turtles hatch. Karisyaka Turtle Watch are on Facebook.
Kyrenia harbour in the evening is very family orientated.
Every Wednesday there is the market which is huge and sells everything from potatoes to clothing. This is not a tourist trap this is a local market.
Car hire is very reasonable
The local buses (dolmus) are cheap no bus stops just flag down the bus.
They have a sign on the front that says where they are going.
All hotels are family friendly.
Acapulco resort has a water park, kids club and animators
All Merit Hotels have a kids club, pony rides and entertainment.
If you have anything more specific to ask please do. My family have a home in North Cyprus.

And she's an only child, no sibling to provide any distraction.
Waterparks would be good but probably not enough.

How is it for shopping? We like local street markets and buy little handmade tats to bring home.
Would there be any children's entertainment, holiday clubs type of resort hotels so that she can make friends and have activities to choose from?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

Apologies EarlGreyPlea for jumping in your thread with my own questions.

Poshindevon thank you for the info.
Yes, turtles, pony rides, kids clubs, animators, shipwreck museum and local market sound like what we like.
Definitely will look into these hotels mentioned.
Great help, thanks.

DunnoWhy - no problem at all

I’m going with a friend so an adult-only destination would be our absolute ideal, but I don’t mind having children around.

Thank you EarlGreyPlea

Test

I’m sorry but I’m finding this thread incredibly insensitive- my family have been displaced from here and a large hotel built on MY family’s land. Please remember that when you are planning your holidays to INVADED countries. We lost our possessions & some of my family became refugees. Please remember that when saying what a wonderful place for a holiday it is.

I’m well aware of the history but this is not an appropriate place for such a post - thank you.

Actually I think it is. I find it deeply deeply insulting to my family & to the others that have been displaced. Yes there were mistakes on both sides but it doesn’t make up for the terror. Carry on with the smiley faces and remember that when people talk about Famagusta being a ghost town that it never used to be. I have several Turkish friends who had to leave the south & they feel it as much as the people from the north.

Anyway I’ll leage this thread since you don’t think it’s right to rain on your parade with the truth.

Yes, please do leave this thread.

Turtles are late August /September
We helped them be born just after we moved there (we went to a community thing where an expert dug out the unhatched shells and we basically all poured seawater over them as they made their way out to the sea. It was ace.

I really want to go to Northern cyprus now!

I live near the border. Many people we know cross regularly. Greek Cypriots and ex pats. I respect the history and feel detached from it like a lot of the new generation do. Our neighbours have displaced relatives, they made their views known to us but it doesn't effect our relationship and they still happily look after our house when we go over to the north which is several times a year.

When we first moved to Cyprus we once went North out of sheer curiosity an unexpectedly fell in love with it.

In answer to the shopping question it isn't my favourite place information the world for shopping but I always manage to buy loads. There are markets, bazaars touristy shops, handicraft shops and Kyrenia has lovely one off boutiques. There are also a few new malls but a lot of international brands can't or won't trade there so the malls are full of turkish brands. That said, you can still get some lovely things there.

Please ensure you have good travel insurance. The EHIC is not valid in the occupied area.

Effendi EHIC only pays for state provided healthcare it does not pay for private care or extras. People are advised to take out travel insurance wherever they go in the world.
You and anonanonanon want to hijack this holiday thread for political reasons, referring to North Cyprus as the "occupied zone" is unacceptable and inflammatory.

Indeed, I am well aware of how the EHIC works. My point is that it is not valid for state healthcare there. And I said area, not zone.
Meh, I don't have any agenda, political or otherwise.