Bilfer Palm Beach Hotel Reviews

Let's start with the tour operator. Of the half dozen or so we found that go to North Cyprus we found that they all go to the same hotels and use the same flights, so we chose Green Island because they were cheapest. We booked in Oct.04 for Sept.05. When we received the confimation it said Sept.04 and the balance was due straight away. Three phone calls and three confirmations later they eventually got it right.
Eight weeks before departure we paid our balance and were told we would receive our tickets two weeks before departure. They didn't arrive. So three more phone calls, three more promises, and we finally got them with three days to go.

We flew with Cyprus Turkish Airlines. When we checked in at Heathrow we were told that the day before's flight was cancelled and they were using a larger plane to accomodate us all, it's here already, there'll be no delay. It took off two and a half hours late with no explanation and no apology.
The meals, you have to endure one on each leg of the flight, were just about the worst we've ever had, but at least on the return trip we did get a hot one. The trolley dollies were long faced and everything seemed too much trouble for them.

At Ercan Airport we were greeted by a Green Island rep who told us to go with this taxi driver who couldn't, or pretended he couldn't, speak English. He put two cases in the boot and bashed in the third, when he picked up the fourth and started to try and squash it we decide to have it accross our laps in the back. Even then he had to hook the boot lid down with a bungee, which looked as if it was standard equipment. On the 40km. trip to Famagusa the exhaust fumes coming in through the open boot made us all feel ill. Thank god he far exceeded all the speed limits, we couldn't wait to get out.

The hotel rooms were small and only one had the promised balcony which was so small we could just about stand next to one another on it. One night I was all lathered up half way through a shower when the water suddenly stopped. After calling reception it eventually trickled through stone cold.
On the whole the hotel was very good, though everything in the hotel was very expensive, and the staff were mostly friendly and helpful.

Then we met the Green Island rep. He was Syrian studying tourism (cheap labour or what). We complained about the lack of balcony and the taxi ride.I don't think he bothered about the balcony but we did get a minibus return to the airport. He didn't have regular calls to the hotel but if we needed him we could contact him by phone through reception, What he didn't say was that each time we did we were running up our end of holiday hotel phone bill. The first few times we tried to book a hire car through him his phone was switched off , so we hired one through reception who were very helpful.

We paid extra for half board and it was well worth it the food was some of the best buffet style food we've had anywhere. It would have cost us a fortune to eat every night at hotel prices as they have no competition nearby.
The hotel beach is brilliant with golden sand sunbeds and sunshades. Buy drinks in the beach bar rather than the hotel, for some reason they're cheaper there,But nowhere near as cheap as the shop down the road run by the military.

The military are everywhere.The view from the hotel beach is of the ghost city right next to the border which has been out of bounds to everyone but the armed turkish military since 1972.You can walk so far then it's fenced off with an armed guard staring aimlessly out to sea.

The Cypriot night at the hotel is not the usual hotel fare, this one is open to other hotels and anyone else willing to pay. Their ??music?? is awful.it's like someone banging in nails and wailing about it at the same time.
During our 14 night stay the money grabbing hotel hosted SEVEN wedding receptions in the gardens, and every one of them had that same awful boom boom music belting out till late. The brochure says ";IDEAL FOR A RELAXING HOLIDAY";.
There is absolutely nowhere locally to walk to. Next to the hotel are a couple of run down appartment blocks and a huge miltary establishment.If you have kids with you don't let them see what goes on in the car park over the road at night.
The roads are mostly good and they drive on the left but we didn't need the car for the whole week we had it.

On the whole we enjoyed our holiday but we won't be going there again.

Lets start with the out-bound flight with Onur Airlines. Departure was on time, with our first stop at Istanbul ( Cyprus Paradise itinerary said Antalya). After having read some very poor internet reports about Onur Airlines we did not know what to expect, the plane was clean, the crew were pleasant, the food was acceptable but there was no in-flight entertainment (even though there were drop down screens which were only used to run through the safety procedures). We landed at Istanbul expecting a 45 to 50 minute wait on board, and within 45 to 50 minutes we were back in the air heading for Ercan Airport in Northern Cyprus.
More food was provided on this leg of the journey although this was only a cheese roll and a drink.
Transfer to Famagusta was about 1 hour meaning we arrived at the Bilfer Palm Beach Hotel in the early hours.

First impression on entering the hotel was that it was 5 star as advertised. Then we went to our cupboard, sorry, room. We have never stayed in such a small hotel room, the 5 star rating suddenly went down to 2 or 3 star.
There was a double bed with a bedside cabinet on one side (and a plug hidden behind it), on the other side of the bed was a mirrored dressing table ( with a plug hidden behind it, no other plugs in the room). The wardrobe was not even the size of a single.

Into the bathroom, the door opened into the bedroom touching the bottom of the bed, the facing wall was 3 feet away with a small plugless wash-hand basin, to the left was the shower tray. To the right the room narrowed to about 2 feet where the toilet was situated (when sitting elbows touched each wall), not a towel rail or clothes hook in sight.

Onto the balcony, another door opening into the bedroom and brushing the side of the bed. There were 2 patio chairs on the balcony which could only be used facing each other, try to sit looking over the balcony and you would need your feet amputating. The air conditioning was only evident by the sound of a fan whirring.

Next morning the hotel became a 5 star again when we saw a beach of fine golden sands, 3 rows of parasols with 2 sunbeds beneath each, a beach bar with a wooden walkway to it and a beautiful calm torquise sea. Then looking across the beach it went back to a 2 or 3 star, the rest of the sea front consisted of lots of empty hotels in various states of disrepair some near to collapse (from the time of the invasion in the 70's) with watchmen keeping people away. Further along the beach was a barrier making any more beach a 'no-go' zone with military warnings attached. A lot of places in Famagusta are inaccessable as 'no-go' zones, watched over by armed guards.

Breakfast at the hotel was quite good consisting of cheeses, breads, jams, meats, eggs, cereals, fruit juices, tea, coffee and omelettes or crepes or fried eggs done to order.
Drinks in the hotel were expensive, a bottle of beer (50cl) bought from a local shop would be about 1.6YTL (£0.62p), bought in a local bar 3.5YTL (£1.45p), bought in the hotel 7YTL (£2.90p) (for some reason only 4YTL at the beach bar, but this closed at 6pm).
Spirits (local) were expensive and imported spirits would be in excess of £5.00 without the mixer.

Entertainment was provide every evening by the resident duo who delivered the same songs night after night after night.
A Cyprus night was held each week but having been on the first week you would not want be there again.
The hotel staff were extremely helpful and polite and nothing was too much trouble, always ready to have a bit of fun with the guests.
Internet access was available but it was so slow that on the one occasion we tried it we gave up after about 25 minutes and was charged 7YTL (£2.90p) for the privilege.

Famagusta old town was about a 20 minute walk away, but there was nothing to see or do there, and the rest of Famagusta was not really within walking distance, a taxi ride was necessary and these were very reasonable at an average of 4 to 5 YTL (£1.60 to £2.00p).

Due to unforseen circumstances we were unable to attend the Cyprus Paradise welcome meeting so we didn't get to see the rep. When we did attempt to see him/her to arrange a hire car they either didn't turn up at their allotted time or they did not linger long enough to be seen. Car hire was eventually arranged very efficiently by the reception desk.

The return was longer than the inward flight again without in-flight entertainment.

Despite the gripes we enjoyed our holiday but only because the weather was tremendous and the beach superb. However we will not be returning to Northern Cyprus especially Bilfer Palm Beach Hotel.