I had stayed there for 3 days last June and it was horrible. The pool
is big, although not very clean, breakfast is below average for Cyprus standards but the worst were the fact you can't find a parking
space if you have a car and if you are using the swimming pool you have to reserve a pool bed days before as there aren't enough to cover all the guests!!! The rooms were ok and the personnel were very
friendly I must admit.

We arrived at this hotel on 13th June and stayed for 14 nights. We had meant to be staying at the Faros hotel, but our travel agent had advised us of building works taking place, so we decided to change to the Grecian Sands. This turned out to be an extremely ironic decision as this hotel is currently being refurbished meaning we were woken every morning by the sound of drilling and hammering – not ideal when a holiday is meant to be relaxing!! However, for the purposes of this review, i will dis-regard the inconvenience caused by the noise to provide an honest opinion of my stay at the hotel.

Hotel is in an excellent location being only a leisurely 15 minute walk from the main square. A taxi to/ from the main square costs 5 Cypriot pounds (roughly 6 british pounds).

Reception and entrance to the hotel are OK, nothing special, and not as grande as other 4* properties I have stayed at.

We didn’t have dinner at the restaurant but did have some snacks at the pool side bar which was OK. Expect to pay 2 british pounds for a bottle of water or a soft drink at the pool side bar.

The pool was probably the highlight of the hotel, extremely clean, clear and well maintained.

On a daily basis several weddings were held, but some days there were so many that it almost felt like Las Vegas!

The rooms were extremely basic and only had 1 socket that you could use to plug appliances into – so if you want to listen to your CD player whilst straightening your hair then you’re out of luck! I contacted reception about this and they said that was what all the rooms were like. The newer rooms seem to have been hurriedly refurbished and fitted out with cheap fixtures. The carpets in the landings are extremely dated, very dusty and in desperate need of replacement.

Oh and if you like a long lie in the morning then the impatient cleaner will spoil that for you – every morning at 11am she would knock on the door saying that she needed to clean our room because our room was the final one on this floor and she was then moving floors!

Overall I just felt that there was something missing from this hotel and certainly wouldn’t rate it as a 4* property. Ayia Napa is a fantastic place – this was our 2nd visit. When we return we will stay at the Napa Mermaid (straight across the road from the Grecian Sands, newly refurbished and looking very impressive)…..or the Adams beach which is at the opposite side of Ayia Napa near the water park.

If you have to go to Agia Napa, but aren't into 24hr clubbing, Grecian Sands is very well located. It's within easy reach of a small beach, which has pretty high quality watersports available - banana, jet-skis, parascending, water-skiing, and far enough out of the main town to be quite peaceful at night. Within 5-10 minutes' walk along the main road (there's a wide, safe pavement) there's an assortment of bars and restaurants, including the surprisingly good Marquis de Napa. There's also the pretty hideous Trotter's, which seems to be an Only Fools And Horses themed bar.

Walk a little further along the road and you get to the relatively classy Sage restaurant (very good food), and neighbouring Liquid bar. Another minute or two along the road, and you get to the centre of town, and its attendant clubs, bars and vomit-covered streets.

Back to the hotel... The communal areas of the hotel are well-kept and attractive. The pool is large, though loungers can be hard to come by (there are plenty more on the false beach which sits just beyond the pool area). There's a shaded cafe/bar by the pool, which is handy for lunch, and a large breakfast room. There's a ping-pong table outside, and just off the hotel lobby, there's a pool table and internet workstation.

We were there in mid-June, and found that the hotel bar closed at about 1am, which isn't ideal. They don't kick you out, but the lights eventually get switched off, and you can't get any more drinks. The bar has a nice balcony, with plenty of seating, giving you a view of the pool, the sea, and the hotel next door. Nice place for a couple of drinks in the evening, before heading out for some food. Didn't try the hotel's restaurant in the evenings, so can't comment. Breakfast was unspectacular, but perfectly acceptable. The usual buffet selection of breads, cereals, meats, eggs, etc.

The main problem with our stay was the standard of our room. We had paid extra for a "side sea view" - as there were no standard rooms left - but were very disappointed. The view wasn't too bad, but the room was in dire need of refurbishment or, at least, thorough cleaning. A number of friends and family had been allocated rooms in a new part of the hotel, and had very well furnished and maintained rooms. Other family members had a sea view room, which had a lino/laminate floor, and reasonably attractive furnishing. Our room, however, had badly stained carpet, with large amounts of debris from previous guests. The handle to the bathroom door was covered in a layer of grime, and the tiles around the bath were moldy. The marble bathroom floor had blotches all over it, which made it look like it hadn't been mopped for months. The air-conditioning unit was extremely noisy, but necessary. On the plus side, I suppose it just about masked the noise from the 1970s fridge. On arrival, our sheets had a blood stain and grubby marks where someone's feet had been. The sheets didn't seem to have been changed since the previous occupants. The other sheets we had during the week were better, but they never changed the pillow cases, instead opting to switch the pillows around every morning.

We did ask to move rooms, but were told the hotel was full. After complaining to the Thomas Cook rep, we were told that other guests had made similar complaints, and that it would be taken up with the management. We later received a bottle of Cypriot red wine and a bowl of fruit, which was a nice gesture, but the floor remained unvacuumed. In the end, we ended up buying some Flash from a local shop and doing a bit of our own cleaning in the bathroom. Not what you'd expect at this price, frankly.

So, it's generally a nice hotel, as long as you win the bedroom lottery. Some people might also want to note that this seems to be a hotel for weddings. There were 2 or 3 weddings a day during our stay, and most hotel guests were there in large groups, based around wedding parties. The wedding we attended was very well organised, and couldn't really be faulted. They've clearly got it down to a fine art. If they can refurbish the rest of their bedrooms, it'll be an excellent all-round hotel. Until then, it's a bit of a gamble.

We have just returned from a lovely week at Grecian Sands. Overall we were reasonably impressed with the hotel and will probably stay here again on our next visit to Cyprus.

The hotel's location is excellent, above a great stretch of beach with shallow waters which were fairly warm given the time of year. We really liked the man-made 'beach' area which overlooked the bay. Firstly it was free...no paying for sunbeds... and there were plenty of beds/umbrellas available. True, if one wanted a 'front row' then a strategically placed towel on the way to breakfast wasn't frowned on. Secondly, the breeze was wonderful as the temp climbed into the 30s on some days. Best of all though, the sharp slope down to the path meant that families stayed by the pool, leaving this a child free zone!

The room was ok if a little dated, but the hotel has begun refurbishing. Our room was on the corner so had a great sea view with welcome shade in the afternoon. The bathroom was clean and well stocked. The shower was what we came to describe as 'the three bears porridge'. It was either too hot, to cold and sometimes just right!

The air-con was surprisingly quiet and if you feel the bed is too hard, housekeeping will gladly find a softer mattress.

We were on B&B (with so many lovely restaurants nearby half-board was never an option for us).

The breakfast was adequate...the usual bacon/beans/tomatoes/sausage/egg/make-your-own-toast combinations, plus some fairly tastless cereals...but I would have liked a greater choice of fruit or even a prepared fresh fruit salad. A occasional dodgy banana, watermelon slices dumped next to plates of sliced oranges and grapefruit and a couple of bowls of tinned prunes and peaches weren't very tempting. There was a full compliment of meats, cheeses and salad for the continentally minded.

Ayia Napa itself was just perfect for us. There are so many good restaurants it's hard to choose. One or two took a bit too long to serve us but a gentle nudge tended to result in free drinks or extra bread/tapenade if the food wasn't ready.

We think May/June is the best time to visit. It isn't 'high season' and there were all age groups there having fun. The Square was busy..it was vibrant and maybe a bit loud, but we're over 40 and thought it was great!

The temperature is ideal; hot in the day but pleasant and definitely not humid at night. Being used to reeking of eau-de-mozzie during April in the Caribbean and the Med in August, it was great not to have to worry about the pesky munchers!

We loved the walk into town in the evening and are already thinking about booking Grecian Sands for this time next year.

We would like to say that we had a mixed experience of the Grecian Sands Hotel, firstly the hotel booked us into the wrong room we had paid for an upgraded sea view room but only got allocated a standard room and we had to argue for 4 days with the hotel and tour rep to get that sorted! We had to see the wedding co-ordinator the day after we arrived which we all was tired out and she was hard selling everything! a little tip when you get told you need a special taxi to take you to the town hall at a cost of £15 cyp it is a rip off, as the journey we could of walked it in fifteen minutes as it was a lovely day, we were told the taxi driver would check our docs which he didnt, he was a lovely guy but it was well expensive for the journey but when you arrive in a resort you dont know any better. The hotel is lovely although we were not told that they were renovating the hotel and we had drill and builders noise from 7.30am in the morning! Also we had a small child with us and the location of the hotel is right on a hill and there is no disabled access, so i would not recommend this hotel to people with pushchairs and wheelchairs. We decided not to hold our reception at the hotel as we found a wonderful family run Taverna called Erofilli which is on the main road into Ayia Napa, we had the pleasure of meeting the most wonderful family who did us a wedding reception,it was amazing, his food was wonderful! we had a free Disco and Karaoke with a choice of all our own music, they decorated a separate room specially for us and it was beautiful. all our guests were so impressed they ate there almost every night as it was home cooked food in a lovely atmostphere. If you are getting married at the Grecian Sands this year then Please go and See Theo and his wife at Erofilli, and tell them paul and mechelle sent you he will do you an amazing reception and we managed to save £500! we also had a limo pick us up for £10cyp all decorated it was amazing. We would also like to recomend you to see a guy called Colin, we met him at Erofilli restaurant and he runs a company called Olympian Diving school at Nissi Beach, we went scuba diving the day after our wedding and it was great, i would really recomend going to see colin and his son Jason for a magical experience. All in all we really enjoyed our holiday and wedding.

Grecian Sands hotel is a fantastic venue to get married. (We stayed at the Grecian Bay hotel for our honeymoon) It took place on the sea view deck. The views are lovely and we are really happy with our photos.

Carl the wedding planner was great. We then went on to Markos restaurante on the Harbour where we cut the cake and had a delicious mezze. To finish our wedding day off we had a Catamaran cruise for 2 hours whilst the sun was setting (Just us and our family). That was booked through Interyachting. That was brill and went so fast! Wish we was still in Ayia Napa now! The weather here in Mansfield is garbage! :-(

We have just returned from a week at the Grecian Sands and having used TripAdvisor before to choose our hotel we have been very happy - but not this time.

We booked direct with the hotel and as well as a room booked a cab from the airport but when we arrived it was not there and on checking with the hotel we picked up a cab from the airport - not disastrous just annoying.

When we arrived we found the room to be tired - mouldy grout in the bathroom, broken shower head, blackout curtain falling off the curtain rail - the latter two we reported to reception to give the hotel a chance to remedy the situation - but nothing was done, again, not disastrous just disappointing.

The location of the hotel is lovely - good view of the sea and a lovely beach though you do have to pay CY£1.25 per day for each sunbed and the umbrella. The hotel has sunloungers on a ledge-like man-made beach as well as around the pool but most of these were reserved before 9am each day by a towel placed on them.

Both the hotel and the beach bar/restaurant are quite expensive when compared to the prices in town. It's easy to get into town either via the road or the beach. We had dinner at Clarabels - good, Sapporo - good but Castelli's wasn't - poor service and whilst offered a drink the time just kept getting longer and longer until we got a table/food.

Overall, the location was very good and we had a lovely holiday whilst on the beach but the hotel just undermined the experience.

I would like to say to anyone who is thinking of getting married at the grecian sands "go for it " my wife and I got married there in 2004, we spent 3 wks in the hotel and everything was soooooo perfect. We are still so much in love and we have been going back to the same hotel for our aniversary and stopping in the same room ever since. we will be there again in August, we feel part of the furniture... Good luck and best wishes to all getting married there... Andy & Polly from Blackburn

We stayed here for 10 nights. Hotel is lovely inside, buffet breakfast and dinners are top quality.

Outdoor pool has a jacuzzi at one end of it. Need to book sun bed early on sandy sundeck and at pool as beds were taken when i got down at 10am.

Hotel has a Sandy beach (sundeck) at front, the main beach is down 20 steps. On the beach you can walk to Ayia Napa Harbour.

Ayia Napa is 20 mins walk away or CY£4 in the taxi.

Beside the hotel is a lovely beach restaurant 'Maistrali' which serves good food.

Definately go for a sea view room.

Well recommended is the Managers Cocktail & BBQ on the Fri night CY£10.

The centre of Ayia Napa is filled with lively bars and restaurants. Restaurants i recommend are Sage, Clarabels, Fiji and Castelli all on the street down to the harbour.

We visited Protaras a few nights, which is one long strip of bars, shops and restaurants. Recommended restaurants here are Diva and The Corner.

All in all a good hotel and good location, and i will definately return.

My newly husband and I(!!) got married there in June 2006, it was great, better than what we ever imagined! I can honestly say you can't get a more picturesque setting. We got married on the sea deck - amazing and all so easy! We got married the 2nd week there as we thought we would have lots to arrange, but we were wrong... 1 hour with hotel manager and 1 hour with Olympic Wedding Co-Ordinator (Natalie she was great) and all arranged. My hubby to be at the time and I were a little worried as it all seemed to easy so we thought we would have to make do but everything that we asked for was delivered down to every little detail! I spent months looking at places to get married, from where I live in Wales, to Scotland to Barbados and we defintely made the right choice and so cheap as well! The evening do on the return was definitely the most expensive part of it all. We looked at the hotel website and assumed that we would have the most expensive of everything to ensure we had enough money and we were pleasantly surprised that we only used half the wedding money when we were there and didn't cut back on anything! There was 23 of us in total at the wedding, we had a BBQ buffet which was great as we had a few veggies and kids with us so decided that would be the best to cater for everyone and it was great, we were going to have the reception in the wooden wedding pavillion but it's quite windy so decided to have it in one of the many indoor options overlooking the sea which was great, they cooked the food outside then had it all very neatly spread out inside, it must have been good as the majority went back for seconds and there was still food left over! We were not sure what to do for the evening as we were only a small party so thought a disco on our own wouldn't be all that great, but luckily another couple got married the same day as us so we just went to the main bar/lounge area where there was a band playing and between the 2 weddings it was packed! I was very unsure about another wedding being the same day as ours (there are sometimes 3 a day), but I can honestly say I only seen the bride when we were having our hair done by Angeline (she's fab!) and then at the evening do. We got married first at 2 p.m. and the other wedding was at 4 p.m. by which time we were inside having food. It was all good, anyone getting married there will love it and will not be disappointed!