A 5-star holiday at a stunning resort in Limassol

A little about the resort

This is a very high-end resort that extends over a huge area and is located right next to the St Raphael Marina.

The resort has two bars, six restaurants, four pools (one for the little ones!), a kids’ club, a spa, a gym, a playground, lawns, and a stunning beach.

Our room

We got a room with a view to the sea. I think it was a room with one of the most beautiful views we’ve had. The view was to both the sea and the marina, as well as the lawns and the resort’s pool. The room itself was very large and we asked for a sofa bed for Maya (actually Mayush and I slept in the luxurious double bed and Roman slept on the sofa bed LOL).

The room also has an armchair with a table, dresser, closet (with a mini fridge, coffee stand, and a safe), bathroom with a bathtub and two really nice bathrobes, which is one of my favorite things in hotels 🙂

And it had a terrace with a stunning view.

The pools at the resort

The resort has several pools. One for the little ones, another indoors in the spa complex, and two other large pools, one of which also has a water slide for children. Next to the pools there are sun beds and in one of the pools there is a bar and in the other there is a restaurant open for lunch – Splash restaurant.

Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel is a very varied buffet and you can sit inside or outside on the terrace overlooking the pool.

For those who suffer from food allergies, next to each item you have detailed which allergens it contains. And there is also food that is suitable for vegans and at the cornflakes stand there is also a stand with soy milk, coconut, and almonds.

The restaurants

There are six restaurants in the resort and we ate at five of them (one of them for breakfast and the other by the pool). There is also a Meze restaurant that we did not eat at because it is only open on Wednesdays and Fridays and there was no place when we wanted to order. 🙁 I recommend ordering in advance because from what we saw it looks good and there isn’t  much seating.

Anyway, one of the two restaurants we loved the most was Seashells, a high-level vegan restaurant by the sea. We are not vegan but really like vegan food and this restaurant was very good.

Roman ordered pasta in a creamy sauce with pesto and I ordered a “noodles” salad and of course white wine as well. The dishes were excellent.

Cyprus does not have many vegan restaurants and certainly not at such a level, so it is good to know that there is such an option for vegans.

The other restaurant was the Sailor’s Rest Lounge Bar Restaurant, an upscale restaurant of which I saw really good reviews even before we got to the hotel. First of all, the design of the restaurant is amazing and elegant and the location by the sea is perfect for a date. The food was so delicious! We ordered fish carpaccio, salmon sashimi, black mussels, and two sushi rolls (I highly recommend the rolls we took: Red dragon and Sailors crispy). And of course we also ordered local white wine. In short, this restaurant is highly recommended.

Of course the resort also has room service, which is something we always like to do while on holidays and we ordered a pizza one day.

I think it is most profitable to stay in the resort on a half board or all-inclusive basis.

The bars

The resort has two fun bars. One is the pool bar where, what’s fun about it is that its seating is in the water, so it’s really nice to sit there and have a cocktail.

And the other bar is one that opens in the afternoon and unfortunately we did not get to drink there because we were with Maya. But we sat on the terrace of the bar because you can also sit there during the day and I went into the bar to photograph it just as it opened and it is really beautiful from the inside.

What to do with children at the resort

There are the pools, of course (one pool with really shallow water for the little ones), there is a water slide in one of the pools, a playground, kids’ club, beach with water sports like a pedal boat, jet ski, and more… And occasionally there are activities for kids like different games or dancing.

Serenity Spa

Because we were guests of the resort, they let me experience their flag massage at the Serenity Spa. The massage is called Serenity Holistic Journey and is a very relaxing massage that works on all the senses. The spa is of a very high standard, with a pampering waiting room and the treatment room as well. The massage bed was super comfortable and had an excellent sound system. The massage itself was very special, with a combination of warm oil, warm towels, a kind of back peeling (or something like that); in short, it was a relaxing and pampering experience.

The spa complex also has a gym, indoor pool, hairdresser (and sauna and jacuzzi that were out of service because of the coronavirus).

The area of ​​the resort

The resort is located in an area called Pyrgos. This is a luxury area in Limassol with some very high-class hotels and luxurious restaurants. There is a great beach and marina and also some simple and delicious restaurants. This is a great area to go on a vacation and those planning on exploring the area are advised to rent a car (there is free parking for resort guests).

In conclusion, our holiday at the St Raphael Resort was exactly what we needed. After almost two years during which we did not get to go on vacations, this resort came to us right on time :). The service there is excellent, and the atmosphere is really relaxed and suitable for both couples and families. We really enjoyed both being alone and with Maya and the truth is we did not want to leave.