Are you tired of traveling annually to the All-Russian he alth resort - Antalya, and flying to Egypt does not appeal to you, even more so, because of the possible risks during excursions without a guide? And "venerable" European resorts, frankly, you can't afford … What to do in this case? We recommend buying a tour to the budget Cypriot hotel Sandy Beach 4, located near Larnaca. This is a classic hotel chain of Sentido Hotels, widely known in Greece and Turkey. Hotels provide inexpensive but high quality 2-4 boarding, and some of them will be mentioned in this article in terms of comparison.
So back to Larnaca's Sandy hotel. Approximately 60% of its vacationers are Germans and British, 30 percent are Russians. This region of Cyprus has been specializing in budget resort holidays for a long time. Accordingly, the concept of the hotel complex in its main position - the market niche - coincides with the concept of the resort.
Sandy Beach Hotel 4 good forlovers of a quiet boarding house. But for lovers of sightseeing holidays - this is just what you need. Indeed, this is a good platform for sightseeing tours. Why do we recommend Cyprus for holidays? Because this is a unique place. A trip to this island is like a mini-trip around the Earth, where all layers of its history are carefully preserved. Using the hotel as a platform for excursions, in a compact space you can see the unique excavations of a huge layer of history, starting from the Stone Age. Ancient Greek temples, Roman amphitheaters, monasteries of Byzantium, as well as the Catholic Gothic of Europe - all this is here in excellently preserved form.
We advise you to remember your English skills. Indeed, during this journey, it will come in handy in various everyday situations.
About the hotel
The hotel complex is located in the center of the resort of Larnaca, eight kilometers from the very center of this city. This is a coveted for many holidaymakers, a quiet and cozy, well-groomed corner framed by its own garden. A real European boarding house. The road to it from the airport takes 5-10 minutes. Resort infrastructure is located at a distance of 50-100 meters: restaurants, a shopping center, a pub, a disco.
An undoubted positive is the fact that the Sandy Beach 4hotel has its own sandy beach, because most of the Cypriot hotels use the city beach. And their guests have to pay for the rest on it. The lagoon of the water area adjacent to the beach is limited to the left and right by breakwaters. Therefore, the sea is calm. Beach - well-groomed, dailycarefully removed. The sea is crystal clear and very warm. The entrance to the water is very smooth. The depth starts after 50 meters, so the beach is safe for the smallest holidaymakers. It is very suitable for families who come on holiday with their children.
Also admirable is the aesthetically planned pool area, similar in design to the hotel complex Aquis Sandy Beach Resort 4(Greece, Corfu). However, in this case it is smaller and is a recreational complex with two interconnected pools. The main outdoor pool is a complex and harmonious hydraulic structure with a winding coastline, combined depth and an elegant decorative bridge, which gives the structure an aesthetic completeness. By the way, the recreation area around it is equipped with a fair amount of free sun loungers and deck chairs for holidaymakers. Therefore, you don’t have to worry: whenever a vacationer comes, there will be a place for him.
In addition, another heated indoor pool is located inside the hotel we are considering. The presence of an internal hydraulic structure is also in tune with the architecture of Aquis Sandy Beach 4.
However, many are sure that the pools of the Larnaca hotel are more beautiful. The reason is the palm alleys decorating them, the hallmark of the Larnaca resort. They are very textured, you can really admire them. Such an original landscape design, as on the Larnaca coast, rarely happens anywhere. It is really aesthetic and memorable.
Interiors and servicehotel
Its interiors are designed in soft, unobtrusively noble pastel colors, pleasing to the eye and soothing (a common feature of Sandy hotels). The design of the reception area is especially soft and harmonious. Terraces and halls of the Sandy Beach 4 hotel complex were decorated in an original, stylish and spectacular way, using natural materials - stone and wood. Feedback from guests about just such an internal design of the hotel is supportive and positive.
The housing stock of the hotel complex is the rooms of its only five-story sanatorium-type building. There are only 205 of them. Most of them are identical in size - 25 m2. Thanks to the latest overhaul, they entice vacationers with modern design, European-quality renovation of the "classic" level. Client rooms are equipped with a balcony, bathroom and toilet. There are household appliances and equipment: LCD TV, air conditioning, mini-bar, telephone, hair dryer, safe. All household appliances are in good working order and are periodically checked for operability by the staff of the hotel complex.
Comparing online reviews of another four-star hotel of the Sentido Hotels chain - Sandy Beach 4(Kos, Greece), we can say that the opinions of vacationers agree that the level of service in Sandy hotels is almost the same everywhere. At the same time, some criteria for customer service are striking: an informal attitude to daily cleaning of rooms and quality control of bed linen and towels. Worn linen and old towels are withdrawn from circulation and replaced with new ones. The positive point of Sandy hotels service is freeproviding guests directly in their rooms with beach towels. Indeed, in some other hotels this is a constant source of misunderstanding. In the Cypriot four-star this problem does not exist.
The location of the Larnaca hotel complex provides side panoramic sea views from all its rooms. Moreover, the windows of the even rooms overlook the neighboring hotel Lardos, and the odd ones overlook the pool area and the Golden Bay Hotel, so it is preferable to choose an odd number.
Practical Tips
Note to detailed tourists: when checking into the Sandy Beach Resort 4hotel, in order to ensure further comfort at the reception, it is worth taking some things. Firstly, the Russian instructions for the safe (price - 12 € for the entire stay). Secondly, the key to the refrigerator (according to the conditions of your stay, it must be filled exclusively with paid drinks, which is controlled). Thirdly, an adapter to the euro socket. Fourthly, a free map of Larnaca. Fifth, free beach towels.
Although the advertisement says that every room has an electric kettle, this is not entirely true. However, they will give it to you if you go to the bar located in the hotel building.
If you decide to rent a car, it's quite simple, but be guided by the minimum price (70 € for two days), given that you will be provided with a full tank of gasoline.
Catering service
Food at the hotel is organized according to the classical scheme. Breakfast from the restaurant for guests runs from 7-00 to 10-00;lunch - from 13-00 to 14-30; dinner - from 19-00 to 21-30. In addition to the basic meals from the restaurant, the catering of the hotel complex provides for the active participation of bars in it. But we will talk about their work below. In the meantime, let's talk about the work of the main restaurant serving the guests of Sandy Beach 4. The food here is flexible. The cheapest option is purely breakfast. However, by paying the amount at the rate of + 25 € per day, you can switch to breakfast + dinner, without drinks. If the resort visitor agrees to + 55 € per day, then he will be transferred to the all inclusive system.
Some vacationers dine in small neighboring restaurants. They are quite inexpensive. A portion in them costs from 14 €. However, in these establishments, as a rule, there is a lack of comfort: stuffy, air conditioners work poorly. And the air temperature in Larnaca even in the evening + 29 0С.
Therefore, we still recommend paying full board, it's worth doing, if only because in hot weather the hotel offers ice cream in almost unlimited quantities (under the all-inclusive program). In the heat, this is a significant bonus.
What is served at Sandy Beach 4?
For breakfast - in the order of the buffet - vacationers are treated to generally accepted and traditional food for the morning: omelettes, sausages, sausages, cold cuts, bacons, salads, milk porridges, several types of cheeses such as suluguni, milk with muesli, tea, coffee, yogurt. The breakfast is quite substantial and substantial.
Lunch includes several main dishes: meat, fish,less often - from seafood. Delicious puree soup is prepared here. Side dishes - high quality: french fries, beans, peasant potatoes, stewed vegetables. Salads and pastries are less than in hotels in Turkey, but they (especially salads) are really tasty.
Bars work
The Sea Breeze Terrace beach bar is different for lunch. Its staff serves snacks, pastries and drinks from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. In the afternoon (from 16-00 to 17-00) the village bar takes over the baton of treats for guests. The lunch menu features light, nutritious side dishes and salads, as well as grilled meat and fish. In bars, only local alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are free, you have to pay for the rest. You can take white and red wine, beer, vodka, gin for free. But if visitors want tequila (or whiskey) - all inclusive ends. Therefore, in order to avoid misunderstandings, you should carefully look at the "asterisks" affixed to the menu of Sandy Beach 4bars. Reviews of the bars from the guests of the hotel complex are positive: the original interior, live music, views of the garden and pool. All this creates a romantic atmosphere.
Which excursions to choose for yourself while relaxing in Larnaca, Cyprus? First, let us briefly recall the features of its history. Initially, from the ninth century BC. e., it was a Phoenician city-state and it was called Kition. In the future, the city was under the rule of Alexander the Great, the Egyptian Ptolemies, Rome, and then - Byzantium. In the 16th century, Larnaca was conquered by the Turks. Its current name is the localityreceived because of the many ancient sarcophagi, the name of which in Greek sounds like "larnakes". So hotel guests have the opportunity to see many historical sites even within the city limits.
Recommendations for sightseers
The hotel business is the hotel business… Travel agencies, being universal partners of tourists, offer them whole packages of all kinds of excursions through their guides. Acting as intermediaries, they significantly increase their price. Therefore, for the purchase of tours, it is much more reasonable for the guests of the hotel complex to contact professional tour agencies that sell their tours (usually lasting one day) at normal budget market prices.
Selection of excursions
What excursions are preferable for vacationers in Larnaca? Before deciding this undoubtedly important question for yourself, be sure to walk along the Finikoudes embankment, surrounded by chic palm plantations, and get aesthetic pleasure from contemplating the many yachts scurrying around the water area. What are we talking about? About excursions. Oh yes … First you should visit the city tour desk. It is not difficult for the guests of the Sandy Beach 4hotel to do this, because there is a fixed-route taxi stop 50 meters from the hotel complex, and a ticket to Larnaca costs 2 €. Arriving earlier than you, hotel guests will advise which office you should contact.
However, let's digress again for a while from the main topic (in order to understand what historical objects we have tovisit). Let's make a small comparison. Let's mentally move to the Land of the Star and Crescent. Why? Yes, because there are also hotel complexes Sandy Beach 4(Turkey), belonging to the same hotel chain as the Cypriot resort establishment we are considering in the article. Generally speaking, excursions in Greece are somewhat similar to excursions in Turkey, although, on average, the former are somewhat more expensive.
How are excursions in Greece and Turkey similar? Type of historical objects: one feels the commonality of history. Take, for example, sightseeing tours from the Turkish hotel complex Sandy Beach 4(Side): there is the same ancient Roman agora with the same amphitheater, public baths destroyed by earthquakes. It is felt that in both cases, on the land of currently different countries, there were once the same powerful empires with developed architecture and infrastructure.
Birthplace of Aphrodite
However, let's return to hospitable Cyprus and see what kind of excursions our stay at the Larnaca Sandy Beach 4hotel promises us. The most popular of them are associated with the name of Aphrodite. And this is not surprising, because you are, so to speak, in her homeland. According to legend, the goddess of love was born from the foam of the sea off the rocky coast of Paphos in Cyprus. Any Cypriot will tell you that this happened at three picturesque stones, textured above the water, which you can see on the advertisements of almost all Cypriot tour agencies. Indeed, this place of amazing beauty, the photo of which is familiar to any resident of Cyprus, is located between the citiesLimassol and Paphos.
Church of Saint Lazarus
In ancient times, this man, who lives in Jewish Bethany, was respected by Jesus Christ himself. He, as the Gospel testifies, resurrected Lazarus after the actual death of the latter. After the accomplishment of this miracle, the 30-year-old Lazarus left Judea due to persecution and settled on Fr. Cyprus. This happened in 33 AD. e. It was he who became the first bishop of ancient Kition (now Larnaca).
Stavrovun Monastery
Another historical shrine of early Christianity is the Stavrovun Monastery. We have received the testimony of Abbot Daniel, made by him in the 12th century, about a powerful Orthodox artifact - a cross donated to the monastery by St. Helena. An artifact belonging to the Stavrovun Monastery contained a particle of the life-giving cross.
This artifact was amazing. According to Hieromonk Daniel (a historian, a thorough man), the cross was in the monastery, floating in the air, not being attached to anything. Unfortunately, until our time, an amazing Orthodox artifact has been lost. Only the monastery where he was kept remained… The monastery is another sightseeing object visited by Russian guests of the Sandy Beach 4 hotel. Reviews of visiting the monastery are the most numerous.
Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque
This is the fourth most important shrine for a believing Muslim. By the will of history, she is not in a Muslim country, but in the Orthodox Cypriot Larnaca. To whom is this dedicated?the majestic building into which the ancient temple of Sophia was turned? A warrior woman, by kinship, her nephew was the founder of the Muslim faith - Mohammed. She, fulfilling the mission of serving - the spread of Islam - died during the campaign, breaking her neck when falling from a war horse. The mosque is truly majestic. Vacationers who have chosen the Sandy Beach 4hotel for their vacation also have frequent guests.
Conclusion
Cyprus can become a wonderful and even inexpensive vacation spot for holidaymakers. You just need to choose a budget hotel complex. Sandy Beach 4, a hotel of the Sentido Hotels chain, demonstrates this. Of course, Sandy hotels with a developed network in Turkey and Greece are not as well known as their eminent counterparts from the Marriott, Hilton, Radisson chains. After all, their niche in the resort vacation is a high-quality budget boarding house. And in this capacity they are in demand by holidaymakers. The latter is proved by the dynamically developing Sandy hotel chain.
Come to Cyprus! Sandy Beach 4 we recommend for a great summer vacation.
