Тишь да гладь, да божья благодать! )) Quiet and smooth, but God's grace! ))

We rested in May 2012 (13-27) and our journey began in foggy Vladivostok, from where we flew to Moscow by Transaero airline. Vouchers were bought earlier at the local branch of the Natalie Tours company, a big plus of which I consider the opportunity to "price the price" on the company's website for hotels and various accommodation options. This played an important role, because. prices in May for the same hotel for some reason varied with a difference of up to 50.000 depending on the date. They issued a pro-visa (only a questionnaire is filled out), though instead of the promised 1-2 days, the visa was confirmed for about a week, but in the future there were no problems with it.
In Moscow, we spent the night at the Midland Hotel, not far from Sheremetyevo, we took a room "no-windows-no-doors", but for one night it was quite digestible. Here are just the prices in a hotel restaurant - you will pump up . . For the cost of a piece of chop, we stocked up for three in an ordinary grocery store located across the street from the hotel. Every 30 minutes, a "minibus" runs: Midland-Sheremetyevo, passes through all the terminals, collecting arrivals and transporting departing ones. The price, however, is the same as for a taxi - 250 rubles.
Our departure was early - at 7.20, and the travel agent offered to pay 6000 extra so that the departure was exactly at 11.30, we refused and subsequently did not regret it. They also flew to Cyprus by Transaero plane. It was nice to know that a nice girl-receptionist turned out to have booked comfortable seats for us in advance (flying with a child), although we did not ask anyone. Both flights were uneventful, except that Moscow was a little shaken during landing.

In Cyprus, we were met by Paphos airport, which is about 2.5-3 hours drive from Protaras, consider yourself lucky for those who fly to Larnaca.
Passport control took a long time and we left the airport, apparently, the last from our flight. The girls from Natalie Tours directed us to the buses and. . . disappeared. In the reviews, someone complained that the operator did not help them with the check-in at the hotel, and in my experience this was the first time that the guide was not present at all during the transfer. We actually didn’t need it, but we somehow got used to the fact that during the transfer the guide gives some useful information, tells something interesting about the country . . But no, no, the driver turned on the movie, which brightened up the transfer of topics who didn't sleep. By the way, thanks to the excessively long transfer, we subsequently no longer needed a sightseeing tour of Cyprus.
Our hotel was the last one on the list and only one other young couple arrived with us. Since our arrival was already at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the keys to the room were issued immediately after filling out the questionnaire. However, it was not without a hitch. The "young" ones were sent to the first floor, and we got the second (basement third), but even on the way, the husband said that this side does not look at the sea. I didn’t believe in the trick so much that the first thing I did was hang from the balcony, but under us there was a wasteland and an access road, and nothing more. And what is interesting, when, when planning a vacation, we tried to book just a standard room, we were refused. I had to go down to the reception and, due to my poor English, literally "poke my finger" at the voucher, which indicated "Standard room with side sea view. " And lo and behold! , there was no friction on this issue, they apologized to me and after 20 minutes I was already admiring a gorgeous view from the balcony, although I assumed that only a piece of the sea would be visible somewhere . . in the distance . . "beyond the forest" . . We also got a room on the 4th (in fact) floor overlooking the pool, the sea and . . balconies of the adjacent building (there was some inconvenience that opening the curtains wide open you found yourself in an aquarium).
The floor in the room is tiled, and the windows are covered with very thick "reinforced concrete" curtains, which is very handy, given that it gets light early and bakes mercilessly. The room had a double bed, a bedside table, a radio bedside table (local music emphasizes the atmosphere of relaxation quite well), sliding doors-windows to the entire wall, a round table and two very comfortable soft chairs-armchairs nearby, a dressing table with a large mirror and another chair . To the left of the mirror was a hair dryer, which I found very convenient, to the right, above the chest of drawers, a TV. In the corridor there is a wardrobe with hangers, shelves and a safe (3 euros). Nearby - minibar, thermos and mugs. You can just use the refrigerator - 3 euros, or you can take it as a minibar, then you will need to choose goods for the same 3 euros per day. We did not pay for the safe and the kettle, but the "compatriot" taught us how to use the minibar-refrigerator correctly on the first day, thanks to him. For example, you want to use the refrigerator for 10 days. In order not to bother, choosing goods for 3 euros per day (and you won’t be able to do it exactly, because there is no such price), it’s enough to dial the goods at the rate of 10 days * 3 euros = 30 euros. We rented for 12 days and the receptionist himself helped us choose the goods for exactly 36 euros (12 * 3). The refrigerator was very useful for us to cool wine, fruits and juices bought in the supermarket, because. we had half board and it was expensive to buy drinks at the bar.

The balcony also pleased - spacious, with a built-in dryer, which greatly facilitated our lives. But take clothespins with you - the wind can be quite strong and can "joke" with light clothing. The bath, perhaps, concealed the most remarkable thing in the room - an amazing toilet flush system : ) I have never seen anything like this, the impression that you are pumping water from the very depths of the earth. Not plumbing, but a sports simulator : )
Towels were changed every day, bed linen is also often, and everything is snow-white and very pleasant. We left tips daily.
I often read in the reviews the mention of "strange elevators". Nothing of the kind, the elevator is in perfect working order, which, alas, cannot be said about the call buttons. The "up" call button does not work on the lobby, so you often first go to minus one and only then up, and on the second floor, the "up" and "down" call buttons are mixed up, so you, on the contrary, risk a ride up if someone then summoned Lit there. : ) Hence the confusion.
They also write about how Russians are infringed upon during resettlement: judging by the situation described above, you first need to proceed from what you paid for. The hotel is designed in the form of a three-pointed star and only one side of the 5 "does not see" the sea at all. Under the ill-fated "beep" lived entirely foreigners. By the way, a little about this noisy unit. The first hours of my stay at the hotel, I thought that in 2 weeks I would go crazy from this noise, heard even on the beach, but on the second day I stopped noticing it : )

There are 2 swimming pools on the territory of the hotel (for children and adults, and the adult is divided into 2 halves: consistently just above the waist (there were water aerobics classes at 11 o'clock) and increasing to a depth of more than 3 meters), a small playground (2 swings, a plastic house and hill), a beautiful palm alley leading to the sea (when choosing a hotel, we set the presence of a green area as an indispensable condition and guessed it), beautiful compositions of giant bald cacti, scarlet and pots, which are illuminated with yellow lights at night. Late in the evening, a fountain begins to work in the pool, beautifully illuminated by different lights. The descent to the sea consists of 3 tiers: the 1st is the area immediately adjacent to the hotel and the pool (there is a shower next to it on both sides), then a ladder, next to which there is a foot washer (in which we washed the child too), so as not to bring sand to the territory, and another platform, again a ladder - a platform and, finally, a staircase leading to the beach, around which there are thickets of an interesting plant with fleshy leaves and pink flowers. Sunbeds at all sites differ in appearance, but most importantly, they are free, as is a rectangular canopy with a plastic mini-table, in which you can hide valuables and lock them with a padlock sold in a hotel souvenir shop. The ashtray and trash can are there. But on the beach it's a pleasure 2.5 euros for both a sunbed and an umbrella. Naturally, almost everyone goes to hotel sunbeds or (mostly Slavs) spread towels along the edge of the sea. There is a lawn on all three tiers and you can safely walk barefoot, although I was lucky twice to catch a small thorn with my foot. For those with strollers, there is a gentle path that starts at the elevators and, bypassing the viewpoint, leads to the beach.
The sand on the beach at first seemed white to me, but in fact it is yellow, even brownish, but, although fine, it is rather heavy and instantly settles in the water, leaving a thin layer of some white minerals or something like that on the surface. Therefore, when you swim, the bottom looks almost white. It is not only beautiful, but also convenient in that it helps to see stones in the water from afar, of which there are a lot of them and their sizes are from “stones” to downright reef. One is a large plateau, overgrown with either whitish algae or invertebrates, I didn’t understand it, and the depth on it is only 20 cm. I once climbed onto it and fell into a trap - I didn’t know how to go down so as not to get scratched : )
From the reviews, we knew that you can see different aquatic inhabitants near the shore and took a mask for swimming, in the end we got so into the taste that we bought additional breathing tubes and only "equipped" swam. Fish are practically not afraid of humans, even large ones, but almost all of them are of the same whitish hue as the surface of the sand. It was especially difficult to see the goby, which changed color like a chameleon.
An ice cream man came to the beach several times a day. On the one hand, the beach is limited by a breakwater of boulders, and on the other, by a cape, on which fishermen and those who want to take pictures were often seen. From the shore, a view of the hotel opened, which, apparently, was going to be launched for the first time only in 2012: first, the equipment was circling, then the lawn was brought in and the site was covered.

In general, the area around our hotel was terribly reminiscent of ghost towns, everything seemed to have died out: souvenir shops in which the goods lay as if the seller had left 5 minutes ago, but did not return and the window was dusty, not well-groomed by anyone; cafes and restaurants with tables covered with tablecloths and salt shakers, but with a faded menu, with withered plants that scattered their withered leaves on the floor and often with a "for sale" sign; quiet streets between villas, whose gates are locked with wires, and all the windows are clogged with blinds. entourage . . But such a miracle can be seen, apparently, no later than May, because. before our eyes there was a revival of one restaurant, and the district as a whole. For some week, the restaurant was thoroughly washed with a hose, unnecessary rubbish was thrown out, tables were laid out and on the eve of our departure they received the first visitors. The villas were also suddenly filled with people, noise, music (it was Sunday and the Cypriots went "to the dachas") . . To be honest, we were glad that we still managed to catch a quiet time. For those who yearn for life to be in full swing, I advise you to take a hotel directly in Protaras or Ayia Napa - the contrast is striking. Even in May there is bustle-vanity.
Initially, we paid half board so that we could leave the hotel during the day. But then it turned out that, firstly, with a child, we especially didn’t have anywhere to go (especially since the whole island can be traveled around in 5 hours), and secondly, food prices bite. If you snack on fast food (which, in comparison with our heaven and earth), then you can fit into a very modest amount, especially considering that the portions in Cyprus are gigantic and even a hot dog will be served to you with potatoes and salad, but we were with a child, so we ate " as it should be" and it didn't work out for less than 25 euros, even though my daughter and I took one serving for two (and couldn't overpower it). For four days we ate at 4 different establishments, the last of which was "Americanos" (the real name is different), which is so beautifully lit at night, but in which the husband was served such a disgusting lamb that it was the last straw and we agreed to the hotel's offer to pay extra up to full board for 25 euros (for three) per day. Those. the same average price for lunch, but already a buffet. In addition, no unnecessary binding to the hotel did not work, because. their meal times are quite extended - we freely had time to ride to neighboring cities and return for dinner. But I wouldn’t pay extra for all-inclusive - this is not Turkey, at noon you will have to fork out for a piece of cake for tea, regardless of the tariff, and at dinner they serve only the cheapest local wine from a tetra pack (I bought exactly the same somewhere for 2 euros) and water, wine is not bad though. For full board and below, it will cost 7 euros, those with all-inclusive need only sign a check. Other "all-inclusive" pleasures - at the hotel bar or at the restaurant bar. We bought wine, beer, freshly squeezed orange juice (tasty, but sour) at the supermarket at prices only slightly higher than domestic ones, and the wine was even cheaper that way.
Breakfast was always the same: sliced ​ ​ various cheeses, including delicious goat, sausages, hard-boiled/soft-boiled eggs, HORRIBLE scrambled eggs (powdered, what?? ), fried bacon strips and sausages, baked tomatoes, paper sausages and amazing gravy from small beans. Different types of bread for toast and homemade chibata(? ) bread. Tea from bags, coffee from a coffee machine, but with milk in a jug, to them muffins, unleavened buns, butter, packaged jams and homemade from jugs. Why is everyone praising local juices? The most common concentrates, grapefruit and simply a thermonuclear solution of citric acid. Another thing is yoghurts, which reminded me of sour cream in taste, because. without any additives, even sugar . . Although I'm lying, there were 2 types: one ala sour cream, the other ala sour cream with strawberry jam. They were offered sprinkles, fruits from compotes and terrible honey, completely unlike real honey (it even flowed like water). The only variety of breakfast (and our great joy) was the appearance of fried eggs in addition to scrambled eggs. For breakfast, special urns for eggshells and other rubbish are placed on the tables. In the morning, it is considered good form to take your own tray to a special rack, but if you don’t, then of course you won’t get anything for it.
At lunch and dinner, the picture changes radically, firstly, the waiter seats you depending on the number of people. The crumbs are brought high children's chairs-tables. After escorting you to the table, the waiter writes down the room number and your order (wine or water). Secondly, the menu for lunch and dinner changed regularly, although french fries were consistently present, as well as baked potatoes. There has always been rice (but who taught them how to cook such tasteless rice? ) And pasta with "different sauces". Popular dishes of national cuisine (kleftiko and moussaka) were served periodically. For dessert, in addition to mousses, cakes and fruits - ice cream. The first time I tried mint ice cream - well, disgusting, I tell you! Strawberry in favor, incl. it is torn down immediately. At dinner, a "children's table" is added, and in the Natalie Tours catalog, on the hotel page, this moment was separately mentioned, only "children's" it is clearly not in our understanding, because. represented mainly by fried dishes: nuggets, french fries, pasta with bacon, pizza, squid fries, etc. I dragged myself all sorts of harmful things from him, and, on the contrary, I fed the child from the "adult" table. At dinner, it is customary to be in evening dresses . . well, or at least not in T-shirts and shorts.

At first we ignored the animation, but it still prevented us from sleeping and once decided to "check it out". Everything turned out to be very interesting: live singing of hits, dancing numbers, magic tricks, parrot shows, a wonderful fire show (do not miss it) and our incomparable animator, from whom the whole hotel was delighted. Not a person, but a polyglot electric broom : )
We did not go on excursions, we did not consider it worth spending time on trips, especially since there will be interesting things for 15 minutes, and half a day - the road and booze (from the reviews). They themselves took a bus ride to Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paralimni (the latter went to visit boutiques of branded clothing, but on Sundays they only flew until 2 pm). Ticket 1 euro one way or 3 euros per day. In Protaras, we walked to the church on the hill (it turned out to be much less to go than it seemed at first), from there a beautiful view of the surroundings opens up. Grab scarves and ribbons. For some reason, it always flies out of my head that at the entrance women need to cover their heads with a scarf, and there also grows an olive tree, hung and tied with hundreds of ribbons and . . wet wipes. We didn't find anything else either. There were even several St. George ribbons on the tree. About restaurants. There are Russian-speaking waiters almost everywhere, children are waiting for coloring books and pencils, often there is a playground at the restaurant. The Bedrock Cafe is very interestingly decorated (if the name Flinstone tells you something). The restaurant at the Mandalay Hotel has delicious moussaka and kleftiko.
Before leaving, we were bitterly disappointed in the fish meze touted in the reviews. Could "this" bring such great joy to someone? Dry local fish (in the sense that it is so dry in itself), 4 shrimps and mussels, a spoonful of octopus and a pseudo crab salad. In short, if you only read about the sea in books, then it may really seem interesting, because. there are no complaints about cooking, but for the Far East - a quiet horror. My husband gritted my teeth for a month after spending 30 euros (including drinks).
There is much more I would like to tell, but then, I'm afraid, this review will never be finished : )
P. S. Be sure to take a walk along the paths that run along the coast! You will find many interesting places for photography.