Anassa Hotel

Review of Anassa Hotel

BusinessClass.com review by Varun Sharma

The Anassa is the finest hotel in Cyprus and one of the best in the Mediterranean. When the Anassa opened in 1998, it garnered critical acclaim for its design, location, service, and facilities. With 166 rooms, suites and residences, a 150-metre secluded beach, three main swimming pools, a delicious collection of restaurants & bars and a fabulous spa - it was an instant hit with families and couples alike.

The name Anassa, translates as Queen in classical Greek, a name befitting, not just of the resort’s regal hillside setting but its standing in the luxury hotel community. 

Offering a superlative level of luxury, the Byzantine-styled low-rise resort is cleverly laid out. Rooms have fabulous sea views and look over swimming pools or beautifully landscaped gardens. Some boast the best of both worlds with their own private plunge and swimming pool. 

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Location

9/10

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. Situated south of Turkey and southeast of Greece, it enjoys fine weather from spring to autumn. In the summer months, the heat is intense and dry, making Cyprus an ideal European holiday location.

Found on the north-west coast of the island, the Anassa sits on the edge of the Akamas National Park. This is a quiet and tranquil corner of Cyprus. The area offers a plethora of waterfalls, dramatic gorges, and flower-strewn meadows – ripe for exploration. 

The Anassa itself is an undulating 20-acre hillside complex, its accommodation gently cascading through gardens, lawns and swimming pools to the secluded beach and crystal waters of Chrysochou Bay. 

The resort is close to the coastal village of Neo Chorio, the Baths of Aphrodite, and the beautiful Blue Lagoon. Latchi  - complete with its fishing harbour - is a short drive from the property. The Anassa is the big sister of three Thanos – luxury - Hotels & Resorts on this Mediterranean Island. Around 50 minutes-drive from Anassa are the Annabelle and Almyra – located in Paphos – both wonderful in their own rights. 

The Anassa is just a 45-minute drive from Paphos Airport and 2-hours from Larnaca Airport - some 185 kilometres away.

Accommodation

10/10

Arranged in a crescent are 166 low-rise rooms, suites, and residences, in the style of a whitewashed Byzantine village, that cascade down through flower-filled gardens to a sandy beach. 

Room options range from classical low-rise rooms to beach-chic suites, majestic villas, and family home-style accommodation - all framed by the infinite blue of the Mediterranean. 

All rooms offer large comfortable beds, sink-into armchairs, hardwood or marble floors and creative floral arrangements. The hotel offers complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property.

There are 9 rooms categories, 11 suite types and 4 residences. 

Generous in size, Garden View rooms start at 41 square metres. Studio Suites are light, bright, and housed in the main building. Joëlle Pléot designed furnishings handmade by local artisans are prominent. Each room enjoys glittering sea views from step-out balconies. 

Garden Studio Suites enjoy a generous sense of space at around 47 square metres and are complemented by colourful garden, hillside, and sea views. Junior Suites - found in the main building or in tranquil garden settings - have artisanal Mediterranean furnishings including louvered shutters. Some boast fireplaces, others offer a sun terrace and plunge pool.

The Junior Panorama Suites offer fabulous sweeping views across Chrysochou Bay, the Polis coastline, and the Akamas Peninsula. One Bedroom Suites with pool are accessed via winding stone paths and offer idyllic villa-style suites in traditional residences – complete with lush sea-view gardens.

The Aphrodite and Adonis suites are perched on the sunset – Aphrodite - and sunrise - Adonis - corners of Anassa’s top floor. As their names suggests, these romantic one-bedroom suites are perfectly designed to emulate the Island of Love; with four-poster beds, fireplaces, balconies with a hot tub, sea-view bathrooms, and private lift key access. 

The word king in classical Greek translates to anax, and the name of a palatial two-bedroom top floor suite with private lift key access is befitting of royalty with stunning Chrysochou Bay views. Under the domed ceiling of the rotunda living room, contemporary furnishings blend with traditional Cypriot antiques.

The Andromeda Villa is inspired by the myth of heroine Andromeda, saved from the sea-dragon Cetus by Perseus, and who was later transformed into a star constellation. The villa’s opulent interiors, captivating sea views and private infinity pool make this alluring three-bedroom residence one of the resort’s best.

Everything about the Alexandros is majestic: its name, the views, the antiques and art, the grand entrance foyer, and the lush private gardens. 

There are two more private residences, Alcyone Villa, translating as calm, peaceful days, is a tranquil oasis where guests can breakfast by the pool or enjoy a nightcap by the outdoor fire. Aether was the pure, glowing ‘upper air’ breathed by the ancient Gods of Olympus and so a fitting name for the Aether Villa - with its vast sun-lit interiors, king-size day beds and infinity-edge pool. 

Service & Facilities

10/10

Anassa’s charm and gracious service is renowned and special experiences such as star gazing sessions and wine tastings are frequently arranged.

Set on a secluded 150-metre beach, the resort boasts a PADI Five Star Gold Palm Dive Centre and a RYA Sailing Centre. There is a Water Sports Centre, two tennis courts, squash, table tennis and beach volleyball.

The two outdoor freshwater swimming pools are both fabulous - one multi-level pool with a waterfall and another featuring mosaic tiling - and there is a delightful indoor sky-lit spa pool.

A traditional Village Square – complete with Byzantine Chapel - is where weddings and celebratory events take place.

Anassa’s award-winning Thalassa Spa has 18 treatment rooms and offers a plethora of health treatments including superb massages. Thalassotherapy - derived from the Greek word thalassa meaning sea and therapeía, healing - draws on the restorative benefits of the maritime climate, seawater, and marine derivatives. This haven for marine-therapy; treatments draw on the benefits of the sea, including the Osea Malibu Lavender Sea soak, saltwater jet spray massages, seaweed polishes and algae body wraps. Some of these tailor-made treatments use seawater pumped directly from the crystal waters of Chrysochou Bay. 

Product-wise, the spa uses QMS Medicosmetics, OSEA, beyond organic ila Spa and Tata Harper. 

Bougainville winds prettily around the patios of the courtyards that lead to the Roman style pool and this heavenly indoor pool features a thalassotherapy Jacuzzi. Note the treatments are so good that the 10-day spa package experiencing many of these is an attractive out of season offering.

The Spa also offers acupuncture, swimming clinics, a saltwater exercise pool, saunas, steam baths, fitness centre, yoga, hair salon and a relaxation room. 

The Anassa offers a small boutique that sells holiday necessities and branded items from the likes of Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Acqua di Parma.

While the Anassa easily fulfils every need for a resort holiday, guests should think about scheduling time for some local excursions. The Troodos Mountains offers great walks, the Byzantine winery and monastery at Chrysorroygiatissa is superb and the hotel offers sunset cruises and aquatic escapes to nearly beaches.

Children are most welcome at the Anassa and from all-natural mini spa treatments to early sittings for families in restaurants, it offers the ultimate holiday stay for families. There is plenty to keep them the younger guests happy including the Explorers Children’s Club – available from April to October - for ages 4 months to 12 years which offers painting, games, and cooking clubs. Babysitting, children’s menus, and in-room baby items are available, pre-booked using the ‘Baby Go Lightly’ service. The Anassa is accessible for disabled guests.

Style

9/10

From bowls of lilies in the stylish lobby to pots of just plucked hydrangea on occasional tables or fat olives artfully arranged on hand painted plates, there is thoughtful attention to detail in the décor of the Anassa. 

Stone marble and natural materials of the whitewashed exteriors laced with vibrant pink bougainvillea pop against the bright blue Mediterranean. 

Inside, corridors with floors of highly polished marble and occasional blue striped benches, lead into rooms with swathes of muslin at large windows, where natural light floods in, all done out with locally handcrafted furnishings and decorated in a palette of soothing tones. 

A cool blue and white colour scheme exudes a contemporary Mediterranean style.

Whether it is an entry level room, a pool suite or a residence, the accommodation marries modern comforts with traditional antiques for a refined contemporary Cypriot style.

Restaurants & Bars

10/10

Seasonal and regional delights are offered across eight restaurants and bars, overseen by the Anassa’s Executive Chef David Goodridge. You can indulge in bespoke options with in-room dining being served on balconies and terraces, while private chefs are available to prepare meals in the residences.

The Anassa’s four restaurants range from swish to sea-salty

Helios is the French-Mediterranean fine dining restaurant with curves of arches, stone slab floors and starched linens and private dining enclaves, where meals are served á la carte. The ambience is completed with harpist or pianist, an outdoor sea-view terrace  - with olive trees - and daily changing table d’hôte menus. The slow-cooked lamb is a speciality of Helios. 

Amphora is a casual-chic dining room with an open-air sea-view terrace. Local and international buffet breakfasts are served with à la carte selections, and themed dinners with live cooking stations. Children – of all ages – love Amphora. 

Asian fusion restaurant Basiliko serves Asian-inspired delights in a cosy candle-lit cavern.

The poolside Pelagos serves mezze with local specialties and fresh fish. Breezy seafood lunches include grilled meats, local salads, and pasta. Freshly caught sardines are plunged into fine batter and hot oil. Also delicious are the panko prawns, grilled octopus, and chunky Greek salads.

No summer evening at the Anassa could be complete without at least one cocktail – or mocktail - and it is hard to beat freshly mixed drinks beneath a tangerine sky at the Armonia Bar. 

One can enjoy a fresh smoothie, chilled flute of Champagne or a signature Cojito - rum, fresh mint, pineapple, and coconut milk - sat in the water at swim-up seats under a shady bamboo roof at Meltemi Bar 

At the Blue Bar, it is cocktails on the beach. A weekly barbecue beach cook-up is held here, by the sea, with burgers and volleyball for the children and torchlit grilled seafood and chilled wine for parents.

The hotel holds a Cypriot Village Fair. The Anassa’s atmospheric Byzantine Chapel of Saint Athanasia and Village Square is the wonderful  location to gather for the resort’s traditional weekly celebration: a taste of local life with a generous Cypriot buffet, traditional live music, and folk dancing. All-comers are encouraged to join in. 

Sustainability

All ingredients are sourced locally, including honey collected from a beekeeper just a mile away. Where possible, ingredients come from produce grown in the hotel’s grounds and the gardens of Anassa include about twenty citrus trees, producing mandarins, oranges, and lemons. The harvested fruit is brought to the hotel’s kitchen, where the cooks make good use of it. 

In October, olives from the hotels’ groves are picked. Fat black ones are marinated with salt, while the green olives can be crushed, preserved in saltwater, and served with garlic, lemon juice, coriander, the remaining olives are harvested for creating olive oil.

The Thanos Hotels group sees corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism as central to both its success and its values which includes local community engagement through purchase of local produce, employment, and sponsorship of local cultural events. Environmental and energy management activities include waste-recycling; water minimisation programmes; ‘paperless’ system; energy reduction measures including LED lighting, motion and air-conditioning door sensors, Pellet and EcoFuel boilers; plus, ongoing efforts to reduce carbon footprint and utilise alternative renewable energy sources.

What We Love

  • The hotel may be located in a quiet part of a Mediterranean island, but the service and facilities are world-class. 
  • The Anassa is an excellent choice for both families and those looking for a more intimate break. There is a wide choice of accommodation and dining experiences on offer.
  • Just a short drive from the hotel, you can experience Cypriot life – both modern and historic. The winery & monastery at Chrysorroygiatissa is a fabulous excursion.

    Varun Sharma
    Editor-In-Chief
    BusinessClass.com

What They Love

  • Our people: they make Anassa what she it and I am continually uplifted by their loyalty, generosity, kindness, intuition and care.
  • The way Anassa’s brilliant white buildings glisten in the sunlight. We call Anassa ‘the Queen of Mediterranean living’ and I love standing on the beach and looking back up the hillside, to see her sparkle in all her glory.
  • Her classical ambience and enduring elegance, which never go out of style and make Anassa as impressive today as when she first opened.

    Natasha Michaelides
    Co-owner
    Thanos Hotels and Resorts

 

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