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INTERCONTINENTAL APHRODITE HILLS RESORT HOTEL |
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PAPHOS, CYPRUS
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More holiday village than conventional resort, the US$85-million InterContinental is the island's biggest-ever mixed-use leisure project. The 290 bedrooms and suites are housed in traditional Mediterranean-village-style buildings centred around a huge,
free-form swimming pool and an 18-hole golf course. There are also 400 privately owned villas (many available to rent), 11 tennis courts and five restaurants including Mesogios, where chef Stefanos Chrysanthou updates traditional Cypriot classics such as grilled kebabs and trahana (a yogurt-infused risotto). But what really makes this InterContinental dazzle is the ultra-comprehensive Retreat Spa. With its fountain-filled courtyards, domed roofs, stone walls and terracotta floors, the Retreat evokes a Graeco-Roman village albeit one with 18 treatment rooms and a clutch of thermal zones, including a tepidarium, a marble-walled steam room and a fiery laconium. More active types may want to try the cutting-edge sports equipment, used in training by the British Olympic team in 2004 before the hotel officially opened.
WHEN TO GO
Early September for the annual Paphos Aphrodite Festival, a showcase for top Cypriot and international opera and classical music. This years highlight: La Traviata performed by the National Opera of Poland.
ROOM TO BOOK
One of the 17 suites with private pools, a worthy compensation
for the hotels lack of seafront (the beach
is a short shuttle ride away).
CONTACT
Kouklia, Paphos, Cyprus (00 357 2682 9000; www.cyprus.intercontinental.com).
COST
Doubles from C£100 (about £120)
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