Sofianna Resort and Spa

We have just arrived home from our stay at Sofianna & what can I say. This is our second time of coming to Sofianna & it did not disappoint!! We were travelling as a couple with an 8 year old & a 1 year old for 10 nights. It was also our 10 year wedding anniversary while we were there too.

We had a deluxe family room which was absolutely perfect as this is what we stopped in last time as we enjoyed having the separate bedroom area to the living room/kitchenette. We didn’t expect a pool view but when we got there we were overlooking the grass area & the end of the swim up room pool which was nice.

The cleanliness of this hotel is remarkable, rooms always spotless, the grounds & maintenance are always tidy & clean & the pool areas are tidied on the go too.

The food in the restaurant is as amazing as we remember & you can tell the chefs are extremely passionate about their cooking as they have enjoyment watching guests enjoy their meals. One thing I really rate is for anyone with allergies or specific dietary needs each dish has ingredients on the labels. Breakfast was brilliant, a range of cooked meats, cheese, cereals, bread, eggs & cooked bacon, sausages & pastries. Also so much fruit at each meal time. The only thing with breakfast was the drinks machines didn’t work as they should so we couldn’t get orange juice I tried many times but gave up in the end. Lunch time we didn’t find much we liked so always ended up in the snack bar which repeat the same foods daily, but everyone can still find something that they like here - one word of advice to the chef, to make sure the water is drained off the pasta properly as it ends up making the rest of the dish soggy on the plate. Evening meals were brilliant, different theme nights & kids would have their own food section if they didn’t find anything they liked. The desserts were also out of this world.
The only night we didn’t enjoy that much were Tuesdays (Cypriot night) but that is just our preference. Tried to book into the burger restaurant one of the evenings (wanted to do this on our last evening as it was the cypriot night theme again but was told this was closed on a Tuesday) so for the whole 10 days we were there we didn’t get to use this as we didn’t know. The only thing that I didn’t like during mealtimes was your plate being taken away from under you as soon as you have the last mouthful (granted they did ask if we were finished first) but again this goes for cleanliness & tidiness as they like to keep on top of things. I will also point out Anisha who was very attentive, she always made us feel welcome & gave lots of attention to our boys which we found super helpful especially as mealtimes can be quite difficult for us with a baby. I could tell staff were under pressure to not speak for too long though as they had to keep up the high standards of cleaning but as a customer I think this interaction is just as important if not more important than an empty plate being taken away. Location is absolutely perfect as it’s near to some of the historical ruins you can walk around and close enough to enjoy the beach & the harbour, which we used to venture to most evenings. Entertainment - Hit & miss for us personally. Last time we came was in June about 3 years ago & there was no entertainment so we were really looking forward to it this time after seeing the reviews. The kids club was open daily but we didn’t use this & there were activities going on in the ‘bridge’ pool by the restaurant but again not something we joined in with. The evening entertainment was something that lacked personally. The evening always started with a mini disco for the kids following on with an act of some kind whether this be dancers (who were great) or a parrot show, all entertainment finished by 9pm unless there was karaoke or bingo on. Due to our circumstances our 8 year old didn’t want to join in the dancing at his age & felt like he needed something after to do or watch & then our 1 year old loved the dancing (but couldn’t let him be free as the stage was high up & the danger of falling into the pool). Being there 10 days too meant that a lot of the entertainment was repeated weekly so some acts we saw twice. That being said the entertainment staff are really nice & do try their best to get people involved in it all. Sunbed wars - not so much a war being had but the beds were pretty much full at 7am despite the notices & reception telling people to not place towels down until at least 8am! I actually emailed our concerns about this before we arrived as in the month of June when we previously came it was fairly busy then but I knew this time it being main summer holidays it would be worse & it was. There were still beds available later on the morning by the kids pool or around the bottom of the other pool but these were in a more shady area. Not great when you’re on holiday & having to set an alarm for 6.30am just so you can get a bed & that’s not even in a prime spot.

Big shout out to Alina in the poolside bar and Tilak the pools lifeguard who our son took a shining too during the stay. Also the porter who works so hard to get people to their rooms in a timely manner, always polite & careful with luggage. All of the staff were really friendly & accommodating with smiles on their faces (apart from some but we all have bad days). Didn’t get the name of the receptionist but one of the ladies was very rude when we went to collect the parrot photograph and on another day talking that quietly I couldn’t tell what she said so had to ask her to repeat it, to which she spoke under her breath really quiet again not really much customer service skills to say she is front of house. Kind of felt like we were an inconvenience to her.

All of the staff at this hotel work tirelessly & should be praised by the management for the work that they put in.

Oh and lastly if your a customer attending this hotel please have morals, I saw a parent telling their kid to just wee in the pool because they couldn’t be arsed to take them to the toilet & another family allowing their toddler to sit on the side of the pool, do a wee & when spoken to look up, shrug shoulders & smile. Babies swim in this pool, get a swim nappy on them if you believe this is something they may do as it just puts extra strain on the lifeguard who already does an amazing job at keeping everyone safe let alone have to watch out for your hygiene mess aswell.

Overall we will be returning as we’ve created some lovely memories here & it’s close to our hearts despite the teething issues Iv mentioned it doesn’t overshadow all of the good things this hotel has to offer.

Just sadly checked out after our last minute, 7 night trip to the Sofianna.

From the moment we checked in at 11:40pm, the staff recommending we sit down and make use of the last of the all inclusive to have a drink, to the very end allowing us use of the All Inc until the coach picks us up, we couldn't have asked for a better holiday.

Our room was a great size for the 3 of us and even if our view was a "city view", it was perfect for us.

Location is about 10mins from the harbour promenade, down a steady slope and 20mins from King's Avenue Mall. There's plenty of restaurants and bars dotted around the area if you do want a change of scenery.

We're ones to get itchy feet, leave the hotel and head out for tea, but we haven’t needed to once. The food is great, plenty of choice and themed nights are done properly. Not just one or two dishes, its 95% of them, but there's always something for the fussiest of eaters and our almost 3 year old.

Our only gripe is that dinner opens at 7pm, which is a little late for some families and often is at it's busiest around then, especially with mini disco starting at 7:45 most nights.

You are taken to a table, which I think is great, as some hotel restaurants can be a nightmare trying to find a clean, empty table.

The pool areas are kept immaculate and felt each pool had a different vibe. We struggled for beds a couple of days, heading down at 9am, but the lifeguard will help you with additional beds. The splash park was great for our little one!

The staff really do make this hotel, everyone takes time to say hello, interact with the children and serve you with a smile. We cannot name them individually as this would be unfair on the ones we miss, but they have been truly fantastic.

Thank you to everyone at the Sofianna for a wonderful holiday, we'll certainly be back ❤️

Wonderful Cretan massage in the Spa with Kamelia. She was really welcoming and made me comfortable. A top to toe experience, well worth the money and extremely relaxing.