Elysium, the five-star by the Tombs of the Kings

Plenty of hotels on the Paphos coast boast about their views, but few have an ancient rock-cut necropolis next door. Elysium does. It’s also one of only ten five-stars on the island whose rating isn’t provisional. Here’s the official entry, what it offers and my view. To compare, start with Paphos hotels.

Five stars without an asterisk

The August Paphos list gives it five stars, 287 rooms and 576 beds on Vasilissis Verenikis Street. What matters is the letter beside the rating, an L, which means the licence and classification are confirmed. Just ten of Cyprus’s forty five-stars have that letter, by my count in luxury hotels in Cyprus. Stademos Hotels runs it.

Gardens, a cove and three pools

The website describes a palatial building with colonnades, mosaics and waterfalls in the gardens, and a lavender-lined path down to a sheltered sandy cove. There are three pools. The multi-level outdoor one has a small hydro-massage pool at its centre, the indoor pool by the spa is heated from November to March, and the adults’ pool, for over-16s, is reserved for guests in the studio suites and garden villa suites. The Royal rooms have their own, the Royal Pool. Five restaurants, including an Italian, a pan-Asian and a Cypriot one, round things off alongside the Opium Health Spa. Other licensed villas, away from the resorts, are gathered in villas in Cyprus, and fully child-free hotels in adults-only hotels in Cyprus.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Elysium Hotel Paphos on Expedia and filter by area before price.

For families, with a calendar

Angel’s Kids Club is for 3 to 12-year-olds and runs daily between 1 April and 31 October, plus Christmas, New Year and Easter. From November to March its days and hours change. Under-threes have a crèche, booked ahead and charged separately. Children can use the indoor pool from 10:00 to 18:00.

History on foot

The hotel stands beside the Tombs of the Kings, which UNESCO includes in the Paphos site, inscribed in 1980 and covered in UNESCO sites in Cyprus. The coastal path takes you to the lighthouse and the archaeological park. The harbour is about ten minutes away by car. Guests arriving on the island can have the hotel arrange a car or taxi from either airport, and there’s a limousine service on request. Inside the grounds you’ll also find a few shops and a hair salon, along with the two floodlit tennis courts and a resident coach.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Pafos and pick one that fits your day.

My take

It’s a classic five-star, more about gardens and service than design, with a location that’s hard to beat if you want ruins and sea on the same walk. On the same Tombs of the Kings road are the Venus Beach hotel and Capital Coast Resort, and for self-catering with the family, Kefalos Beach is close by. For the harbour and restaurants of Kato Paphos you head south, and if the hotel’s cove feels small, compare it with the other Paphos beaches.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Paphos before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Elysium Hotel Paphos on Booking.com and filter by area before price.