Hotels in Nicosia, the capital

Nicosia is Cyprus’s capital, yet many people visit for the day from the coast and never sleep there. To see what it offers, I counted Nicosia’s entries in the register as updated in August. The verdict is clear, there isn’t much, but it’s well placed. How the rest of the island’s beds are spread out is in where to stay in Cyprus.

Not much for a capital

The Nicosia list records 22 places to stay with roughly 1,100 rooms and 2,200 beds, the fewest of any area. There are 14 hotels, six traditional houses and two apartment complexes. The two big ones are five-star with a firm licence, The Landmark Nicosia on Makarios III Avenue, with 568 beds, and the Hilton Nicosia in Egkomi, with 388. The rest are medium and small hotels, such as four-star Cleopatra and Classic, and three-star Centrum, Castelli, Map Boutique and Semeli.

Staying in the centre

For me that’s the whole point of Nicosia. Several small hotels are central, such as Centrum on Eleftheria Square, next to the Venetian walls. From there you can walk to Ledra Street, the museums and the old town. The list also includes traditional houses turned hotels in the city, such as Madama Residence, The Sendal and Resart, plus others in district villages like Pera and Lympia.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Nicosia before prices climb.

The fourteen hotels, one by one

For each hotel the register gives its street, its room count and whether its rating is final (L) or still being processed (P). That’s enough to map the city. The two big ones sit outside the old town, The Landmark, with 283 rooms, on Makarios III Avenue, and the Hilton, with 194, in the Egkomi district. The four-stars are Classic, on Regaena Street, with 54 rooms and a final licence, and Cleopatra, on Florina Street, with 89 and an indicative rating for now.

Of the three-stars, Centrum (47 rooms) has the handiest address, Eleftheria Square, and Map Boutique (34) is on Stasinou Avenue; both hold final licences. Castelli, on Ouzounian Street, and Semeli, in Agioi Omologites, carry the P. The two-stars are small, Gate Twenty Two Boutique, with 32 rooms on Constantinou Palaiologou Street and a final licence, Altius Boutique, Asty and Sky. Smallest of all is the one-star Delphi, with nine rooms, while Denis, in Aglantzia, is listed without a class. Of the 22 places, 11 have a final licence and 11 are pending.

Apartments and houses with a past

If you’d like a kitchen, there are two class B hotel apartment blocks, Almond on 25th March Street, with 32 units, and Lordos on Sina Street, with 19 units and 66 beds, which I find handy for longer stays. The most interesting entries are the traditional houses. In town, The Sendal Boutique has eight rooms on Aisxylou Street, Madama Residence Boutique six on Pithonos Street and Resart five on Agion Omologiton Avenue. Outside, in Nicosia district, Aperanti has three rooms at Pera Orinis, The Six Arches Mansion two apartments at Pera and Olympia Hapeshis Houses four at Lympia. They’re the choice for sleeping in a village and driving into the capital for the day.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Nicosia and choose by the reviews.

How I’d choose

The register publishes neither prices nor facilities, so I pick by location. For a night or two of museums and wandering, a small hotel by Eleftheria Square or a traditional house in the centre. For a work trip, a pool or easy parking, one of the two big hotels. And to combine the capital with the mountains, a house at Pera Orinis or Lympia, with a car.

The base for crossing north

Staying in Nicosia lets you walk into the other half of the city at Ledra Street, with your passport, and return south to sleep, where your insurance and GHIC apply. I explain it in north Nicosia. From here the mountain villages, such as Fikardou, are within easy reach too.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Nicosia on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Getting there

Larnaca Airport is roughly 40 km away as the crow flies. For that run there’s the Kapnos shuttle, which Cyprus By Bus prices at 8 euros. All the options are in airport transfers in Cyprus. For dinner inside the walls, the restored Laiki Geitonia quarter is the easiest choice.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Nicosia before prices climb.