Altinkaya belies its offical two-star, tourist-board rating, and I reckon will richly deserve the extra star it aspires to this year.
It is situated on the road out of Kyrenia that leads to the lovely Bellapais, with little around it apart from a souvenir shop, a petrol station and, very handily, a well-stocked Lemar supermarket.
The Altinkaya complex is split both sides of the road - the main hotel area, a few studios overlooking the pool and six terraced villas on the right going out of town, and further villas about 50 yards up the road, left, in a complex that also included the main restaurant.
I arrived at reception in the early hours of the morning, after the maiden AtlasJet flight from Stansted to Ercan via Istanbul touched down in North Cyprus almost two hours late.
It was not the start to the ...
holiday I had hoped for, but the gloom lightened when the young man at reception offered to open the bar to allow myself and others on the same plane to partake of a much-needed refreshment.
The ice-cool Efes hit the spot, and soon the memory of the tardy arrival was behind me.
On handed my room key 519, and noticing there was no lift, I feared a long climb to my accommodation, but two floors later I was there, and far from disappointed by my two-star abode for the next week.
The twin-bedded room was well appointed, with air conditioning (never needed it on), TV (never needed it on) a \"pay\" fridge (often needed it opened), satellite TV, telephone, tea/coffee maker, hairdryer, safety deposit box and a good-sized balcony.
So no worries then as I hit the hay belatedly for the first time. Dawn (well, maybe a bit later) revealed that my room was south-facing (morning sun), with a nice view of the sea.
The pool area below me sparkled in the sun, and the hotel gardens appeared well kept, with many flowers in bloom. I was positively blooming, too, by this stage!
Once I had established where breakfast was being served, a two-minute walk took me there. The repast was no more, nor less, than expected, this being my third visit to the north of the island.
Orange/lemon juice, cereal, scrambled egg, hash browns (of a sort), fresh fruit, coffee, tea...you don\'t need chapter and verse. But it was a decent enough choice to get the day under way.
Although I had been \"upgraded\" to full board over my stay, I only ate there at night twice, opting instead to sample the burgeoning choice of restaurants in Kyrenia itself. Both meals were perfectly adequate - although Gordon Ramsay no doubt would have had a bone to pick with the chef. No matter, they did for me.
The Altinkaya hotel bar was the hub late at night, given that the \"bright lights \" of the village were a 20-minute walk away, and it was a pleasure to be served there by the cheery staff.
I know there are lots of moans about hotel drinks tariff, but I did not think that paying four Turkish lira (less than
Read MoreTour Operator: Jewels of the World
Recommended: Yes