Nothing wrong with the Tsokkos group - they have some excellent hotels.

Like most places (UK included) waiting and bar staff tend to be Eastern European these days but management and senior staff remain Cypriot. Remember, a lot of these jobs are seasonal anyway and the hotels retain their core local staff all year round.

To put it in perspective, go to any hotel in the UK now and you'll be hard pushed to find a 'local' employee. In fact last time I stopped at a motorway service station in the UK the staff were Polish and Bulgarian!
Hotels all over the EU are like that and Cyprus is the same.

The Tsokkos Gardens is a good hotel. I know they've got a new manager recently but the previous manager, Sotos, ran a very tight ship and you'll nejoy your stay there.

Dave

Thanks for the great advice, sadly unless a miracle happens it now looks as though a Cyprus holiday for next year is out of the window .

I just rang Directholidays and the hotel is now fully booked and any other hotel in the same area is out of my price range. I have searched and searched and can't find any suitable alternatives from any other sites.

Fully booked up for 2010 ???

Amazed

For the dates I need yes both are booked up

I needed Wednesday 28th July 2010 or the weekend before for 14 nights and both are not available anymore. I know it's peak season but with the way things are I never thought for one minute that they would sell this quickly. Other operators still have rooms available but the prices are a few hundred pounds more for exactly the same holiday.

Anyone know if DIY is possible for Cyprus, flying from Newcastle?

I usually do DIY holidays anyway but that's for Spain and I am really struggling at the moment to find anything for Cyprus.

where on Cyprus... still in the Amachoustos district or will you consider Pafos or Lemesos districts..

there is one flight i can find Newcastle-Pafos its a holiday charter at £442 per person [inc all charges] for 14 nights [a lot of money for a flight but all charters from around GB seem about that] budget flights [easy jet or similar will be a lot cheaper but haven't released their prices yet

yasus
wizard

Hiya Wizard,

Yes we would like to ideally be in the Protaras area. Sadly with those flight prices by the time I add on the accomodation it will be out of my price range.

I think that I will have to wait and give it a last shot with one of the low cost carriers now.

For the dates I need yes both are booked up

Dont despair yet the Tour Operators wont have released their full quota for next year so soon

With the weak pound making prices in Cyprus seem very high there's a lot more interest in all inclusive holidays now.
People effectively know the cost of their complete holiday and aren't surprised by the costs of meals and drinks in restaurants.
It was noticeable this year as the hotel I stayed in was fully booked, to the extent that they were offering upgrades as an incentive for people to stay at one of their other hotels for a week, to free up a few rooms. To be fully booked in early June is very unusual - conversely self catering holidays are freely available!

I found that local prices (in Euro's) weren't that much different from the last couple of years - what did the damage however was converting everything back to sterling which basically increased the 'cost' by around fifty percent.

If you're all inclusive the cost of your meals and drinks isn't that important but if you have to buy them it can become pretty costly..

I'm not optimistic about being able to book next year either, especially when you consider that places outside the Euro zone, like Egypt and Turkey look very appealing, cost wise.

Looking at what I paid for two weeks in Paphos this year I could have had a couple of weeks in 5 star hotels on the Red Sea in Egypt or in Turkey for about 25 percent less!

Dave

I have never used travel agents for a few years now so am not up to speed with how they work, Are you saying that room availability is released slowly over time and I should just keep trying?

(sorry for the stupid questions)

Forget that I found a good deal with Thomas cook, exact same flights different AI accomodation but still in the Protaras area and only an extra £70, no messing around this time and I booked it

I had set my heart on this area so am over the moon that I managed to find something suitable within my price range

Stardust do you know which hotel it is as someone might know it etc ?

Steve

Yes it's the Artemis, reviews appear to be mixed but generally good.

Excellent news Stardust. Im sure you will enjoy Protaras.

Are you saying that room availability is released slowly over time and I should just keep trying?

What I meant was that it is very early on and second issue brochures havent been released yet. They will still be negotiating with some of the hoteliers. I doubt Direct Holidays would get some extra quota as they are a direct sell, (albeit they are part of the Thomas Cook group now) but as for the big companies, further availability should come especially if bookings are good.

Kath x