Do you ever just need a holiday that takes all the thinking out of life? Where the only thing you need to think about each day is which pool lounger to choose and what you’re going to eat? And not only that, you need somewhere where the whole family is catered to so *everyone* is happy…?
The ParkLane in Cyprus was the antidote to all of the above – a beautiful, sun-drenched family haven which catered to everything we were looking for.
The Room
When you all stay in the same room for a week, it has to function *well*. We had a sea view double with a pullout bed added. I loved the design and amenities in the room. The balcony was huge and my favourite part of the day was sitting out there as the sun was rising to have my morning cup of tea. The bathroom was really special – a marble bath and waterfall shower, double sinks and a bevy of Byredo products (which I slathered on!). It was also well placed for entertainment; over 200 films are pre-loaded into the entertainment system so we had family movie night every night after dinner. As well as a really special memory, it also meant we got to see lots of fairly new releases!
The Food
The restaurant has five restaurants on site and we tried three of them. I have to say the food was brilliant and extremely generous. The breakfast buffet in The Lanes was INSANE. I don’t think i could have dreamed up as many breakfast options and I certainly couldn’t get round them all in 7 days. There were multiple hot food stands – including waffle, pancake and omelette stations, continental, salad and Cypriot stands and huge granola and fruit stands. I think there was something crazy like 12 different types of honey… A thoughtful touch was that they also offered hot drinks to go at the end of your breakfast for that first sun lounger coffee.
We had such a good experience at Nammos beach club. Sat with our feet in the sand we had a brilliant omikase sushi selection to start and a steak board. It was at ‘treat meal’ prices but we felt it was special in both atmosphere and foodie credentials. Conversely, the pool side food in the restaurants there offered a relaxed but solid holiday fare (my go to is Caesar salad…) and the ice cream bar was an obvious hit.
We always try to eat out for dinner, both to manage resort prices and also to experience food that is properly local. We tried and can recommend, Kissos, Meze and Baloo for great Cypriot food local to the hotel – Baloo even had a soft play in the restaurant!
Activities and Excursions
ParkLane really punches on quality experiences and the offer for young people of all ages was really stand out. They have a giant pirate ship splash park which was prime entertainment for our four year old as well as outdoor play area, bouncy castle and high quality kids club run by Scott Dunn travel. We didn’t use the kids club but I observed the fun, kind and professional team doing a fantastic job.
For slightly older members of the family there were both Padel and tennis courts and football pitches, a large and state of the art gym and a full water sports stand where you can take part in activities from canoeing to water skiing.
There are four other pools – a family pool with large, safe and shallow swimming areas; a slightly quieter pool adjacent to the day restaurant and ice cream stand, an indoor pool and a calm and sleek adults-only pool (which I was lucky enough to grab a few hours beside!). Only the indoor pool is heated, but with the weather hitting around 25 degrees when we were there in April it was plenty warm enough to swim! You can also grab a seat at the hotels’ private beach if you fancy an even fresher dip!
Both Holiday Dad and I used the Kalloni spa and rated our massages highly. They have a private sea water pool which can be booked for a 90 minute saltwater therapy – we didn’t use that but were so intrigued!!
A note on price
One thing I need to mention is this hotel could be extremely expensive. When I searched the week before we flew out a week in the Easter school holidays for a sea view twin was £597 a night…. That is not the Holiday Mum way at all! And truly I don’t think it would have been value for money if we had paid that. Happily we had found a great price in the British Airways holiday sale (here’s my guide on all the ways we sneak a deal in school holidays) and landed the Easter week for three people, including flights, for around £2700. That definitely did feel like the right price point for us and I would highly recommend this amazing hotel if you can snag a similar bargain!
Overall
What I look for in a hotel is attention to detail and thoughtful touches. ParkLane was a great example of this. From the chocolate fountain and extra activities added for Easter to the smoothie delivered mid-morning to our sun loungers, I really rated how much the team seemed to care. If I was being picky, sometimes it felt busy being the Easter holidays – but it was our first experience of a resort in school holidays and at the same time, we didn’t struggle to find space or feel overlooked at any point.
So if you’re looking to take the load off, in a place with faultless service and for you all to come away feeling fully recharged from a sun (and fun) filled stay, this is the hotel for you.
That Holiday Mum x