Coral Bay Avenue, PO Box 62727, Paphos, Cyprus | (888) 252-0567
Lovely location, a five-minute walk from the beach at Coral Bay
All rooms have air-conditioning and balconies, many with full or partial sea views
Buffet restaurant with variety of dining packages available, plus pool and lobby bars
Daily entertainment for kids and adults
Gorgeous outdoor lagoon pool and cave-style indoor pool
Tennis courts, free fitness classes, and well-equipped gym
Lovely spa with steam and sauna, plus salon for makeup and hair services
Free Wi-Fi in public areas
Free and ample on-site parking
Fees for in-room Wi-Fi access, minibars, and coffee-making facilities
Dated decor throughout
Pool bar and kids' club are seasonal
Crown Resorts Horizon is a three-and-a-half-pearl resort hotel a five-minute walk from the beach at Coral Bay. The 215 rooms here are simple and not particularly memorable, though they all have air-conditioning and lovely balconies, some with sea views. Features are outstanding and include a beautiful lagoon pool with a kids' pool, a gorgeous indoor pool housed in a cave-like room, and tons of incentives for families, including a playground, a seasonal kids' club, and discounted meal packages for young ones. However, the hotel levies a lot of fees -- for everything from Wi-Fi in rooms to the use of mini-fridges and kettles, which can easily put guests off. Travelers should also check out Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, which offers indoor and outdoor pools and has direct access to the beach -- without the fees.
Scene
Mid-range resort hotel popular with British tourists of all ages
Crown Resorts Horizon is a resort hotel that attracts couples and families alike. It's spread out over two white-stucco buildings with large grassy lawns out back and views of the sea in the distance. The lobby is housed in the main building and doesn't particularly feel relaxing, owing largely to the bright faux mosaics and a playlist of Greek-language pop music. Most guests choose to get their lounge on by the large outdoor pool, which can feel a bit crowded at times despite the presence of lots of lawn chairs. Most guests here are families and couples from the UK, though there is a steady stream of continental European and Russian guests, particularly in the summertime.
Location
A five-minute walk from the beach at Coral Bay and 20 minutes by car from Paphos
Crown Resorts Horizon Hotel is situated just off the main road in the Coral Bay area of Cyprus, a lovely resort community not too far (about a 20-minute drive) from Paphos and around a half-hour by car to Paphos Airport. It's within a short walk or drive to a handful of tourist-oriented shops and restaurants along Coral Bay Avenue. Coral Bay Beach is a five-minute walk from the hotel and Corallia Beach is 15 minutes away on foot. It takes around 20 minutes by car to get to the Adonis Baths waterfalls and about two hours to reach Mount Olympos. Nicosia is a two-hour drive away.
Rooms
Simple, air-conditioned rooms and suites with small furnished balconies, some with sea views
This hotel offers 215 rooms with snug furnished balconies. All but the hotel's four one-bedroom Suites are more or less the same in terms of lay out and decor, differentiated only by what type of view they have: mountain (these look out on the hotel's interior), full sea, or side sea (this last monicker is a bit of a stretch in some, as in you have to actually stretch your neck around one side of the balcony to see any water). Decor is simple, with solid bedspreads and light-wood furniture and the option of either two single beds or one double bed. Note that the rooms have been updated with new paint and art since we photographed them in 2015. All units have flat-screen TVs (though they're quite small) plus safes, air-conditioning, and mini-fridges and coffee- and tea-making facilities are available for a fee. In-room Wi-Fi is available for a fee. Bathrooms are equally plain, with shower/tub combos, wall-mounted hose-style hairdryers, and basic toiletries. Suites all have full views out over the sea and each has a whirlpool hot tub for two in the bathroom, plus a separate walk-in shower.
Features
Large lounge pool, lovely indoor pool area with waterfall features, and all sorts of entertainment options for all ages
Crown Resorts Horizon has a surprisingly extensive array of facilities for a mid-range property, starting with its large lagoon-style outdoor pool. It's a lagoon-style affair with a separate kids' pool, a seasonal (May-October) pool bar, and lots of lounge chairs. Beyond the pool is a large playground along with a petanque pitch and plenty of grass. A second, cavern-like heated indoor pool can be found at the lower level of the hotel, complete with an upper whirlpool section that tumbles down, waterfall-like, into a main swimming area below. There's also a beauty salon offering manicures, makeup services, waxing, and even hair extensions. Adjacent sits a lovely spa for massages and other treatments, along with separate men and women's steam area, a well-equipped fitness center, and an exercise room where a range of free fitness classes are offered daily. For kids, there's a game room with a foosball table and billiards along with a kids' club on this level, but the latter is only staffed in July and August. Entertainment options change a bit throughout the year, but generally involve a rotation of daytime animation (think archery and water polo). Evening entertainment includes bingo, karaoke, and Cypriote folklore demonstrations, held in the property's poolside outdoor amphitheater during the hotter times of the year or indoors during the winter months. There are also two tennis courts on site. Guests have the option of bed-and-breakfast, half-board, and all inclusive packages, with half-off pricing for children (and discounts for top-shelf liquor not included in packages for all-inclusive guests). Meals are served in the big main restaurant, buffet style, with a rotation of themed evenings along with some typical Mediterranean mainstays. There's also a coffee shop in the lobby that is sometimes used for lunch service. Room service is available. Other facilities at this property include an internet room with two terminals and a coin-operated massage chair, a gift shop selling all sorts of souvenirs and beach accessories, a conference room that can be used for private dining on request, and lots of free parking. Wi-Fi is free in public areas and costs extra to use in rooms.