Aphrodite Hills is a coastal resort in the Paphos district, Cyprus.

The resort is built on two elevated plateaus divided by a natural ravine. The resort has many features of a Mediterranean town; Greco-Roman architecture dominates, locally quarried stone is used in buildings and the town square has a market, restaurants, souvenir shops, a chapel, fragrant gardens, splashing fountains and an art gallery. The resort also has a spa, golf course, and leisure facilities.[1] Nearly all landscaping vegetation and development has been planned in advance, and therefore the resort is spacious and lacks the typical sprawl and density of most villages in Cyprus.

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The Retreat Spa

The Retreat Spa is built in a classic Greco-Roman style and enhanced by the Thermae. The spa was named in the world’s top 10 by Condé Nast Traveller, and in 2008 it received the highest accolade in the spa industry by winning "The Best Spa in Europe" award at the 2008 Professional Beauty Awards. [2]

Golf

The 18-hole golf course (230 –hectare) is of championship standard.[3] Most of the holes have views over the Meditaranean. Its 7th hole has become a talking point among golfers worldwide. Golfers, golf clubs, and landscape designers have ranked it as among the very finest courses in Europe."[4]

Culture

The majority of tourists who visit Aphrodite Hills are culture seeking tourists who want more than "sea sun and sand".

Theater and cultural events

Aphrodite Hills hosts West End shows, festivities, cultural events, and other plays. West End classics, including, Mamma Mia, Saturday Night Fever, and other shows which feature original choreography, songs and costumes.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite Hills is named after the goddess Aphrodite and the resort is only one mile away from Aphrodite's Rock.

Filmmaking

Aphrodite Hills and the surrounding areas are some of the most scenic and cinematic in the Mediterranean. Scenes from Panicos Chrysanthous’s Akamas and scenes from Alexia Roider's Styx were filmed nearby. There are plans for a feature film to be shot entirely in the Aphrodite Hills resort area. Three Short documentary / commercial videos have been produced promoting the resort.[5]

Other cultural activities and locations

Savvas pottery, (where tourists can make their own pots and ornaments) Oleastro olive mill, Cyprus wine museum which has hundreds of varieties of Cypriot wine and many tavernas which play live Cypriot music. There is also a small art gallery in the village square.

Sports

There are multi purpose courts and training facilities which attract sports teams from across Europe. Sports facilities include tennis, water sports, scuba-diving, mountain biking, horseback riding, jogging and hill walking through nature trails.

Awards

Aphrodite Hills has received two international listings in 2010. The InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel and The Retreat spa were both listed in Condé Nast Traveller’s Gold Lists for 2010.

The InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel was named ‘Best European Hotel for Leisure Activities’ in Condé Nast Publications Traveller’s 2010 Gold List[6]. Moreover, The Retreat Spa was named third best Hotel Spa in Europe, Asia Minor and the Russian Federation, at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Spa Awards and was also listed in the publication’s 2010 Gold List for the Best Spas[7].

Criticism

The resort uses over a million tones of water, more than all the villages in the district combined.[8]

It is the most costly village in Cyprus in terms of upkeep and development per resident, nearby villages are neglected and receive little finance for restoration or renovation of traditional houses.

There are accessibility and transport problems and there is a heavy reliance on cars, The beach and other attractions are not in walking distance. There have been attempts to improve this including a free hourly shuttle service.[9]