Callisto Holiday Village

We arrived at the Callisto Holiday Village (note the hotel has since changed its name to MarisMare Apartments) Ayia Napa on our arrival date, from that point on our holiday took a downward spiral due to extremely poor and dangerous conditions, which were a hazard to the Health and Safety of my family.

Room: Overall comments • Poor upkeep of the rooms, lack of care and attention when decorating and cleaning. This is evidenced in the photos attached, where the paint is seen going over the tiled skirting, plug sockets, paint spatter on the pullout sofa bed and rust on the handles of the bathroom drawers • The rooms were tired and very dated • Ants were coming out of the plug sockets, crawling up and around the wall to behind the wall art • No hangers in the wardrobes • The room was infested with ants • The general fixtures and fittings, such as lighting, were also installed to a poor standard and care • When our room was cleaned (ground floor room 1602), the maids/cleaners left our room unsecured. Our patio doors were left unlocked, meaning they could be opened from the outside quite easily. This was a huge security and safety concern for me. If we hadn’t checked the doors then potentially, we would have been sleeping with them unlocked putting my family at risk of intruders or of our belongings being stolen.

Kitchenette • No Kettle • There was only 1 teacup, 2 glasses and 3 bowls. Given that we were self-catering there was not enough crockery for me to cater for my family of 4 • I went to put the box of cereal away and it was then that I noticed that the cereal box was infested with ants. Can you imagine my disgust when I realised that my daughter was already halfway through a bowl of this cereal and therefore had consumed Ants! As a parent I felt horrid that we hadn’t checked this, never in my time in Cyprus have I not been able to keep a box of cereal in a cupboard and the fridge is not big enough to store such items • Ants around the base of the worktop grill/oven. This was never used by us and seemed to show quite a bit of rust and dirt

Bed • We were concerned that our 12yr and 15yr children had to share a double bed, especially as they are of the opposite sex • The bed was absolutely disgusting, poor condition, lots of thick brown stains, it looks like stain had been painted on • The mattress toppers were poor, to the point they were literally just extra blankets • The bedframe for the sofa bed was also rusty, bent and broken • The sofa bed was also covered in paint spatters

Bathroom • Looked grotty, dirty and the grout was all stained • The drawers had rust over the handles • Several times the toilet flushed but did not empty, it took several flushes to try and get this to work • When the toilet wouldn’t empty, it caused the kitchen sink not to drain, resulting in water bubbling through the kitchen sink plug hole.

I went to reception on the Thursday to advise that we had no kettle, not enough cups/glasses and no hangers. They advised this would be added to a list, but they wouldn’t be provided until Friday morning when the maids did their rounds. By Friday PM these still hadn’t been provided, so my husband went to reception to chase this up. The receptionist rudely responded with ‘You should ask for these in the morning’, my husband explained that we asked for them on Thursday and still had not received them. Once again, they added it to a list. As a result, only the kettle was provided later that day however not the other items.

Site • Signage to blocks very poor making it difficult to find your way around the vast site • Lighting on the footpaths was poor to non-existent in several areas. This meant when we came back to the hotel in the evening we couldn’t see where we were walking, couldn’t see if anyone else was around making us feel very unsafe • Towels thrown on the bushes around the site • Footpaths covered in running water due to pipes not pointing to the gardens correctly or pipes were broken • The toilets upstairs in the main foyer had holes in the floor, wall and also huge cracks in the walls

Pool • Unless you woke up before 6.30am you had zero chance of getting a sunbed. • Sunbeds were all taken with guests reserving them with their towels but then not occupying them until gone 10am or later • Pool was absolutely disgusting! It had an excessive amount of black and green algae growing in it. These algae could be seen around the rocks in the pool, especially in the volleyball pool • Around the outside of the smaller pool where the it met the main pool, the rocks were also covered in algae • The rocks around the volleyball pool were broken, had holes in them showing the hollow centres and had sharp ages • The grates around the pool were filthy with black and green mould • Children’s pool slide had mould on the steps • Algae on all the grout at the bottom of the pool and around the edge of the pool • Black and green algae floating around in the pool • The pool ladies toilets were both closed, they had out of order signs on the doors however, no signs as to where the next nearest toilets were. This resulted in some guests were using the toilets anyway • The pool showers also didn’t fully work, they only dripped water. The only one that provided any use was the foot shower. This meant that you couldn’t clean yourself before and after using the pool.

Internet Research supporting my concerns: ‘Is it safe to swim in a pool with algae? Whether mild or severe, it isn't recommended. Significant amounts of swimming pool algae welcome a breeding ground of harmful bacteria that feed on algae. These bacteria pose health risks to swimmers, most commonly resulting in a skin rash’

‘Black algae: This type of algae grows on localized pool surfaces such a wall or in the deep end. If you find it around obstacles such as the pool’s stairs, corners, and steps, it’s likely due to poor circulation and poor sanitization’

We moved rooms due to the issues found

New Room • The plug sockets were unsafe as the switches were not sitting in the sockets and couldn’t be switched off • Toilet roll holder stopped the toilet seat being opened and closed, we had to take the toilet roll off the holder to open and close the toilet and even then, it still caught • There was no kettle in this room, so ended up taking the kettle from our previous room • There were no hangers in the wardrobe • My son had a shower, despite the water being on a cold setting, a surge of hot water came through which scolded his back. • The shower tray didn’t drain quick enough whilst having a shower, which meant we had to keep turning the shower off to allow it to drain so to avoid flooding the bathroom.

We have been coming to Cyprus, Ayia Napa for 20years. We have stopped in an array of hotels, but I can honestly say, we have never stopped in one as bad as this. This is the first time that I have ever wanted to leave a hotel and go home. Our holiday was ruined

We are in a hotel which has been advertised as a Holiday Village, suitable for families however, the hotel was far from this. The hotel was full of party goers which woke us up at 3.30am, 4.40am and 6.30am. Drinking, swearing and being loud around the pool during the day. There was an altercation in the pool one day. Management came out and told the man to stop it, didn’t ask the man to leave the pool, or to stop drinking etc – that was it.

Advised that the Kids club would be open during our stay however, it was noted that others guests were advised this will be closed for the duration of the season

To summarise I feel that this hotel is inadequate, I am shocked that it is still showing on the holiday companies’ website for bookings. I normally take trip advisor reviews with a pinch of salt but in this case, I strongly recommend you read the reviews about this hotel. I also noticed that reading these reviews that it was ‘normal’ for people to be moved rooms several times, some up to 4 times, due to issues with the rooms at this hotel. Our holiday was ruined by the issues we had with this hotel resulting in us checking out and seeking alternate accommodation

Apartment exactly what we needed. Air conditioned and spacious Fully equipped kitchen Could hear no noise in the evenings. Amazing location

Really friendly and helpful staff. Manager Christof was especially helpful when our luggage was left in London! Thanks so much! Will definitely stay here again.