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Cyprus in the Raw
By
Mike Coatesworth

My search for holiday apartments

I had been to Cyprus several times previously and thoroughly enjoyed each stay in the tourist areas. In fact I enjoyed the sun-drenched island so much that I was seriously contemplating retiring there. As the winter in the UK was getting a little cold for me, at virtually the last minute, I decided to return to Cyprus for a month in January, away from the tourist areas, to one of the villages where I could get a taste of how the locals live every day life on the island.

Searching through the Internet, and for the first time we decided to try "self catering" to find out what it was like to live like a local? I found what I thought to be the perfect place, "Kastambena Apartments" in the small village of "Kissonerga." The village is situated approximately 8 km from Paphos (one of the main tourist areas.)

The advertisement on the Internet boasted long stay winter apartments from £50 (Cyprus) (£58 UK?) (Which I presumed was a day) plus electricity had to be paid at local prices. It also stated that the apartments had all the facilities for a comfortable long stay, and that they were fully furnished, as well as being "fully air conditioned." The complex is reported to have a swimming pool, a restaurant and a pool bar, as well as a friendly atmosphere to "make you feel at home."

Well this so far appeared to be too good to be true, so I decided to seek more information, with the prospect of me taking my family to visit the place. I found a review from a person (Michelle) who had previously stayed at the apartments and she gave it a good review, with 8/10 for accommodation, 9/10 for food, 10/10 for customer service, 9/10 for the resort, 10/10 for value for money, 9/10 for overall rating.

Being a wheelchair user I had to be absolutely certain that the Kastambena apartments would be ideal for me. Still not satisfied with the information I had found so far, I decided to check even further and contacted the owners, brothers, George and Stelios Papageorgiou. After contacting George asking for information as to the apartment complex being suitable for a full wheelchair user, he replied that a two-bedroom apartment was on the ground floor and there was only one step of about 5 cm, which he stated that, "he didn't think that this could be a problem." After several more emails and a couple of faxes, plus the way the advertisement idyllically portrayed the hotel and surrounding village area I decided that this was the place that I was going to stay.

Arrival at Kastambena Apartments

On January 1st 2003, at around "nine o'clock in the evening local time," we arrived tired at the hotel apartments that were going to be our home for the next month. When I was helped from the vehicle, I was confronted with a problem, an approximately "six inch step, then a four inch step." My son managed to get me up the two steps and we went to the reception area, where a woman who worked apparently worked at the hotel, met us handed us the keys to our rooms, and when we asked where the restaurant was, she smiled as she informed us that everything in the village was closed for the holidays, and she said there was no food available, but she gave us a couple bottles of beer and three bottles of coca cola. Then she said goodnight and disappeared, and we were now in what appeared to be a deserted complex! Arriving at our room I was faced with another step albeit small. The apartment was far from luxurious, but it was comfortable, and somewhere to rest my head.

The following morning a very polite man wearing a combat jacket met me, and he introduced himself as "Stelios," one of the owners of the hotel. I asked him what time the restaurant opened for breakfast? He explained that the hotel was closed for the winter and the restaurant was closed! He explained that this was the hotel's "dead season," and except for the availability of the rooms, nothing was opened. I pointed out the steps to him and explained that I was having difficulties with them. Stelios looked at the step to my apartment and called over a workman who was nearby, and after a few words the man went away and came back to make a small temporary ramp to allow me the independence of getting in and out of the room on my own, and with this, Stelios smiled and stated that he would have a ramp built over the other steps shortly, (which to my surprise, he did.) I took a little time to look around and found that I could get around the complex a little, but I definitely would require assistance with my wheelchair

It was so quiet that it appeared to be just my family staying at the apartments? I did find out a couple of days later that three other apartments had been let out to guests, one to a young lady (artist,) a couple from Norway, (Steve and Eva,) and a young man named Alan,

We decided to take a look around the village to see if we could buy something to eat, and eventually we came across a small local store that was open. My wife purchased some goods to tied us over until we could find a supermarket.

Later, Stelios came up to me and stated that he had spoken to his brother and that they were going to open the bar on Friday night, then later this was changed to Saturday night as he couldn't get deliveries of beer over the holiday period, then Sunday night, eventually it opened Monday night. For the first time I met the man I had been writing to, George. He shook my hand and welcomed me to the apartments. He explained that this was the first time that they had opened the apartments in winter and that at the present time he didn't see the need to hire staff, so he and his brother were running things. Being practical, I asked him approximately how much a week our stay would cost, and when he replied that it was £17 (Cyprus) (£20 UK?) ($30 US?) Per person per week, and the electricity approximately £15 (Cyprus) (£18 UK?) ($27 US) per apartment a month, I was totally shocked and asked if he had made a mistake? He assured me that was the correct price, and asked if there was a problem? I replied that there was no problem with us, as I could not believe that we were staying in an apartment in Cyprus for such a small amount. Being an honest person I explained that I had spent more than he was charging for a meal in a restaurant! He shrugged his shoulders, 'we are quiet, and so we don't charge much.' From further conversations with George he appeared to be a well travelled and intelligent person.

A few days later Stelios informed us that there would be a party of workers staying at the apartments as he had hired them to pick his "orange crop." At first when the workers arrived, as the weather was not too good, the brothers set them to work around the complex. Two weeks into my holiday, I found that improvements were quickly taking shape and the whole place looked a lot better after equipment had been moved and repaired, as well as a fresh coat of paint.

The brothers were very friendly and it appeared to me that they indeed were trying to make our stay as comfortable as possible. I personally think that the "Kastambena apartments" need a lot of work before they can satisfactorily be suited for "independent wheelchair users," although the slight modifications that have been done to the property, wheelchair assisted users would be able to get around the complex.

As for the apartments themselves, although wheelchairs can easily fit through the bedrooms doors, the bathroom door would have to be removed before a wheelchair can fit through the entrance to the bathroom, and the shower is a little awkward, and if you are fully wheelchair bound, then the showers are impossible to use.

My Rating for Kastambena Apartments

Independent wheelchair access: 0/10

Assisted wheelchair access: 4/10

Accommodation: 7/10

Customer service: 7/10

Value for money: 10/10

Overall rating for able bodied guests: 8/10

For the time being, unless there is drastic improvement, I cannot possibly recommend the Kastambena apartments for independent wheelchair users. I know they are doing their best trying to improve the complex, but the two brothers still have a long way to go before it can be really classed as wheelchair friendly.

Overall I found George and Stelios very friendly and willing to listen, I enjoyed my stay.

So if you are an able bodied person looking for a "somewhere to rest your head" comfortable apartment at very reasonable rates, then Kastambena apartments in the village of Kissonerga is for you.

Mike Coatesworth

Visit my other disability access pages

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/disaccess2.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/disabacc.htm

My novels can be seen at

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/onetear1.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/cuppa1.htm

*****

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