Our first hotel in Cyprus was the Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino, which is located in the northern part of the island, that is, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
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The transfer from the airport to the hotel
If you book the Hotel Salamis Bay Conti via a tour operator (e.g. via LMX Touristik, JT Touristik or FTI) you will always arrive at Ercan Airport (Northern Cyprus) and have a stopover in Turkey beforehand. You can read more about the flights to Cyprus here. With these package deals, the transfer from Ercan airportis usually included, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
If (like us) you prefer to have a direct flight to Cyprus, then it is best to book a flight to Larnaca. Here, however, you have to take care of the transfer yourself, which is quite simple. We arranged our transfer through our car rental company, so that someone picked us up directly at the airport. The price for this was a total of 70,- €. Further transfer offers are available e.g. at Suntransfers. Simply specify the times of the flight, select the number of passengers and a suitable car. You can also take a taxi directly at the airport. The price is likely to be roughly the same.
It takes about 45 to 60 minutes from Larnaca Airport to Hotel Salamis Bay Conti, depending on how long the passport is checked and how much traffic is available.
The location of the hotel in Cyprus
Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino is located right on a beautiful bay with a small offshore reef, very close to the ruins of Salamis. The hotel is located about 8 kilometers north of Famagusta, a small town on the east coast of the island of Cyprus. There is plenty of parking on the hotel grounds, so you can always safely accommodate your rental car.
Things to know about
The hotel was built in 1974 and has been extended and renovated ever since. Currently, the resort has 574 rooms, of which 90 are with sea views. In the main building there are 361 rooms (8 suites and 353 standard rooms). In the adjoining villas there are 44 rooms and in an annex building another 25 club rooms, 87 parking rooms and 59 club garden rooms.
Our suite on the 8th floor
For three days we were accommodated in a newly renovated 67m2 suite on the 8th floor of the main house. We could always enjoy the beautiful sea view from one of the two balconies. The corner suite consists of two rooms, i.e. a living room and a double bedroom and a spacious bathroom. There is really nothing missing here. From the small amenities in the bathroom, such as shampoo, shower gel, razors, bathrobes, etc., to a bowl of fresh fruit to chilled drinks in the mini-bar, which are even free of charge for all-inclusive guests on the day of arrival. The Wi-Fi has worked well in our room and is free everywhere in the hotel.
Hotel Facilities & Entertainment
When you move around the hotel, you quickly realize that Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino (especially during the holiday season) is a family hotel. Traveler couples are more likely to be the minority. There is a lot to offer to entertain the little ones and the big ones all day (and night). For example, there is a slide park, two swimming pools, a beach section, a fitness center and a SPA area with sauna. The entertainment and entertainment programme rangefrom slated to include pool games and live music, as well as amphitheatre shows and DJ parties at salamis club. There is certainly something for everyone here. Since the nights can get long here, it can happen from time to time that the music can be heard in the rooms.
Panoramic view of the 2 pools
The food in the hotel
Since we had an all-inclusive package for the three days, we could feast on the buffets of the hotel at any time of the day. The main restaurant “Seluk” was mostly our starting point here, as you have the largest selection in a buffet restaurant. The restaurant is very large and at peak times there may well be waiting times. Nevertheless, the food tasted very good – it was a mixture of specialties from Northern Cyprus as well as international dishes. A lot of it was prepared by the chefs at live cooking stations, so you got it fresh on the plate.
And the catering for drinks is also excellent: from 8 a.m. to midnight, almost all drinks are free of charge for all-inclusive guests.
One evening we were invited by the hotel to the a la carte restaurant, which is located on a terrace above the pool bar. A beautiful view is included. Here you can create a 5-course menu from the menu individually. The different courses were a pleasure for the eye alone – and of course also in terms of taste. In the course of the evening, the evening program started on the stage below us, which we could see wonderfully from our “Logen-Places”.
Our hotel review
Overall, we enjoyed the stay at Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino and you can recommend the hotel without hesitation. Since the hotel is usually fully booked in the high season to 100, it can get quite crowded here and there. But the system is so large that it always goes well. The beach is quite narrow, but very clean and the water crystal clear. Above all, one should always take into account the price/performance ratio: We have regular prices of less than 400,- € incl. at some suppliers during the low season. Flight, transfer and all-inclusive found for a week stay – and for such a price, the services offered and the friendly service are really first class. With Tripadvisor, the hotel ranks 1 thinly out of 15 hotels in Famagusta and holidaycheck has a referral rate of currently 92.
Interview with the Guest Relation Assistant Manager
During our stay at the hotel, Ergün Polat looked after us. Ergün is the Guest Relation Assistant Manager of Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino. If you have any questions, you can contact him and his colleagues at any time. Here’s our little interview to learn more about the hotel and the country.
1. Can you tell us something about the history of the hotel? When was it built and when was it expanded?
The hotel was built in 1974, just before the partition of the island of Cyprus. In 1999, the hotel was closed for a period of time in order to renovate and renovate the entire complex. Fifteen years later, the owner built the Salamis Bay Conti Park complex (2nd building) with its amphitheatre and aquapark. At the end of 2016, the new casino opened, which was completely destroyed after a devastating fire. The Club-Garden building has only recently opened.
2. Which countries are the main countries from which your guests come from?
Our guests come mainly from Turkey, followed by Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Israel, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and of course many local guests visit us.
3. What is your guest structure?
At Salamis Bay Conti you will find families, couples, singles, groups, casino guests… in fact, every guest structure that exists is included.
4. When is the high season with you and when does the low season start?
The high season starts in mid-May. However, it can also move into June, which is a little related to the weather conditions. The low season usually starts on October 16th, depending on the weather, this may also shift.
5. What can guests experience with you? What activities do you offer?
The hotel offers a lot of activities for young and old. Our animation team offers the following activities during the summer season during the day: During the day there are pool and beach activities such as morning gymnastics, beach volleyball, aqua Zumba, step aerobics, water polo, pool games, outdoor gymnastics, yoga and Zumba. The evening shows offer guests live acts, acrobatic shows, dance shows and theme parties. Our new Rainbow Club organizes foam parties or concerts on weekends. During the day you can also sunbathe and relax in peace. The hotel has a tennis, soccer, volleyball and basketball court. Guests can also play bocce and darts, and table tennis tables are available at the hotel. If you get a bit bored, there is a game center in the basement, where various cyber slot machines are provided.
In addition, we also have a program for our little guests. In the hotel there is a mini-club, where the little ones are looked after by entertainers. Various activities are offered such as water dancing, water sports, Wall Painting, Angry Birds Game, Family Painting, Sand Art, Kids Zumba, Olympic Games, Pirates Action, Kite Action, Table Games, Musical Games with Family, Cookies Party, Speed Racing, Cinema and the kids show in the evening.
For the feel-good factor, there is a Turkish hammam, a sauna, a steam bath, an indoor pool and a jacuzzi in the spa area. Of course, massages are also offered by professional masseurs. Also the body care is not neglected. A team of hairdressers welcomes their male and female guests for a haircut or for hand and foot care. Guests can use our main pool or the aqua park with its slides and extra children’s pools.
During the high season, three shuttle buses run to the historic town of Famagusta during the day. This costs 3,- € per person for round trip.
6. What do you attach particular importance to?
It is very important to the Salamis Bay Conti team that our guests simply feel safe in our house. We like to spray a family and loving atmosphere to our guests. Since our facility is very large, we try to offer our guests as much as possible, so that they do not necessarily have to leave the facility. We want our guests to spend an unforgettable holiday and return home rested and hope that their experiences will also make them choose Salamis Bay Conti again.
7. Why would you recommend a holiday in Northern Cyprus?
Northern Cyprus offers a unique landscape with a pleasant summer climate and is far from mass tourism. You will find the perfect peace and quiet in Northern Cyprus for a harmonious and relaxing holiday. In Northern Cyprus there are 341 sunny days, which you can spend on the beach or in nature. The crystal clear sea water with its clean and beautiful beaches is simply breathtaking.
Since I am very interested in history, there is a lot of millennia-old history on the island. Starting from the Romans, the Byzantines, the British, the Venetians, the Ottomans to the partition – here you will find a lot of legacies and impressions of the respective epochs.
Dear Ergün, thank you for the interview 🙂
All travelogues from Cyprus
The island of Cyprus has about 1.1 million inhabitants and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. Since 1974 the island has been divided. However, it was clear to us from the very beginning that we would like to explore the entire island on our own - both Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus. In our articles we will give you detailed information about our hotels, the sights of the whole island (north and south), diving at the wreck Zenobia and turtle watching in Alagadi.
» Cyprus: Travel Guide, Things to know & Tourist Attractions» Cyprus: Our rental car for Northern Cyprus & Southern Cyprus
» Cyprus: Nikosia – Travel Guide & Things to do in the divided city
» Northern Cyprus: Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel & Casino
» Northern Cyprus: Tourist Attractions on the east coast of the island
» Northern Cyprus: Kyrenia – The port city of Girne in Northern Cyprus
» Northern Cyprus: The Alagadi Sea Turtle Project in Northern Cyprus
» Southern Cyprus: Larnaca – Diving at the shipwreck Zenobia
» Southern Cyprus: Tourist Attractions & Things to do in the south part of the island