Dome Hotel

“Warm and Welcoming”

The check in was professional and swift with a warm genuine smile. The location is extraordinary. The Seaview room was beautifully decorated and clean. The bathroom had a full size bathtub to soak in and the verandah was expansive. The bed and pillows were excellent and the towels were nice and fl… more

The check in was professional and swift with a warm genuine smile. The location is extraordinary. The Seaview room was beautifully decorated and clean. The bathroom had a full size bathtub to soak in and the verandah was expansive. The bed and pillows were excellent and the towels were nice and fluffy. Finally the breakfast is outstanding with a large selection of hot and cold goodies on offer including made to order omelettes from an open kitchen. We love the place.

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“Good, but not great”

Under normal circumstances, we would probably not have stayed at the Dome Hotel, as the reviews that we had seen were not brilliant but, as we were on an escorted tour (Jules Verne's Classic Kyrenia Tour), we did not have much of a choice of accommodation and knew that we would be out on trips most… more

Under normal circumstances, we would probably not have stayed at the Dome Hotel, as the reviews that we had seen were not brilliant but, as we were on an escorted tour (Jules Verne's Classic Kyrenia Tour), we did not have much of a choice of accommodation and knew that we would be out on trips most days, which meant that it wouldn’t matter too much if the hotel wasn’t perfect. After having spent a week there, we can say that there are plenty of positive things about this hotel, but we can also see why it might get some poor reviews too. Before our arrival, we were in email contact with the Dome to ask a couple of questions and received prompt and helpful responses. We had advised them that it was our wedding anniversary during our stay and were delighted to find out when we arrived that they had upgraded us from a standard room to a two room junior suite (Room 346). The bedroom on its own was a good size anyway, but having the extra lounge room was very useful as the bedroom storage space was a little restricted. The bathroom was also a good size and had a jacuzzi bath, which was a nice touch, but it was a bit awkward to get in and out of, plus it was difficult to use the shower without getting water everywhere, as the shower screens did not meet in the middle. The bathroom fixtures and fittings were rather tatty and dated, as was the room overall, with dark brown being the main colour present. We really did not like the fact that the room’s doors did not have proper secure locks on them, just a push button on the inside, plus we only had one key, which made things a bit awkward if we were going out separately. We were pleased to have an in-room safe, although it seemed odd that it wasn’t actually attached to anything (so it would have been perfectly possible for someone to steal the entire thing). We didn’t have anything from the mini-bar, but there was at least enough spare room for us to keep our own stuff in there. We really liked having 2 balconies, particularly since we had an unrestricted sea view from both of them. The air conditioning worked well, plus we were able to get a nice breeze through the rooms via the balcony doors. We stayed at the Dome on a half-board basis, which meant that we had breakfast and dinner in the main restaurant each day. The food at both meals was of reasonable quality, but not very exciting or varied over the week. We were very surprised to see that the leftover soup from dinner was offered at breakfast the next morning! The puddings at dinner were very good though and we appreciated being able to order fresh omelettes at breakfast. We also liked the fact that bottled water was included with dinner at no extra cost. As the weather was warm during our stay, we chose to eat on the terrace each morning and night, but our experience was often marred by the other guests chain-smoking their way through each mealtime. It would have been nice if some of the tables could have been reserved for non-smokers, such as the ones nearer the pool. We had lunch at the Anchor restaurant on our last day and found that to be an enjoyable experience. We found the waiting staff to be very pleasant and helpful all week, whereas the bar staff were not very friendly. Whilst we were there, there was an altercation in the bar area, but the staff tried their best to keep this away from the other guests. There was also a wedding at the hotel during our stay – whilst I’m sure that this was a lovely occasion for the bridal party and their family and friends, it was really not fun for the rest of the hotel guests. The music was so loud that the furniture in our room was vibrating. I was just glad that I always take earplugs with me on holiday! We didn’t use the casino so can’t comment on it, but it seemed to be popular with Turkish guests. We used the pool areas on a few days – choosing to sit by the top pool, as it was normally pretty quiet up there. We had no problem getting sunbeds and parasols, although the sunbed mattresses and parasol covers had clearly seen better days (as had the towels). We didn’t swim in the pool ourselves, as others in our group said that it was very cold. We did swim in the sea pool and the wider sea swimming areas though – the sea is pretty warm by September, so this was much more fun for us than the cold pool. The hotel itself has a long history in Kyrenia and is fitted out in an old fashioned but pleasant style – the location is excellent if you want to be in the heart of Kyrenia. The staff at the hotel were largely excellent too – particularly the reception staff (we were especially pleased that they allowed us to keep our room for an extra hour on the day we left). If the hotel was to get a full refurbishment to bring it up to modern standards, then I would consider staying there again but, based on our recent experience, we’re unlikely to be going back any time soon.

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