Archive for August 30th, 2008

SPORTS CAFÉ with Rupert Bates

This month: APHRODITE HILLS, CYPRUS

Cyprus may be a land where ancient civilisations kiss; a mystical eastern Mediterranean island of precious artefacts and treasured monuments. But where do you go if you want, or rather are prepared to brave, a three-generation family holiday with grandpa aged 70 and the youngest child just 18 months?
Grandpa Tim, or Gump, was all for Cyprus, as he assumed the goddess of love would once again rise from the foam (of his beer this time, rather than the rock of Petra tou Romiou), before hailing Dionysus from Olympus with the wine list to wash down a mosaic of haloumi, olives, fresh fish and lamb.
Toby, an 11-year-old film fanatic, wondered if there would be CDs at the villa – all three Bourne movies would do for starters – while my wife Kelly and I were hoping to find a rental villa with a 20-foot high security fence around the swimming pool and an entry code that little Freddie could not crack. Talking of cracks, can you bounce off marble floor tiles?
Sport was important too with golf and tennis needed to keep the bigger boys happy, while Kelly was keen to leaf through holiday brochures with luxury spa options.
The resort of Aphrodite Hills in Paphos, Cyprus ticked all but one of the boxes. Why is it so difficult to find a villa with a perimeter fence to secure the pool area? It does not have to ruin the aesthetics of the garden, and nicely done can enhance it. But by the end of the holiday the adults were all walking like Quasimodo (no it wasn’t the Bells whisky), having spent a week in the running crouch position trying to scoop up young Freddie. I’m not sure what he was shouting every time he toddled towards the pool, but it sounded like: “I’m Michael Phelps!”
The resort could do little about the heat and more fools us for choosing a Cyprus holiday in July. It was hotter than July. The pergola was our solace; chilled beers and white wine our sustenance. And Freddie ate olives, lots of olives.
Aphrodite Hills resort is only a few years old, but with 9000 years of history on its doorstep at the crossroads of three continents. In the south-west corner of Cyprus, the resort is a low density (eight percent) development of around 650 properties in 578 acres of countryside. Villas and apartments have views of the Mediterranean, the mountains, or the fairways of its own 18-hole golf course. Many of the properties go into rental pools, with full management services available, while the five-star InterContinental Hotel on the resort has 290 rooms.
The first of its kind in Cyprus and developed by generations of the Lanitis family, the resort is essentially a collection of villages, shaped from the contours of the land, using the drawing boards of both international and local architects. There are olive (steady Freddie) and Carob trees everywhere, with carob known in Cyprus as ‘black gold.’
Stone and wood, terracotta and other ruddier, earthier hues make up the palettes of the built landscape, with bougainvillea adding exuberant splashes of external colour. The resort, 15 minutes from Paphos airport which is a four and a half hour flight from London, has won numerous accolades, including several Homes Overseas Awards.
There is plenty for the children, with a variety of kids’ activity clubs, ranging from toddlers to teenagers and a baby-sitting service. Aphrodite Hills also has two beach clubs you can be shuttled to by bus.
The Village Square hosts a number of restaurants. A Meze night at a Greek Taverna, an Italian pizza and pasta, a smart French brasserie, or all things Asian. There is probably still a chopstick in the fish pond of the Chinese restaurant, thrown by Freddie as he tried to spear a koi carp. Oh and yes there is a pub, with requisite big screens for sport.
Aphrodite Hills works well as a three-generation resort, for you can gently snooze with a sun downer, play the all-action sportsman, or simply gurgle, giggle, cry and demand food and drink all day. But enough about me.
A recommended family holiday home investment, be it for personal use or, with year-round sun and sport, for rentals. But I sign off this Sports Café with a plea for better safety around the swimming pool and a second corkscrew in the kitchen drawer. It’s thirsty work in Cyprus. Especially in July.

Golf

The 18-hole championship standard golf course is 6,299 metres in length and was designed by renowned American course architect Cabell Robinson. It is built on two mountain plateaux, separated by a dramatic ravine, with the course weaving through the olive and carob trees.
The golf academy, with a practice range including bunkers and targets and a three-hole course, caters for all abilities, which was just as well. Three generation of Bates lined up for expert tuition and, before the old man’s back felt a twinge, it was highly competitive. The trouble is, as our PGA qualified instructor pointed out, trying to hit the ball over the Troodos mountains does not always make for the prettiest or most effective golf swing. You can even get your swing recorded and analysed by computer. It is called ‘The Gasp System’, although I am sure the computer is meant to gasp: “wow, where to go Tiger,” rather than: “Oh, have you thought of piano lessons?’ Membership of the course is exclusive to property owners at Aphrodite Hills, with discounted membership and green fees for the first five years.

Tennis

Toby and I headed for the tennis courts at about midday. Mad dogs and Englishmen indeed. Now we know what Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer felt like during the Australian Open in the Melbourne furnace, although our rallies were shorter and our array of ground strokes more limited. Again we had expert tuition to hone that swing. When complete the tennis academy will be 10 courts – a mix of hard and clay surfaces – including a centre court, holding 600 spectators.

Spa

Can something be monastic and sensual at the same time? Depends on your habits I suppose. The Retreat Spa is pampering on a Greco-Roman scale, be it in one of the treatment rooms; a Thai massage in an outdoor pavilion, or simply soaking in the infinity pool, with its Narcissus mosaic, overlooking the sea. The gardens are replete with herbs to infuse the oils. There is hydrotherapy, aromatherapy and stone therapy, facials and wraps. You can be massaged, polished and cleansed.

Contacts

www.aphroditehills.com. +357-26828000

www.lanitisdevelopment.com. +357-25828000

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