Atlantica Aeneas Resort

The hotel is advertised as a 4/5 star resort. Although it’s a nice hotel, it’s definitely a comfortable 4 star and doesn’t have the premium or luxury feel of a 5 star resort.

We booked a family room with an inward view. We were allocated a room in the main building with a lovely view of the pool and sea. The room was laid out with two twin beds pushed together to make a queen size bed, plus two small sofa beds in a separate seating area. Although this area had doors which could be closed, there is a 1.5-2 foot gap at the top of the wooden partition so it doesn’t block out sound or light from the main room. There was a TV with English and German channels, complimentary body/hair wash and conditioner, plus a stocked mini fridge (there is a charge if you want this refilled).

The grounds of the hotel were lovely and very well looked after. The total did feel very compact. It is mainly centred around a large central pool, with a smaller pool next to some swim up rooms.

We went at the end of July/early August which is obviously its busiest time. It felt VERY busy. Although there are posters displayed about sun bed reservation, this wasn’t managed and sun beds were reserved from around 6am onwards. You would struggle to get beds after 7.30am (possibly the odd single bed). This took away the relaxed feel of lazy days and slowing down from the normal day to day pressures of family life, as you needed to jump up to get a bed, otherwise the only other alternative was sitting on a metal table chair. This became stressful and tedious and for this reason, we wouldn’t return to this hotel (and would only recommend the resort to those travelling outside school holiday periods). I think we all feel more tired coming home and crave not having to jump up so early. It would be so much better if the resort operated a sun bed allocation system. If possible, I would recommend trying to get beds slightly away from the main area (where the fountain/kids pool is), as the sun beds are packed together and it’s common for people to smoke, vape, swear, speak very loudly and play music around the beds; whilst I fully understand the hotel can’t control this, it can feel overwhelming for those looking to just relax or enjoy some quiet time. There is also no music played around the pool to zone out from peripheral noise.

The pool was clean and well looked after. There were a couple of incidents of poo being found in the water and kids injuring themselves, but the lifeguards reacted quickly to zone off and either clean up or put control measures in place. It felt very safe and well supervised.

This was our first visit to a TUI BLU resort. There wasn’t a huge amount of water based pool activities to keep kids entertained. The daily schedule included a water HIIT/aerobics class at 12-12.30pm and then a water polo (older kids - ages 8-12 with an adult) and volleyball (adults) session later in the afternoon. On one day there was a 15 min activity on balance boards which you had to book via the app, but otherwise there were no other water based activities kids could join in with. We went to a Holiday Village last year and much preferred the pool activities (different each day, such as canoeing, paddle boarding and water obstacle course to help keep the kids entertained).

The entertainment team work incredibly hard and put on some fantastic evening performances. The external performers can however be a bit hit and miss though.

The food was a similar standard to other all inclusive resorts. Lots of choices available. The snack bar was popular and offered kebabs, burgers, nuggets, chips, hotdogs, salads and sandwiches, in addition to various ice creams and pancakes. You also had two ‘free’ visits to the two onsite restaurants and get a discount if you use the Italian restaurant.

I was a little concerned before coming here, especially after seeing some of the negative reviews and considering how much we had paid for our holiday. However, after spending 11 nights here, I can honestly say I have absolutely no idea where some of those negative reviews came from! We had such a wonderful stay and I have nothing but positive things to say about this hotel.

We arrived after midnight and check-in was quick and easy. We were helped with our luggage and, despite the late hour, there was soup available in the main restaurant. It was absolutely delicious and exactly what we needed after travelling all day!

I know some people question the hotel’s 5-star rating, but I’m not really sure what people expect from a 5-star hotel abroad. Of course, it isn’t going to be the equivalent of a 5-star Ritz hotel in London — but for a holiday resort, I thought it was lovely. The hotel was beautiful, very clean and comfortable, and everything we needed was there.

The sunbed situation is something we’re used to and, honestly, it happens everywhere. I don’t feel the need to make it a complaint. If you want a sunbed, get up and grab one! Have a coffee, relax and enjoy your day. It really didn’t bother us.

The food was absolutely fantastic. I genuinely enjoyed everything I ate, and I know it’s good food when my children actually eat it! We’ve stayed at other resorts where the kids barely touched anything, but they ate really well here. The pizza in particular was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had — I had to have a slice every single day!

I also loved the daytime snack bar. It was brilliant for families because the children could go themselves when they were hungry and choose from hot dogs, burgers, nuggets, ice cream, pancakes, salads, wraps, kebabs, chips and so much more. Everything we tried was really tasty.

The drinks were also surprisingly good. There were branded spirits rather than the overly sweet, syrupy drinks you sometimes get at all-inclusive resorts, and you could actually taste the alcohol!

Our cleaner was absolutely wonderful — so friendly, hardworking and always did a fantastic job. Our room was cleaned beautifully every day.

We stayed in a family suite as a family of five, which was a huge bonus. Not many hotels can accommodate families of more than four in one room, so having the extra space made such a difference. It was lovely not to feel like we were all on top of each other.

But for me, the biggest selling point has to be the location.

Nissi Beach is absolutely beautiful. Yes, it’s busy, but to be honest, it’s far too hot to spend the entire day there anyway! We loved being able to pop over for a swim or spend a short amount of time there before heading back to the hotel. There is also so much to do in the surrounding area, and everything was really easy to get to.

The entertainment was probably the one area that I would say could be improved. The TUI reps themselves work incredibly hard and are very talented, and they put on some great performances, but outside of that the entertainment felt a little flat at times. However, I think this is more of a TUI issue than a hotel issue, and with so much to do outside the resort, it really didn’t affect our holiday.

We also paid for late check-out and it was absolutely worth it. Having the room until 6pm meant we could enjoy our final day, then come back, shower, get ready, check out and have dinner before heading to the airport. It made such a difference and took away so much of the stress of travelling home.

I was genuinely so sad to leave both this hotel and Cyprus. I really, really want to come back.

My only wish is that TUI would bring their prices down and make holidays a little more affordable for families, because I would love the opportunity to return.

This was honestly one of the best holidays I’ve had in a really long time. We absolutely loved it and would happily come back.

Thank you for such a fantastic holiday! ❤️

I visited here with my husband and 3 year for 11 nights late July / early August. We had a fantastic holiday and would return. There’s lots of positives to this hotel including its cleanliness, spacious rooms, good location & friendly staff. The food is great, lots of options, plates cleared quickly and options to eat inside or outside. Great cocktail choices from the many bars - which are all open throughout the day into the evening. The pool is huge, and therefore plenty of space for all to enjoy, games, floats etc therefore allowed, my child loved the separate splash park. Only issues we found was the paper cups throughout the day, as this feels very wasteful and having to wake up before 8am to get a bed - anything after this time , you simply will not get one. It’s also worth noting the nightly entertainment isn’t the best at this hotel, although this isn’t something we look for in a hotel , it may bother others. Overall a great holiday.