Olympic Lagoon Resort – Ayia Napa

ARRIVAL - Larnaca arrivals appeared very well organised, and our bags were already on the carousel when we got through passport control. We booked our transfer with L.A Taxis Ayia Napa Cyprus who I would highly recommend ❤️ Athena kept contact with us and gave clear instructions for where we needed to go on arrival to meet her lovely dad, Andreas, in his air conned limousine. The journey was smooth and we were at the hotel before the transfer bus had even left the airport 🎉 CHECK IN - We were greeted by a lovely, smiley chap on reception. It was 1am, very hot and we were shattered so the cold towels and delicious iced fruit tea was a welcome surprise. A lovely porter took us to our rooms on a buggy and took the time to explain bits like, how to use the bathroom blind, how to set the safe combination, how the air conned worked and how to lock and unlock the balcony doors. ROOMS - We had 2 superior deluxe rooms with pool and garden view. I had requested a twin room for our sons and was told on check in which room was the twin beds, however when we got to the rooms, both were double beds. My lads decided though that as the bed was so big they didn’t mind sharing so I didn’t bother asking for this to be changed. I had requested adjoining rooms to guarantee we were close to each other which we were, only a few doors apart, it was ideal. The rooms were huge with plenty of space for cases to be stood out of the way and a nice big sofa which I believe doubles as an extra bed if required. The balcony was enormous with a table and chairs and 2 rails which were handy for drying swim stuff. The bathroom was also large with double sink and a large shelf for storing all our toiletries. The rainfall shower was amazing and plenty of hot water. A sanitised bath mat was provided which was handy as bath surfaces always get slippy with all the sun cream etc. the wardrobe was huge with plenty of hanging, shelf and drawer space for all our clothes. There were about a dozen hangers and I bought a few from home just in case. There was a dry iron and ironing board which was very easy to use. I brought a travel mister bottle with me to spray water on clothes to make ironing easier. There was a kettle and a Lor coffee machine with tea, coffee, sugar, milk and pods refilled daily. The fridge had sandwiches, yoghurt and fruit for our late arrival plus 2 cartons of orange juice, bottles of sprite and coke and a large bottle of water. These were also replenished every day. There was a large dressing table with a small hair dryer mounted to the wall. It was fine for me as my hair is fairly short and with the high humidity levels my hair was inexplicable anyway! Plug sockets with USB port either side of bed and a double socket at dressing table and kettle station. Housekeeping was a highlight for us compared to some hotels. Susanna was incredible, she learned our routine very quickly, doing our room first and letting our lads lie in, then coming back to their room in an afternoon. POOL - Let’s be honest, anyone who says allocated sun beds are not a game changer is lying!! Not sure how we can ever go back to a hotel where this isn’t the case! Sharlene at the pool kiosk was fabulous, she offered us beds by the pool in 2 sets of 2 either end of a row or 4 together on the courtyard with an option to move poolside the following day when other guests left. We chose beds together and as she was showing us on the map we mentioned they were fairly close to the new swim up bar pool. She then asked if we were all adults as she could give us beds together next to that pool in the adult only area. This turned out to be perfect as we were only a few steps from our rooms so super convenient. It was very peaceful in the adults only area and the swim up bar was incredible. We spent nearly all our time floating around in there enjoying lovely drinks made by Ivo. Rightly so, he questioned the ages of our lads when we first got in as they look younger so it was good to see the rules were taken seriously. It was so peaceful, we wouldn’t have known there were kids in the hotel other than when we popped over to the snackeria. It looked like kids were having fun in the pool, playing with balls, splashing and jumping in etc. Only one set of toilets which got very wet and stinky but with the amount of guests using them I’m not surprised. You are given 2 towels each, a long one with a hood that hooks over your sun bed and a smaller one for drying off, changed as often as you like. FOOD & DRINK - All fabulous. My lads don’t like oriental food so hubby and I did seven orchids on our own and it was the best meal we have ever had. We all did the Garibaldi (men must wear long trousers and this is enforced) which was sensational. The greats and the American diner were also brilliant and the Indian night in the main buffet was our favourite in there. We are not picky eaters so food for us was fantastic. All hot, loads of choice and cooked so well, meat just melts in your mouth. Daytime nibbles at the snackeria were a big hit with various salad pots, pizza, hot dogs, cookies and little pots of strawberry cheesecake 😋 Scoops ice cream parlour was a big plus having ice cream basically on tap. Branded drinks was also a positive and all the cocktails and mocktails were delicious. Table service in the restaurants, lobby and entertainment arena was a nice touch too. We sat in the adults only area of the restaurant outside which was lovely and peaceful and like the bar, well monitored to ensure no one snook in who was under 18. ENTERTAINMENT - Can’t comment on kids clubs or daytime activities as we didn’t take part. Evening entertainment was brilliant, the All Stars clearly work really hard on their performances and it shows. The Bon Jovi tribute was our favourite and the same guy did Queen which was also excellent. The Greatest Show, Mamma Mia and Le Mystique were brilliant, Cher was ok, the story style didn’t work for us but singing was great as always. Robbie Williams tribute was good but our least favourite show. We always went at 8pm to get a seat as we liked to sit in the air con, also the kids entertainment was always a laugh. Watching the all stars do press ups and cartwheels was always good for a giggle and we enjoyed the family rivalry of the kahoot quizzes. Staff tried really hard to find seats for people who arrived later and I didn’t see many turned away so it wasn’t nearly as hard to get seating as other reviews had led me to believe. OUTSIDE & BEACH - We went across to Landa Beach for one morning. We are not beach people as the sand gets everywhere but wanted to at least take a dip in the sea while we were there. The sea was gorgeous, clear and warm plus very shallow for a long way out. It was 7.50 euros for 2 beds and a parasol which was very reasonable. We went down the road on our first night to watch the first Prem game of the season. We watched in a place called Agrotikon where the staff were lovely, drinks fairly priced and food on table around us looked lovely. STAFF - Every single member of staff was exceptional. They all work very hard and try to make your stay as special as possible. Shout out to Andrea (Restaurant), Ivo (Swim up bar) and Susanna (housekeeping) who were particular highlights for us. Also pool kiosk staff were so accommodating. All reception, restaurant, waiting staff we saw were so friendly and polite. Staff really treat you like VIPs NEGATIVES - Because there must be something right? Well there is, and it’s not anything to do with the resort, it’s the other guests. The amount of reviews I’ve seen criticising cleanliness being poor for a 5* resort. What people need to realise is it’s not the staff making the place unclean in the first place, it’s the guests. We headed to the snackeria and saw a family spill all manner of food and drinks all over their table and floor then just walk off leaving chaos in their wake, straight back to their sunbeds. I pointed it out to a staff member and it was cleaned up in minutes by the lovely staff. The pool has lots of collection stations dotted around for you to leave glasses but people still left them cluttered around sun beds with litter blowing everywhere. The pool kiosk politely ask you to return towels at the end of the day but so many people just left them on their beds. One attendant actually commented on how much they appreciated that every day we neatly folded our towels and returned them. It was very noisy every night at about 1.15am which I think was because the bar closes at 1am so lots of drunk people returning to their rooms. Some of the language and topics of conversation we heard were not for the faint hearted. Room doors are incredibly heavy and slam shut if you aren’t careful with them, drunk people are never careful. On the subject of drunks, poor Ivo had to call security one day to remove a large group of drunks from the adult only pool, one guy was trying to bribe the security guard with money to let him stay! I saw a chap in the restaurant using his fingers to wipe food off the serving spoon on to his plate, lick his finger then wipe the spoon again and then put it back in the dish for everyone else to use 😱 Another lady literally took some tongs out of my hand so she could get the last 2 burgers. I just waited 5 seconds for the fresh bowl to be put out and got mine from that 🤷🏼‍♀️ Honestly, this resort is 100% 5* unfortunately some of the other guests are 3* at best which lets things down a bit. We are all on holiday and there to enjoy ourselves but common courtesy and human decency should not leave you the minute you step off the plane. Just because it’s a 5* resort please don’t treat the staff like slaves, and be considerate to your fellow guests. SUMMARY - Amazing resort, amazing staff, amazing food, amazing drinks. Will we return? I certainly hope so 🤞🏻