DESTINATIONS GREECE, CYPRUS & BALKANS |CYPRUS
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Hantara Waterfalls; writer Kirsten makes Cypriot delicacies; artist Antonis Rizopoulos; local sweets soutzoukos
PREVIOUS PAGE: Balcony at four-star Pendeli Resort PICTURE: Christos Hadjichristou
TRIED
& TESTED Pendeli Resort
Sensitively constructed and surrounded by greenery,
Pendeli Resort has 85 rooms and offers B&B, half-board and full-board stays, with a
breakfast buffet and à la carte dining at Ilios Restaurant.
There’s a fitness centre and spa that includes a sauna,
steam and ice rooms. Rates from €244 per night, B&B.
pendeliresort.com
“Platres had the first hotel on the island with a swimming pool,” he reveals. This changed in the 1970s when
resorts began popping up along the coast, but now there’s a steady revival taking place up here in the hills, with public and private investment luring tourists back. Take the century-old Pendeli Hotel for instance, now the seriously chic four-star Pendeli Resort, which reopened in Platres in autumn 2025 following a multimillion-euro overhaul. The heated outdoor swimming pool glints enticingly as we’re shown to the resort’s main restaurant, Ilios, and its Pines & Piano Bar where no cocktail is too much of a challenge. A mélange of modern design and heritage pieces throughout makes Pendeli a beacon of style amid the trees. And it’s not alone. A short walk
around hillside Platres reveals the extent of redevelopment here, with the equally historic Petite Palais, Pendeli’s sister property, and New Helvetia Hotel both having undergone recent renovations.
56 3 SEPTEMBER 2026
SWEET LIFE Beyond Platres, there is an undeniable wealth of things to do too. Some visitors venture into the mountains for cool summers, mild winters and access to nature, while others are looking for a dose of rural Cypriot life.
In the hilly village of Arsos, we enter Elena Markantoni’s workshop to be greeted by the sweet fragrance of grape juice. Using an age-old technique, she shows us how she makes the ubiquitous Cypriot sweet soutzoukos, by threading almonds along a string then dipping them into homemade palouze, a jelly-like concoction of grape juice, flour and mastic (tree resin). The process is repeated multiple times a day for a week to build it up layer by layer into a rope-like confection to be chopped into bite-sized sweets. We tuck in to a bright-red pomegranate version as Elena defends the time and effort involved in this laborious process. “It’s a tradition that won’t die,” she says.
In the bougainvillaea-draped village of Lania, with its boho stylings
and cats snoozing on the sun- warmed cobbles, we pop into the Antonis Rizopoulos Art Studio. The eponymous artist tells us: “Although we’re 20 minutes from Limassol, it’s like living in another universe. We have a really good community here, with a mix of people who bring all sorts of skills and interests. We need to go back to tradition and save these techniques for the future.” As Panicos and I descend the slopes, staying parallel to the tumbling waterfall, with feet shoved stickily back into now-damp socks, he muses: “The Troodos Mountains show you the real, authentic heart of Cyprus.” I can only agree.
TW BOOK IT
Cyplon offers a twin-centre stay with four nights at Pendeli Resort in a Superior Scenic Room and three at Amathus Beach Hotel Limassol, both B&B, from £1,645 per person based on two sharing. Price includes flights from Gatwick to Larnaca departing October 7, hold luggage and private transfers.
cyplon.co.uk
3
OF THE BEST
TROODOS ATTRACTIONS
Troodos Observatory The mirrored Troodos
Observatory opened in 2024, with high-spec telescopes and state-of-the-art facilities.
troodosobservatory.com Marathasa Wines
This family-run business has been nurturing abandoned
vines in the Marathasa Valley since 2014. A hilltop winery opened in 2023.
marathasawines.com Artemis Trail
This 4.3-mile circular route sits just below the summit of Mount Olympus. The flat
route offers 360-degree views.
chooseyourcyprus.com/ artemis-trail
travelweekly.co.uk
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