Is St Raphael Resort in Limassol worth booking? Not as a hotel, based on our latest stay. The location is excellent and BEGE next door is worth the trip, but the room, the housekeeping and the service fell well short of five stars.
Our rating: 2 out of 5. St Raphael has a lot going for it on paper, including its own marina, one of the largest Blue Flag beaches in Limassol, a large pool area and two of the best restaurants in Cyprus inside the same complex. We had stayed before and enjoyed it. This review is not an attack but an account of a stay that fell well short of what the hotel charges and claims to be.
Getting there: book an airport transfer with KiwiTaxi (affiliate link), compare hire cars on Auto Europe (affiliate link), and browse Limassol days out on Klook (affiliate link).
Is St Raphael Worth Staying At?
Based on our most recent stay, not as a hotel guest. The location and some of the facilities are genuinely good, and the restaurants in the complex are worth the trip on their own. But the basics of a five star stay, a clean room, working keys, water in the room and staff who respond when you ask for something, were not there for us.
Honestly, St Raphael feels closer to semi luxury than true luxury today, and much of it is dated. If you do book, go in with your eyes open and check the room carefully on arrival. If you are simply looking for a great dinner on this stretch of coast, you do not need to stay here at all to enjoy the best of what the complex offers.
St Raphael at a Glance
- Best part: the location, the marina, the swim up bar and the restaurants in the same complex.
- Weakest part: the room, the cleanliness and the housekeeping.
- Also poor: breakfast, the pool bar cocktails and how requests were handled.
- Better value nearby: The GrandResort, a short walk along the same coast.
Where Is St Raphael Resort?
St Raphael sits on Amathus Avenue, the coastal road east of Limassol where most of the city’s large resort hotels are found. It is around eleven kilometres from the centre of Limassol and a little under an hour’s drive from Larnaca Airport. Shops, bars and restaurants are within walking distance, and a bus stop sits right outside the hotel.
The resort has its own marina, which is unusual for a hotel in Cyprus and gives the property a character that many of its neighbours lack. The beach in front of the hotel is one of the largest Blue Flag beaches in the Limassol area. Our guide to where to stay in Cyprus explains how this part of Limassol compares with the rest of the island.
What Was the Room Like?
We booked a family room for three. It felt more like an oversized storage room than a hotel room, with a bed in the middle and bunks pushed to the side, and furniture that looked as though it had not been touched since the 1980s. The window looked out over the bin collection area.
The hotel’s own listings describe its rooms as fully renovated, and it may well be that other parts of the building have been. The room we were given did not feel that way, and at five star rates the gap between the description and the reality matters.
How Was the Cleanliness?
This is where the stay went badly wrong. The floor was dirty enough that bare feet turned black within five minutes, and there was chewing gum stuck to the beds. I reported it three times, and it was never cleaned.
The room itself was not made up, despite asking, and at one point cleaning equipment was left outside our door. We were given two sets of towels and robes for a room booked for three people, which is the kind of detail that should never need a phone call at a hotel of this category. Any hotel can have a bad day, but the problems were reported repeatedly and still not fixed. That points to a housekeeping operation that is not working properly rather than a single mistake.
How Was the Service?
We had no water in the room and called four times about it. The room keys failed twice and had to be replaced twice. These are small things individually, but together they wear a stay down, and each one meant another trip to reception or another call that should not have been necessary.
At the terrace bar, staff walked past our table without acknowledging we were there. Nobody was rude. We were simply not seen, which at a resort of this size and price is its own kind of problem.
How Was the Food and Drink?
Breakfast was the weakest meal of the stay. It was limited in choice, poor in quality for a hotel at this level, and chaotic most mornings. At the pool bar the cocktails tasted premixed, the mojito was not drinkable and the margarita was the one bright spot. Nobody could tell us which drinks were actually included in our package, which is a basic question every bar in a package hotel should be able to answer immediately.
To be fair to the hotel, the on site dining beyond breakfast and the pool bar was decent. The resort runs several restaurants and bars, including a beach tavern and a restaurant at the marina, and none of what we ate there was a problem. The lobby bar is also decent. It was the day to day service around food and drink that let the stay down.
How Did the Hotel Respond to the Complaints?
The hotel’s response to everything above was a complimentary night. That does not fix the stay we had already paid for. It asks you to spend more time, and more money on travel and meals, to find out whether anything has actually changed, which makes it a second sales attempt rather than a remedy. A proper response to repeated cleanliness complaints is to fix the room during the stay, or to refund part of what the guest paid for a service they did not receive.
What Was Good?
It would be wrong to suggest nothing works here. The pool itself is nice, though it needs maintenance. The swim up bar is a genuinely good feature, and the lobby bar is a decent place for a drink. The resort has two outdoor pools and an indoor pool, along with a spa, a fitness centre and an independent water sports centre on the beach offering everything from paddle boards to jet skis.
We have stayed here before, and it was better then, which is a large part of why this stay stood out so much. The bones of a very good resort are clearly here. What seems to have slipped is the operation that keeps it running at the level it charges for.
Which Restaurants Are in the Same Complex?
Two of the restaurants we rate highest in Cyprus sit inside the same complex, which made the contrast with the hotel harder to ignore. BEGE may well serve the best fish in Cyprus, and it is worth a special trip. Golden Monkey serves good Thai food, though the price is a harder conversation. Both are worth visiting even if the hotel itself is not, and both appear in our wider guide to the best restaurants in Cyprus.
For somewhere more relaxed on the water, Pyxida Limassol is the marina fish tavern, and Meze Taverna in the old town is the classic meze. Our Limassol guide has more.
How Do You Get There and Around?
Most guests arrive through Larnaca Airport, a little under an hour away by car, and Paphos Airport is roughly an hour in the other direction. The bus stop outside the hotel connects to the coast road and the centre of Limassol, which is useful for an evening in town without the hassle of parking.
For anything beyond Limassol, a car makes life much easier. Cyprus is built around driving, public transport outside the cities is limited, and the best of the island is spread out. Compare hire cars on Auto Europe (affiliate link), or book a private transfer with KiwiTaxi (affiliate link). Our guide to getting around Cyprus covers the options, including what to know about driving on the left.
What Is There to Do Nearby?
The location is one of the genuine strengths of a stay here. The ruins of the ancient city of Amathus sit a short drive west along the same road, and they are worth an hour of anyone’s time. Further west, Limassol Marina and the old town around the castle are around twenty minutes away, with some of the best restaurants on the island in between.
Lady’s Mile, the long sandy beach on the Akrotiri peninsula, is the best swimming beach in the area and rarely disappoints. Kolossi Castle and the ancient theatre at Kourion are both an easy half day trip, and the wine villages in the hills above Limassol are within an hour. Tickets and guided trips are listed on Tiqets (affiliate link) and Klook (affiliate link). Our guide to living in Limassol covers the city and its beaches in more depth, and our Limassol guide covers what to see.
Who Might It Still Suit?
Families who prioritise pools and a big beach may still find enough here to enjoy, particularly if they are given a better room than we were. Guests arriving by boat, or who simply enjoy being near a marina, will find the setting unusual for Cyprus. But at five star prices, we cannot recommend it with confidence on the strength of our last stay.
How Does It Compare?
The most useful comparison is The GrandResort, a short walk along the same stretch of coast. It does not have the grand entrance hall that St Raphael is known for, but it has had the better refurbishment, completed in 2024, and the staff felt far better equipped. For a similar kind of beachfront stay, it is the better value of the two. Our GrandResort review has the detail.
A few minutes west on the same road, Amara shows what a genuine five star hotel in Limassol can be, although it costs considerably more. At the other end of the price scale, the four star Atlantica Miramare has dated rooms but delivered a far better stay than St Raphael did for us, with direct beach access, a good breakfast and staff who clearly care about the place. Star ratings in Cyprus are a starting point, not a guarantee.
What Should You Do If You Book?
- Check the room first: do it as soon as you arrive, before unpacking. If anything is wrong, ask to be moved straight away rather than waiting for it to be fixed.
- Confirm your package: ask exactly what it includes at check in, including which drinks are covered at the bars.
- Ask about room location: a view over the bin area is not what anyone books a beachfront resort for.
- Keep a record: note anything you report, including the time and who you spoke to. If problems are not fixed, a clear record makes it much easier to ask for a proper resolution rather than a voucher for a future stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Is St Raphael Resort?
On Amathus Avenue, around eleven kilometres east of Limassol centre. It has its own marina and a large Blue Flag beach.
Is St Raphael Good for Families?
The facilities suit families, including several pools, a large beach and family rooms with bunk beds. Our own family room was in poor condition, though.
Is the Breakfast Good?
Not in our experience. It was limited, poor in quality for the price and chaotic most mornings.
St Raphael or The GrandResort?
On our experience, The GrandResort. It has had the better refurbishment and felt like better value for money.
Can You Eat at BEGE Without Staying at the Hotel?
Yes. BEGE and Golden Monkey both take outside bookings and are worth visiting in their own right.
Where Is the Best Place to Eat Near St Raphael?
In the same complex, BEGE for fish. In Limassol more widely, see the best restaurants in Cyprus.
Did the Hotel Resolve the Complaints?
The hotel offered a complimentary night. We do not consider that a real remedy for problems during a stay already paid for.
Has St Raphael Always Been Like This?
No. Our previous stay was noticeably better, which is why this one stood out.
Do You Need a Car?
Not for Limassol itself, since a bus stop sits outside the hotel. For day trips to Kourion, the wine villages or the Troodos, a car is far easier. Compare options on Auto Europe (affiliate link).
How Do I Get From the Airport to St Raphael?
Book a private transfer with KiwiTaxi (affiliate link) or GetTransfer (affiliate link). The drive from Larnaca Airport takes a little under an hour.
Final Verdict
St Raphael has a strong location, a marina, a large beach, a good pool with a swim up bar, a decent lobby bar and two excellent restaurants on its doorstep. On our most recent stay, none of that made up for a dirty room, a poor breakfast, repeated unanswered requests and a resolution that asked us to come back and spend more.
The hotel has been better than this, and it can be again, but on this evidence it is not currently delivering a five star experience, and its neighbour The GrandResort offers more for your money. For more, see how we review hotels and restaurants in Cyprus.