We went to stay for the weekend while we attended a christening nearby. So given that we would spend little time in our rooms a budget hotel seemed to fit the bill. All in all for the money it was only just acceptable. The public areas, pool and bar were fine and the staff particularly helpful. However the bedrooms are barely adequate. Although reasonably spacious and air conditioned, they are in urgent need of refurbishment. The shower and bath were old and did not look too clean. The furniture was also tatty and in need of replacement. It is all in the detail and the standard is just not good enough in these competitive times, even at a budget price.

Let's get straight to the point, this isn't the "best" hotel you will ever stay in, however, it is fantastic value for money, and the location is perfect to be able to get out and about and see the rest of the beautiful island.

Most people who have been to Cyprus, travelling from the uk, will know, Cyprus tends to come under the higher price bracket!! We got the Valana at a great price, and were even happier that it was half board.

Valana is located just off the Limassol main high street, with fantastic links to the local motorways. It was run by a family who were very friendly and helpful and always happy to help! The hotel itself was a 3* however, had most of the amenities that you need from a hotel. The Valana was in need of a re-vamp, which could be mistaken as dirty, but if you look closely, everything was clean and tidy and our room was HUGE! The room had a large living area/kitchen, bathroom, double bedroom & small balcony over looking the pool. We have friends & Family who live in neighbouring towns to Limassol who regularly came to visit us and stayed on the sofa's which converted into beds. So as you can see it had ample room. We had hired a car too, which we were able to park in the hotels car park. The pool was large and contained, with a bar & restaurant on hand. The hotel has very little night life, but this was fine for us as we were happy to go out. This just made the hotel quiet and peaceful at night.

Prior to going, we had read some negative reviews, where some had complained about the locals using the pool area during the hours after 2. This is true, and the pool area does fill up, but we rarely found this a problem as there were always loungers available or the beach a small walk away.

Being half board was ideal for as you could go and eat up until 8.30pm. You were able to have breakfast & a main meal in the evening, but if you missed breakfast and asked nicely, sometimes the owner would allow you 2 switch this for a mid day snack. The great thing with the food was it wasn't in a buffet style, there was a menu. This meant you could pick exactly what you wanted and not worry it had been sitting on the hot plate all evening! This food was no where near 5* standards, however, it was more than edible, tasty and in fairness, similar to the things you eat at home, so I don't understand sometimes why people just moan when the food was fine!

Having never been to Cyprus before, we were open to where we stayed, but would prob say we wouldn't want to stay in Limassol again. Limassol, despite being located right on the coast, is still a City, so was a little pricey in the bars and restaurants and usually rammed with locals which can be a little intimidating. However, if you shop around you can find some great deals! As a rule of thumb, if you shop like a tourist you will pay tourist prices. Think like a local and you will search out some real hide aways and treats! (Big Ben's on main strip, just passed Nando's has great food, with a huge menu and is only 16 euro's for a 3 course meal and a glass of local wine! BARGAIN!)

We hired a car for the duration of our holiday and would recommend everyone does this! We were really able to explore the island and find some beautiful deserted beach's and spots to sunbath!! Along with this, we were also able to see some of the hot spots in Limassol, all of these I would recommend a look at - Ayia Napa for it's crystal clear waters and sandy beach's & for the lively it's great night life - Coral Bay for its sandy beach, although it does get a little packed!) - Aphrodities rock - Amphitheatre - Chris Blue & Lady mile beach - Ship wreck off Ackrotiri base - Limassol old town for it's traditional shopping - Nicosia town centre, be it very warm - Famagusta ghost town view point.

I am starting the review saying what type of person I am on holiday as I think this will help the review. I go on holiday to relax but also to do the odd sight seeing and also try the local food and traditions. I also dont mind what the accomodation is like as long as it is clean in a good location & has a pool & balcony. I also like a holiday that makes me feel that i am abroad not in england. Therefore out of what I like on holiday the Valana has a lot going for it.
It is in an excellent location. In the middle of the tourist area but a few minutes walk to the main road so therefore is a nice quiet area. It has a lovely big pool with a bar which also serves food. Food was really nice & an average price for Cyprus. I would say an average of 6 to 7 euros a meal (snack meal ie burger chips, ommlette & chips). Local larger which is Keo or carlsberg 2.50 a small one 4 a large one (euros & large was not quite a pint but I did hear someone say if you order the large one inside the hotel you did get a full pint) I think frappe's were about 3.50 (euros). People are correct in saying others & locals use the pool but this did not bother me as you always got a bed & they didnt arrive until after 1 in the afternoon (why go on holiday if you dont want to be with the locals!!!) The sunbeds were mostly white plastic ones with a nice blue cushion on them and there was plenty of umberellas, tables, seats if you wanted them. There was also a nice shaded area next to the pool bar.
Moving onto the next bit - the room - this is where I have mixed feelings. The rooms are really big especially if there is only 2 of you. The living area is large with 2 settees (where if there is more than 2 the others would sleep), you have a table with 4 chairs & a kitchen area with a 2 ring cooker, a fridge, a toaster & a kettle. We dont ever cook anything on holiday so the fact the rings & kitchen appliances were dirty didnt really bother me (ie i would not of used the toaster as quite bad) The fridge was ok it did freeze a lot of our drinks if you put them near the top of the fridge but this was good as if you took a bottle of the water to the pool it stayed cool all day (as well as getting drinks at the pool we also drank our own water & even though signs said you couldnt have your own food & drink nothing was said to us about our water). Also in the living room you had 2 big patio doors which led onto the balcony which was quite big. We really liked the balcony as it overlooked the pool & was nice to sit out on a night & have a few drinks before we went out. The only bad thing was it was never swept by the cleaners so by the 2nd week of our holiday it was covered with dead flies and ants etc.
In the bedroom there was a few ants when we 1st arrived they were around the patio door area, after i bought some ant spray it was ok & no more appeared. Also in the bedroom there was 2 single beds next to each other - they were clean & clean sheets were changed quite regular - some cleaners fitted the top sheet some didnt - the pillows were soft which I like. Towels I thought were basic but were clean & once we realised you had to put them on the floor to get them chnged they were changed whenever they were put on the floor (we did have some days where no cleaners came to the room though) The wardrobe was really big but it did have broken handles. It also had the safety deposit box in here. There was also a dressing table with a chair in the bedroom which was also great to use & get ready (also a mirror & a single plug socket)
The bathroom was the worst bit of the room & this is where i have mixed feelings - I think all the fixtures are probably from when the hotel was built which i would say was quite a while ago - it is very 70's but I cant say when it actually was built am just guessing. The good thing was it did actually have a bath but the bad thing was it was filthy & the same for the toilet & sink. The toilet was so bad it had fur in it & I had to go & buy a bottle of bleach to sort it (as did people in the 2 next rooms). The bath was beyond getting clean I think - as was a glass shelf above the sink. The sink also took ages to drain away and because of this you had to be careful when brushing your teeth. The shower was in the bath with a lovely 70's shower curtain - the curtain was very clean though. You did get used to the bathroom however but I could not of used the toilet until I bleached it as it was really bad. This makes me wonder how it was so bad as I cant believe anyone else would use it like this!!!!
So overall for the room I would say it was a really good size but It is the cleaners who are bringing the hotel down & do not pull their weight - ie why dont they clean the toilets/ bath/sink? why dont they sweep the floors in the room/balcony?
The air conditioniing was a must when we were there as it was over 100 degrees every day. We got air conditioning for 2 weeks at 70 euros & the safety deposit box for 20 euros. The air conditioning had 2 units - one in the living room & one in the bedroom. They were really cold & the best we have had anywhere. What was really good too was when you left your room they stayed on so for the 2 full weeks we had non stop air conditioning so we definately got our moneys worth.
I have definately stayed in worse 2 star hotel/apartments & to me the only thing wrong with the valana is the bathroom & floor cleanliness (and the odd ants). other people may also say the kitchen stuff but I go on holiday to have a holiday and eat out (however the prices in cyprus now may mean you will need/have to use the kitchen)
We found the owners & their sons really nice & friendly & we had no complaints there. The man who worked on the reception on a night was also very nice & friendly.
Some info on around the hotel. I cant say limassol is lovely - we made the most of it & did have a good time but its not pretty and to me it didnt have a holiday feel about it. The beaches arnt nice, you have no nice view as the resort runs through a dual carriageway with building on both sides of the road so you dont even see the sea. I would say it is the dual carriageway what spoils limassol as it takes away the holiday feel away as there is loads of traffic and lots of people who like to drive very fast on it. There is cheap bars ie 2 euro a pint/cocktails but for me they were too english. The nice trendy bars as i would call them were nice but on average 8 euros a drink. (even 4 for a basic coffee) There was quite a few coffee bars too which seemed to be where all the teenages went - these were also expensive but always full.
Food in Limassol is on average £13 euros a meal, there was set meal places too which were about £15 euros for 3 courses. We didnt ever go for one as the size of the meals were so big we could only eat 1 course. I actually would of prefered smaller size meals at a lower price (i then would of probably also had a started ot desert). The best meals we had were at a place called The Thatch house. What was lovely about this place was it was set in a sort of garden style surroundings & it did actually make you feel like you were on holiday (limassol itself made me feel like i was in a city not a relaxed holiday village) The food was really good examples of prices were about 10 euro for mousakka & 18 euro for a steak, also 10 euro for a kebab or a meze plate for 1. To find here you come out of the hotel go left then 1st left again the restaurant is about 100 yards on the left side of the road (its actually on the back of the valana pool bar if this helps - not attached but behind it)
Supermarkets were close to the hotel one just opposite the above restaurant - they wernt cheap though - 2.60 euros for a large pop or tonic etc and about 3.50 for 6 large waters. I was also quite amused that there was a bitish legion club opposite the hotel and the hotel also had a line dancing night on a mon & thurs for english people who lived in limassol.
The old town is also worth a visit this did make me feel again like i was more on holiday. There was some lovely restaurants nad they were also a bit cheaper (apart from the fish one we went to where we picked a fish from the fridge - didnt realise until we got the bill but the fish itslef cost us 60 euros - we learnt our lesson there). The bus to the old town is 1 euro 50 and the last bus back is 10pm. The 1st taxi we got back was 17euro so again we learnt a lesson and always asked for a price before getting in. After that we paid 10 to 12 euros for one. The bus stop is on the main road turn left - cross over the dual carriage way & it is outside a large hotel - you wont miss it as its a bus shelter with seats. Bus's were about ever 10 to 15 mins.
Other things that may help are trips are loads cheaper doing them yourself - ie the troodos mountains was 75.00 euros each with the rep - doind it ourselves 10 euros each. You get a bus 9.15 outside the tourist information every day (turn right on main road & is opposite bar called malibu - about 10/15 min walk from the hotel) You come back 3.30pm. (we wished we got off the bus at the 1st village though as troodos there is not much there)
I hope this review helps as i would like to think i have done it fair. (also we did only pay 400 each for 2 weeks away)
Would i go back to Limassol - no but i dont think i would go back to Cyprus either - it is very expensive now & also too commercialised for me. As before though we did have a good time so dont panic if you haved booked here unless you are a very fussy person.

My freind and i are just home from the Valana Apartments. Limassol is gorgeous and there is so much to do. We loved our apartments, the living room and kitchen area was really big, the apartment was basic but really clean. The only bad thing i would say about the apartment was that the toilet seat was broken and the toilet didnt look very clean. However, that was just our apartment, in other apartments the toilet was fine!

The pool was massive and very clean, people came from other apartments to use the pool because it was the best in the area. The family that own the apartments are lovely, they are so helpful and made sure that we were having a great stay. the reception and bar was open 24 hours, this made the apartments feel really safe.