It is 13 years since our last visit to Kyrenia but the first visit to High Life Hotel. What a surprise!!. It is small, only 20 rooms. which suited us because there was always room around the super pool area, Breakfasts were served either alfresco or inside the pleasant restaurant bar but it was so warm out side we chose to eat outside.Diner menus were varied and good value.We went b&b but ate in 4 nights, food was excellent, wine was excellent service was excellent. The staff are very pleasant and hard working, rooms were large and clean and all have balconies and a/con. It would not suit families, as all of the guests were of mature years.the owner Beha is hands on and always available and pleasant.Our party consisted of 2 couples aaand we definately be back to Kyrenia for the 7th time and the High Life for the 2nd time. Thanks Beha and staff. Great holiday

My wife and I have just spent a two week stay at the High-life and my wife is allergic to cats
and the hotel is over run with cats they were every were Gardens Reception Kitchen Pool
Dinning areas We had not been told about the cats other wise we would not considered
booking we tried to get an other hotel or a flight home with out success
However there is some good points the staff are excellent nothing to much trouble
Rooms comfortable sea view
Dinning alfresco Breakfast and Dinner down side people kept throwing food from their meal
to the cats.
Have board is not half board as we are use to anywhere else we have stayed as 60% of
the menu had additional charges for half board quests
Hotel is isolated you need the services of a taxi or car heir and the nearest beach was 15 minute drive from the hotel

This could be a great little hotel, but unfortunately it isn't . There are positives , like the staff (excluding Beha) , the view from the balcony , the pool area is excellent and the gardens are great . Unfortunately and overall the negatives pull the Hotel down. One of the 'jewels' should be the view over the sea from the Terrace and it is , if you look beyond the broken bottles and litter on the now 'unavailable' sea terrace. The food is a little over priced for what you get (especially the Kleftico evening , which was basically a very plain lamb shank) . We had a room in Block A , top floor, which was fine , except the very efficient air con was so noisy we were embarassed to leave it on , also the balcony light was broken and despite 3 requests to have it fixed , it never was . The sky tv , was sky but in Turkish apart from CNN , on which the sound was very poor. We had been told that the furniture was of a very high standard , you should make your own mind up about this .The bathroom shower area is mouldy and needs updating .

Also be aware , we booked 7 nights B&B , but you don't get breakfast on day 7 if you leave early as we did . When I requested a breakast , I was told that if we got one, then everyone would want one , surely that is the idea ? or have I got that wrong .

This is a quiet hotel which is great , but it could be a quiet great little hotel , with some effort and money spending .

We flew with Onur Air , which we were dreading , but full marks to them, they were really good !

Would we go to the Highlife again ? Yes if they could prove the issues (minor) had been sorted .

We found High Life on lastminute.com and went with it because of the big price difference between it and the more expensive Bellapais Monastery Hotel. Our experience was generally positive, but a series of near daily irritations meant that a good stay never quite became a great one.

The hotel is small, with a decent sized and well cleaned pool. Couples should note that High Life only offers four double rooms with most rooms being twin, so make sure you specifically request a double if that is an issue for you. Our room, 23, on the ground floor, was spacious enough and cleaned every day to a good standard. However, we had requested a sea view and when we pointed this out to Beha, the proprietor, he insisted we did have one. Well yes, if we looked very hard through the surrounding bushes and trees, we could make out a small sliver of the Mediterranean in the right hand corner, but it hardly counted as a "sea view" in any meaningful sense. Also, the slide door on the bath/shower was faulty - loose and with a nasty mildew problem at the top. The bathroom windows, although small, also did not lock, meaning we kept our valuables on us, as the bathroom was a potential entry point for thieves. On the other hand, the air conditioning was fantastic - remote controlled and very effective at cooling us down from the intense Cyprus heat outside.

We are in our early thirties and were expecting from reading previous reviews that we might be surrounded by senior citizens. Actually, High Life seems to attract a real cross section of tourists, from young(ish) couples like ourselves, to small famiy groups as well as older guests. High Life does not accept children under 12, which helped to keep the tranquility and peaceful ambience nicely intact.

The hotel's major selling point is its terrace, which is right on the sea and a gorgeous spot both for breakfast in the morning sunshine and for dinner at sunset. We loved the terrace - plenty of seating was available and the setting was perfect; romantic and comfortable with no noise but the lapping of the ocean below and the distant calls to prayer from the mosques. An enchanting place to spend a tranquil evening or two after a relaxed meal. A pity then, that the hotel's "beach," a flight of steps down from the terrace, turned out to be a concrete platform, with two litter strewn strips of sand either side of it. The terrace is also the hotel's wi-fi hotspot and is the only part of the hotel where web reception is available.

Service in general was very good. The staff at High Life were very attentive most of the time and only too pleased to be of assistance. They were friendly and welcoming throughout

We stayed B&B at High Life and we felt this was the right choice because it allowed us to explore many of the very good restaurants in and around Kyrenia and the beautiful village of Bellapais. Breakfasts were a little disappointing - only three variations of egg, omelette and continental, with an "English" breakfast costing an extra £3, which we thought was cheeky, especially when, on more than one occasion, some of the components of the breakfast were missing - too often, the hotel ran out of sausage, bacon, beans etc. Evening meals were better (apart from one night when we had to wait two hours for our meals while Beha and his friends enjoyed theirs, oblivious to the disbelief and mounting anger of his guests and the embarrassment of his staff), with the hotel's Kleftico being a real highlight. However, as has been mentioned in previous reviews, the prices are too high for what you actually get. Better value for equally good - or superior food - is available in and around Kyrenia.

There are a lot of cats at High Life and they roam freely, gathering in the evenings around the terrace and waiting for morsels from guests' tables. Not a problem for cat lovers, but those with allergies or non-feline enthusiasts should be wary.

High Life offers a car hire service (car hire is a must if you want to explore North Cyprus) which has its pluses and minuses. The promotional material has pictures of very swish, new versions of various cars. The reality is somewhat different. We hired an Opel Astra for four days at £25 per day, expecting the most current model. Instead, we got one that was about a decade old and with nearly 90,000 miles on the clock. It was fine - got us out and about the country, but again, it felt like an annoyance to have been misled, if only mildly and especially when fierce competition between car hire firms in Kyrenia meant we could have paid less for a better car. Then again, we did have the convenience of being able to arrive back at the hotel very late instead of worrying about dropping it at a car hire office.

Local facilities and services are reasonably good. The hotel is located down a narrow winding road that opens to the main coastal road. There are shops nearby and a supermarket about ten minutes' walk away, but that can seem very long in the powerful Cypriot sun, so make sure you have headgear, shades, sunscreen and water because it can be an arduous walk. Taxis are cheap and plentiful, with a fare from High Life to Kyrenia costing about 10 TL (15-16 TL in the evenings). Look out for the Kombus minibuses as well - these can be flagged down at the roadside.

High Life is a little ragged around the edges and could be a little bit better maintained in parts. There was a real problem with the poolside shower which had not been looked after and had developed a coating of algae on it, which the local wasps found attractive, meaning taking a pre-swim shower meant risking being stung. the main walkways were laid out in a rather tacky green material which had seen better days. The TV in our room was quite ancient and lost BBC World and CNN for three days, before they inexplicably returned. The pool bar was all but abandoned.

To conclude, we felt that it was a shame High Life couldn't seem to push itself to make its guests feel truly welcome and comfortable. This is a very good hotel in many respects and has a great location and tireless staff. However, we were expecting a little better and with the huge range of choice available in this region, at competitive prices, this hotel will need to up its game if it is to prosper.