Second blog, I have learned a few things like adding pics and some other things. My developer explained now I need to add a feature photo to add to my blogs (let me know if you are looking to set up a blog or website and I can provide a contact for that). Can you tell, I am a big fan of word of mouth? So that is the next thing I need to learn and implement on my third blog, I guess. Hopefully, I will learn a few things each time I post. Again, please let me know if something that I am doing is bugging you or not blog etiquette. So now I am at the Dome Hotel. I check in at around 2100hrs that evening. Tired, wired, dirty from not having a shower since I left the US the night before. So, with the help of the bellman, who carries my bags into an exceedingly small elevator up one floor to my room. My favorite room, room 228.
The reason I like room 228 is that it is a bigger room and its view of the sea, and the pool are amazing. And now if you ask for the room, they should rename it the Kiraz or in English the Cherry Suite or something after me? That would be cool! The room is spacious and has two doors to the huge balcony outside. One door opens on one wall and another door opens to the balcony from another wall. It is a wrap around the corner balcony as the room is on the corner of the hotel. For about $125 per night, you can have a great room, big bed, BIG balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (please request a room with a sea view. It is worth it). A big buffet breakfast is included (omelet station as well), fruit, veggies, and fresh bread each morning. You can also ask for a room with dinner included at the Anchor restaurant, but I would rather explore my dinner options. I do not think you can beat the price for what you get. The hotel is a bit dated but if you can overlook that, this hotel has a lot in terms of modern hotels. Charm. This hotel has charm, it is not packed with people during the tourist season. Which I like. The staff remembers my name. Most modern hotels do not take the time to do that. I hate that. The pool in the summer is not crowded with drunk teens. Just people that want to relax and appreciate the peace that the hotel offers. After a day of walking around town, visiting the tourist sites and shopping you will start to depend on the pool, trust me. The hotel has just upgraded from keys to key cards for the doors to the rooms. The Wi-Fi is not the best, but they are working on it and who does not have an international plan with unlimited data anyway? If not, get it. The North side of the island just upgraded to 4g. So do not expect spectacular speed.
I really like Dome Bar. I know it pretty quiet there but it is why I like it. You can have a conversation with someone, and you can hear them. If you want to smoke. You can sit outside at a table there and have a drink and a smoke on a warm summer night with the smells of grilling kebobs nearby. Very nostalgic for me. Have a nice glass of red wine and listen to the sea and it crashes against the rocks on the seawall. I listen to the expat Brits at a table close by and wonder if this was the type of place where Ian Fleming developed his next James Bond book. Why can’t I write a story with all this inspiration around me? It must be wine and cigarettes and euphoria of this place.
The Dome Hotel has a casino attached to it to the right if you are facing the street in front of the hotel. If you go there, do not forget to take your passport. You need to present it to play. They have some table games like roulette, poker, and blackjack. Most are machines with cover most of the walls of the casino. There is a downstairs as well where you can check a coat or play some machine games. There is a chef there and some finger food and alcohol and drinks are free if you are playing.
I went to Cyprus on 3 March 2025, so a little chilly for the pool. The weather did get up to 80 degrees during the day, but it did get cold at night. I wore a sweater and jeans every day. But in the summer or late April or May you may not use the pool. June, July and August you will require the pool. Its SOOO hot. There is a sea entrance a little further on the left which you can use to end the sea. Take a dip before or after breakfast or lunch to cool down for the hot days of summer. I did see someone spear fishing in the sea when I was there. But he was in a shortie scuba suit, probably at least 10mm thick. Octopus is eaten in Cyprus, and its not bad if prepared correctly, locals spear fish them. You can snorkel in the sea here, but I would not scuba dive as there is not that much to see and no corals. If you want to scuba, email me and I can put you in touch with my friend Cengiz. He has a local scuba shop and trains students at Alagadi beach. This beach is where sea turtles lay their eggs. He also books trips to the #4 shipwreck in the world. Zenobia.
The people that work at the Dome are very friendly. I try and bring them a gift if possible. Since it was Ramadan, I decided to bring them candy from the US which they cannot buy locally. So, when I caught a cold later in the week and came down to the bar to order some room service, they offered to make me Plateau soup. I had never had it, but I figured I would trust them and ordered that and some bread and white rice. The soup was SOOO good. But I will cover food in a later blog. The point is that they take an extra step to ensure that the guest is taken care of. I have learned over my trips that if you respect everyone you meet, no matter what their job, from the hotel manager to the person cleaning your room. If you treat them with respect, they will return the favor.
The location of the hotel, I think, is perfect. Across the street to the right is a restaurant called Niazi’s Restaurant. This is a nicer restaurant; you need a collared shirt at least to not look like the worst-dressed person there. To the left of the front entrance down the street on the left is ATM machines in which your US ATM card will dispense Turkish Lira, or Euro’s. Get some local lira if you are planning on eating or most restaurants have a credit card tap handheld reader. If not, you have cash as a backup. Next to the ATM machines is the Dome Taxi stand if you want to venture somewhere in which you cannot walk. Like if you want to go to Saint Hilarion Castle or Nicosia.
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