Our family holiday in Cyprus

Having a four year-old meant we had to change some of the requirements of our holidays that we had looked for in pre-children years, such as length of flight and the need to have a kid's club in the hotel. However, we felt we didn't want to compromise on the standard of accommodation we would like to stay in and after much deliberation we decided to go for the 5* Elysium Hotel in Paphos.

From the moment we walked in, we were not disappointed. The hotel lobby is huge, spacious and although quite grand, the staff were very welcoming. We had chosen a standard room which was spacious, fully carpeted, tv, mini bar and air conditioning. My only criticism would be with the balcony as it was quite a high solid wall, so if you were sat on the balcony, you had no view whatsoever, so for that reason, I would probably upgrade to a sea view room next time.

The hotel has 6 restaurants, a world-class spa, kids club and gym, tennis court and scuba diving for the more energetic. The pool area takes your breath away built around the hydro massage pool in the centre it really is beautiful and the staff could not be more helpful, preparing your sunbeds with towels, cold towels at midday and waiter service around the pool if you can't make it to the swim up pool bar!

For children, when they aren't doing all sorts of great activities in the kids club (baking, making t-shirts etc) the playground, childrens pool and an additional childrens pool with an 'awesome curly slide' - to quote my daughter who spent all her time going down the slide, keeps them well entertained.

Beyond the pool area are lovely gardens with sunbeds if you prefer a bit of peace and quiet away from the pool area, these also lead down to a (very) small private beach area which has double sunbeds.

We tried 3 of the six restaurants, breakfast is taken overlooking the pool area, the staff were very attentive and especially good with children. The food was amazing, you could get anything you wanted from the buffet including omelettes cooked on the spot, full breakfast, pancakes, fruit, cereals etc etc etc!!! We also ate in the pool bar which was convenient but not cheap as you'd expect, for a snack, although the food we had was very good. There is a supermarket just outside the hotel which is very handy.

In the evening there is a lovely path by the sea directly from the hotel which takes you right into Paphos harbour - it does take 20-30 minutes but it's a very pleasant walk and when you reach the harbour there are lots of restaurants bars and shops to enjoy, if you don't fancy the walk, it is 8 euros in a taxi, however, if you take the main entrance out of the hotel, there are also numerous restaurants, bars and shops within 500 metres.

All in all, the service, facilities and location of this hotel are fabulous and I would definitely return and have no doubts about recommending it to my clients looking for some 5* relaxation.