New Helvetia Historic Hotel in Platres

My husband and I live in Paphos and decided to spend a relaxing weekend in Troodos. We booked a room at New Helvetia in Platres a few days in advance. Although we knew the hotel was old, the photos and reviews online made it seem like the rooms had been renovated, so we decided to give it a try for one night. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what we expected. Room Quality – Nothing Like the Photos When we entered the room, we were immediately disappointed. The room looked nothing like the pictures on the website. While the bathroom seemed to have had some updates, the rest of the room was extremely outdated, neglected, and honestly quite depressing especially for the price. Heating Issues – Cold and Uncomfortable Because it’s November and the mountain temperatures are already quite low, a warm room is essential. The radiator in our room was working only a little, but not enough to heat the space. The room remained cold and uncomfortable, and certainly not what you expect from a hotel stay. General Situation – Guests Complaining & No Real Solutions During dinner, we noticed that many other guests were sitting with jackets on because the entire hotel felt cold. We also saw guests complaining directly to the owners especially families with small children, who were understandably upset. The owner mentioned a general electricity problem in Pano and Kato Platres, but this explanation didn’t really make sense in relation to the heating situation. Dinner – Poor Food Quality We tried to still make the evening work by having dinner in the hotel restaurant, but the food was unfortunately another disappointment. The ravioli with spinach I ordered was of poor quality, and I ended up with stomach pain afterward. Our Early Departure & the Owner’s Response In the end, we decided not to ruin our weekend. The room was so uncomfortable that we preferred to leave at night rather than stay there. We collected our luggage and returned to Paphos around 21:00 to sleep in a warm and comfortable environment. We were not offered any money back, but to be fair, we also didn’t ask for it we simply wanted to leave. The owner did offer a complimentary stay in the future as compensation and took my husband’s details so he could follow up. While we appreciate the gesture, we don’t plan to return. Based on our experience, we don’t believe things would be any different. Overall Hotels can be old and still have charm, but they must be comfortable, well-maintained, and accurately presented online. Unfortunately, New Helvetia fell short in several key areas: room quality, heating, food, and overall guest comfort. We truly wanted to enjoy a peaceful mountain weekend, but instead ended up ending our stay early. I hope the management addresses these issues seriously, as the location has potential