At a Glance
A five-star, village-style resort stretched along the seafront at Kissonerga, midway between Paphos town and Coral Bay, Mare Paphos is that increasingly rare thing: a family resort built well enough that couples without children keep coming back. Skyward architecture meets low-rise garden blocks, five outdoor pools are arranged for every mood - main, kids, activity, quiet and adults-only - and the Mediterranean sits permanently in the corner of your eye.
Fourteen bars and restaurants, a spa with indoor and outdoor jacuzzis, a Splash Park, a creche from six months, and suites whose terraces step straight into the pool. Open late March to late October, half an hour from Paphos International Airport.
Quick Facts
Distance to beach: Seafront position with direct access to the beach below and the coastal path.
Distance to airport: Paphos International (PFO) - around 30 minutes by car.
Distance to nightlife: Kissonerga village bars are a stroll away; Paphos harbour's restaurants and evening life are roughly 15 minutes by car, Coral Bay around 10.
The Setting
Mare Paphos occupies a cliffside plot in Kissonerga, on the southwest coast of Cyprus - the same stretch that gave the world Aphrodite, if the brochures are to be believed, and certainly the stretch with the most dependable sunsets on the island. The resort is designed like a village: low-rise accommodation blocks threaded through Mediterranean gardens, with enough space that the family by the main pool and the couple by the quiet pool never really meet.
The sea is not a distant promise here. It is the view from most rooms, the end of the coastal walk, and the reason the adults-only pool fills up with a very contented silence by late afternoon.
Rooms & Suites
Room types run from sensible 28-30 m² doubles - inland view, limited sea view, full sea view - up through family rooms with sliding doors that keep the kids on their own side, junior suites, one-bedroom suites and the 55 m² Mare Suites with king-size bed, steam room and jacuzzi tub. Interiors are contemporary and calm; the premium is for water, not wallpaper.
The headline acts are the swim-up suites. The One Bedroom Suite Swim Up Sea View (42-44 m², sleeps four) and the Mare Suite Sea View Swim Up both open onto a furnished terrace where you step from your sunbed directly into the pool - with the sea beyond. If ever a room category justified an upgrade negotiation, it is these.
Dining: Fourteen Bars & Restaurants
The resort's own line - "on holiday you get a great exchange rate on calories" - sets the tone. Fourteen venues take you from morning espresso to post-dinner drink, moving between local Cypriot specialities and international staples. Guest reviews consistently praise the variety and quality of the food, which is the difference between a resort you tolerate for the kids and one you'd happily book without them.
Pools, Beach & the Sea
Five outdoor pools, an indoor pool, full service at the water's edge with loungers, umbrellas and exclusive daybeds, and the beach directly below. The adults-only pool is the quiet star: by day it hosts the unhurried; the activity pool hosts water volleyball and the inevitably contested aqua-aerobics session. Tennis, archery, French boules and ladder golf fill the sports programme on land and sea.
Families: A Genuine Kidtopia
Splash Park, outdoor playground, Kids Club for ages 3-12, and a creche from six months with childcare available on request. The daily programme runs from morning sports through mini-discos, magic shows and movie nights, with interactive workshops - mocktail making among them - smuggled in alongside the fun. It is, quite deliberately, a resort where children are occupied rather than merely tolerated, which is precisely why the adult zones stay peaceful.
Spa & Wellness
The Spa Centre covers the classics: signature treatments, steam bath, sauna, indoor and outdoor jacuzzis, a fitness room, yoga and AquaFit. Nothing revolutionary, everything competent - and positioned perfectly for the post-Splash-Park recovery hour.
An Editorial Note
Hotels-Reviewed contributing writer Suzanne Saunders is at Mare Paphos this week on an editorial visit, and will be filing her first-hand impressions, photographs and Verified Traveler Scorecard ratings as her stay unfolds - including, we're told, a rigorous audit of those swim-up suites. Her report will be woven into this review as the season goes on.
Verified Traveler Scorecard
Ratings below are drawn from verified guest feedback across booking and review platforms, and will be updated with our own on-site editorial scores as Suzanne's visit report lands.
Staff: 9.0 / 10 - consistently praised for warmth and responsiveness
Rooms: 8.5 / 10 - modern, spacious, with the sea-view categories the ones to book
Food: 8.5 / 10 - strong variety across 14 venues
Pool: 9.5 / 10 - five outdoor pools plus an indoor pool; a genuine strength
Location: 8.0 / 10 - seafront and quiet; nightlife is a drive away
Value: 8.5 / 10 - reviewers repeatedly call it "a true five-star" for the money
The Verdict
Mare Paphos succeeds at the hardest trick in family hospitality: it is a proper five-star resort for adults and a full-scale adventure park for children, on the same plot, without either side spoiling the other's holiday. Book a sea-view room or push the boat out for a swim-up suite, accept that you'll drive for a big night out, and let the five pools do the rest. A very easy resort to recommend - and one we're looking forward to verifying in person.
Practical Details
Address: 39 Chrysoneras Avenue, Kissonerga 8574, Paphos, Cyprus
Season: Late March to late October
Getting there: Paphos International Airport (PFO), 30 minutes by car
Official site: mareresorts.com/mare-paphos
