Rocks Hotel & Casino (Kyrenia)

If you set out to look for a casino hotel in Kyrenia, you will notice that almost the whole list is scattered along the coastal strip between Karaoğlanoğlu and Çatalköy (in other words, each one is reached by car). Rocks Hotel Kyrenia is the address that sits outside this pattern, because you reach its door after walking eight hundred and fifty metres from the castle square along Kordonboyu Caddesi. It is a mid-sized building perched on the rocks, a city hotel with 155 rooms that runs on half board and carries "casino" in its name. It does not do the same job as the holiday villages in Alsancak or Bafra, because here the holiday takes place not in the hotel garden but in the streets of the town. As with our earlier pieces, in the research we did for you we looked at four questions one by one: what the location gains you, where the difference between the rooms lies, how you get into the sea, and who the two-meal package is enough for.

850 Metres from Kordonboyu to the Castle

The hotel's address is Kordonboyu Caddesi, Kyrenia centre, and the phrase Mersin 10 also appears in postal correspondence. Because the island's casino hotels are built either on the western strip running from Karaoğlanoğlu to Lapta or on the Çatalköy side, the evening programme always turns into a question of transport, whereas Rocks Hotel Kyrenia stands right at the edge of the tight network of narrow streets that surrounds the castle and the harbour. The avenue follows the shore from end to end, so the walk to the harbour runs along the waterfront and a guest heading out after dinner comes back the same way. Dome Hotel is another address with a casino in the town centre; both are within walking distance of the harbour, the difference being that the Dome stands on the harbour front while Rocks stands on the rocks. We should point out that Kyrenia has two harbours: one is the ancient harbour at the foot of the castle, the other the tourist marina opened in 1987. The one you walk down to in seven minutes from the hotel is the ancient one. This walking distance is the hotel's real difference, because on this island a casino hotel usually means a car.

A guest arriving from Ercan Airport should allow for a drive of around forty minutes, which makes it one of the island's short transfers. On the other hand, the hotel does not state whether the transfer is included in the package, so it is worth asking about this line in any package you take from an agency. There is no group name such as Merit or Cratos in front of the hotel's name; it is sold under an independent brand.

From Superior to Deluxe Suite

The room list consists of five items: Superior land view, Superior sea view, Deluxe land view, Deluxe sea view and Deluxe Suite sea view. The 155 rooms are spread across these five tiers, though the difference in square metres between the tiers is narrower than you might think, because what increases as you go up here is not size but a guaranteed view. The sea view is fixed only in the Deluxe Suite; in the two lower tiers land and sea are sold separately, so a single phrase in your confirmation letter shows which one you have booked. The hotel's facade faces the coastline, and the direction of the window is the item that genuinely sets the price. For a guest who must have the sea, we recommend looking either at the Deluxe Suite or at the sea-view line of the lower tiers, because a confirmation that simply says Deluxe gives no guarantee of the sea.

Named After the Shore

The name of Rocks Hotel Kyrenia is in fact a description of its shoreline. On this stretch of Kordonboyu the sea breaks not on sand but on rock, which is why the hotel goes down to the water with its own platform and jetty. A guest stepping off the jetty can go straight into deep water; there is neither a sandy beach here nor any shallows. Is the sea possible with a small child? Not really; that age group spends its day by the pool. The main pool is adult-sized, while the children's pool stays at thirty centimetres, and even that is water in which only a two- or three-year-old can stand. For a guest who wants a sunlounger on the sand this is the wrong address, whereas for someone who loves jumping off a jetty and swimming in deep water it is exactly the right place.

Two Meals in the Package, Lunch at the Harbour

The half board package covers breakfast and dinner; lunch and drinks come out of your own pocket, and the drinks served at the dinner table are paid for separately as well. In North Cyprus the big resorts run all-inclusive while the city hotels mostly sell bed and breakfast, and Rocks stands right between the two. A guest going to Cratos or Kaya Artemis handles all three meals without leaving the property, whereas here lunch means either Rocks Cafe or the harbour restaurants seven minutes away. At a hotel outside town a missing lunch means a car; here it means a short walk, and that difference changes the calculation more than you would think.

Breakfast and dinner are served as an open buffet at L'Hirondelle. La Habanera works à la carte on Italian cuisine and stays open 24 hours, so it is also the address for a guest who gets hungry after midnight. Rocks Cafe is there for light meals and coffee during the day, while Onyx Bar runs in a disco-bar format with live music in the evenings. The four venues are thus spread across different hours of the day, and for a 155-room hotel it counts as a sufficient list, though a guest used to the multi-restaurant resorts of Alsancak may find it short.

Hammam, Massage and the Casino Door

The spa section brings together a Turkish hammam, sauna, massage rooms and a fitness centre, and hot stone and chocolate therapy also appear as separate items on the list. The casino operates under the same roof with a separate entrance, with slot machines and table games. Because Kyrenia's casino hotels fill up noticeably at weekends, a guest arriving midweek finds a much quieter evening at the same hotel, which is worth keeping in mind when choosing dates. The rule at the door is the same as at every casino in the TRNC: guests under 25 and residents of North Cyprus are not admitted to the casino. Although the casino is part of the name, it does not sit at the centre of the daily programme; it remains one option for the evening.

Families with Children, Prices, Winter Calendar

Families with children are accepted, but the hotel has not set itself up as a family resort. There is a children's pool, a cot is provided for families who ask for one, and in addition a babysitter can be arranged on request. Babies under two stay free of charge, but there is no free-stay policy for older children. Guests coming as a couple are more comfortable at this hotel, because the property has not set itself up as a family resort and the evening programme runs between the harbour and the casino.

On the price side there is no fixed tariff; the nightly figure moves with the day of your search and the occupancy on that day. On the island the high season begins in June and ends in September, with the peak in July and August, so a late-September search for Rocks Hotel Kyrenia falls closer to the lower end of the band. December and January are the quietest months; prices come down in that period and the emphasis shifts to the casino and the spa. The outdoor pools and beach facilities of the seaside hotels close in winter, whereas here the programme that stays on its feet in the same period is the castle and harbour walk, the hammam and the casino. The calendar is open all year round, and what is more, the hotel puts on a programme with a concert and a gala dinner for New Year's Eve, with drinks service included in the concept that night. Anyone walking through this door in winter is entering not a seaside hotel but a city hotel, and we can say that those who come knowing this will find what they are looking for.…

For other ways to stay central see our Kyrenia boutique hotels article, plan the streets with the Kyrenia travel guide, and read the table rules in our guide to Kyrenia casinos.