I have seen a great deal of the world and have resided in many lovely places. I have acquired an addiction for staying in good hotels and tend to enjoy the smaller to me dium sized ones where the staff have the guests' interests uppermost in their minds. One of those hotels was the Malpas Hotel & Casino situated on the lovely Island of Cyprus where I stayed for 28 days during the period 26 October to 23 November 2009. I also stayed for another 8 weeks in March, May, and June 2010.
I spent many lunch hours and late afternoon sessions reading and enjoying a cuppa in the main lobby and lounge area from where I could survey the entrance, reception, Cornado Patissierie, Cotton Jazz Bar, access to the Casino, Restaurant and the outside terraces, so overall, I am able to write a thorough and objective review.
I found the staff, in most areas, to be efficient, courteous and friendly. I have seen them perform at close hand and quietly from a distance and was impressed. All, from t he middle management team, right the way through to the staff at reception to the waiters, chefs and cleaning personnel, impressed me with their training, people skills and personal presentation. Nothing was too much to make their guests' stay a pleasurable and memorable one! Please note that if the staff are not always smiling, it is because they generally work 12 hour shifts and are on minimum monthly pay packets averaging around £500- and they do not get overtime paid - so tips and a smile from us are most welcome, although it is not expected!
The breakfast and evening dinner open-buffets were very good and the variety is there to enjoy. OK, if you are staying for more than 7 days then I suggest you eat out now and again. If I had any requests like toast or bacon for breakfast, they were accommodated, so don't be afraid of asking. I thought the wine in the restaurant was very expensive; I am sure that if the prices were reduced by half, the turnover would double! Be aware that you will have to pay for bottled water because the tap water is not for consumption, but this is normal in all hotels in Cyprus, and it is for this reason that I think water should be provided gratis with your evening meal. The hotel's profit margin on a 1.5 litre plastic bottle of water is 400%!!! Whilst tea, coffee, juice, milk and water are provided as part of the breakfast meal, they are not provided during or after evening dinner unless you pay for it.
I used most of the facilities and did not find them wanting. I did not take along my laptop this time but for those who do, you can obtain internet access albeit for a charge of around £4- per day although the Wi-Fi isn't always reliable, so bear that in mind if you need continuous access for important work or study. Having said that, they provide free access through a computer terminal situated to the right of Reception next to the Guest Relations Information Desk. For those who en joy a little pampering or physical exercise, the Wellness Spa, indoor swimming pool & Gym, where I enjoyed my early morning fitness sessions, can be found in the basement - although they don't open until 0730 hours.
For those who dream about playing in the Casino and even those like me who had no intention of wandering down there, it is fun and you don't have to have a big fat wallet to enjoy yourself! I was plied with wine at dinner and easily persuaded to try it out. I found it enjoyable and actually met quite a few lovely people from all sorts of backgrounds and countries. I couldn't believe it when I found out that drinks and snacks were on the house as long as you were using the facilities! A minimum of €10 is all that is needed to enjoy poker on the machines! I then understood why the Cotton Jazz Bar upstairs, where the beverage prices need to come down, wasn't that full most of the time :-) except of course when there was live music on. Depending on the clientele, the casino can get rather smoky, so non smokers beware, weigh up the pros and cons before you go down there. Personally I think it's about time they banned smoking in the casinos as well; I had to leave after an hour because my eyes were stinging and sore due to the exhaled smoke with its poisonous chemicals in the air! I also felt a bit like a "smoked kipper" with my hair, shirt, trousers and socks all stinking of cigarette smoke - a great shame considering I wanted to continue playing! Maybe it's time to provide a separate non-smoking area for the health conscious high spending guests?
Generally, there is no way anyone should be disappointed if they have the wherwithall about them. What you basically see on the hotel's internet web site is what you get. The hotel is just 10 minutes drive from Kyrenia but taxis are cheap at around £8- so I was happy. The hotel does provide a minibus shuttle service to and from Kyrenia each day, which I rate as adequate. This could though, be extended to cover longer periods and perhaps be more often with ad-hoc runs when required; it would certainly help those who do not have a rental car or cannot drive. Obviously a rental car is good to have no matter where you are staying - I had one for the duration from A1 Rent-A-Car who provided a super deal and service.
Sometimes the top politicians of both Turkey and North Cyprus use the Malpas as their formal socialising venue, as was the case during my recent visit, so don't be surprised if on the rare occasion that you feel intruded upon when seeing high profile personalities with their gun wearing body guards and police take precedence for a few hours. Enjoy the moment! On the other hand, I must state that the hotel is also a favourite venue for weddings and other celebrations and they can be quite intrusive with regard to noise levels right into the early morning hours! Unlike some other hotels, the Malpas does not have separate function faciliti es to be able to host large parties without disturbing resident guests!
Laundry is very expensive and for those staying more than a week I strongly recommend using the local "Wash & Go" laundry 2 minutes down the road on the way into Kyrenia - the service is excellent and the savings are worthwhile and provides you with extra funds to spend in the Casino or for enjoying a much needed cuppa tea. Talking about a cuppa; there is a first class Mardo's Ice Cream cafe along the same road where you can enjoy everything from tea and coffee to milk shakes, snacks and English breakfasts at little cost, knowing that you are also supporting the small local businessman!
As a Solo Traveller, I am hit by large single supplements which all the hotels appear to apply, and the Malpas is no exception. I believe more solo travellers would enjoy the Malpas if the single supplements were greatly reduced or even dropped for the most of the year! It certainly would be an o pportunity to stand apart from their competition - but that would take courage to implement and would be going against the grain and the KITOB Hotel Association's wishes and despite their actual annual and monthly statistics showing, quite remarkably, that most hotels only achieved between 24-65% occupancy rates with blips.
Please note, for those who haven't stayed at the Malpas before: the hotel is about 5 miles from the centre of Kyrenia. It is not located near a beach and is set right back from the main road. The nearest pure sandy beach is located at the Acapulco resort just three minutes drive away. Rooms do not have a tea-coffee making facility and the hotel does not provide a courtesy one centrally either. I have suggested that they should provide two free pots of tea or coffee per day gratis for guests which could easily be managed by the staff serving behind the Patissierie. Irons and ironing boards are not provided. Food and beverages purchased from outside sources are not allowed to be brought into the hotel. Evening entertainment is basic with either a single singer-musician or duo playing most evenings for around 2 hours with Tony Jones being the best current performer. Mini-bar prices are very expensive - I would rather donate my money to charity! It would be good to see more local information made available to guests or those who wish to have it provided without relying on the tourist agencies. So my advice is, do your internet research, bring your own books and if you don't like what you read here and feel that the hotel doesn't provide what you want - go elsewhere! If you do like what you read - give it a try!
During my frequent visits I've had the pleasure of meeting a great number of lovely people, both singles and couples, and enjoyed many deep and enlightening conversations. From what I have observed over a long period, senior management is not being pro-active enough! First impressions are so important in the hotel business - you don't usually get a second chance! That's why there needs to be the "will" to succeed and a focused "intention" to improve things along with the right amount of "attention" given to everything! A negative on-line reputation can severely limit a hotel's ability to succeed today. With more and more people using the internet to make their travel plans, reviews by other travellers are playing an increasingly large role. Whilst it is true that guests are actually paying hoteliers for “time” spent in their “space,” what they are really buying is their own unique travel experience; an experience impacted by the destination, location, area points of interest, attractions, hotel features and amenities besides the room - and of course "service", in that management have their guests' interests uppermost in their minds! In my opinion, the hotel MD wouldn't go far wrong if he adopted a modus operandi of: "The answer's YES, now what is the Question?" ...
And don't forget, the hotel owner(s) who have casinos, which are separate businesses, attached to their hotels also have mutually beneficial agreements in place for block bookings for casino guests from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and other countries. Thus, it just may be that the British Holiday Package Deal tourists are considered a lesser priority than the high spending short term casino addicted visitors; they certainly are when compared to wedding and other celebratory arrangements!
I have been openly candid, sincere and balanced in my review in the hope that it provides potential visitors with the right information to make an informed decision whether or not to enjoy a visit to the Malpas. I must admit I took a risk booking for 28 days in one hotel but I can assure you that it was worthwhile and I enjoyed my whole stay and all subsequent visits, despite waiting for management to implement the smallest of changes and improvements. Of course, I know it's all about perspective!
TORONTO,ON–Playing together on the brand-new court at Centennial College’s Progress Campus at the OCAA All-Star Game allowed the top mens’ and women’s basketball players in the province a chance to reflect on the season and send it off in style.
Basketball players from over 20 different Ontario colleges represented the East and West regions in a set of all-star games and three-point shoot-outs, as well as a co-ed team skills challenge.
In the Women’s All-Star game, the West team came out strong and built a 32-20 advantage by halftime, led by Algoma’s CCAA All-Canadian winner Corina Bruni who scored 10 first-half points.
In the fourth quarter Tamara Nembhard from Seneca dominated the post and Fleming’s Kelly Killoran hit two three-pointers to bring the East within one point, down 65-64.
With the game tied and just over a minute remaining, Sheridan’s Michelle Abella came up with a crucial steal and passed the ball to her Sheridan teammate, and OCAA 2011-12 leading scorer (23.2 ppg), Nakia Arthur who put the game away from the free-throw line. Arthur finished with 15 points in the win.
“There were a lot of ups and downs on our team this year, so this is fun. This is the best part of OCAA, period,” Arthur said after the game. “It’s not a season game, but at the end of the day you get to come and play on a team with the best girls from other teams who all come together. It’s a lot of fun.”
“It is a big honour because I got to play with a lot of my friends,” said Bruni. “This was my first year in the OCAA and I was able to do pretty well with Algoma and met lots of friends on various teams so to be able to go out there and compete with them all together it means a lot.”
“We’ve been looking forward to this all year. It’s great to be able to play with the people you know,” said Kelly Killoran whose threes couldn’t complete the East team comeback, but won her the three-point shootout. “They’re your rivals during the season, but they’re your teammates for this, so it’s really fun.”
In the Mens’ All-Star Game, the East and West were neck-and-neck through three quarters before the East pulled away in the final frame taking a ten-point advantage that the West couldn’t quite catch.
Sheridan’s Khalid Abdel-Gabar finished with just three points in the game, but took home the three-point shootout crown at halftime with an impressive score of 17.
The West was led by Sheridan’s Denmark McDonald in the frontcourt with 26 points, and the Humber backcourt duo of Mark Perrin and Akeem Sween who finished with 18 and 12 points respectively. Perrin’s breakaway dunk may have been the highlight of the game, and his eight points in the fourth quarter almost led a West team comeback.
A three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer gave Algonquin’s Romaine Lawrence 27 points through three, en route to a game-high 30 points and All-Star game MVP for the East.
“It’s competitive because it’s East and West. They always say West is better, but we proved today the East is better,” Lawrence told NPH after the game. “We just knocked down our free-throws and took our time. I contributed with my points, but honestly didn’t know I had 30. I’m a team player and the assists and rebounds were a big part of my game, but if I’ve got an open shot, I’m going to knock it down.”
“The West has always been known to be a powerhouse in comparison to the East, but obviously today we showed we have some really talented star players,” said East Division First-Team All-Star Max Clarkson. “It’s fun, but at the same time it’s competitive and you have to keep those two things together. It was a great way to send off the season. I love playing with these guys that I play against most of the time.”
“Whenever I saw a [Boy] Scout troop hiking down the trail, I’d cringe and say to myself, ‘Oh boy, here comes trouble,’ If parents knew what rangers knew, they would hesitate to let their boys go on extended Scout outings into wilderness areas with leaders who haven’t demonstrated real outdoor experience.” – Andrea Lankford (former National Park Ranger)
There are many benefits to appreciating a little time in the natural world, removed from modern distractions. Whether it is for only a few minutes some days or spending days on end, time in nature can have profoundly positive effects on people. One of the primary attributes that allows nature to have this effect on us is the minimal sign of other humans. With every piece of trash, every trampled area, every unsightly wad of toilet paper, our wilderness loses some of its mystical attraction. It is easy to have a great time in nature and still leave it the way we find it. In fact, you could say it’s even hardwired into us from a time when we lived much closer to the earth. Our forests, rivers, rocks, and beaches seem to possess little, if any, sign of most creatures that live around them. We can be such creatures. We are not so far removed from the natural world and some instincts still exist when we find ourselves separated from the technological world. One of the most important survival instincts of any creature, be it predator or prey, is the caution to leave no trace and remain invisible. Our instinct still serves us well, if we heed it. We are no longer seeking to avoid detection by a predator or potential prey, but instead, we are keeping our presence hidden from other people. If we can leave areas in the pristine way that they were meant to be, then the health benefits of experiences in nature will be increased for ourselves and every person that comes along after us.
"In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it.."
"In the light of the Utah Boy Scout Leaders toppling the bolder cap in Goblin Valley we should look at the ethics we as adults model to those that look up to us."