A Revival Spa Retreat Casale Panayiotis Hotel & Myrianthousa Spa
Casale Panayiotis is located in the village of Kalopanayiotis, nestled on the slopes of the Troodos Mountains. Everything, as it should be in Cyprus, is compact, quiet and picturesque…and if, you, a tired traveller, dreaming of plunging into the original way of the Cypriot province, wishing to eat home cooked meals and to sleep under the murmur of the river, Setrachos, then this mountain village is your ideal travel destination.
Seven authentic, stonebuilt houses, which host 41 luxury rooms, are scattered along the terraced mountain slope. Each one of the spacious studios and suites, with bleached walls and traditional wooden or traditional contemporary furniture, have been lovingly restored whilst keeping within the regional traditional character and charm. The terraces are decorated with geraniums and homespun curtains hang over the room windows. A handembroidered blanket covers the bed and a real wood-burning fireplace adds a cosy element to the room ambiance. The views from the verandas and balconies are spectacular! Imagine a saucerlike lake with a rim of tiled roofs on the emerald tablecloth of a mountain hollow. On the right is a white chapel and, to the left, you will find a Byzantine church. In the spring, flowering fruit gardens are in bloom and in the summer colourful roses adorn the valley of “a thousand blossoms”.
Life in the village is always interesting. Walking paths run in different directions and each. In the north, lies the Kykko Monastery, which hosts the Icon of the Mother of God. The Church of the Archangel Gabriel, with wellpreserved golden frescoes, and the temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary Moutoullas, can be found in the nearby villages and are listed in UNESCO. The Monastery of St.John Lampadistis is built on the site of the first Christian monastery in Cyprus; constructed in the 1st century from the Nativity of Christ. The pride and shrine of the monastery is an ancient icon stand, decorated with Byzantine emblems and frescoes of the XI and XIX centuries.
The village, itself, is picturesque. Along the narrow streets, lined with polished stone slabs, you will notice the cozy houses with their wooden shutters. In the wellkept gardens, colourful flower beds and rose bushes decorate the fences. Elderly women in black, watch the passersby, whilst old men chat leisurely, sipping coffee at a table in a small café. The mountain elevator is a unique project, which transports pilgrims and excursionists to the village monastery.
As you walk around Kalopanayiotis, you will come across restored chapels and churches, stone caves and sulphur springs. Healing baths help with arthrosis and high blood pressure and further regulate the level of cholesterol.
As an ancient spa village, where natural sulphurspring water trickles yearround from nearby springs, Kalopanayiotis has drawn pilgrims and visitors for thousands of years, providing a natural healing retreat for the ancient Greeks, Venetians and Ottomans. Award winning Myrianthousa Spa in Casale Panayiotis allows guests to continue this ancient tradition, to discover this natural wonder and tranquility of the mountains for themselves and to experience the pilgrims’ journey of inner calm and harmony. The spa facilities include indoor and outdoor private whirlpools, luxury treatment rooms, sauna, ice mist, herbal steam room, snow cabin, tropical rain, foot baths, hydrotherapy pool, a hydromassage bath (which can be filled with local sulphur-spring water) and a rhassoul mud cabin.
Why not go in for adventures sports, as mountain biking, adventure hiking, abseiling and rock climbing are easily accessible. Participants in excursions to regional wine cellars and farms have the chance to become connoisseurs of Greek alcoholic beverages.
Casale Panayiotis has two restaurants and a café/snack bar for guests. Breakfast is served in the Troullino. In the evenings, you may relax to the sounds of background local traditional music in the Byzantino Restaurant, which serves traditional Cypriot cuisine, prepared from locally sourced produce.
The furnishings are homely and the staff is friendly and caring. It could never be any other way because the owner of the resort, John Papadouris, grew up here. At the age of 18, he moved abroad to earn money for the restoration of his neglected and deteriorating mountain village. John invested millions of Euros, built a hotel and developed a mountain spa resort. The owner is proud of his project and glad that life has returned to the village. He lovingly welcomes guests and goes out of his way to make them want to return…and of course, his efforts are greatly acknowledged and appreciated by all!
