Londa Hotel

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THE LOBBY IS AN OASIS OF WHITE MARBLE, curvy pillars lit from within and a sheer glass wall through which the Mediterranean glints tantalisingly in the distance.

In winter, the whiteness is warmed by a flickering open fire and hip lounge music. In summer, beautiful people recline on squashy day beds around a deep blue pool, or drift off into a blissful haze under the touch of a therapist in an outdoor, tented massage pavilion.

The Londa is so cool it’s like nothing Cyprus has ever seen. Transformed from an uninspiring business hotel into an award-winning temple to urban chic-on-the-beach, it has become a reason in itself to visit Limassol, a buzzing, year-round city of markets, mosques and hammams, designer shops and a chunky crusader castle.

Rainforest showers

Beyond the gorgeous Italian design, the hotel has a wonderful sense of whimsy, with oversized cushions in the shape of Mediterranean fruit adorning the bedrooms, splashes of vibrant colour against the stripped floors and crisp white linen.

The minimalist look is further softened by gauzy silver curtains and touches of Cyprus; antique lace and filigree silver work. Bathrooms are fabulously decadent with huge rainforest showers, deep baths for two (some with jets) and oodles of Molton Brown goodies. Book one of the romance packages and a personal butler will run you an aromatherapy bath for two, or serve champagne dinner by candlelight on your balcony.

Once (or if) you emerge from your room, the pool is the place to be. Stretch out on a double day bed under an oversized cream canvas umbrella, or set up camp under one of the shady cabanas, with views straight out to sea. Waft between the pool and the spa, which features delicious Payot products from Paris and offers a seemingly endless list of pampering treatments for men and women.

After sunset, the pool bar – evocatively lit with candles and flaming torches – becomes a gathering point for style-conscious locals as well as guests. Canoodle over Martinis and nibbles before heading into Caprice at Londa, the hotel’s signature restaurant, which adopts the same serene, white-and-cream decor as the lobby lounge next door and has dreamy, uninterrupted sea views.

If you do venture outside, switched-on manager Jochen Niemann is only too happy to recommend smart chill-out bars and some great restaurants nearby which, like the Londa, are all playing their role in making Limassol the most happening city in the southern Med.