The Hotel
A Historic Hotel right in the heart of the city
The history of this Hotel starts in 1916, when a young boy at the age of 8 years old was forced to desert his birth town of Paphos and his 8-member family, and move to Nicosia for a better future. It took him 3 days to reach Nicosia using only his bare foot! One of his jobs was as a waiter at Cleopatra Hotel, the first Hotel in Nicosia. After 15 years of hard work in different jobs, he opened his first restaurant. By saving every single penny from his earnings, he managed to buy Cleopatra Hotel.
The name of this entrepreneurial young man was Charalambos Ioannides known as “Loucoullos”, a nickname given to him for the tasty and rich food he offered to his guests. Cleopatra Hotel was initially situated on Ledras Street and after Loucoullos took over he bought the existing property, where he built a new and modern 2-story Hotel. He was mocked about the new location that seemed at the time that it was far from the centre. He proved everybody wrong, as the centre of the city now embraces the Hotel.
With time, his son-in-law, Kypros Iacovides, gives up teaching physics and becomes Hotelier. He proved a talented businessman and added a new block of rooms, the Macedonia ballroom, the swimming pool, and a block of flats adjacent to the Hotel.
The granddaughters create the Stones Health Centre and Gym, the traditional Greek Meze restaurant “Loucoullos” and the Baroque Lounge Bar. The latest advancement is the fully renovated rooms, suites, lobby, and Macedonia Ballroom.
The Hotel is currently managed by the third generation, thus keeping the Hotel’s legacy of warm Hospitality, tasty food and personal service.
Cleopatra and her connection to Cyprus
Cleopatra was the last monarch in the line of the Greek royal dynasty of the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt and its nearby territories for the greatest part of the period following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC up until the official annexation of Egypt by Rome in 30 BC. This period is known as the Hellenistic Period, which saw an unprecedented flourishing of the arts and sciences.
The kingdom of Cleopatra for a certain brief period also included Cyprus. Ancient relics in Cyprus dating back to the wider Hellenistic Period can most notably be seen at Curium, Paphos and Salamis. The Archaeological Museum in Nicosia also boasts a remarkable collection of fine hellenistic statues.
