New concept in Cyprus
The Library Hotel – Wellness Retreat, Kalavassos
Reviewed by Matthew Stowell
What happens when a poet-winemaker-gourmet with high-culture affinities in literature, music, art, philosophy and design aesthetics—one who has battled and conquered a devastating disease—decides to change his life and open a business that reflects and embraces his interests and propensities? The result is the Library Hotel – Wellness Retreat in Kalavassos, Limassol. The man is Savvas Varnavides, co-founder of Aes Ambelis winery in Kalo Horio Orinis, Nicosia and proprietor of the newly opened hotel and its Mediterranean style restaurant, Mitos.
The Varnavides family is well known in Cyprus, the father, Andreas, having built the Kennedy Hotel (now Holiday Inn) in Nicosia, which along with the nearby Castelli Hotel is now run by Savvas’s brother, Theseas. There are other businesses as well, including an office furniture and security company that Savvas managed for several years. In 1991 Savvas and a friend started Aes Ambelis winery, but in 2001 it had grown beyond his original vision and he left it in the able hands of partners. Following his “medical adventure”, as he calls it, he knew it was time to do something he truly wanted to do, and it had to be something that might contribute to the beneficial health of others.
“I was visiting friends in Kalavassos when I noticed, next to the church, the ruins of an old house. Though most of it had been destroyed, I saw it as beautiful, and I felt upset about the way the building had been devastated.” The site had actually encompassed two adjoining houses that in 1885 the town’s wealthiest man had erected as dowry homes for his daughters. Savvas perceived this ruin as somehow vitally connected to the ideas that had been bouncing around in his head, and he began work on the structure without any clear plan. Eventually he rebuilt the houses, and with assistance from his family he transformed them into an intimate, boutique-style hotel.
Two of his paramount interests at the time were literature (he has several publications of poetry to his name) and the healing arts, and these two disciplines are clearly in evidence at his impressive but cozy inn. Situated along a quiet narrow street of this peaceful village near Zigi, the hotel is quickly becoming known as a sanctuary from the increasingly frenetic and noisy lifestyle of modern Cyprus. An experience of genuine peace and quiet is one that is rarely if ever found in this neurotic age, no matter how remote the venue (I once tried to escape the city’s pandemonium at a secluded monastery only to find it noisier than Times Square at New Year’s) or how much you are willing to pay. Many countryside hotels promise tranquility and guarantee relaxation, but very few can deliver. Because the village of Kalavassos itself is so whisperingly quiet, and because Savvas is so determined to control every atmospheric aspect of the inn’s environment, the Library Hotel is able to achieve this elusive end.
GETTING THERE
It’s easy for the visitor to find. Once you reach the village center—you’ll spot the usual picturesque assembly of octogenarians idling at café tables, offering personal insights towards a solution to the Cyprus Problem—look to the left and notice a placard for the hotel pointing up the narrow street. Drive straight to the top of the lane (ignore the sign prohibiting traffic in that direction) and you’ll find ample parking to the right. The blue entrance doors are halfway back down the lane. Inside there is a small reception table, and if someone isn’t in attendance, don’t fret. They’ll be along shortly. Look to the right at the inscription over the entrance to the library. It’s the same one that graced the portals of the famous library at Alexandria and loosely translated means Healing Place for the Soul. Set your burdens down, enter the subtly elegant sanctum—furnished in leather, stone, wood and working fireplace—and choose a book from the shelves (at least four languages are represented). Slip a CD of ambient music into the mini stereo and start the process of winding down.
12 WISE ROOMS
There are only twelve rooms at the hotel but they are individually named, designed and styled to the highest standards of comfort. The names are from the world of literature and philosophy. There is Rimbaud, the French poet who in his years of adventure after abandoning poetry built the Governor’s Mansion in Troodos. There is Cavafis, the much-loved Greek poet of Egypt who wrote allegories upon ancient civilizations that have even greater relevance today. Close by is Seferis, the Greek poet who said of our island, “Cyprus, where the miracle is still possible”. On the same floor is Sapho, the great poetess of passionate love lyrics; Edgar Allen Poe, another hopeless romantic and inventor of the detective story; Kafka, the dark seer from Prague who created a new twist on metamorphosis; Pessoa, the Portuguese poet and critic of many fascinating and illuminating personas; Borges, the Argentinean master of the short story and librarian of Alexandrian tastes; Heidegger, the German philosopher who strongly influenced 20th century philosophy, theology and humanities; and Nietzsche, the classical philologist and father of existentialism. The largest accommodation, a suite with plush leather armchairs, fireplace and exquisite art deco furniture, is named after the great poet, playwright, novelist, Irish wit and unabashed hedonist, Oscar Wilde (“I can resist everything, except temptation”). It’s a small idyll of a suite, one you could indulge yourself in for a very long time, if not forever—providing you book it well in advance.
BLENDING IN
In the way of building materials, there is nothing so soothing to the soul as a balanced combination of cream-coloured village stone and natural-treated wood. All of the rooms have extraordinarily comfortable, extra-large beds, fine linen and toiletries, palatially spacious bathrooms of marble and glass (with individual or double Jacuzzi), balcony areas for smoking or a cozy tea, ample closet space and intelligently chosen art on the walls. And placed on the desk in each room there is a volume of writings (not to be removed!) by the author for whom your individual sanctuary is named.
There is also, as of this week, fine Mediterranean style dining at the in-house restaurant, Mitos, named in honour of Ariadne for whom there was once a temple at Amathus. The young Cypriot chef manning the stoves benefited from many years of practical experience in New York and is being further guided by the master chef of Vivere, the flagship restaurant among the four at Holiday Inn, Nicosia. Wines from Cyprus are featured prominently on the menu alongside wise selections from France, Spain and Italy.
THERAPIES
As mentioned, the other distinguishing aspect that makes this hotel unique is the array of healing services on offer. The menu of therapies include mud baths and herbal baths, beautifully designed by a pioneering German company specializing in steam technology, five types of massages, Trigger Point therapy, body scrubs, inch-reducing body wraps and several kinds of facials (including Galvanic and High Frequency). In the future Savvas intends to create a dream interpretation chamber with a full-time dream psychologist on staff.
Varnavides is a man of wide learning and experience, someone who can converse eloquently on not only the rich history and culture of Cyprus but also music, art, literature, philosophy, mythology and esoteric studies. He leads guests on thematic educational walks along Rimbaud’s footsteps near Caledonia Falls in the Troodos Mountains, to Kalavasos Tenta and the Amathus Acropolis housing the temple of the Great Goddess, or to Holy Cross Mountain Monastery (Stavrovouni) and St. George Alamanos. Ask him about the hieroglyphic little man that serves as the hotel’s logo and you’re in for an informative, far-reaching and entertaining mini-seminar.
The hotel, and especially the library, is intended to be used for various sorts of intimate cultural activities such as lectures, discussion groups, readings and presentations. This past week, a group of sommeliers and wine lovers from across Europe—hosted by Xenia Theodotou Schneider and husband Jean— have been in residence, tasting wine and food, touring wineries, attending lectures about Cypriot viniculture and cuisine and exploring local archaeological treasures.
Look for information in this space for an upcoming evening of readings featuring the works of all the eponymous “room” authors named above. Readings will be conducted in English alongside the original languages of Greek, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German.
The Library Hotel – Wellness Retreat is in Kalavassos village, 30 minutes east of Limassol, same exit on the A1 as for Zigi. Tel. 24 817 071. www.libraryhotelcyprus.com
