Summer nights
Limassol has a reputation as party town and a new face has been added recently with the opening of beach bars. We send one dedicated Nicosia girl to check out the latest bars
The last thing I wanted to do on a Saturday night was drive to Limassol from Nicosia and go on a bar crawl.
Annoyed, frustrated and just generally peeved that I hadn’t told my boss that working on the weekend just wasn’t on, I set off on what I was convinced would be one of the most boring weekends of my life.
‘I don’t even like Limassol,’ I told myself as I sped down the motorway, willing myself to feel some sort of enthusiasm for my impending project. What sort of night was this going to be? What sort of people was I going to meet? Were Limassolians the party-loving, friendly sort they’re renowned to be?
These were questions I asked myself as I worried whether or not my outfit (a pair of navy knee-length trousers, a white sleeveless top and heels) was suitable for a night out on the town in a place I was unfamiliar with.
The only upside at this point was the fact that I was staying at Le Meridien, at which I had been offered a complimentary stay. I’d never been, so was really looking forward to spending the afternoon and all of Sunday lapping up some five-star luxury.
As I suspected, the hotel did not disappoint, nor did my room, which overlooked the most inviting looking swimming pool with an unobstructed view of the Med’s deep blue beyond.
After spending three hours sunning myself and taking full advantage of the friendly staff who seemed only to happy to go back and forwards with my drinks orders, I decided it was time to go and get ready for my big night out.
Three hours and a bowl of linguine with asparagus, garlic, olive oil and tomato salsa later, I was ready. I’d opted for pasta as I thought it was probably the best thing to line my stomach, not to mention give me sufficient energy to endure what I suspected was going to be a busy night ahead.
My first stop was the Limassol Nautical Club, known more by its previous name, Waves, where I was going to meet a couple of colleagues from the Limassol office. Waves is located on the beachfront in Yermasoyia and getting to it from the hotel was a good half hour’s drive with the maddening Saturday night bumper to bumper traffic.
I’d actually been to Waves, a bar cum club sort of place, two years ago and remembered having a fantastic time. Suddenly the night didn’t seem so long or dull and I felt the first stirrings of excitement about how my evening would unfold.
I think there might be an entrance fee for a Saturday night though I have to admit I didn’t stop to find out and just waltzed right in. It was only 10.30pm and far too early to be out but I’d gotten bored in my hotel room and thought it would be a good opportunity to have a chinwag before the place started filling up and the DJ got into full swing with the latest dance hits.
At Waves you have the option of sitting at a table inside or outside overlooking the beach. My colleague and I chose to sit outside as that’s where her friends’ reservation was. There was a lovely breeze off the sea and I was happy to sit down on one of the comfortable faux leather couches nibbling on cheese bites, nachos and orange segments until the rest of the crowd assembled.
By midnight the place was buzzing and people had already started to sway to the music. I was glad I was at a reserved table because I didn’t fancy standing in the middle of the crowd, vodka/cranberry (which cost £5) in hand.
“Waves is more down to earth than other places in Limassol,” one girl told seven as she swung her hips from side to side.
“You feel free here and can get on a table or the chairs and no one will say anything. It’s different to other places. Different sorts of people come here. More laid back and who can let their hair down and dance… I don’t talk when I come here. I just dance,” she said.
I had to admit this club was a lot different to what I was used to in Nicosia, where the majority of people tend to stand around and pose. Instead people here actually danced and really seemed to let go of any pent up aggression.
It was refreshing to see and before long I found I’d forgotten my earlier reservations about coming to Limassol. In fact, I started to ask myself why I didn’t come more often.
Unfortunately although the night felt young, some of the other bars/clubs I was going to had a 2am close so my colleague told me it was time to get going.
We traipsed back to the car – parking is not easy to find along the beach front so walking was something I found I was going to have to get used to, five-inch heels or not. Much to my horror, I found myself back in bumper to bumper traffic heading back towards the hotels.
“We’re going to a place called Guaba,” I was informed. “You’ll like it. It’s very chilled.”
Thank goodness my navigator was a Limassolian otherwise I’d never have found the place, which is on the right just before the Hawaii Grand Hotel as you’re coming from Yermasoyia. I’d like to say there’s an obvious turning, but there isn’t. Instead I found myself meandering my way through a dark, empty field and following other car tail lights in what I hoped was the right direction.
When I finally parked I found that I was going to have to walk across sand and pebbles to get to what looked like a beach bar in the distance. A word of warning: DO NOT WEAR HEELS. I nearly twisted my ankle trying to make my way across, although I was more anxious about scuffing my heels than anything else. On the way back I vowed to take my shoes off, despite the fact that it would mean ending up with dirty feet.
Guaba is very chilled and quite a different scene from Waves. It’s the perfect spot if you just want to spend a quiet evening with friends. You can either sit on a couch on the actual beach – flip flops advised – or on one of the plastic chairs on the wooden deck.
“All that’s missing here is your spliff,” a friend joked, referring to the reggae music playing softly in the background.
Everyone seemed very relaxed, with most people drinking what looked like beer out of paper cups served by two shirtless barmen. Fire torches dotted the length of the beach giving the place just that touch bit more atmosphere but which also had the added effect of making my eyes feel heavy and to long for my bed. Not even the sail boat beached alongside the bar and lit up in neon could keep me awake and I soon found myself begging the girls to get moving otherwise I’d never make it to the next two places they had in store.
Our next stop was Drops. Back into the car we piled and headed in the direction of Yermasoyia, past all the hotels until we came across what looked like a rectangular shaped box on the beach.
“This is Drops. I haven’t been here before so I don’t know what it’s like,” I was told. Turns out this place has a £5 entrance fee, which includes a free drink, on a Saturday night.
Deceptively quiet on the outside, the bar was humming once we got past the bouncer and walked down the few steps leading into the open air bar.
Now this place reminded me of Nicosia. Good music but people doing nothing more than standing around staring at each other.
“It’s like a lounge bar without the lounge music,” a friend of mine, also from Nicosia, said. “It seems to be a place where you just come to have a drink, a chat and to listen to some music.”
If that’s the case, then the music is too loud. It’s also too good to keep still. I did notice one or two girls waving their hands about as they kept rhythm to popular Greek tunes belting out on the speakers as purple disco lights flickered in the background. Other than them though people seemed happy to j
ust stand at the bar or to sit at one of the couches or high tables under the large canopy and enjoy a cocktail. Like Waves, a vodka mixer here cost a fiver.
Two of the girls I was with quickly found two male admirers. I was told Limassol is a friendly place and it’s easy to make friends. With pen, paper and camera in hand I think I looked more like a private detective on the lookout for cheating husbands than a prospective flirt so I can’t say any attention came my way. Nevertheless, people did seem a tad less uptight than they do in the capital and although I was disappointed that no one was dancing, I found I was having a good time.
Next and final stop was Breeze. Of the four places we went to on Saturday this was by far the busiest, not to mention the largest. Located on the beachfront in Yermasoyia, opposite McDonalds, you can tell this is a trendy spot simply from the lettering on the whitewashed walls on the front, not to mention the long queue of people waiting to get inside.
Once past the bouncer it’s clear that this is the place to go in Limassol in the summer. It was absolutely heaving with people. From the outside, Breeze doesn’t look that big but once inside you find yourself staring at a huge open area crammed full of people. As a green strobe light swept back and forth across the crowd it didn’t take long to determine that the ‘in’ crowd came here.
Of all the four places we’d been to the clientele here were the most well-coiffed, with ladies dressed to kill in the skimpiest of outfits and men in designer jeans and shirts. There was also something about the way people looked at each other that made you feel you were in the sort of place that what you wear and who you’re with matters.
Because we weren’t planning on staying for long I didn’t mind not having reserved a table, but I think if I were to go and spend my entire evening here I wouldn’t do so without booking one because standing in the middle of a crowd all night is not my cup of tea. It’s even worse when you feel some guy’s sweaty shirt brushing up against your bare skin.
“I’m not surprised people don’t dance here. It’s far too humid,” my Nicosia friend said. I suddenly realised she was probably right. Unlike Waves, there was no breeze at Breeze and so less movement was better.
Standing on concrete in heels is highly uncomfortable and although the music was good I started to feel like I wanted to call it a night. I’d have liked to walk around and take in the club a bit more but it was too packed to imagine even venturing to go to the toilet let alone going for a little dander.
Amazingly for such a trendy place, the drinks here were cheaper at £4 for a vodka mixer. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that because it was open air I couldn’t smell much cigarette smoke. Normally in clubs you end up going home smelling like an ashtray and wheezing like a three-pack-a-day smoker, despite not engaging in the habit. This was not the case at Breeze and I was thrilled to find that even though I was in the midst of hundreds of smokers, my lungs weren’t affected at all.
After about 45 minutes I decided that although it had been a fun evening, at 3am my five-star bed beckoned. I bid my colleagues goodnight and made my way back to the comforts of my hotel.
So will I be back to Limassol? I think I will, but next time I’ll do less bar crawling and stick to one place instead because all this moving about is exhausting, especially when you have to face all that traffic not to mention the almost impossible feat of finding the nearest parking to your destination every time.
