Annabelle is the first luxury, five-star resort to have been opened in Cyprus. It was founded by Alecos Michaelides, a hotel operator from Farmagusta who fled that city after the 1974 Turkish invasion. Michaelides moved to what was then a quiet fishing harbour—Pafos—and began to develop the area’s potential for tourism. He was responsible for opening the Paphos Beach Hotel, the first resort on the harbour (in 2003 the Michaelides family upgraded it to five-star status and rechristened it Almyra). After purchasing the land on which it would be built, Michaelides set about constructing the main building of Annabelle for debut in 1985; the opening ceremony was overseen by George Thomas, the Right Honourable Viscount Tonypandy, a former Speaker of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons. The property continued to develop in stages, with the second wing and the grotto opening in 1987 and the waterfall debuting in 1989. Because luxury service was new to area, Michaelides recruited staff from the area and trained them: Annabelle came to be known as the ‘University of Pafos’ because of the intensity of the training. The kitchens developed the Food from the Village concept, using sophisticated culinary techniques and the freshest local ingredients to make traditional dishes sing. In 2018, the hotel reopened after a €10 million renovation to reveal a new rooftop retreat sporting a restaurant, a spa and fitness centre, and an indoor pool; new duplex suites and renovated guest rooms completed the refresh. Annabelle intends to make history for years to come.
