Sir Paul Hotel: preserving historic charm

“It was a beautiful old mansion right in the middle of the old town of Limassol, and it had actually been abandoned and empty for around 30 years” explains Natali Martini, Director of LMNP City Hotels. “It has a lot of sentimental value for us, as it’s been in the family since the 1800s and was also used as the Town Hall at some point, so we didn’t want to just rent it out.”

What to do with decaying old buildings is a common concern in Cyprus. But Natali, herself a graduate in hotel management studies, was set on turning it around and setting up a boutique hotel right in the middle of the old town. With most hotels in the coastal city of Limassol located on the beach, Natali and her family identified a need for a hotel that catered not for tourists, but rather business travellers or academics, further inland, within walking distance from the main business district and university.

In order to finance this renovation, LMNP City Hotels turned to the Bank of Cyprus, who extended a loan under the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund (CYPEF), guaranteed by EIF. This financing allowed the company to proceed with much-needed adaptations to turn the building into a 22-room boutique hotel, while maintaining all the features and charm of the original structure, such as the stone arches, local bronze and marble elements and inner courtyard. “Without the funding, we wouldn’t have been able to proceed with this project. Of course there are other sources of capital, but since the crisis hit, things have been much tighter.”

And the Sir Paul name? “It’s named after my great grandfather, Pavlos Pavlides, who was knighted back when Cyprus was still a British colony. We wanted to keep the connection to the family.” Natali adds.

The Sir Paul Hotel is scheduled to open in spring 2018 and beyond the family, it is expected to create around 12 job positions to staff the hotel.