Had a wonderful ten days in Cyprus except for one incident.
If anyone goes to "Royal Cocktail Bar" on Tomb of the Kings Road please be careful!!
My wife and I are early thirties and had only had two cocktails in the place each. I was sun burned though and quite tired and it seems the barmaid or till operator - or both - mistook this for me being on my way to blotto. Fortunately not the case for me. As a result it seems they deliberately tried to do us out of £10cyp by trying to claim we only put £10cyp in the cash glass, when we definitely put two tens in it to cover £12cyp worth of drinks at the end of our evening.
I am a police officer and always check money when paying. So I KNOW how much was there before they tried to rip us off. I also know when someone is trying to pull a scam, and this WAS a scam.
So we held our ground firmly but politely and lo and behold - when it became clear to them that we werent drunk or naive and werent going to back down, the missing £10cyp we had paid them apparently and suddenly turned up "On the floor by the till".
Sorry, but theres no way that was the case, and they didnt offer any compo or free drinks either in any attempt to apologise, as if a genuine error. They knew we had out foxed the scam and couldnt wait to get rid of us before we did the trade any further damage. It was so obvious what the barmaids were doing by the time we finished with them that the whole place began to empty!
You have been advised. I was very very surprised by this blatant attempt to con us out of a not inconsiderable sum - no where else on Cyprus have I sniffed anything like this before. Crime is virtually non existant compared to the UK.
I was in this bar last week - we just popped in for one drink on the way back to the hotel, and had a cocktail each. When it came to pay, the girl didn't leave the bill - she just asked what we had had, we told her and she asked how much it should be! We said £6.50, handed the cash over and that was it, but stendec's experience just goes to show that if they can get away with something, some staff will try it on, and not just in Cyprus - guess holiday makers do tend to let their guard down and some people can't help but take advantage. Cocktail was ok though. 
If you are not happy with any service in Cyprus report it to the Cyprus CTO the address is available on the Internet ''google''
Cheers Jim
I think this more public advice to be alert is sufficient in this case. It didnt ruin my holiday or anything and was the only time there was a sniff of any dishonesty or distrust with the Cypriots. Apart from the overly beady eye the shopkeepers kept on the wife and I up at Pafos covered market - presumably because we were the only ones there under the age of about 40? It certainly isnt the way we look or dress - as we are quite "normal" in that respect. Though I expect they were just bored.
Cyprus really is a fantastic place to visit and people shouldnt be put off by my post, as people try and do get away with much worse in the UK all the time. I find most Cypriots to be very very decent people indeed and we would certainly visit the island for a third time without hesitation!!
Mark
I think this more public advice to be alert is sufficient in this case. It didnt ruin my holiday or anything and was the only time there was a sniff of any dishonesty or distrust with the Cypriots. Apart from the overly beady eye the shopkeepers kept on the wife and I up at Pafos covered market - presumably because we were the only ones there under the age of about 40? It certainly isnt the way we look or dress - as we are quite "normal" in that respect. Though I expect they were just bored.
Cyprus really is a fantastic place to visit and people shouldnt be put off by my post, as people try and do get away with much worse in the UK all the time. I find most Cypriots to be very very decent people indeed and we would certainly visit the island for a third time without hesitation!!
Mark
Hi Mark, I guess it does not matter where you go in the world this will happen at times..
I visited the island and have never left..
I visited the island and have never left..
It makes you ashamed that shop keepers (and such) feel they need to keep an eye on us when we are abroad.. ..epecially when you go on a jeep safari and the driver leaves the keys in the car and wonders off with you all, knowing the car and contents will be ok... but when he leaves it near tourists he locks it up....
to make a complaint against those in the tourism industry
contact
Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Leoforos Lemesou 19
P.O.Box 24535
CY 1390 Lefkosia (Nicosia)
Tel: +357 22 69 11 00
Fax: +357 22 33 16 44
e-mail: cytour@cto.org.cy
contact
Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Leoforos Lemesou 19
P.O.Box 24535
CY 1390 Lefkosia (Nicosia)
Tel: +357 22 69 11 00
Fax: +357 22 33 16 44
e-mail: cytour@cto.org.cy
(I wasn't complaining about the driver leaving the keys etc, if thats what you thought and the last comment was for me?... No he was great and it was good that he and his fellow countrymen were able to trust each other... the crying shame is that we the British have such a bad reputation (which in lots of cases isn't without reason) that they dare not trust us... )
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