Amara, Limassol – every one of 207 rooms faces the sea

East of Limassol, on Amathus Avenue in Agios Tychonas, Amara stands on the site of the ancient city of Amathus, and its whole design is turned towards the water. The name comes from the ancient Greek amarantos, everlasting, and the hotel's promise is simple: every one of its 207 rooms has a 180-degree view of the Mediterranean. The MICHELIN Guide gives it One MICHELIN Key, praising interiors of pale stone, glass and clean architectural lines, and a setting in which the sea is the point rather than the backdrop. This is the big, polished resort among the island's Key hotels – five restaurants, four bars, a spa of 3,000 square metres and suites with their own pools – and it is run with the precision that scale demands.

01The house

Amara is officially classified as a five-star hotel, and the hotel describes its architecture as contemporary, shaped by the light on the water. The details are the kind guests notice at night: insulated floors for quiet, automated mood lighting, motorised curtains and variable-speed cooling and heating in every room. A ballroom handles weddings and events, and the boutiques in the hotel sell everything from Dior and Valentino to Cartier and Bulgari.

02Rooms and suites

The Deluxe Sea View Rooms, on the third and fourth floors, measure 45 square metres, with a private balcony, a king-size bed, a chaise longue and a large marble bathroom with a double basin, a bath and a separate shower; the palette is powder blue, green and off-white. The Deluxe Grand Sea View Rooms are the same size but sit on the fifth floor and above, for a higher view.

Insider tip

Adults-only seawater infinity pool; heated pools November to mid-May.

For families, the Deluxe Sea View Suite has 80 square metres with a separate living and dining space and a wide balcony with sun-loungers, and the Grand Deluxe Sea View Suite 90 square metres of oak parquet, whitewashed wood and earthy tones; both sleep two adults and two children. Closest to the water are the Seafront Cabanas – a bedroom, a one-bedroom suite or a two-bedroom suite, each with a private pool facing the sea.

At the top, the adults-only Penthouse Duplex Suite has almost 110 square metres over two levels, floor-to-ceiling windows and a private pool in its garden. The AMARA Suite is the hotel's most exclusive address: 230 square metres for up to four guests, with two bedrooms, a lounge, a dining room, a Jacuzzi room, a private bar and an infinity-edge private pool, heated from November to mid-May.

03Where to eat

Dining is the main draw. Matsuhisa Limassol brings Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese-Peruvian cooking to the island in a room designed by David Rockwell, with signatures such as black cod with miso, rock shrimp tempura and new-style sashimi. Ristorante Locatelli is the Italian table of the London chef Giorgio Locatelli, with homemade pasta and long lunches outdoors. Beefbar, the concept born in Monte Carlo by the restaurateur Riccardo Giraudo, serves cuts from Australia, Japan and the United States.

NEREA, the fish and seafood restaurant, sits right where the waves meet the shore and is the one to book on a first evening. Breakfast is served in its own Breakfast Room.

04The bar

There are four. The Lobby Bar greets arrivals with coffee and pastries, the Main Bar beside Ristorante Locatelli suits a drink before or after dinner, and the Pool Bar looks after the sunbeds. The Rooftop Bar is the one people come back for: cream tones and dark espresso woods, cocktails and tapas at dusk, lounge music and the sunset over the water.

05Spa

The AMARA Spa covers 3,000 square metres, with a thermal area, a sauna, nine treatment rooms, a gym, a library and a juice bar, plus a hair salon, barbershop and nail bar. Signature treatments use ingredients native to Cyprus – organic olive oil, crushed carob seeds and warmed citrus – alongside Cosmedix and Organic Pharmacy products. The outdoor seawater infinity pool is adults-only; the indoor pool is heated from November to mid-May, and the sports centre, open from 7am to 8pm for guests over 18, adds a semi-Olympic pool and a tennis court.

06The neighbourhood

Agios Tychonas lies on the coast east of Limassol, and the hotel's address takes its name from Amathus, the ancient city on whose site the MICHELIN Guide places it. With five restaurants and a spa on the premises, the resort is self-contained, yet Limassol is close at hand for an evening out, and the painted churches of the Troodos make a fine day's drive inland.

07Making the most of a stay

Watch the calendar: Giorgio Locatelli and Nobu Matsuhisa both return in person for dated events, among them a white-truffle week at Ristorante Locatelli with the truffle specialist Carlo Caporicci, according to the hotel. Book the Rooftop Bar for sunset, and if the budget allows, the AMARA Suite or the Penthouse Duplex Suite, where a private pool turns the sea view into something close to ownership of the horizon.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.