In 1974, Limassol looked nothing like it does today. A single, one-way street passed along the seafront, with only a few houses scattered around. At that time, Dilor Yazbeck, a Lebanese businessman, visited Cyprus for the first time and fell in love with the island. That was the deciding factor for him to establish one of the city’s first beach hotels.
At a mere 25-minute flight from his hometown, Dilor Yazbeck found a location with a unique charm and tranquility, in the seaside area of Agios Tychonas. And so, from that very first visit, he decided to invest in the island. At the time, foreigners were unable to be sole property owners in Cyprus, and so Yazbeck partnered with a local businessman who offered the land, and created 'Charteredhouse Estates Ltd,' the company to which the Poseidonia Hotel belongs to this day.
At a time when many people were electing to leave Cyprus and take their assets with them due to the instability that followed the war of 1974, he prefered to follow his instinct and build a hotel in Limassol. And so, the Poseidonia Beach Hotel became one of the first hotels in an area where tourism would soon flourish. Construction of the hotel began in 1976, and the hotel opened its doors as a 5-star hotel in 1979.
The hotel now.
Early pictures of the hotel show that until the early 1980s it was mostly surrounded by fields. This may be why the hotel is the closest one to the beach, just 25 meters from the waves.
Between the years 1989 – 2013, the management of the hotel was rented out to various companies. In 2014, the owners themselves decided to once again take over the management of the hotel, in an effort to salvage the bad image that had been created as a result of its growing poor reputation.
Dilor Yabzeck on the construction site of the hotel.
Dilor Yazbeck and his daughter Lydia Yazbeck.
Dilor Yazbeck and his daughter Lydia Yazbeck.
The family of hotel owners, from Dilor Yazbeck himself, to his daughter and grand-daughter.
Following this change, the current owners proceeded with extensive renovations, though they kept the same name for the hotel. Alongside the new ideas that were introduced in order to renew the hotel's identity, the story of Poseidon was still very much kept a alive throughout the space.
The mural inspired by the myth of Poseidon, was created by Christos Foukaras while the hotel was under construction and it still welcomes people to the lobby to this day.
* NOTE: The tributes of the Project "History of Limassol" present information that has emerged from historical research thus far. Any new data is embedded into the tributes, once it has been confirmed.
Beauty pageant shows were held in the hotel in the 1980s.
The hotel garden is a popular event venue now.
Beauty pageant shows were held in the hotel in the 1980s.
The bar of the hotel back then.
The bar of the hotel back then.
The bar of the hotel now.
The bar of the hotel now.
Panoramic views of the hotel in the 1980s.
Panoramic views of the hotel now.
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