Thinking of booking a peaceful villa holiday in Cyprus? Villa Kambos Dio looks like an ideal option on paper — surrounded by nature, spacious, and close to the coast. But what’s it really like to stay there as a family?

Read on for my honest family holiday review, including the good, the bad, and everything in between…

If you’re looking for a peaceful, spacious villa surrounded by citrus groves yet close enough to explore the coast and countryside of Cyprus, Villa Kambos Dio offers a fantastic setting. We stayed for one week in April and enjoyed a quiet, relaxing holiday in a well-located base that’s ideal for families.

Villa Kambos Dio: The Location & Setting

Villa Kambos Dio is located just outside Polis, down a quiet, unnamed rural road, surrounded by green fields and a working citrus grove filled with orange and grapefruit trees. There are two villas on the site — Villa Kambos 1 and 2 — situated side-by-side but offering complete privacy thanks to established trees and high fencing, and plenty of space inbetween. A third villa is further down the road, on the other side, but not visible at all.

During our April visit, the surrounding farmland was lush and green, with distant sea views from the upstairs balconies. Local farmers worked in the nearby fields on a few days, adding to the authentic rural feel. Shortly after we arrived, the friendly owner popped by to check all was well and offered us some freshly picked grapefruits from his trees, which was a lovely touch.

Our First Impressions & Check-In Experience of Villa Kambos Dio

The self-check-in process was easy, using a lockbox with a code — something we prefer, as it gives more flexibility. We booked with Jet2 Villas and they sent us the villa information before our holiday, including the directions, sat nav location and keycode for the lockbox. 

About an hour after we arrived, the owner stopped by to say hello, which was helpful as we hadn’t found the Wi-Fi password yet. After that, we were left to enjoy the peaceful setting and privacy.

Wildlife & Nature Surrounding Villa Kambos Dio

One of the things that really stood out was the abundance of lizards around the villa. We saw small ones we’re used to spotting in Europe, but also some much larger lizards basking in the sun — the largest we’ve ever seen in the wild. It was a lovely surprise while in Cyprus and became part of our daily enjoyment of the natural surroundings of the villa, trying to spot the large lizards on the wall and tree trunks they loved to bask on around the driveway, before heading off for our days out, or on our return. 

The Villa: Layout & Bedrooms

The villa is very spacious, with four large bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom, plus a separate downstairs toilet. Three bedrooms are upstairs and a fourth is downstairs. Each bedroom has balcony access. As a family of four, we only used three of the rooms, but it could comfortably accommodate up to eight guests.

Our children started off sharing a room, but after the first night they decided to have a room each, which worked perfectly with the space available, and was our plan so as they didn’t squabble! Each had a large bed, bigger than a standard UK single, and our son loved having a huge adult bed all to himself when he moved rooms!

The main bedroom at the front upstairs, which overlooked the pool, had a large bed as well, but we found the design a little awkward. The lamps were positioned in the wrong place, right above the headboard, which meant bumping your head was a real possibility when getting in and out of bed. There was also a gap between the mattress and headboard, which made the bed feel a little unsupportive. The pillows and covers were fine, and there were extra warm duvets in the wardrobe if needed.

There was plenty of drawer and wardrobe space in each bedroom. We lived out of our suitcases for the week, but if we had stayed longer, we would have made full use of the storage and packed things away.

Kitchen, Hot Water & Facilities

The kitchen was well equipped, with most of the utensils, crockery and pans we needed.  Although there were only three small bowls, and we mainly cooked chillis, curries and other rice-based dishes or pasta, so we could have done with some larger dinner-sized bowls.  But not a major issue as there were plenty of plates to use.

We couldn’t work out how to turn the oven on at first, but a quick search online showed us what to do!  The hobs worked as expected. 

A large fridge and freezer provided more than enough space for our week’s food shop. We also appreciated the washing machine, which allowed us to wash our tea towels and clothes during the week and pack a bit lighter overall.  I always take some tea towels from home as I prefer to wash up the dishes by hand, and we make three meals a day, so I get through a few with cleaning and using the kitchen! They provide a couple of tea towels too.

Plenty of towels were provided too, both for the bathrooms and for the pool. We had packed some extras just in case, but the villa had more than enough ready for us.

Hot water is solar-powered, which meant that in early spring, there wasn’t always quite enough from the sun alone when we visited Cyprus in April. However, there was a booster switch that allowed us to top up the hot water for one hour per day. That worked well for the four of us, though larger groups may need to plan a bit more carefully during cooler months if everyone wants hot showers each day.

Outdoor Living Space

The outdoor space was the true highlight of Villa Kambos Dio for us. This villa is all about being outside — from the large 10×5 metre pool to the peaceful rural setting, it was a lovely place to spend the days. The pool was a great size for actually swimming and not just splashing around, and there were 10 sun loungers, multiple tables for dining, and a barbecue.

Being surrounded by orange and citrus trees added both privacy and natural beauty. The next-door villa is detached and set at a good distance, so we didn’t feel overlooked at all. With swallows flying overhead, the sun shining, and the pool right there, we really enjoyed being outdoors and relaxing in such a private space.

Upstairs, the main balcony had the best sunset views over the hills. In April, sunsets were around 7.30pm and we made a habit of sitting up there each evening to watch the sky change. The only thing missing was some dedicated seating on the balcony. We didn’t end up moving chairs from the garden, which we could have done, but having a couple of seats already in place would make sunset watching even more inviting, especially later in spring or during summer.

Cleanliness & Areas for Improvement

While the villa looked clean on arrival, we noticed a few missed areas as we settled in — such as dusty ornaments, a dusty oven extractor fan ledge, and tired fixtures like the shower curtain and kitchen blinds. The villa could definitely benefit from a deeper clean and removal of some of the decorative clutter, which seemed more like dust collectors than helpful additions.

A more serious issue was a sewer smell, particularly near the front door and washing machine area, which we noticed most evenings throughout the week. It was bearable, but unfortunately, on our final day, the smell became very strong and spread throughout the entire villa, which did affect our overall experience.  We woke to the smell, as it had reached the upper bedrooms, and it was pretty rancid. Luckily, it wasn’t like this for our whole stay, otherwise it would have ruined the entire experience.

I hoped this was a one-off issue and not a regular problem for guests, but I have since seen another review online with the same issue, suggesting it was a kitchen drain smell, but to us, it smelled more like the sewage system. Although there are many other reviews that do not mention this smell at all, meaning it does not appear to be a constant issue.

As with many rural places and islands in Europe, the toilets do not allow toilet paper to be flushed.  We are used to this and made sure to bin our tissue, but I wonder if any guests before us had clogged the pipes or sewage system.  Or whether there is another deeper issue with the pipes and sewer, which causes the smell.  Whatever it is, it needs resolving.  Thankfully, the worst smell was on our leaving day, otherwise, we would have had to contact Jet2 Villas on arrival to resolve. 

Pros and Cons

✅ Pros

• Secluded location surrounded by citrus trees
  
• Very private and peaceful setting
  
• Spacious layout with 4 en-suite bedrooms
  
• Large private pool, great for swimming
  
• Well-equipped kitchen and laundry facilities
  
• Plenty of towels, including pool towels
  
• Flexible sleeping arrangements for families
  
• Lovely sunset views from the balcony
  
• Wildlife spotting, especially lizards
  
• Easy self-check-in and a helpful owner
  

⚠️ Cons

• The bed design in the main room could be improved
  
• Some fixtures and décor need updating
  
• Cleaning attention to detail was lacking in some places, but was cleaned to a high standard in the majority of areas
  
• The sewer smell worsened and spread by the end of the week
  
• No balcony seating (but could be added easily)
  
• Hot water may need rationing in cooler months for large groups
  

Where to Book Villa Kambos Dio

We booked Villa Kambos Dio through Jet2 Villas, as part of a package deal that included flights and car hire — a convenient all-in-one option. But the villa is also listed on Booking.com, Solmar Villas, Airbnb, and other popular holiday booking websites.

This means you can tailor your holiday to suit your needs — whether you want a complete package or prefer to book your accommodation separately.

Final Thoughts

The outdoor space was what made this villa stand out for us. With the sun shining, the large pool to enjoy, and citrus trees offering privacy and charm, we spent most of our time outdoors when we were at the villa during daylight hours, and really made the most of it.

Indoors, there were definitely some areas that could be improved. It feels like the villa was once quite luxurious but now needs a refresh in certain places. Still, the overall experience was relaxing and enjoyable, and any small issues didn’t spoil our holiday.

Would we stay again? If we decided to visit the same area of Polis and Latchi in Cyprus, and we found a good deal, then yes. We’d take the risk that the smell was not a common feature and we can cope with a couple of dusty areas!

The location and setting was perfect for us: quiet, secluded, surrounded by established fruit trees and quiet farmer fields, private, a great sized pool. The outdoor space and environment was really perfect.

If we’d visited later in the season when warmer I can imagine we’d have spent much longer soaking up the sun on the balcony and enjoying dinner outdoors and BBQing, rather than inside as it was dark and cool by the time we had dinner around 7-8pm each evening. In the height of the summer season I can only imagine this villa is amazing with the refreshing pool and outside amenities!

That said, as we’ve already stayed here, I’d perhaps try one of the other two villas along the same road to see if they are any better! I’m sure any of the villas on this road would give the same calm escape we had.

Either way, Villa Kambos Dio gave us a peaceful base to explore Cyprus, and for families looking for space, privacy and nature, it’s well worth considering.

See what we got up to in Cyprus:

• Walking from Baths of Aphrodite to Blue Lagoon
• Lara Beach, Cyprus: Family Walk and What to Expect Outside Turtle Season
• Avakas Gorge Nature Trail Hike
• Exploring Latchi Harbour, Latchi Beach and Polis Municipal Beach
• Agios Georgios
• Cyprus Family Holiday Travel Diary 2025: Polis, Akamas & Beyond