Perched on a tranquil hilltop above the wine-producing villages of Pafos, there is a place that does not feel entirely of this era. Ancient olive trees line the fairways. A 12th-century monastery watches over the greens. The Troodos Mountains rise on the horizon, blue and unhurried, as if they have been waiting there all along. This is Minthis Resort — Cyprus’s most awarded golf destination, and a resort that has quietly but emphatically redefined what a Mediterranean golf holiday can be.
Set within five million square metres of a protected Natura 2000 reserve, Minthis sits approximately 550 metres above sea level, just ten minutes from the centre of Pafos and a 30-minute drive from Paphos International Airport. It is, in every sense, elevated.
The Course: Cyprus’s First, and Still Its Finest
The golf course at Minthis is the oldest on the island — designed by the late, celebrated British architect Donald Steel and first opened for play in 1994. Steel built his reputation on courses that felt earned by their landscape rather than imposed upon it, and Minthis is a prime example. The par-72, 18-hole layout winds organically through the natural undulations of the hillside, past ancient groves, hundreds of olive trees, fruit orchards, and the remains of the monastery grounds that give the course its singular character.
In recent years, the course underwent a significant renovation by Mackenzie & Ebert, the acclaimed British course architects behind some of Europe’s most beautiful designs. Their brief was not to transform Minthis but to refine it — new greens, new bunkers, a redesigned layout, and a deliberate effort to open up views towards the Troodos Mountains. As Tom Mackenzie himself put it: “Our work at Minthis has focused on making the course even more beautiful by drawing the monastery into the landscape and opening views towards the Troodos Mountains.”
The result is a course of two distinct personalities. The front nine encircles the historic monastery and the surrounding vineyards, offering a more forgiving introduction — wide enough to breathe, but never lazy. The back nine demands considerably more precision, with a varied set of hazards that reward the patient and punish the impatient in equal measure. Tree-lined fairways tighten approach angles, and elevated tees create a pleasing sense of drama on several holes.
The Signature 15th: An Island Green Unlike Any Other
No hole at Minthis is discussed more than the par-three 15th. It is, quite simply, the only island green in Cyprus — a tee shot played entirely over water to a green surrounded on all sides. Even seasoned golfers tend to pause a moment longer than usual before stepping onto the tee. The hole is both an aesthetic centrepiece and a genuine test of nerve, and it is the kind of hole that players talk about long after the scorecard has been folded away.
Tournaments and Academy
Minthis is not merely a holiday course — it is a genuine competitive venue. In May 2026, it will host the Cyprus Amateur Men’s Open, a 54-hole stroke play event recognised by the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), open to players holding a WHS Index of 9.0 and below. The tournament is the premier golfing event of the Cyprus Golf Federation, a distinction the course holds with considerable pride.
For those still developing their game, the Minthis Golf Academy offers structured tuition across all levels. Beginners can enrol in an introductory clinic priced at €410 per person (minimum two participants), while more advanced players without a handicap can opt for an intensive clinic at €430 per person. Junior golfers aged 5 to 18 can access a full seasonal programme running from January to June and September to November, with optional CGF licensing to obtain an official WHS handicap in Cyprus.
The Accommodation: Suites, Villas, and Views
Minthis is not a conventional hotel. The accommodation philosophy here leans toward something more residential — spacious, personal, and immersive rather than transient. Suites come in one- and two-bedroom configurations, each with a private entrance, a fully equipped kitchen and dining area, a living space, a family-sized bathroom, and an outdoor veranda or courtyard garden. Views alternate between the rolling mountain landscape and the lush green of the golf course — both, frankly, exceptional.
For those wanting total seclusion, the private detached villas are the choice worth making. Each comes with a private plunge pool, an outdoor dining space, a terrace, and a courtyard — effectively a self-contained retreat within the resort. All rooms include air-conditioning, a Nespresso machine, and Molton Brown bath products.
Among the standout room categories, the Mountain Executive Suites offer some of the most striking vantage points in the entire resort: panoramic views over the Troodos Mountains and the Ezousa valley, with the kind of morning light that makes leaving the bed an act of genuine willpower.
The resort was developed by Pafilia, one of Cyprus’s most respected property developers, with a masterplan by international architecture firm WATG and design by Woods Bagot — the same studio responsible for the Kempinski in Muscat. The attention to craft is visible in every corner.
The Spa: 2,800 Square Metres of Considered Wellness
The Minthis Spa is among the finest in the Mediterranean, and its trophy cabinet — Cyprus’s Best Resort Spa at the World Spa Awards 2024, continent winner at the World Luxury Spa Awards, and a Platinum Award from the Cyprus Wellness Awards — lends considerable credibility to that claim.
Spanning 2,800 square metres, the spa is designed around a holistic philosophy that fuses local Cypriot healing traditions with contemporary wellness science. Facilities include an indoor heated swimming pool, a whirlpool, a full suite of thermal experiences (Finnish sauna, aroma sauna, steam room, sensorial shower, and a salt chamber), a yoga studio, and a hair and nail salon. The outdoor infinity pool — 162 square metres, flanked by sun loungers — offers views over the protected countryside that are, in themselves, therapeutic.
Dining: From the Grove to the Table
Food at Minthis is not an afterthought. The resort operates several distinct dining venues, each with its own character and culinary focus, and all grounded in the principle that great ingredients — many grown on the estate itself — require relatively little embellishment.
The Clubhouse Restaurant
The Clubhouse Restaurant overlooks the golf greens and operates as an all-day dining destination. Chef Marios Efstathiou leads the kitchen with a Mediterranean focus anchored in local produce: mornings bring shakshuka with pork chiromeri and feta crumble; lunch features dishes such as a giagia’s pie with a mastic and lemon thyme crust; and dinner shifts toward braised lamb shank with yellow-pepper coulis and orzo, or flame-torched octopus that should on no account be passed over.
Amaracus Restaurant
Named after the wild oregano that grows abundantly across the Minthis hillsides, Amaracus is the resort’s more refined evening restaurant, housed within The Plateia — the resort’s social square, designed in the spirit of a traditional Cypriot village gathering place. Executive chef Constantinos Demosthenous shapes a seasonal menu inspired by the local area and home-grown produce from the resort’s gardens, orchards, and beehives. Honey from the resort’s own hives, olive oil pressed from the estate’s groves, and hand-picked nuts and figs all find their way onto the plate.
Bar-M
Bar-M is the resort’s cocktail bar — dark-interiored, intimate, and considerably more sophisticated than the average resort bar. Artisanal infusion cocktails, sharing plates, and a thoughtfully assembled wine list make it a natural gathering point after a round, open daily from noon.
Beyond Golf: A Resort for the Whole Party
Minthis has built itself as a destination that serves golfers fully while never making non-golfers feel like an afterthought. The protected Natura 2000 reserve in which the resort sits offers mountain biking through the vineyards, hiking trails past waterfalls and ancient shepherds’ caves, and routes through evergreen forests of juniper, wild olive trees, and Cyprus cedars. An outdoor gym, tennis courts, and padel courts round out the active offerings.
The resort’s position in the wine-producing hills of Pafos also makes it an ideal base for exploring the surrounding villages and their traditional wineries — many of which are within easy reach of the hilltop estate. The Episkopi Environmental Centre, with its botanical gardens and walking trails, is just five minutes away. The Paphos Archaeological Museum and Ayios Neophytos Monastery are both accessible for cultural half-days.
For those looking to mark a special occasion, Minthis can host ceremonies within the grounds of the 12th-century monastery itself — a setting of quiet and ancient gravity that few venues anywhere in Europe can match.
The Verdict
There are golf resorts that are beautiful, and golf resorts that are well-run, and golf resorts that take sustainability seriously. Minthis Resort is all three at once, and the rarity of that combination explains why it continues to accumulate awards at a pace that would be embarrassing were the property not quite so evidently deserving of them.
Cyprus has long been underrated as a golf destination — its sunshine-rich climate (around 300 days per year), relatively short flying time from much of Europe, and the quality of its courses making it a natural fit for the golf traveller who wants more than a fairway baked hard by the southern sun. Minthis, perched above the olive groves and vineyards of Pafos, with its championship course, world-class spa, and deeply considered hospitality, makes the strongest possible case for putting Cyprus at the top of the list.
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