The Rebirth of the Berengaria Hotel
Filling Holes
Now that we have established what bbf are trying to achieve, the next question is what is involved in the renovation?
Firstly, walls had to be strengthened or replaced. The wall you see in this picture had to be built from scratch.
As It Was
This is what it used to look like!
Wall Improvements
As well as building walls from scratch, they have been very busy improving the existing structure. First they had to clean the stones internally and externally. If you recall, the building was literally covered in graffiti. During cleaning, all the joints were cleaned up to 7cm deep. Tubes were then installed through which they injected repair material to ensure the walls were properly bonded and structurally safe. In this shot you can see a couple of the tubes which have yet to be removed. The walls of the hotel are now finished. They have been repaired, restored and given treatment against rain water. Once they get planning approval, they will continue with plastering, painting and decorating.
Original Is Not Always Best
The renovation team have also had to address certain building practices that were not up to scratch. The slabs here were not originally made from proper concrete. Instead they consisted of steel, bricks and just a thin layer of concrete on top. These have obviously had to be replaced.
Another issue was foundations. The hotel was originally built without any, it simply rested on top of bedrock. Modern hotels require proper foundations, so bbf are having to expose all this and make a concrete encasement. They want to make the building safe for another 100 years at least!
Work In Progress
Though the walls have all been strengthened there are still props like you can see here. In November all the lintels and coping beams will be repaired.
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The Berengaria Hotel in the Troodos Mountains has been abandoned for nearly 40 years. Now though, it is being reborn. I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour of the site by BBF, the company who is responsible for the renovation. There will be a full film of the tour along soon, but in this article I summarise what I found and provide links for people seeking further information.
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eBookCyprus Road Trip 01: the Kathikas - Panagia Loop
Let me take you on a journey around the region of Paphos, Cyprus. Starting at Paphos itself, we travel to Akoursos, then Kathikas, Kritou Terra and Simou. We continue past Lasa and Kannaviou, before taking in the delights of Panagia. Getting a bit more adventurous, we visit the abandoned villages of Statos and Agios Fotios, before passing through Choulou, Letymbou and Polemi, and rejoining the main Paphos - Polis road.
The route is suitable for all types of vehicle, and requires no off-roading. The guide contains about 130 photographs including shots of all the road signs you need to pay attention to, as well as some of the highlights you may experience along the way.
There are also several maps which will help you keep your bearings.
You can do this journey in a day, or you can break it up into chunks. You can also do it in reverse, to get some completely different views. It is entirely up to you.
