Nicosia is pushing ahead with the biggest expansion of its hotel stock in years, with projects that are expected to more than double the capital’s capacity by 2027.
The city today counts 12 hotels, offering about 670 rooms and 1,300 beds, with Hilton the only five-star option.
However, according to Politis, the momentum has shifted, as new investors move into the centre and older buildings are being turned into accommodation for the first time in decades.
The Landmark, which is being converted into a Marriott, is close to reopening and will introduce another 265 rooms and 18 suites.
Earlier this year, Thanos Hotels added a smaller property to the walled city with its ten-room Amyth boutique hotel, signalling renewed interest in compact, higher-end units.
On Makariou Avenue, two developments are transforming long-idle buildings. The former Laiki Bank headquarters, a site tied up for years, has finally advanced and is now a full construction zone. It is being reshaped into a 168-bed hotel owned by the Israeli-backed Fattal Group.
A little further down, the building of the old Anastasiades Clinic is undergoing a complete reconstruction so it can reopen as a 70-room boutique hotel.
Nearby, the Maralia Hotel on Omirou Street, overlooking Eleftherias Square, has reached completion after repeated delays.
It was meant to open before the pandemic but never managed to do so; the plan now is for it to be furnished and enter operation in 2026, offering 40 rooms.
According to Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos, two more boutique hotels are currently in the licensing process.
He also said that “a large plot on Griva Digeni Avenue has been sold for a mixed development of a hotel and apartments of a well-known chain”, referring to land near the Gavrielides lights.
Moreover, the former Holiday Inn near Solomos Square, owned by the group behind the Landmark, has been fully renovated, though the date it will open remains unclear.
For the mayor, all this comes together with the return of permanent residents to the centre, a shift already under way through a dozen major residential projects.
He believes that tourism, long missing from the capital, will give the core of the city new life. As he put it, “tourism development, will be a driving force for the centre to regain life”.
He also sees striking changes in the character of the centre. “Especially where renovations have taken place, there is an explosion in traffic,” he said, adding that many of the shopowners who have opened in the area “have a very low average age”, which in turn attracts a younger crowd.
Events held in September and October alone drew thousands, and he said people are now discovering what recent upgrades have brought to the city.
The municipality will take on a major project in early 2026. The restoration of facades along Ledra and Onasagorou.
A budget of €13 million has been approved, and once this phase ends, a structured dialogue will begin with shopowners on replacing the outdated infrastructure beneath both streets, from sewage to electricity. Although difficult, the mayor said the project will ultimately reshape the pedestrian zone, with new paving, easier access for people with mobility challenges, improved shading and more greenery.
There are also plans to improve Eleftherias Square, whose upper section has been criticised for its lack of shade and comfort.
The municipality has asked the project’s architects for proposals, while it has already put forward its own idea for natural shading. The lower part of the moat, which residents have embraced, will also see improvements to the playground and services for visitors.
Turning to Makariou Avenue, Prountzos does not believe its future depends exclusively on whether cars can pass through it, though he respects the municipal council’s decision to open it. Instead, he points to the cost of renting property.
Wondering why all the surrounding streets are doing very well commercially “like Stasikratous, Mnasiadou, Pindarou, all except Makariou” he said, noting that high rents appear to be a significant barrier.
He plans to invite property owners to a meeting, saying the level of rents “is an issue that I receive very strongly from the business community”.
Vehicle access, he added, is not the municipality’s decision to make, as it rests with the Police and the project’s financiers.
Yet he questioned whether it would alone revive the avenue, given the impact of rent levels. As he put it, perhaps this approach “is not complete”.
Qualitative research carried out for the municipality shows that people going into the centre are looking for an affordable retail mix.
Nevertheless, Prountzos said attempting to recreate the Makariou of the 1980s will not work, because “today we are in 2025, when consumer habits are different”.
He also argued that permanent residents are gradually returning, and in other parts of Nicosia, such as 28 October Avenue in Engomi, commercial activity followed housing development.
For him, Makariou’s future lies in the combination of new residents and growing tourism. Within that context, he said even basic services are needed.
