A sauna and cold plunge pool in Paphos, among limestone, citrus and sea cliffs

Limestone terraces and citrus

Paphos villas sit on limestone terraces between citrus groves and the sea. The stone is pale and the light is hard, so a plunge pool in sea-glass mosaic with a limestone coping looks as if it belongs. A garden cabin in thermally modified ash, glass turned towards the coast, sits at the edge of the terrace. The chiller lives in a shaded niche on the north side, out of the afternoon sun.

Paphos airport (WMO normals 1991–2020, Cyprus's national submission): a mean daily maximum of 30.4 °C in July and 31.0 °C in August, a January mean minimum of 8.6 °C and 393 mm of rain a year. A little gentler than Larnaka airport in summer; the design figure stays 38–40 °C.

Hot summers, cool winters

The summer is a serious test of a chiller, and the winter is cool enough for a sauna to be a pleasure. A hot-and-cold pair serves both: the cold pool from May to October, the warm pool and the cabin from November to April. A pair suits owners and long-stay residents who spend winters on the island.

Protected land, coastal strips and questions for the planning authority

Parts of the west coast, including the Akamas peninsula, are protected. Ask the planning authority what the plot is registered as, whether it lies in a protected or coastal zone, whether building on agricultural land or near the shore is restricted for your plot, and whether a free-standing cabin or a small pool counts as a structure.

Resorts, golf and the commercial side

Resorts and golf estates around Paphos have the space and the guests for a courtyard cabin and a pair of cold pools. The plant room, the rota and the cleaning routine are the parts to specify early: see boutique hotels.

Water and the garden

Gardens in Paphos are irrigated and water is precious. A plunge pool of about 1,100 litres is a small closed circuit, and a cover reduces evaporation. We put the first-fill figure and the refill schedule in the layout so you can set it against your garden's use.

Delivery along the coast

Crates come by sea to Limassol and by road to Paphos, along good roads for most of the way, then by lane or track to the plot. We ask about the last stretch, and about gates and bends, before the layout.

A sample for a villa on the west coast

A year on the west coast

Winter in Paphos is gentle and long-stay residents are in town: the sauna weeks. Spring is the best time to install, before the heat; summer is the cold pool and the shade. Autumn is the second wave of visitors. A hot-and-cold pair with a cabin close by covers all four, and the plant room is drawn so that the pool can be shut down for a month and restarted without a call-out.

Five things to tell us about a Paphos plot

1. Is the plot coastal, agricultural, in a village or inside a resort?
2. What is it registered as, and who approves a small structure there?
3. How wide is the road in, and are there gates or bends a lorry cannot take?
4. Is there a source of irrigation water, and who controls it?
5. Who will look after the pool when you are away?

A cold pool in a citrus grove

Many Paphos villas have orange and lemon trees at the edge of the terrace. Citrus drops fruit and leaves, so the pool wants a cover and a skimmer that is easy to clear, and the chiller wants a place away from the falling fruit. We keep the plant on the north side of the house, with a louvred screen, and draw the pool far enough from the roots to be left alone.

Golf estates and management rules

Estates around Paphos have management companies with rules on finishes, hours and noise. A glass cabin at the edge of a plot is visible to the neighbours, and the estate may need to approve the colour and the height. Send the rules with the plot and we draw to them: a cabin the colour of the stone is likelier to pass than a bright one.

The winter evening on the terrace

From November to March the evenings are cool, clear and quiet. A glass cabin lit from within, a warm pool and a cold one, and a hook for the robes: it is a setting that suits long-stay residents. The cabin is on a timer so it is hot when they come in from dinner.

The west-coast villa sample is a four-seat cabin and a pair from the price list; the kit builder lets you resize either.