From the early years of the British rule in Cyprus, every summer the colonial government transferred their administartion in the Troodos region, so the Governor’s residence was relocated at the current Summer Presidential Residence between Platres and the Troodos Square.
The development of infrastructure in the area contributed to the growth of Platres, and thus, from the early years of the 20th century, the first hotels of Cyprus began to be built, along with luxurious villas by wealthy families of the island. Among the first investors in Platres was Nikolaos Kypriotis from Limassol, a name he acquired after serving as a volunteer in World War I and the Balkan Wars. Nikolaos Kypriotis was born in 1872 and passed away in 1940, and he is considered as one the first hoteliers in Cyprus.
Initially, he owned a hotel on Agios Andreas Street in Limassol named Troodos Hotel, which he later sold. In 1906, he built the Grand Hotel Helvetia in a pine-covered slope in the Platres area, aiming at hosting distinguished guests.
The establishment of hotels in the area placed Cyprus on the global tourism map for the first time, with the first tourists arriving from the then-international community of Egypt, who came to Platres for holidays. Seeing the rise of tourism in the area, Nikolaos Kypriotis expanded the hotel in 1929, renaming it New Helvetia, and it still exists today. The new expansion created a three-story hotel with the characteristic architecture of the region, featuring red bricks (which were made on-site with a special press that still exists today), tiled roofs, wooden frames, and classic furniture that was specially ordered from Austria, representing a living homage to a glorious past of Platres.
To this day, the hotel manages to maintain its original appearance, continuing a 100-year tradition as the oldest operating hotel in Cyprus.
