The history of this Hotel starts in 1916, when a young boy at the age of 8 years old was forced to desert his birth town of Paphos and his 8-member family, and move to Nicosia for a better future. It took him 3 days to reach Nicosia using only his bare foot! One of his jobs was as a waiter at Cleopatra Hotel, the first Hotel in Nicosia. After 15 years of hard work in different jobs, he opened his first restaurant. By saving every single penny from his earnings, he managed to buy Cleopatra Hotel.
The name of this entrepreneurial young man was Charalambos Ioannides known as “Loucoullos”, a nickname given to him for the tasty and rich food he offered to his guests. Cleopatra Hotel was initially situated on Ledras Street and after Loucoullos took over he bought the existing property, where he built a new and modern 2-story Hotel. He was mocked about the new location that seemed at the time that it was far from the centre. He proved everybody wrong, as the centre of the city now embraces the Hotel.