We drove in with a group of Germans, and then for the first time I felt what racial discrimination was, it was so awkward, like I came here for free: and a welcome meeting with branded cookies, and smiles, and settling in 15 minutes. To our group : wait 14 . 00 and all. THE ADMINISTRATION SHOULD BE SHAMED, well, God bless them.
And so, placement.
The hotel is located on the 3rd line, about 25 minutes leisurely to the sea. BUT, there is one BUT: you need to go up the steep steps, and if you gape and step on a shaking stone in the steps, then there is a chance to fall head over heels faster, or run into pins that stick out on the side of the step.
Nutrition . They don’t bother with this question here at all, you won’t die of hunger, but after three days of your stay you will howl. By the way, you almost have to fight for fruit, and what is a dessert, in this hotel they don’t know at all. But the biggest "admiration" is caused by drinks in plastic cups (I want to remind you - this is 5 stars).
I pay tribute to the number: clean, neat, I don't know how in simple standards. But the furniture and rugs are already quite shaky,
chairs and sofas in the lobby too.
They don't bother to clean the pool, they caught it and cleaned it, but if they didn't, the vacationers themselves took it out.
Personally, I do not recommend this hotel, even for 4 stars you need to pull. That's my opinion, but it's different for everyone
from the "-" room furniture, carpet, windows are very dirty and have not been cleaned for a long time, cleaning is only in theory, they wave rags, dirt is as it was. The dining room (you definitely can’t call it a restaurant) is dirty, animals hang dead on the windows all the time, tables and dishes also need to be wiped before eating, the food is the same: for breakfast, lunch and dinner - the same thing, just a lot but everything is not tasty: then pasta is boiled, then cabbage is not boiled, sausages and sausages are of poor quality. The pool is external without filtration and heating, so there is only bleach in the pool, there is a pool nearby at the hotel, but there are not enough sunbeds and umbrellas for everyone. The hotel has almost no territory, so you can only take a walk on the main street where there are stalls and trade is teeming, outside the hotel there is a garbage dump everywhere. The beach is a private beach 3 km from the hotel, the hotel bus goes there, but you need to sign up for a trip a day in advance, you didn’t really like the beach, it’s dirty, it looks like wild, you want to leave very far before the appointment, you can’t leave : ((From other beaches, only urban 700m down, on the way back up, the beach is dirty, there are a lot of people sometimes there’s not even a place to put a towel. gift), or roam all the time from place to place . . There is actually a spa center, but the specialists there are of such a low level that there are actually no spa services: instead of a therapeutic massage 45 minutes of the whole body, stroking the body for 30 minutes, for 82 leva They do not distinguish anti-cellulite massage from therapeutic. Cosmetology equipment is like in Russia 20 years ago, the beautician works with smoky hands. When we were at the Spa, it was empty at all, apparently we were the only patients : (
I really liked the hotel itself, the rooms, the staff, the food, the atmosphere, the problem with the Nirvana beach. A 7-seater car drove to the beach, respectively, or people took the children in their arms or waited for them to take them and come for the next ones. As for me, the beach is dirty. A train runs to the second beach, the Riviera, every two hours, there are paid sunbeds, but after 16 we went to bed, no one came up or on the sand, this beach is cleaner, and it takes 15 minutes to walk from it. For all questions, contact the reception, all issues were immediately resolved, well done. In general, people in Bulgaria really liked it, everyone came across sympathetic.
They decided to go on vacation on their own, that is, by car. Having gathered our small company (18 people) on the road in 4 cars, we went to the Golden Sands resort. The total mileage from home to the hotel was 950 km. one way. On the way, we spent the night in the Romanian town of Galati, where the Magnus 3 * hotel became our shelter for one night.
On 06/06/14 we arrived at our destination. Our hotel, indicated in the voucher, was the Helios Spa 4 * hotel, but due to the beginning of the season, all Helios tourists were accommodated in the neighboring building - Double Tree by Hilton 5 *. The territory in the hotels is common, free movement, free use of swimming pools. Only lodging for the night in your building and meals in your restaurant. But since "Helios" has not yet launched, then my review will be about "Double tree under the Hilton" ? .
Our entire hotel management company managed to accommodate in 6 rooms (according to the reservation) on the 1st floor (in fact, the 2nd floor, since the reception and the restaurant were on the first floor): families of five took two standards each, and families of four I got the family numbers. The difference between these rooms was in the area and the number of beds. The rooms are decent. As a disadvantage (personally in my room): the faucet and the latch on the door to the bathroom were broken. Everything else was in good condition. Room cleaning was done on a case by case basis. There was no particular zeal, but we didn’t insist - a day later they hung a sign “please clean it up”.
Nutrition. Since we were traveling with children and the difference between "BB" and "all inclusive" was "penny", we decided to stop at the universally beloved "all inclusive". Meals were taken in the restaurant three times a day. In addition, there was a bar on the pool with drinks and a "lobby bar" (until 23-00). Regarding the food, I can only note positive points - delicious, varied, a lot. All the same, Bulgarian cuisine is closer to our Slavic soul than Turkish or Egyptian.
Beach. It takes about 10 minutes to go to the sea from the hotel (this is from the hill and in the morning, going back upstairs in the afternoon - about 15 minutes). Entry to the beach is free, you can put your umbrella, lay a cape (if you find a place). We went to the city beach (to the right by the sea) towards the Riviera complex, where we took a set of two sunbeds and an umbrella for the family. This pleasure cost us 10 leva. This is the lowest price we have found for a set. For guests of Double Tree by Hilton, who are vacationing on an all-inclusive basis, there is a free Nirvana beach, where a minivan from the hotel carries. Clean sand, few people, convenient entry - super. I recommend. For us, this pleasure cost 16 leva (after all, we were clients of Helios). The beach is located in the northern part of the resort. "Busik" rides for 5-7 minutes. From the hotel it was also possible to take an electric train to the entrance to the Riviera complex for free, but in order to go through the territory and relax on their beach, you had to pay for umbrellas or sunbeds. The set cost 24 leva. Therefore, we did not use the services of the Riviera.
Animation in the hotel is. Two or three people. We didn't see any more. Traditional water aerobics in the pool, exercises and several competitions in the morning. Everything. Weakly. Here the choice is clearly in favor of Turkey.
The hotel staff almost all speaks Russian (a lot of tourists from Russia), speaks English fluently. In addition to Russians, Ukrainians, Balts, Romanians, Israelis, and British rest at the hotel. The general manager himself is from Turkey. It can be seen everywhere - at the reception, in the restaurant, near the pool. Moreover, he is always in the thick of things: he meets guests, leprouses them, helps to clean the dishes in a restaurant and is always interested in tourists' problems. I liked his style of work. Often it can be confused with vacationers (beach clothing style). Solves all questions. The language of communication is English.
We were lucky with the weather: from 6 to 16 June there were sunny days. The sea, due to the gentle sandy approach, has already warmed up enough (for 20 degrees it was for sure). Closer to the departure of three days there were thunderstorm short-term rains. One of these rains caught us in the Aquapolis water park (located 100 meters from the hotel). They ran so that only a spray of a column! Soaked to the skin. Half a day was given to the water park. Incidentally entertaining thing, this water park. Not cheap (I don’t remember the prices - look at the official site), but it will be interesting to relax for a change. In addition to the entrance, you also have to pay for sunbeds on the territory. Everything else is traditional for water parks.
Conclusion: you can safely go to Bulgaria to rest - a European resort for any budget. Have a good rest!
2 outdoor pools outside. one with 2 small water slides. there was animation. volleyball, gymnastics and something else. schedule in front of the entrance to the restaurant. around the pool umbrellas, sun loungers. the second is on the other side of the hotel where the indoor pool is. also around umbrellas with sun loungers. all the places were constantly occupied, people apparently already occupied from 7-8 in the morning)) and there were no places until 16-00.
We took breakfast, fed well. from fruits every day there were nectarines, peaches 1 time in 10 days, pears 2 times, bananas 2 times. I also saw watermelons for lunch. from vegetables peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers. fried pancakes, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs. but there were always queues. I was too lazy to stand, and the child took 2 pancakes for himself every day)) for pancakes there was jam, honey. from the cuts there was ham, sausage, 2 types of cheese, cheese (pretty good taste, not as salty as ours). From juices apple, tomato and orange. there were also sausages, potato sausages, rice, fried bacon. I mostly took cheese, sausages, cucumbers. wanted nothing more. from the pastry there were croissants, muffins (like we sell cottage cheese, quite fresh) of 2 types of chocolate and vanilla.
to the sea, of course, not 300m))) if you go on foot through the pool, then up the stairs 3 flights of about 60 steps. Well, go through the park, in the shade of the trees, so it's not hard. then you cross a small road, again the stairs are already smaller, about 40 steps and you go out onto the path to the beach. then you walk past stalls with food, souvenirs, cafes, etc. it's not hard to go. but if with a stroller, then it’s problematic. in general, the whole journey takes about 10 minutes. there is also a free train that takes you to the beach, stands at the main entrance to the hotel. runs about once an hour. there is also a bus that goes to its own beach, the schedule is at the reception, also about once an hour. but we didn’t go, we walked. It’s good to take a walk, breathe some air, and stretch ourselves.
There are 2 computers with Internet access on the ground floor. There were always children sitting there, playing different games. ))
of the minuses, I can say that if we talk about the hotel as 5 stars, then it doesn’t pull)) firstly, we arrived at 22-00. Our guide came up to the counter with us. the girl at the reception at the beginning talked with one vacationer, then the second came up, the third. we are all standing. the guide said that this is the slowest staff she knows. looked at our vouchers, gave the key, went to the room. no one met us at the entrance, as was the case in other hotels where we rested, and they met all our fellow travelers who left before us)) dragged themselves into the room. The card does not open the door. we asked one vacationer in the corridor, she tried it, she says apparently it doesn’t work. Let’s go down again. they gave the card, she did some manipulations with it, everyone came, the door opened)) in general, what we had in the room on the first day, it remained until the last day)) as there were 4 bags of tea and coffee, so we they drank them, no one brought us anything else until they bought it themselves. )) Usually hotels give out 2 bottles of 0.5 liters of water every day. there's nothing here. Well, I think you never know, so no, somehow they didn’t think about it. then either the maid changed, or something else. 3 days before departure, they brought us 1.5 liters of water, put shower gel and shampoos. )) NEVER in 10 days the room was not cleaned. Towels were only changed 3 times during the whole holiday. I don’t know for what reason)) just for comparison, when we rested in Thailand in 3 stars, it was constantly visible there that the plumbing was washed, the floors were wiped in the shower, the curtains were drawn. Well, it seems like a trifle, but there is a difference. and it did not matter whether we left a tip or not. the number was not cleaned. it surprised me a little. well, at least the garbage was taken out every day)))
in principle, if you do not pay attention to this, then the hotel is quite cozy, the staff is unobtrusive, they speak mostly English. there are 2 girls who understand Russian, but they still have to run into))
(we waited for check-in about 4 hours). Instead of Double (2-seater) they gave a single under the roof. Then they waited another 2 hours, so that they gave, after all, as stated in the voucher - a 2-seater.
At the same time, the service at the reception categorically did not notice us: -)) Shame. They don't speak English or Russian. In conclusion, upon issuing the key to our room, they were "treated" with two burgers (for God's sake, I'm sorry that I have to say it. . ) from the hair. : -(( Any min-th question, to solve it, you have to stand for 20-30 minutes, for example, just sign up for a bus to the beach and pay 10 euros for the beach.
Attention! ! ! Very dangerous shower. Very slippery floor in the shower, even in shoes, while the shower without doors!
Since the floor in the shower is not cleaned (obvious plaque of microorganisms) and apparently not disinfected. They fell twice and received serious bruises with cuts. There are scars left.
Evenings are empty. Therefore, get out to the coastline (1.5 km along the old stairs), but at the same time you need to pass all the cafes, near which they grab your arms and legs, persuading you to come in. If you pass by, in response - "a whole bunch of good wishes. " Even the gypsies do not allow themselves this.
So, rooms for 3 *.
Beach for 3 *.
Meals in the hotel restaurant at 5 *.
Animation for 2*.
Gym (with a TV screen on each machine and separate sweat towels) for 5*++.
Swimming pool (outdoor cold - one) for 4 *.
Swimming pool (indoor warm) for 5*
Tours are good. But this has nothing to do with the hotel.
We still enjoyed our stay in Golden Sands, as we met many interesting people from all over the world. They enjoyed communication, delicious food, sports, and of course, the sea.
We wish you all health and prosperity.