Расскажу, кому стоит ехать, кому нет I'll tell you who should go and who shouldn't.

My husband and I rested in the summer of 2012 in the "Mermaid", and before that for several years - a savage in the private sector of the village of Blagoveshchenskaya. Savage - the impressions are twofold, but we really liked the "Mermaid", we are going to come there every year. When we chose second-hand, the reviews on the Internet helped us a lot (and not only positive ones - it was important to know what kind of shortcomings there are in order to assess how critical they are, because there are downsides everywhere, and the only difference is which ones are important to you, and which are not). Therefore, now I want to "pass the baton" and share my impressions with the "beginners".
Features of the village of Blagoveshchenskaya:
1. Very clean sea. There are places where it is very shallow, 50 meters and waist-deep (good for children), and there are places where it is almost immediately deep (good for those who like to swim, not flounder).

2. Quite clean and rather uncrowded beach - coarse sand (shell rock, quite sharp in places). True, the beach is poorly equipped. Further along the coast behind the village beach there is a nudist beach, it is completely deserted. But this is for a big, so to speak, amateur: there are really naked uncles and aunts : ) It can shock an unprepared tourist : ))
3. Enough infrastructure for recreation (there are "collapses" with all the necessary equipment such as umbrellas, swimming trunks, mattresses, towels, balls, etc. ). But there is almost no "party" infrastructure. There are several discos, but they are mostly for children.
4. There are canteens and cafes. But they are mostly so-so, but there are good grocery stores, and the villagers sell high-quality and very tasty products from their gardens. So if you are traveling as a savage and it doesn’t bother you to cook your own food in the south, then here there are all the conditions for this. By the way, the villagers sell excellent homemade wine. And in Blagoveshchenskaya it is better to take it "from hand" than in stores.
5. Very bad with transport. The village is long, and it takes an hour and a half to walk from one end to the other. And there is almost nothing to get there, i. e. buses and minibuses nominally exist, but in reality they do not run at all according to the schedule indicated at the stops, and in general they run very rarely. And private traders either simply don’t react to a raised hand (well, local residents don’t like to give vacationers a ride! ), Or wring up such a price for which you can get from one end of the city to the other in Moscow.
6. The private sector is quite far from the sea, you have to go through the dam, the whole journey takes 1-1.5 km. If the proximity of the sea is important to you - settle in recreation centers, they are located on the coast itself. If you are not embarrassed by a 30-50-minute walk, you can also in the private sector. But I don’t advise you to settle right next to the dam: some crazy children’s camp yells loudly, from 6 am to 11 pm the continuous hysterical cry of a crazy counselor into the loudspeaker.
7. Russian village. There are very few chocks, much less than in Moscow. And lately, there are almost none of them in the village.

8. In the village sometimes there are blackouts of electricity and water. True, rarely and for a very short time.
9. There is a church in the village. But she is very small and terribly stuffy. There are some very long services there: 3.5 hours of Vespers and 3.5 hours of Liturgy. Children are especially difficult to deal with.
Features of the b / o "Mermaid":
1. This is a recreation center, not a boarding house, i. e. minimum services, maximum independence. For example, daily cleaning of your rooms is not provided. But in each room there is a broom, a dustpan and a bucket, and on the territory there are garbage containers. My husband and I were more than satisfied with this, because. we hate it when someone comes into our home and even more disturbs in the morning. But if you’re not good at sweeping the room yourself, it can be a nuisance for you.
2. Good food. Quality (even my not the most healthy stomach never got sick). Quite varied (every day something new, and there is always a choice of 2-3 dishes - unless you come just before the end of lunch). The portions are large (my husband and I even had a bit too much, but we generally try not to overeat, so our perception may not be indicative for others). True, many would call the dishes themselves "soviet" - they are really very similar to what we were fed in pioneer childhood. And again - my husband and I are thrilled, we have plenty of nostalgia. But for those who hated the pioneer camps and everything Soviet in general, the food in the Little Mermaid may not be to your liking. There is no additional cafe where one could have a snack after dinner at the base (at least I did not find it).
3. Around the clock - hot water and shower. In the event of a power outage in the village, the base has its own water pump and its own substation. True, in the event of stanitsa shutdowns, “own” water in the “Mermaid” is only enough for a “summer” shower, and “own” light is only enough for a dining room, but this is not enough.

4. We took a suite in a separate cottage. Its difference from the "non-suites" is in the presence of air conditioning, but otherwise, as far as I understand, there is little difference. We really liked it, comfortable, functional. There is a refrigerator, a TV (however, we did not turn on the TV, because we never watch it). The furniture is not the newest, but for us personally it did not matter. Yes, there can be ants in the house! But only if you don't take out the trash. Then they will come running to visit your bucket : ) But if you keep it clean and regularly take out all the "leftovers", then no insects threaten you. By the way, it’s very cozy and cool to arrange a second dinner on the porch late in the evening from stanitsa vegetables, excellent store-bought sausage and excellent stanitsa homemade wine.
5. The territory is well-groomed, clean, beautiful (fountain, flower beds), conveniently organized. I wildly liked the “foot-washer” at the exit from the beach - so as not to spread the sand : )
6. Amazing director. Strict and serious, smart and talented. Such a strong business executive of the classic Soviet type. A very colorful personality, you will never forget him.
Who makes sense to relax in the "Mermaid":
1. For those for whom the most important thing is a calm atmosphere, peace and quiet. Who goes to rest, and not "break away. "
2. Those who are nostalgic for their pioneer childhood.
3. Families with small children or pensioners.
4. Newlyweds who want to hide from the outside world and be ONLY together.
To whom rest in the "Mermaid" is contraindicated:
1. "Party people" of all kinds and types, including noisy alcohol-disco youth campaigns (they will just be bored).
2. Those who are sick of everything, even remotely resembling "soviet".
3. Those for whom the external manifestations of “high service” are significant (what I would call “gloss”), as well as who like “obtrusive service”.