Rest in Sevastopol (Old Town) and Popovka (Villa Ark)
Still, my hands got around to write a review about our family (me, wife, son 4 years old, daughter 2 years old. ) Rest in Crimea (13-30.08. 2014). I will say right away that, in general, we got a whole bunch of positive impressions. Until now, the kids remember our trip.
The trip consisted of two parts: 5 days - Sevastopol (excursions, walks and the beach), and 11 days - Popovka, Saki district (Beach, beach, beach and excursions). I will place reviews on the Internet pages by geographical principle. That is, a review about the rest in Sevastopol is among the reviews about Sevastopol, about Popovka - among Popovka or Evpatoria. Or I'll see what topics are on the reviews.
So, part one - Sevastopol.
I will say right away that we started planning holidays in Crimea back in 2013, so we applied for passports and started looking for a place to stay on the Internet.
In principle, I was engaged in planning, selected options for guest houses, modes of transport, excursions, etc. , and gave my wife options for approval. I really wanted to see the hero city of Sevastopol, I was always interested in history, and of course, a beach holiday - after all, we go with children, and they need comfort and maximum sea, sun, fruits, etc.
This is how two places were determined: Sevastopol and Popovka (about it in the second part. )
In Sevastopol, our choice fell on the guest house "Old City" st. Lomonosov 32. I must say right away that it is very difficult to find it. Sevastopol, like all southern cities located on the mountains, is dotted with small streets, lanes, dead ends and driveways, especially the historical part of the city. But on the other hand, you get silence, greenery around, clean air and a lot of pleasure from walking, although in the mountains (with small children), it’s still not stressful. So, how to get there: you need to push off from Ochakovtsev Street, this street is one of the central ones, public transport runs along it and it is easily found by a navigator and non-resident taxi drivers. On Ochakovtsev it is necessary to move to the intersection with the street. General Petrov, the intersection is not ordinary: it is, as it were, of three roads, while the movement along it is not circular. In short, a confused intersection, but you can’t confuse it. For reference: on one side (left in the direction of travel) the intersection is adjacent to a large park (Komsomoltsev), and on the opposite corner there is a vending machine for drinking water (such a blue one). Here at this intersection you need to turn left to General Petrov and move uphill to the intersection with Shcherbak Street. Turn left on it, attention: the traffic on Shcherbak is one-way, and move to the intersection with the street. Demidov. Turn right on it, the road will go sharply uphill, then to the intersection with the street. Lomonosov, once again to the right and immediately to the left will be the "Old City". Only at first glance it is difficult and far in fact, walking is easier. I describe the path in detail, because the taxi driver who drove us from the airport (Simferopol) got lost and shook us decently in the heat for almost an hour. We were pretty tired, especially the children, even after an 8-hour flight.
Now about the "Old City". There is a swimming pool in the courtyard of the hotel, it helped us a lot before an afternoon nap, it was good, clean and moderately deep. In general, the territory is beautiful and well-groomed, the rooms are clean and spacious, the breakfasts are delicious and varied. The courtyard is a bit small, but it didn't matter to us, we didn't go to sit by the pool. And most importantly, what we liked the most was the professional attitude towards their business on the part of the owners. Vladimir and Natalia do everything to make guests feel comfortable and independent. For reference: booked through Booking.
Now about the city. Sevastopol conquered us immediately with its cleanliness and tidiness. The city center, unfortunately, was almost completely restored after the war, so there are no ancient buildings there. But it is completely imbued with the spirit of the winners and the military glory of the hero city is felt on every corner! Where did you go and what did you see. Of course, a sightseeing sea tour of the bay of Sevastopol, a dolphinarium, a donkey farm (an amateur, of course, but the children liked it), a couple of times we were on the beach in Uchkuevka - this is the best beach in Sevastopol, sand, clear sea, unlike the Krasnodar Territory, walks along Primorsky Boulevard and Kornilov Embankment. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants in the center, the prices are very democratic, as there are very few tourists. I don’t know how it will be in 2015, but in 2014 supply significantly exceeded demand. Therefore, there were no problems with food. The central market on Odesskaya is a separate topic, I have not seen such cleanliness on the market even in Brest. And of course fruits, fruits, fruits. . .
As a result, we really liked Sevastopol in particular and Crimea in general. Until the Kerch bridge is built, you have to go there, there are few people - the prices are reasonable, the sea is clean - they speak Russian around. There was some discomfort due to the lack of a banking system, the money had to be carried in cash, but everything was super. I recommend the hero city of Sevastopol!!!
Part 2 - beach.
So, after five great days in Sevastopol, we went by taxi to Popovka, near Evpatoria. For living and recreation, we chose the guest house "Villa" Kovcheg ", st. Morskaya, 40. The guest house has a good infrastructure for families with children: a small garden, a swimming pool, a playground, a labyrinth, a game room and even a mini cinema. The rooms are good spacious and clean. But, unfortunately, all this economy is managed in an absolutely amateurish way. Firstly, the owners of the guest house live there and position the house as their own, it turns out, as in the saying: "Feel at home, but do not forget that you are away. " Downstairs there is a hall with a large TV, sort of like for guests to relax, in fact it is a living room, on the tables there are personal belongings of the owners (glasses, medicines, documents, etc. ), which implies some restrictions, somehow uncomfortable. In a guest house there is such a thing as a general release, i. e. The owners went to bed - the lights are turned off everywhere, everything is closed, a dog is sleeping on the threshold. All sleep! There is no basic kettle in the rooms. In the correspondence when booking, the hostess emphasized that there were no kettles, such as for security reasons. After the first afternoon we understood why there were no kettles in the rooms. On the territory there is a dining room, proudly called a cafe. They have their own chef who tries to cook something out of nothing. On the fourth day, the children began to strike at breakfast: "We don't want semolina and chicken cutlets anymore. " Well, really, by the sixth day it became unbearable. By the way, there is nowhere to eat in Popovka, Kazantip left his abandoned republic and a complete lack of service as a legacy. People are used to earning a lot of money on drunken vacationers who do not know how to count money. One taxi driver who drove us to Popovka from Evpatoria, where we went to clear our heads, said that during the Kazantip period, there were not even price tags on goods in Popovka stores, the seller himself decided who to sell at what price! This is only possible in the USSR!! ! Well, to hell with him, with Kazantip, he is now, they say, in Batumi.
Next to the unprofessionalism of management. Apparently the desire of the owners to live in the old way won common sense. The guest house has 27 rooms. At the time of our stay, at most 10 people were occupied. Including the residence of the hosts (2 people), their parents (2 people), their son and girlfriend (2 people), and the mistress's sister, to whom her husband was soon to come (2 people). For all this household in the guest house, a maid and a cook are hired, who serve non-commercial residents too, that is, half of the guests. At the same time, they go out of their way to save on food, the maid wanders around without work, and the owners sit in the “guest lounge” in front of the TV instead of tearing their ass off the sofa and making at least some attempt to transform their business to new realities! In general, we subsequently regretted that we had chosen the Ark Villa and, moreover, we immediately paid for the entire period of our stay. We'll be smarter next time. Here's why:
We were accommodated in a double room with an extra bed for an older child (3 years old), the youngest was accommodated free of charge (less than 2 years old). Our breakfasts were included in the price. Now the tricky question: How many breakfasts should we be served in the "cafe"?
Correct - 4.
How much do we have to pay for this?
That's right - not at all! Because, we paid for accommodation according to the rules of accommodation (2-bed room + extra bed), at least in all other hotels on this planet this is how it is. But in the guest house "Villa" Ark "is not at all like that, apparently the owners are from another planet or, at least, have forgotten their conscience there. According to their logic, since the room is 2-bed, there are also 2 free breakfasts. That's it. As I heard before leaving, I was even confused. To my arguments that I pay for the older one, and the younger one lives for free, I get the answer: “But they eat a WHOLE PORTION!!! ” (manna, her mother, porridge). In short, I did not want to swear in front of the plane, I did not want to and did not. True, my wife, being of gypsy blood (remotely true), said a lot to the owners, loudly and insultingly. By and large, I didn’t become poorer from these 2 thousand extra wooden ones, it’s just that money was only in cash, banks didn’t work, now I don’t know how, but in 2014 they didn’t work. The cards were with them, but there was nowhere to use them. They left 3 thousand rubles. on the last day in Evpatoria for a walk, there was only 1 left, that's what broke off.
Friends, there are 50-60 guest houses in Popovka for different tastes and different budgets. There are simply village houses where you can rent a room or a summer house with a kitchen. The offer significantly exceeds the demand, they grab hands there: “Let's go live with me !!! ”. Popovka is a great place, like Yevpatoria, look for accommodation on the spot, negotiate "ashore" and pay after the services rendered. Rest anywhere, but NOT "VILLA" ARK ", save on your nerves. Nothing personal, just business. As you conduct it, you get such feedback. Although, I communicated well with the master's son, a doctor from Kharkov, played billiards while the children slept during the day, talked about the fate of Ukraine and Russia, about the football of our countries, about the economy. It seems to me that if he takes over the guest house, then the business can survive, although this is none of my business.
Now about pleasant things in Popovka.
It's just an AWESOME BEACH!! ! Sandy, in Evpatoria, for example, sand is brought to the city beach, and the bottom of the sea is pebbly, a long and gentle entrance to the water, the water, accordingly, warms up, just hurt the punks. We swam, raged, built sand castles, ate igloo fish and generally rested to the fullest. I was of the opinion before, and after a trip to the Crimea I was even more convinced that the rest will be the way you make it for yourself. We wanted to have a great rest - we had a great rest! Near Popovka is the village of Mirny, 10-15 minutes walking distance, there is an excellent market where you can buy crazy local peaches, apples, etc. , homemade sunflower oil, milk and fresh bread. By the way, fruit prices in Mirny are much lower than in Sevastopol and Evpatoria, due to the proximity to the producer.
Yevpatoria is a resort town. The difference with Sevastopol immediately caught my eye. A huge number of sanatoriums, dispensaries, children's camps, recreation centers, parks, squares, etc. The urban infrastructure is in good condition, which cannot be said about the above-mentioned recreational areas. It is immediately clear that no one invested money there, everything was left from the Union, there is little new construction. Excellent dolphinarium, aquarium and oceanarium, we liked it. But there are few people, sadly, the restaurants are empty, people are ready and willing to work, but there is simply no one to serve. In general, the mood of the Crimeans is fighting, they believe in the best, and this is noticeable. I wish them good luck!
Relax at the resorts of Crimea! You won't regret it!
This review will be posted on 10 different sites according to the search result "rest in Crimea reviews", because I tell the truth and do not hide it!!!