"As with anywhere there pros and cons to our visit but we're coming back next summer.
We arranged our own taxi from the airport which is definitely worth it. The driver kindly drove through some of the villages so my son could see the stork nests which are quite impressive.
Arrival and check-in were fine. 'Amazing Peter' took us over to our block where we were given our wristbands/keycards. It was really good having the keycard on the wristband so we never needed to search for it and could trust the kids with it.
Our room was great. We had a family suite which had the two bedrooms, a shower room and a proper bathroom with bath and toilet. The shower cubicle had clearly been retrofitted at some point and felt like I could have moved the whole unit with little effort. I like a good shower and it was fine for that. There was a large wardrobe and a tv in the main bedroom but none in the kids bedroom. Didn't cause us any real issues though. The balcony was huge so plenty of space for inflatables to be stored and towels hung up. Room was quiet from outside noise but occasionally kids would run along the corridor or people would get back late but nothing too bad.
The hotel was clean and well looked after in general. The staff were pleasant for the most part but some clearly didn't want to interact. Maybe this us to be expected as they were all quite busy.
The pools were good. Not huge but I felt they were big enough. 2 small deeper ones and a big shallow one. My kids enjoyed the slides but it would have been good if they were open a bit longer during the day.
We would go down to the pool about 0830 and had our pick of loungers around the shallow pool. The other 2 pools loungers got reserved much quicker but there were generally still loungers available near us after 10am. There were loungers reserved well before 8am but staff regularly walked through the area and cleared towels away, putting them on a table with a letter explaining why. They do this until 9am. I must admit I did enjoy watching the spats where people came back to their loungers being taken. There were some reserved most of the day without people using them but I feel the hotel are doing as much as they reasonably can. The seagulls were very brazen and a bit of a pest but some people still thought it a good idea to feed them.
They don't allow glasses outside of the buildings and sell small plastic glasses if you don't want the paper cups. We always take bigger metal tumblers which are much nicer to drink from and help keep it cool.
The bars were OK and the drinks were OK. I mainly drink lemonade which was often run out and just dispensing water. Im guessing they check the colour of the drink rather than the bag of syrup. I mentioned them a couple of times but they stiff weren't sorted so just learned which to use. The mojito bar would make a Cuban cry. It was crushed ice with flavoured syrup but there was always a queue so guessing it was OK. The lager was decent enough and my wife bought a good bottle of gin in duty free which she said was the right decision.
The food is where the hotel really let's itself down. I wouldn't expect anything too amazing at a buffet but the children's options were appalling. They had notices up above what they considered to be the kids choices. It was generally chips, pasta in a couple of bland sauces and a battered vegetable. Yes, kids can eat them along with some other foods but theyre really not kid friendly menus. I've seen far better kids options at far worse hotels and with the overall spread i think the hotel is falling short. This might sound a bit over the top but one of my kids struggled a bit and I remember the disappointment as a child when the choices were this bad.
Breakfasts were fairly standard but better eggs and sausages than most hotels I've been too. Good selection of fruits and pastries too.
Wasn't a massive fan of the pizzas and neither was my youngest who loves most pizzas.
The burger place was great. Only had the burgers and chips there but they were really good. Always a big queue at lunch but moves quick enough.
The Indian restaurant was nice. The chicken usually looked under cooked but was tasty enough. We didn't try the chinese.
The main route out, towards the beach and shops, took us through an area of arcade machine etc. At first our kids wanted to go on everything every time we went through which was a bit of a pain. There were problems with a few of the machines but there was always someone there to resolve it and give us a refund.
I spoke to 'Amazing Peter' and one of his colleagues about a food item for my son (who is autistic) and whilst it wasn't possible to get it anywhere locally they got something close and had it left in our room. This was way above and beyond and I think reflects the effort put in by the customer service team.
On the last day our flight was at night so we were able to make use of the facilities. The only places to get changed after though were the gym or a changing facility by the pizza place. These were terrible. The showers were flooded and there was only a small cubicle to change in although the room was enormous.
The beach area for the hotel isn't exactly over the road but it's just a few minutes away. The beach bar has a good selection of drinks and serves iced creams. They also do toasted sandwiches but I thought they were terrible. They are hotdog rolls with cheese and salami which are then put in a panini press. There were loads of sun loungers free when we went there.
We didn't do many activities but there seemed to be a decent schedule for the kids. Again, we didn't bother with the evening entertainment but our room looked out towards the stage so could hear it.
The location is great. Just a couple of minutes to the beach and a few more minutes to the shops. There are a bunch of shops around the hotel perimeter including chemists and off licence. There is Janet City Market, a wee supermarket, about 10 minutes walk away.
The shops selling clothing are great and quite cheap. Some of the quality is outstanding but some if it looks terrible. They don't haggle unless youre buying a few things.
Whilst there we went to old nessebar which was lovely but not sure I'd bother going back. Lots of nice wee bars and lots of places selling naz1 and Russian stuff. We went go karting nearby which was great. The guy running it was really nice and did everything he could when my son hurt his leg. Get a taxi if you go though as there's a really busy road to cross. And he only takes cash.
In short, a few negative points but overall we're all looking forward to our next trip there. I just hope the kids menu is better this time."
