Helena Park

"What a disappointment, Helena Park is. The Ultra in the All inclusive means a few unknown to me international spirits. We were unceremoniously dumped outside the gates of the hotel on arrival. Then you have lift your suitcases over the ridiculous crazy paving to get into the hotel. After checking in, due to an early flight, our room was not ready, but no one employed to help you with your luggage. We then were directed to go for lunch, and we're completely confused by no one coming over to take a drinks order, while the waiting staff just stood there. We eventually found out you have to go to the bar in the restaurant and order yourself. Then the barman got my drink, a beer, wrong. The food was good, but too much oil used in the cooking, however the fruits were very good indeed. When we eventually got into our room, again having to find it ourselves, something I have never had to do in an all inclusive hotel before, it was cramped and extremely noisy due being close to the busy road behind the hotel and almost on top of the boiler room. Then we read the Info, and our all inclusive finished after breakfast on the last day. Considering it was getting towards the end of the season and many of the restaurants outside would shut during our stay, our tour operator, Jet2, had changed our flights by almost 12 hours, from the morning to late evening, a policy designed to leave me with a burning desire to enlighten people on the abysmal customer service, especially after 30 years working in hospitality. A very dated hotel too, unnecessary tablecloths adding to their costs, this money would be far better spent on customer service, and improved maintenance. Fortunately the Jet 2 Rep was outstanding, and got us moved to a quiter and better room. There were 2 team members, the barman in the lobby bar, and the lady in the snack bar who understand customer service and were excellent. If only there engagement could be passed on to the restaurant staff, how hard can it be to take drinks orders and bring them to the cradle rather that standing about until tables had almost finished eating? How much would it cost to redeploy someone as a bellboy and indeed as drinks waiters for the bars like any decent all inclusive? How much would it cost to change the all inclusive policy to check out times, as the restaurant is open anyway? Apart from a small investment in training. All these annoying policies, and that totally unacceptable, and in my opinion, misadvertised (as a standard room) too, and the general lack of maintenance, including the gardens, leaking toilets by the restaurant, add up to my award for the Helena Park. Dreadful."

"I was going to give this hotel a solid 5* as it really is a nice hotel and in a great location. However on my last night I got food poisoning from the food at the evening buffet which made me extremely unwell. Thankfully I managed to make it to Gatwick on my night flight before the symptoms started but as soon as I landed I then had to stay in a hotel at Gatwick until I was able to continue my onward journey home. Not a pleasant experience."

"I travel a lot and was really looking forward to my first trip to Sunny Beach. Unfortunately my experience at this hotel has been the worst experience I have had. The entrance into the hotel is not great. The bricks are cracked and unsafe. There is no staff member to assist you with your luggage. The reception staff were not welcoming at all. Our room was not ready so we went for lunch after putting our suitcases in the luggage room again no member of staff to help you The hotel is very dated indeed in all places . Stuck in the 1970’s The food is the only good thing about this hotel, apart from the level of oil used on the food and the fact that the choice did not change much and got less as they got nearer to the end of the season You have to get your own drinks as you enter the restaurant. No warm welcome from the restaurant manager. The worst and most annoying thing is the waiter/waitress take your plate without asking you if you have finished. They don’t speak to you, just rudely take the plate without any warning. There are two many waitresses/waiters and even chefs just standing around the restaurant talking to each other, when they could be getting drinks for the guests and providing excellent customer service. The only person who knows and does customer service was the guy who run the bar near reception The first room we were given was very small and when you opened the balcony door it was right against the bed, so you have to close it when you enter the room from the balcony to get pass the bed and the same going out onto the balcony. The noise from the plant room and road did not make it a pleasant experience to sat out on the balcony. We can’t use the air conditioning due to a throat issue that I currently have but when we left the balcony door open at night, we were not getting any sleep at all. After 2 nights, we spoken to the Jet2 representative got us moved to a better room where the balcony experience was better, the room was huge and we got sleep when we had the balcony open. The indoor pool is a walk to their sister hotel across the way. Unfortunately the pool was dated and dirty and not the pool you would want to use. I only used it once. You cannot use the outdoor pool in the sister hotel despite nobody being in it at all. The bath in our second room when you used the shower, the water was over the floor even with the shower glass door closed, the fan in the bathroom did not work and the water was cold if you have a bath. This hotel needs a complete refurbishment, staff who know what customer service is and how to deliver it. Not a hotel we would return to either"