Your rating of this hotel:
8.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
8.0
Service:
8.0
Cleanliness:
10.0
Food:
8.0
Amenities:
8.0
More than 1.5 years have passed since I visited Bulgaria, of course, the impressions of the trip are not so fresh, but I will try to describe them in as much detail as possible. Maybe they will be useful to someone, but maybe not. I am not a very whimsical and spoiled person, besides this is my first trip abroad, I used to rest on our Black Sea coast, where we rented an apartment, and ate in a cafe or cooked ourselves.
We rested from 16 to 30 July 2010.
And then came the most interesting and exciting moment - the departure. Waiting for miracles, relaxation, sea, sun. We were taken to the airport by a bus, we left at 00:00 on July 16.2010. Departed from Domodedovo at 06:15. They took off without delay. The flight was 2 hours 15 minutes, flew with VimAvia. The difference between Moscow and Bulgarian time is 1 hour. They flew to Varna. In Moscow at that time the heat was already beginning, and in Varna there was grace + 25 C0. Baggage at the airport received very quickly. Customs control also went quickly.
We rested in Albena in the hotel "COM" 3*+. It is located on 3 lines, the distance to the sea is 950 meters, on foot 15-20 minutes, but free buses run to the sea every 30 minutes, as well as trains, but for a fee. I don’t know where the bus stop was and how much the train ride cost, since they never used it. We walked. It was a bit heavy way from the sea to the hotel, it turned out uphill. At first we went through the Flamingo and Compass hotels, and there we had to go up the stairs. But then they began to walk through the resort administration building, it turned out to be more convenient there, without steps and a slight rise.
Albena is a wonderful resort. Everything is immersed in greenery and the heat is easily tolerated. Everywhere clean and in the village and on the beach. The beach is sandy and wide. Sun loungers and umbrellas for free. The only thing I didn't like was that people took their places in the evening, putting towels on the sun loungers. There are many lifeguards on the shore who are very vigilantly watching the vacationers, which in my opinion is very good. The water in the sea was warm all day. I really don’t like jellyfish, and the sea pleased me, for all 15 days I didn’t come across a single one. On the last day of our stay, the water in the sea became cool and a lot of crabs and cuttlefish appeared at the bottom.
Our room was a standard double room with a large bed, a TV with 2 Russian channels, air conditioning, a wardrobe, a table, an armchair. The room is small but quite normal. There are two plastic chairs and a table on the balcony. The bathroom is small, there is no shower cabin, but just a place separated by a small tile and drain. The shower was separated from the toilet by a curtain. The toilet in our room was leaking from the bottom and it was not fixed until the end of our stay, although we talked about this at the reception twice, then they just calmed down and stopped spoiling their mood.
The hotel itself is compact. The pool is located in the center, next to it is a restaurant. The pool is filled with fresh chlorinated water, so the smell from it is appropriate. We rarely swam in it, in the main when we came from the sea for lunch and wanted to freshen up after the road (especially when we climbed the steps I wrote about above). The restaurant is divided into zones: inside the building itself, one part overlooks the pool and the other part overlooks the copse, and the street under a canopy overlooks the pool or in the shade from large trees. There are 2 bars on site. We were served on an all inclusive basis. Restaurant opening hours: Breakfast - 7.30-10.00, Lunch - 12.00-14.00, Dinner - 18.00-21.00. Between lunch and dinner, a barbecue is open near the pool, they offer pizza, fried sausages, meatballs and ice cream. Breakfasts are like everywhere bread, sausage, cheese, kefir, cottage cheese, muesli, sausages, fried sausages, ham, butter, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, croissants with and without filling, fruits. From fruits in July: watermelons, melons ("Kolkhoz Woman"), apricots, peaches, apples, bananas. From the first courses (they were at lunch and dinner) there are usually two types and also their national cold soup - Tarator (this is kefir or yogurt with greens, fresh cucumber and garlic). I really liked it, it is especially good to eat it in hot weather, like our okroshka. The first courses are pureed soups. For the second: fried and boiled chicken, meatballs, fried fish (but always one kind), pork or chicken goulash, pork chop, once there was lasagna. Side dishes: boiled corn, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green peas, green beans, bell peppers in tomato (lecho), pasta, rice, mashed potatoes (but it feels like custard, tasteless) and fried potatoes. Of the sauces, mustard (but you can’t compare it with ours, they have it sweet and not spicy), mayonnaise (glass, probably starch is added) and ketchup. There were also olives, pickled cucumbers, salads, mostly vegetable. From alcoholic drinks: brandy, dry red and white wine, vermouth, champagne, draft beer. I really liked the champagne, it's a pity that I tried it on the last day. Juice diluted, powdered, apple seemed to me more natural. The restaurant had badly washed dishes: greasy plates, glasses with traces of lipstick and greasy hands. The waiters quickly cleared the dishes from the empty tables. The only thing I didn't like was that the Germans put a lot of glasses of beer on the table and sat very noisily for a long time. After reading a lot of reviews before the vacation, I was preparing for the fact that our compatriots are very cheeky and noisy. But in Bulgaria, I have not met a single drunken and noisy Russian. But the Germans behaved simply ugly. We lived in the hotel on the second floor, and below us were the Germans, so they allowed themselves to sing songs and neigh like horses at two or three in the morning. But it all probably depends on the person himself and nationality does not matter here.
In Bulgaria, the national currency is the lev, and instead of "kopecks" - stotinki. 1 lev = 100 stotinki. The exchange rate of the euro to the leva is stable 1 euro approximately 1.95 leva. 1 lev for our 20-21 rubles. The most favorable exchange rate in banks. We went to Varna and changed there. At hotels, they also exchange, but the exchange rate is unfavorable. So decide for yourself which is more convenient for you.
We did not go on excursions from travel agencies, but traveled on our own or by public transport or by taxi. The bus station is 20 minutes walk from the hotel. It is inconvenient that public transport operates until 19:00, it could have been longer. There are shops and souvenir shops in Albena, but the prices are high. We bought souvenirs in Varna and Balchik, it's cheaper there. In Varna, if you go from the stop towards the Drama Theatre, there is a souvenir market and a shop with reasonable prices nearby. The locals also told us that in the lane from the Central Cathedral you can walk to the market, it is small, but fruits and vegetables are very cheap. For example, peaches are 1-1.20 leva depending on the size.
In Balchik there is a Botanical Garden and a summer residence of the Queen of Romania, Mary of Edinburgh, built in 1930. The area of the botanical garden is about 35 hectares. It grows more than 3.000 species of plants, as well as an extensive collection of cacti - the second largest in the world, there are more than 250 species. The Botanical Garden is supervised by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Entrance to it costs 10 lev. There are a lot of roses in the park.
On the seashore in Balchik, near the botanical garden, there is a wonderful restaurant where you can eat fresh fish, mussels. The prices will pleasantly surprise you. The owner of the restaurant is a very friendly person.
We walked along the shore in the neighboring village of Kranevo. Between Albena and this village there is a nudist beach. I did not like the beach in Kranevo, the mountains moved closer to the sea and the edge of the coast is very small, people were located very close to each other. Garbage floated in the sea: plastic bags, apple cores, peach pits, cigarette butts, and more. We were on this beach in the evening and because of the mountains, the sun was hiding earlier than in Albena. On the way back, we took a taxi to get to the hotel. The taxi driver's name was George. And we began to tell him: "He's Gosha... ", and the taxi driver continued: "He's Goga, he's Georgy Ivanovich. " So in Bulgaria, too, our expressions are known. He told us that he organizes excursions and gave us a business card. So we decided to go to Nessebar. There is a very beautiful old part of the city. Nessebar is located on a small peninsula near Sunny Beach, the largest resort in Bulgaria. Nessebar is a city-museum, and since 1983 it has been included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. On the streets of the city there are a myriad of souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes.
We also took a bus to the city of Dobrich, but unfortunately I didn’t really like it.
To sum it up in general, I liked the rest, despite all the little things.
We rested from 16 to 30 July 2010.
And then came the most interesting and exciting moment - the departure. Waiting for miracles, relaxation, sea, sun. We were taken to the airport by a bus, we left at 00:00 on July 16.2010. Departed from Domodedovo at 06:15. They took off without delay. The flight was 2 hours 15 minutes, flew with VimAvia. The difference between Moscow and Bulgarian time is 1 hour. They flew to Varna. In Moscow at that time the heat was already beginning, and in Varna there was grace + 25 C0. Baggage at the airport received very quickly. Customs control also went quickly.
We rested in Albena in the hotel "COM" 3*+. It is located on 3 lines, the distance to the sea is 950 meters, on foot 15-20 minutes, but free buses run to the sea every 30 minutes, as well as trains, but for a fee. I don’t know where the bus stop was and how much the train ride cost, since they never used it. We walked. It was a bit heavy way from the sea to the hotel, it turned out uphill. At first we went through the Flamingo and Compass hotels, and there we had to go up the stairs. But then they began to walk through the resort administration building, it turned out to be more convenient there, without steps and a slight rise.
Albena is a wonderful resort. Everything is immersed in greenery and the heat is easily tolerated. Everywhere clean and in the village and on the beach. The beach is sandy and wide. Sun loungers and umbrellas for free. The only thing I didn't like was that people took their places in the evening, putting towels on the sun loungers. There are many lifeguards on the shore who are very vigilantly watching the vacationers, which in my opinion is very good. The water in the sea was warm all day. I really don’t like jellyfish, and the sea pleased me, for all 15 days I didn’t come across a single one. On the last day of our stay, the water in the sea became cool and a lot of crabs and cuttlefish appeared at the bottom.
Our room was a standard double room with a large bed, a TV with 2 Russian channels, air conditioning, a wardrobe, a table, an armchair. The room is small but quite normal. There are two plastic chairs and a table on the balcony. The bathroom is small, there is no shower cabin, but just a place separated by a small tile and drain. The shower was separated from the toilet by a curtain. The toilet in our room was leaking from the bottom and it was not fixed until the end of our stay, although we talked about this at the reception twice, then they just calmed down and stopped spoiling their mood.
The hotel itself is compact. The pool is located in the center, next to it is a restaurant. The pool is filled with fresh chlorinated water, so the smell from it is appropriate. We rarely swam in it, in the main when we came from the sea for lunch and wanted to freshen up after the road (especially when we climbed the steps I wrote about above). The restaurant is divided into zones: inside the building itself, one part overlooks the pool and the other part overlooks the copse, and the street under a canopy overlooks the pool or in the shade from large trees. There are 2 bars on site. We were served on an all inclusive basis. Restaurant opening hours: Breakfast - 7.30-10.00, Lunch - 12.00-14.00, Dinner - 18.00-21.00. Between lunch and dinner, a barbecue is open near the pool, they offer pizza, fried sausages, meatballs and ice cream. Breakfasts are like everywhere bread, sausage, cheese, kefir, cottage cheese, muesli, sausages, fried sausages, ham, butter, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, croissants with and without filling, fruits. From fruits in July: watermelons, melons ("Kolkhoz Woman"), apricots, peaches, apples, bananas. From the first courses (they were at lunch and dinner) there are usually two types and also their national cold soup - Tarator (this is kefir or yogurt with greens, fresh cucumber and garlic). I really liked it, it is especially good to eat it in hot weather, like our okroshka. The first courses are pureed soups. For the second: fried and boiled chicken, meatballs, fried fish (but always one kind), pork or chicken goulash, pork chop, once there was lasagna. Side dishes: boiled corn, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green peas, green beans, bell peppers in tomato (lecho), pasta, rice, mashed potatoes (but it feels like custard, tasteless) and fried potatoes. Of the sauces, mustard (but you can’t compare it with ours, they have it sweet and not spicy), mayonnaise (glass, probably starch is added) and ketchup. There were also olives, pickled cucumbers, salads, mostly vegetable. From alcoholic drinks: brandy, dry red and white wine, vermouth, champagne, draft beer. I really liked the champagne, it's a pity that I tried it on the last day. Juice diluted, powdered, apple seemed to me more natural. The restaurant had badly washed dishes: greasy plates, glasses with traces of lipstick and greasy hands. The waiters quickly cleared the dishes from the empty tables. The only thing I didn't like was that the Germans put a lot of glasses of beer on the table and sat very noisily for a long time. After reading a lot of reviews before the vacation, I was preparing for the fact that our compatriots are very cheeky and noisy. But in Bulgaria, I have not met a single drunken and noisy Russian. But the Germans behaved simply ugly. We lived in the hotel on the second floor, and below us were the Germans, so they allowed themselves to sing songs and neigh like horses at two or three in the morning. But it all probably depends on the person himself and nationality does not matter here.
In Bulgaria, the national currency is the lev, and instead of "kopecks" - stotinki. 1 lev = 100 stotinki. The exchange rate of the euro to the leva is stable 1 euro approximately 1.95 leva. 1 lev for our 20-21 rubles. The most favorable exchange rate in banks. We went to Varna and changed there. At hotels, they also exchange, but the exchange rate is unfavorable. So decide for yourself which is more convenient for you.
We did not go on excursions from travel agencies, but traveled on our own or by public transport or by taxi. The bus station is 20 minutes walk from the hotel. It is inconvenient that public transport operates until 19:00, it could have been longer. There are shops and souvenir shops in Albena, but the prices are high. We bought souvenirs in Varna and Balchik, it's cheaper there. In Varna, if you go from the stop towards the Drama Theatre, there is a souvenir market and a shop with reasonable prices nearby. The locals also told us that in the lane from the Central Cathedral you can walk to the market, it is small, but fruits and vegetables are very cheap. For example, peaches are 1-1.20 leva depending on the size.
In Balchik there is a Botanical Garden and a summer residence of the Queen of Romania, Mary of Edinburgh, built in 1930. The area of the botanical garden is about 35 hectares. It grows more than 3.000 species of plants, as well as an extensive collection of cacti - the second largest in the world, there are more than 250 species. The Botanical Garden is supervised by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Entrance to it costs 10 lev. There are a lot of roses in the park.
On the seashore in Balchik, near the botanical garden, there is a wonderful restaurant where you can eat fresh fish, mussels. The prices will pleasantly surprise you. The owner of the restaurant is a very friendly person.
We walked along the shore in the neighboring village of Kranevo. Between Albena and this village there is a nudist beach. I did not like the beach in Kranevo, the mountains moved closer to the sea and the edge of the coast is very small, people were located very close to each other. Garbage floated in the sea: plastic bags, apple cores, peach pits, cigarette butts, and more. We were on this beach in the evening and because of the mountains, the sun was hiding earlier than in Albena. On the way back, we took a taxi to get to the hotel. The taxi driver's name was George. And we began to tell him: "He's Gosha... ", and the taxi driver continued: "He's Goga, he's Georgy Ivanovich. " So in Bulgaria, too, our expressions are known. He told us that he organizes excursions and gave us a business card. So we decided to go to Nessebar. There is a very beautiful old part of the city. Nessebar is located on a small peninsula near Sunny Beach, the largest resort in Bulgaria. Nessebar is a city-museum, and since 1983 it has been included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. On the streets of the city there are a myriad of souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes.
We also took a bus to the city of Dobrich, but unfortunately I didn’t really like it.
To sum it up in general, I liked the rest, despite all the little things.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
Comments (0)
leave a comment
Show other comments …