Первый раз в Болгарии First time in Bulgaria

Since we decided on a vacation with my wife almost at the last moment, there was not a large selection of hotels we could afford. Free places at the end of June 2011 were found in Astoria. We flew to the place with caution, since on the Internet Astoria was called a hotel for active youth recreation, I was half a century old, but upon arrival it turned out that the audience at the hotel was from parents with babies and youth companies to old people. We took a room overlooking the park, so we had a vast courtyard of the Royal Beach Barcelo hotel in front of our eyes, and since our room on the 6th floor turned out to be the far left, we enjoyed a view of the sea and the island of Nessebar. The owners of many rooms with a sea view had to be content with a view of the hotel’s courtyard with a pool and a bar, and the sea itself was closed in the recent past by a VIP hotel built in the recent past, plus until late in the evening your holiday was accompanied by loud music from the bar and the noise of the central embankment street where the hotel is located . But on the other hand, the location of the hotel in the center of the resort has its advantage - it is not difficult to go or go where you need to. Another plus of Astoria is the distance to the beach, which is measured not even in meters, but in steps, that is, you left the hotel, crossed the street and you are on the beach. The best places on the beaches of the resort are paid, you will have to pay 7 leva per day for a sunbed and an umbrella. Another advantage of Astoria is its own sector on the beach with free sunbeds and umbrellas. True, in order to take the best place, I had to get up at 6 in the morning and go to the beach. But on the other hand, there is no greater buzz than swimming in the morning sea, watching the sunrise and enjoying the fact that you are alone on the beach, not counting a few athletes making morning runs along the seashore. The beach has quartz sand, which is probably why the sea is perfectly clean and the entrance to the sea is very gentle, you will walk several tens of meters before diving headlong, ideal for parents with children - a guarantee of safe swimming. Now a little about food - in the all-inclusive category, a four-time table fully provided our claims to eat normally. True, I had to read reviews on the Internet that the food in the hotel is monotonous and quickly boring. Sorry, but if at lunch you are offered 4-5 hot dishes, not counting appetizers and two types of soup, choose one of the dishes and alternate every day, and do not put a plate with a mountain like a pig, then to leave half. In the hotel itself, near the pool and on the beach, bars are open from morning to evening, where you can enjoy free beer, wine, spirits and lemonades. But then again - if the next morning you cannot get up from the hangover in time to go to the beach - this is not the hotel's problem and you will not write a caustic review about this later. You can freely communicate with the hotel staff and Bulgarians in the city in Russian, but if you don’t want to show yourself as a “ruso turisto” out of principle, you can safely speak English or German - you will also be understood. By the way, in the resort, in addition to Russian speech, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Baltic, Scandinavian, etc. were heard. Every morning we left 2 levs on the table for the maid, is that money and we had clean towels in the room every day and bed linen was changed every other day. Now about money - it is best to bring euros to Bulgaria, the official rate of 1 euro is 1.95 leva, it is not a problem to exchange currency. Tip - do not change money immediately upon arrival in Varna or Burgas, the exchange rate at the airport is very low, for 1 euro you will be given only 1.64 leva. In the S. Bereg itself, change only in exchangers with the "Crown" crown, they are located on every corner and one of the exchangers is right next to the main entrance to the hotel. The exchange rate is from 1.91 to 1.93 and do not buy advertising on the embankment, where exchangers will offer you 1.95 - in the end you will change almost 1.50, since in the advertisement it will be written in imperceptible small handwriting that such you will receive the rate when measuring from a thousand euros, and in the "Crown" exchangers you will change at the specified rate and without any commission fee. I had a Visa Electron card, you can easily pay with it in a supermarket. Another tip - do not rush to buy souvenirs and gifts for relatives on the embankment and in the center, better not be too lazy and go to the intersection near the Chrysanthemum hotel, cross the street, this is the central route where buses run and find the Mladost shopping center, another landmark is the Tarantul hotel with a huge spider on the pediment of the building. In this shopping center you will feel the difference in prices - for example, eau de toilette for women with the smell of a Bulgarian rose here costs 6 leva, and for the same package near the hotel you will already pay 10 leva. to go to the island of Nessebar. You can pay 18-20 leva at the hotel for an excursion, or you can go to the highway, take 1 bus, travel 1 lev, pay the conductor on the bus and get to the final one. Walking along the narrow cobbled streets, buying souvenirs, drinking a beer in a tavern is also a thrill. Tip - if the sky is overcast in the morning, immediately after breakfast, fly to the island, because in a few hours it will not be overcrowded. In conclusion, I want to say that at the Sunny Beach resort a person of any age and any build will feel at ease, so I apologize for such a long comment, I just wanted him to help those who go to the resort for the first time. Have a good rest everyone!