Альтернатива Крыму Alternative to Crimea

Summer is here and with it the school holidays. Every year we healed children in the Crimea, but this time our plans were thwarted by the Russian troops... Well, while the "green men" are resting in our Ukrainian resorts, we have found an alternative for summer holidays. Bulgaria has become one.
They decided to go on vacation on their own, that is, by car. Having gathered our small company (18 people) on the road in 4 cars, we went to the Golden Sands resort. The total mileage from home to the hotel was 950 km. one way. On the way, we spent the night in the Romanian town of Galati, where the Magnus 3 * hotel became our shelter for one night.
On 06/06/14 we arrived at our destination. Our hotel, indicated in the voucher, was the Helios Spa 4 * hotel, but due to the beginning of the season, all Helios tourists were accommodated in the neighboring building - Double Tree by Hilton 5 *. The territory in the hotels is common, free movement, free use of swimming pools. Only lodging for the night in your building and meals in your restaurant. But since "Helios" has not yet launched, then my review will be about "Double tree under the Hilton" ? .

Our entire hotel management company managed to accommodate in 6 rooms (according to the reservation) on the 1st floor (in fact, the 2nd floor, since the reception and the restaurant were on the first floor): families of five took two standards each, and families of four I got the family numbers. The difference between these rooms was in the area and the number of beds. The rooms are decent. As a disadvantage (personally in my room): the faucet and the latch on the door to the bathroom were broken. Everything else was in good condition. Room cleaning was done on a case by case basis. There was no particular zeal, but we didn’t insist - a day later they hung a sign “please clean it up”.
Nutrition. Since we were traveling with children and the difference between "BB" and "all inclusive" was "penny", we decided to stop at the universally beloved "all inclusive". Meals were taken in the restaurant three times a day. In addition, there was a bar on the pool with drinks and a "lobby bar" (until 23-00). Regarding the food, I can only note positive points - delicious, varied, a lot. All the same, Bulgarian cuisine is closer to our Slavic soul than Turkish or Egyptian.
Beach. It takes about 10 minutes to go to the sea from the hotel (this is from the hill and in the morning, going back upstairs in the afternoon - about 15 minutes). Entry to the beach is free, you can put your umbrella, lay a cape (if you find a place). We went to the city beach (to the right by the sea) towards the Riviera complex, where we took a set of two sunbeds and an umbrella for the family. This pleasure cost us 10 leva. This is the lowest price we have found for a set. For guests of Double Tree by Hilton, who are vacationing on an all-inclusive basis, there is a free Nirvana beach, where a minivan from the hotel carries. Clean sand, few people, convenient entry - super. I recommend. For us, this pleasure cost 16 leva (after all, we were clients of Helios). The beach is located in the northern part of the resort. "Busik" rides for 5-7 minutes. From the hotel it was also possible to take an electric train to the entrance to the Riviera complex for free, but in order to go through the territory and relax on their beach, you had to pay for umbrellas or sunbeds. The set cost 24 leva. Therefore, we did not use the services of the Riviera.
Animation in the hotel is. Two or three people. We didn't see any more. Traditional water aerobics in the pool, exercises and several competitions in the morning. Everything. Weakly. Here the choice is clearly in favor of Turkey.

The hotel staff almost all speaks Russian (a lot of tourists from Russia), speaks English fluently. In addition to Russians, Ukrainians, Balts, Romanians, Israelis, and British rest at the hotel. The general manager himself is from Turkey. It can be seen everywhere - at the reception, in the restaurant, near the pool. Moreover, he is always in the thick of things: he meets guests, leprouses them, helps to clean the dishes in a restaurant and is always interested in tourists' problems. I liked his style of work. Often it can be confused with vacationers (beach clothing style). Solves all questions. The language of communication is English.
We were lucky with the weather: from 6 to 16 June there were sunny days. The sea, due to the gentle sandy approach, has already warmed up enough (for 20 degrees it was for sure). Closer to the departure of three days there were thunderstorm short-term rains. One of these rains caught us in the Aquapolis water park (located 100 meters from the hotel). They ran so that only a spray of a column! Soaked to the skin. Half a day was given to the water park. Incidentally entertaining thing, this water park. Not cheap (I don’t remember the prices - look at the official site), but it will be interesting to relax for a change. In addition to the entrance, you also have to pay for sunbeds on the territory. Everything else is traditional for water parks.
Conclusion: you can safely go to Bulgaria to rest - a European resort for any budget. Have a good rest!