Unforgettable vacation!
My husband and son and I rested in Gelendzhik in July 2009 in the private hotel "Pavlov's House". We immediately rejected the sanatoriums and boarding houses built in the Soviet era (it's a savok! ) And we were not mistaken. We got to the hotel by taxi, by the way, not a cheap event (I’ll immediately tell those who will rest in Gelendzhik, it’s better to call a taxi from a hotel or hotel, it will be 2-3 times cheaper than catching a car on the street). We arrived at the hotel at 8 am, we were greeted warmly, with a smile, and despite the fact that there was still a lot of time before the official check-in, there was an empty room and we moved in. The room turned out to be beyond praise: a good interior, a large 2-bed with a choir mattress and pillows, 2 bedside tables, an euro folding bed with a mattress, TV, air conditioning, a table, a wardrobe, a refrigerator, a kettle, towels and all this in the room and to our services. Bathroom with choir repair and new plumbing. Balcony for 2 rooms, but large, it has a table with chairs and a dryer. The room was cleaned regularly, and cleaned while we were walking, which of course is nice. Because there were few rooms in the hotel, we rarely met with guests, which is also a plus.
We went to lunch every day at the Medved cafe, located 100 meters from our hotel. We took complex lunches 180r per person (first, second, salad and compotejuice), the menu changed. The food is very tasty, satisfying and safe. The waiters are young and polite, after serving each plate: "Bon appetit", here in Smolensk you will not hear this everywhere. Thanks to the manager of the cafe and the service staff. In general, there is where to have dinner or lunch in the city, the difference is only in price. We had dinner at the Lavender cafe on the hotel’s ter, the food is good there, the prices are normal and the waitress girls are polite and smiling, and they can also make a compliment, besides, we had a 10% discount from the hotel for every evening, nice. Thanks to Valentina Ivanovna, our head waiter.
To the sea 150 m. The beach is of course with large stones, but we found a way out of the situation. We found the choir beach, having walked 200 m along the promenade, small pebbles, and the bottom after 3-4 m is sandy and there are few people, we hung out there. The beach has everything you need: umbrellas 50r-hour, sunbeds 100r-day, rental of water motorcycles 750r-10 minutes, catamarans 250r-hour, there are trampolines 100r-hour, you can ride a boat in the open sea 40-30 minutes, 350r -adult, 250r-children, you can even swim in the open sea. They also invite you to make a whiter trip to the sea on a boat or yacht, for lovers of the underwater world there is diving, etc.
Embankment - I will tell about it separately! It's just lovely: beautiful flower beds, fountains, there is a large anchor with a chain (the pictures with it are just super), and the picturesque view of the sea leaves an unforgettable impression and, of course, there are restaurants, cafes with different cuisine and music, bars and summer playgrounds everywhere. By the way, not all cafes sing well and in many just deafening music. They feed differently, in some places not very much, but the barbecue is cooked with dignity, but each in his own way. In the evening, after the heat, it’s cool to walk along the embankment, a warm wind blows, it’s not hot, and the view of the bay at night is amazing. If possible, shoot the sunset, I succeeded - very impressive.
As for entertainment. I'll start with the Aquapark "Golden Bay". This is a PARADISE OF ENTERTAINMENT for adults and children. The variety of slides, the beauty of the flower beds, the design of the pools are simply super!! ! If you are in Gelendzhik, visit first. An adult ticket is 750 rubles, a child ticket is 450 rubles for a day from 9 a. m. to 7 p. m. Each person is given 0.5 water for free. But the Dolphinarium pleased me less: tickets are expensive for 600 rubles, and there are few animals, and it stinks very much of fish. As for the "Safari Park", you can get there by a free minibus, stop near the Dolphinarium, ticket 200r, but there's not much to see. The main advantage of the Safari Park is the view from it to the Gelendzhik Bay. Stunningly beautiful, because the park itself is located a little higher in the foothills, then the bay is in full view, again, the pictures are super! I advise you to visit the "Bear Cave", the ticket is ridiculous, and there are a lot of impressions. There is a cable car with an ascent to the Olympus concert hall.
Yes, even in Gelendzhik there was an amusement park "Vrungel" (it was promised to us upon arrival), but it was already taken apart, it's a pity, the children were waiting for entertainment...
As for the excursions, there was a list of them for every day in the hotel, there were many different ones, and on the street at the managers they cost a little more. But we were lucky with the head waiter, Valentina Ivanovna (a very good woman) referred us to her acquaintances, the organizers of excursions to the Friendly Coast boarding house, and we were organized an excursion to the Old Park in a comfortable minibus for almost a penny. About the "Old Park" it is worth mentioning separately. This is a very beautiful and picturesque area. All the wonders of the world are collected here in miniature: mini-fountains and a mini-waterfall, a large Indian fountain and the pyramid of Chiops, the Sphinx and the Temple of Zeus, as well as greenery and flowers, they took photos, showed relatives and friends - everyone is delighted, just beauty. I advise you to visit.
In general, we had the best impressions of this holiday, we had a great time (maybe we were just lucky). Thank you very much to our head waiter Valentina Ivanovna and all the staff. Everything was top notch and great!