Неплохой отдых в России, но какой ценой? A good holiday in Russia, but at what cost?

We bought a ticket a month before departure, paid 63.000 rubles for a 7 night ticket, the ticket included 3 meals a day, a flight from Moscow, a transfer from the airport and accommodation in the Arena building from July 24 to July 31.2020.
I’ll start my review of the Cape Vidny sanatorium with the fact that due to the coronovirus we had to consider an alternative to the usual Turkey and choose a resort in the vastness of our native country.
We looked at several reviews and decided to go to Sochi, when buying a ticket, the operator several times drew our attention to the fact that this is the Arena building. We, confirming our decision, did not even imagine what it was about, it turned out that the sanatorium has 3 buildings, 2 of which are located on the coast, and the third is one and a half kilometers from them. We realized this fact a little later and at first we were very upset, because we wanted a sea view.

But there was no way back, we decided not to expect something super cool from the rest, but just take it as a great way to change the situation.
Since this is a sanatorium, we had to take an epidemiological certificate from the clinic. environment and issue a health resort card. Our voucher did not include sanatorium treatment, only rest, it was called "health". In fact, it turned out that it was not necessary to issue a card, the nurse said that they let vacationers without cards, the main thing is to have an epid certificate. environment.
Our holiday coincided with the restrictions associated with the pandemic, we had our temperature taken at the entrance to the airport, we had to wear masks on the plane, but no one followed this rule. The flight from Moscow takes 2 hours, upon arrival we were met by a representative of the tour operator and taken to the sanatorium Cape Vidny, which is located in the Sochi district of the village of Khosta.
Upon check-in, we presented medical certificates. sister, they put on bracelets and gave us cards from the room and for getting beach towels, they also gave the bus schedule to the main building, where the beach and the entire infrastructure of the resort are located.
The lobby of the Arena building is small, a couple of sofas, a TV and a stand. We got a room on 2 floors with a picturesque view of the river, the room is small, in the bathroom there is a toilet, a sink, a shower, a hairdryer, a mirror, everything is in fairly good condition, everything looks, of course, not so chic, but in general not bad, there is a large closet in the corridor, the furniture is not new, but everything is neat, I really liked the window in the room to the full wall and good sound insulation of the walls, we never heard the neighbors.
The room has a TV, air conditioning, a couple of mugs and a carafe, no kettle, but there are coolers with hot and cold water in all corridors.
We had 2 single beds in the room, mattresses and pillows, by the way, very comfortable. There are not so many outlets, only 3 pieces, one of which was occupied by air conditioning.

We left our things and went straight to dinner.
We understood that we were going to a sanatorium and did not expect chic buffets, we were morally prepared for the worst, however, we were pleasantly surprised, the menu is not very diverse, the buffet food system: 2 types of different soups: borscht, chicken broth, vermicelli soup, pickle, 4 types of garnish: either baked or mashed potatoes, buckwheat, pasta, cabbage and hot, also 4 types: steamed chicken cutlets, baked chicken, fish, liver, beef pieces in sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, salad with carrots and beetroot salad, several types of dressings, bread is always fresh, as are homemade pies and pies. From drinks, tea, coffee, kefir, jelly and several types of compote. For breakfast, pancakes or pancakes, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, casserole were served.
The dining area consists of 2 halls, we were in the high season, there were always enough places.
We took three meals a day, it includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Buses run to the Salut building all day, which is very convenient, a little embarrassing was the fact that in order to have lunch we had to go back to the Arena building, due to the fact that we could not eat in the Salut building, since it belongs to the four-star system, and the Arena building to a three-star.
The territory of the Arena building is small, it consists of a courtyard with benches, 2 checkpoints, you can enter the territory only with bracelets.
In the evening we returned from the building on foot, the road runs along the embankment of the Khosta River, it is shallow and, like all mountain rivers, very noisy, this creates a good atmosphere. It was a little embarrassing that the path from the beach runs along residential areas, where you could often meet drunken companies.
The village of Khosta is small, with one central street and several minor ones. There are bars, restaurants, a small amusement park and shops. I want to note that the village is quite quiet, in the evenings you can not hear the music from the bars.

The most picturesque place, in my opinion, in the village of Khosta is the territory of the sanatorium Cape Vidny, it is large, well-groomed, hundreds of exotic plants and flowers grow on it, many plates with the name of this or that vegetation, by the way, the sanatorium is located on the territory of the national park, all trees are included in a special book and if one of them falls, then it can be removed only with the permission of a special commission. On the territory there are many benches with a picturesque view, beautiful stairs, a playground, a pond and two elevators to go down to the beach.
The beach is pebbly, there are many sunbeds and umbrellas, a huge plus was that it belonged to the Sanatorium and only its guests rested on it. On the beach you can get a towel once a day. Also on the beach there is a cafe and a hammam. The sea is very clean, the beach has showers, changing cabins and a toilet.
There is also a VIP area with bungalows, it is paid 1500 for the second line, 2500 for the first.
On the territory of the sanatorium there is an indoor pool with fresh water, but to get into it you need to sign up and be sure to have a hat, swimsuit and change of shoes with you.
As expected, the sanatorium has a zone where various medical and spa procedures are carried out, they are paid, the cost is from 2.500 rubles.
The Salute building consists of 7 floors, on the first 6 there are rooms and a medical building, on the seventh there is a dining room, an observation deck, a couple of shops, a beauty salon and a bar. On the sixth floor, in addition to the rooms, there is an assembly and cinema hall, where entertainment programs were held in the evenings, but I immediately warn you, the program is designed for ages 55+.
We went once, a woman sang the song "Viburnum blossoms" on the stage.
The Olympus building is a different story, it is the newest one, it has 8 floors. Everything is very beautiful and expensive, the furniture and renovation are designer, but 1 room per day in this building costs from 7.000 rubles.
Summing up, I can say that it was not our worst vacation, everything was quite good, but there was not enough atmosphere, and yet, for example, when you come to Turkey, you immediately feel that you are on vacation, but here somehow everything is not quite so. You can feel the Russian flavor and not the highest level of service, but the place is suitable for a change of scenery.