Неоправданные ожидания... Unreasonable expectations...

When planning a vacation in the Crimea in June, we chose the Leopol hotel in the small village of Beregovoe (better known to everyone under the old name Castropol) - firstly, because we only wanted to go to the South Coast with its gorgeous nature; secondly, knowing that in June there is often a lowland, they chose a hotel with a pool and, as indicated on their website, with heated water (now you won’t surprise anyone with a pool, but far from everyone has heating); thirdly, we were with a small child, and therefore the “studio” room with a kitchen seemed the best option; fourthly, I wanted the beach to be nearby and not be a fur seal rookery; well, and fifthly, they had not rested in these parts before, and the photos of the rooms and the surroundings from the official website of the hotel impressed me so much with their beauty that they fell in love with this place in absentia, many months before the trip. The rave reviews found on the Internet were also inspiring, but they were all without specifics like: “the hotel is just wonderful, the staff is super, we will come again. ” But upon arrival, for the first time in many years of rest in the Crimea, we were completely disappointed. But here, as they say, to each his own. Maybe those factors that were decisive for us, for someone will be completely unimportant. So, about everything in order.
1. Numbers.
The "studio" on the fourth floor of the lower building turned out to be very bright, quite spacious, with a large double bed, a spacious closet, a safe, a TV and a kitchenette with all necessary utensils. I almost matched the photos of the site - I mean the appearance, not the content, because. the hotel has entered its fourth year and therefore everything is already a little worn out, the walls with chipped plaster in several places, a curtain holder is torn off on one side, no one was in a hurry to attach a new one, but this is so - trifles. The view from the balcony is wonderful, you could admire the sea without getting out of bed, and enjoy the sound of the surf - because of this, the TV was practically not turned on. Among the shortcomings, I would like to note the absence of bedside lamps, a small table at the kitchen corner for cooking (I had to take the table with chairs from the balcony) and mosquito nets - a lot of flies and mosquitoes flew into the light through the balcony door in the evening, I had never seen this before (fortunately , these mosquitoes did not seem to bite). The perfume set in the bathroom was only on the day of arrival, while it was surprising that only one bag of gel, one bag of shampoo for two, and it was not replenished anymore. A big plus of the room is a spacious bathroom and very good soundproofing of the room, we did not hear our neighbors, but most of them rested there with small children. In general, we liked the room. The wonderful maids of the hotel cleaned every day and thoroughly enough. Bed linen and towels, which were three for each, were changed every three days.

Most of the time she cooked herself. Sometimes we went to a new cafe from the hotel. So, eat three times a day for 180 UAH. per person, as promised on their website, and for those living in standard rooms without a kitchen, this will be especially true, it will not work. Prices are very high, restaurant prices. For one trip for two with a first course (almost all for 30 UAH and only with chicken meat), a salad and a meat dish (chops around 70 UAH per serving), with juice or tea (alcohol is completely absent from the menu), get ready to lay out about 300 UAH. The waitresses in the cafe are very courteous, constantly asking if you like everything, sometimes it even bothered. It can be seen that the director is working among all the hotel staff in relation to vacationers, everyone is quite friendly and benevolent. In the village itself, which is a 15-minute walk up a steep road, there are two shops - one small grocery and the second - with non-food items; the choice, of course, is not like in a supermarket, but everything you need is there. Also in front of them there is a small market with vegetables, fruits with prices, as in the central market in Yalta - compared. In general, you will not die of hunger. Since we are talking about the village, I would like to note that nowhere is there even the most seedy pharmacy. You will have to go for medicines either to Simeiz or to Foros. So it’s better to take everything with you, which I did and never regretted - many medicines ended up being very useful.
3. Beach.
A small serpentine leads to the beach - the hotel is located on a hill. So, the information on the site that the road without descents and ascents is not true, but they quickly got used to the sharp rise in front of the hotel, although it was a little hard with a stroller. The road to the sea takes 5 minutes and runs along the roadway among private residences fenced with fences, and building 15 of the Castropol boarding house. In front of the beach there are several tents with drinks, draft beer, chips, ice cream, as well as all sorts of things such as inflatable circles, swimsuits, balls, etc. The beach in June was relatively free. We arrived at 10 o'clock and always found a place by the water, but it was the end of June, not yet the season. On two of the three maps of the beach where we were, there was a strong smell of excrement, although it seems that the sewer does not flow into the sea, where it came from, they did not understand. On the beach, which is the most central right at the entrance, this was not noticed, but there are a lot of people there. The beach itself is composed of small, well-rolled pebbles, further from the coast turning into sand. Sunset in the sea is just wonderful - all the same small pebbles without large stones. The sea in Castropol is very clean, frolicking dolphins were constantly observed not far from the coast. Only to appreciate the charm of swimming in such a clean sea and did not happen - the water rose from 9 degrees right up to 17 on the day of departure. This is where the pool comes in handy. But what was my disappointment when I saw that the water temperature in it was only 21 degrees! For me personally, this water temperature is uncomfortable. At a not very high air temperature, it seemed icy, and it also had a strong smell of bleach (I did not hear such a smell in the pools of other boarding houses, apparently this is due to the cleaning system). It turned out that the water in the pool is heated only in May and September!! ! It would have been indicated in the information on their website. Interestingly, there were no sun loungers around the pool. As the administrator said, they all broke down. Couldn't they have been changed before the start of the season? Speaking of the beach, another apartment for the rich has been built right above the beach - the Neptune Center recreational complex, and these are two multi-storey buildings. So, what will be the workload of the beach of the village during their settlement, one can only guess.
4. The territory of the hotel.

She just doesn't exist. Of course, the land on the South Coast is expensive. The entire territory is limited to parking, just above which is a small playground. I knew about it. All hope was on the surrounding area and the TOK "Zhukovka" park, but it turned out that there was simply nowhere to walk. Most of the village - private buildings behind fences, many new buildings in full swing and above - an impenetrable forest. There was a small, completely neglected part of the TOK Zhukovka park, which was a 10-minute walk east of the hotel. Apparently, once, in Soviet times, it was a piece of paradise, but now - some destroyed buildings, piles of construction debris and complete desolation. Despite this, the air was just fabulous there and the views are amazing. But... just with us, a fence was installed at the entrance and they had to put up guards. The locals said that Akhmetov bought everything - maybe not true. In general, and here is a complete bummer.
5. Entertainment. Tours.
There are several ordinary, unremarkable cafes on the shore, we did not see visitors there and did not go ourselves. In general, this is a calm village and young people will be sooo bored there. At night, the village is not illuminated and the territory of the hotel too, so those who like walking by the sea in the moonlight need to take a flashlight. Of the excursions on the beach, only sea ones were offered - on a boat sailing from Simeiz, with a walk every other day either to the Swallow's Nest or to Cape Aya. We swam to Cape Aya. The cost of a two-hour swim (actually less) - 130 UAH. from a person. The views of the western coast of Crimea are undoubtedly beautiful, but it is not worth that kind of money. There are no more offers with excursions there. If you are without a car and want to get somewhere, you will need to go up a steep serpentine for about 3 kilometers to a stop on the highway, because. There is no transport connection to the village. I was surprised that even in the boarding house "Kastropol" only individual excursions are organized. We went by car to the park at the Foros sanatorium and to Balaklava, where we visited a fish restaurant, and then we chartered a small boat with a trip to Cape Aya. These were the brightest and most pleasant moments of our entire holiday. Of course, I wanted to see more, especially since there is something to see in Crimea, and there were interesting plans, but you can’t travel much with a small child.
6. Conclusion.

The village of Kastropol is a rather specific place, and the Leopol Hotel is undoubtedly one of the best options for accommodation in this village. This hotel has many fans, but it did not live up to our expectations. At the same time, for the same money, we could have a rest in Yalta-Intourist with breakfast included for two, with heated water in the pool up to 28 degrees, with Massandra Park located nearby; or in the hotel "Rubicon" in Gaspra with breakfast included in the restaurant "At Teschi", with a park and a swimming pool of the sanatorium "Ukraine", which was still working in June - these are proven places that meet our needs, not to mention the mass of other private hotels, similar to "Leopol" with an unheated pool and without territory, but at a lower cost. In general, there were options, but it turned out how it happened.
I described it in such detail because there are so few good, useful reviews, and after all, any little thing can make a difference in order for the rest to be wonderful and not to be sorry for the time and money spent. Therefore, I hope my review will help you make the right choice - in favor of this place or not. I would recommend this hotel for those who only care about a good room, a free beach nearby, silence and clear sea, lovers of snorkeling will be especially interested - there are wild beaches with many stones and a rich underwater world. As always, the choice is yours!