Hotel Information: Royal Park Hotel 
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Agoda Royal Park Hotel booking form: check rates and book online
| Location | Elenite |
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| Description | Location: The four-star Hotel Royal Park is situated in Elenite Holiday Village - the only Bulgarian sea resort that is fully south-oriented, thus providing plenty of sunshine to its guests. The gently sloping hills nearby keep the air fresh even in hottest summer days. Hotel Royal Park combine unique architecture, impressive luxury and elegance. Highly qualified personnel is looking after the guests around-the-clock to guarantee them an unforgettable days and pleasant surprises.
The hotel operates on "all inclusive" basis. Accommodation: Hotel Royal Park offers to its valuable guests: 114 suites in different configurations, 318 double rooms (additional bed available), 64 communicated suites. All rooms have telephone, SAT TV, mini bar, bathroom with bathtub and hairdryer, air conditioning, fire alarm, in-room safe. Most of the rooms are sea-view, the rest are park-view. |
| Facilities | Point the mouse over an image to see the meaning.
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| Address | Elinite Holiday Village |
| Prices and Online Reservation | Check rates and book Royal Park Hotel (Elenite) online at Agoda or Booking.com |
| Visitor Comments |
69 Bruntsfield Place
Edinburgh, UK EH10 4HH
0131 229 1393
http://www.thebruntsfield.co.uk
if this is not enough bad review, i can go on.
when it rained, the water found its way into our room through the door and made a big wet circle on the carpet.
awful noise. i couldn't sleep till 2 am in some nights. they drag around the steel chairs on the lobby terraces right under the rooms. terrible noise.
the furniture is in bad shape, the upholstery is dirty and stained.
there are not enough seats in the restaurant. we always had to wait or fight to get a chair/table.
same story with the pool chairs/umbrellas. always a problem to get one. plus half of the umbrellas cant be opened, or they are ripped.
the staff at the front desk are rude and they practically avoid talking to you. they act like they don't see you.
there is no parking belonging to the hotel. there is a free area that is used as a parking, outside the hotel's yard, where the security guys run their business, charging you with 10 euro to let you park there.
the food sucks. and there's always a fight when they bring some better stuff, like melon or croissants.
the beach is very small and crowded.
the only thing we liked was the aqua park.
actually, the hotel itself and the walking and entertainment areas are very well made, but the administration and the staff are ruining everything.
i would not go back there, even if they paid me to go.
If you see a young couple arguing thats me and my partner!! Come say hello!!! :D:D:D
See yous there!!
K xxx
I promised myself that I would write my own review on my return to portray my honest view. Whilst I would have liked to tick excellent in all the boxes (as First Choice said on numerous occasions if your rating was 66% or above!), there were some aspects that prevented me from doing so.
To help you form your own view, I thought that it may be helpful to break down my report into the good aspects, bad aspects and things that you should be aware of.
What was good?
Hotel location :– Situated in a remote location , a stones throw from the beach. Complex made up of 3 hotels and lots of villas in the hillside. Grass and flowers were lush and watered every morning.
Hotel cleanliness:- Constantly cleaned morning, noon and night. Yes, tiled floors were mopped and wet at times, but warning signs were put up and you just had to be a little careful.
Hotel rooms :- Clean and spacious, bathroom and shower was good. Our party had 3 rooms in a row on the 6th floor, all with fantastic sea views. Some rooms were obviously situated at the back of the hotel but still had some views of the gardens and water park. There did appear to be a few badly situated rooms but you would be unlucky to get these.
Room maids :- Although our maid did not speak any English we got by with sign language. She was lovely and looked after us during our stay. No problem with towels. We tipped her 2 Levs a day and she was over the moon. Even had photos taken with her before we left.
Pool :- Yes it was cold but the sun was also very hot and it was refreshing once you were in. Water was clean and treated every day. TIP the pool is quite deep throughout so you need to keep an eye on children who are not strong swimmers or take armbands.
Beach/Sea :- Right next to the pool was white sand and the black sea, which was much warmer than the pool. Sea was quite shallow for the first few days of our stay but after a rough day from then on got quite deep fairly quickly.
Kids Club Reps :- Worked very hard from 10am right through until 11pm most days. Clubs run 6 days a week at various times and with different activities. Mostly in an air conditioned room but were occasionally taken outside. Proper procedures were carried out with children signed in and out.
Entertainers :- If you are one for poolside games, there was always something to do for adults and kids from 11am until 4pm from dancing to quizzes to skittles etc. Then it was the evening entertainment from 8pm starting with 45 mins for the kids, bingo, then usually a show at 10pm put on by the entertainers (quite professional).
What was bad?
Restaurant :- Although the restaurant area was constantly swept and cleaned there was still tables that were left dirty (some of the blame however can be put on the holidaymakers who surely do not leave that kind of mess at home!) and the table cloths and chair covers were badly stained. Long handled dustpans were used to sweep the floors and handled dustpans to sweep the tables, which is contradictory to some previous comments stating that short handled dustpans were being used for the floors and tables. The smell in the corridor leading to the restaurant was awful, like a combination of bleach and fat.
Food :- The hot food was very unappetising and badly presented in large metal trays. Similar food most lunchtimes and nights which is to be expected on all-inclusive, but if you don’t fancy it the first time, then you are in trouble for the rest of the holiday. Meat was always some kind of stewed pork or chicken and veal was popular. Fish was served with the head and tail and there tended to be more bone than fish and it was difficult to separate. There were chips served everyday and usually some form of nugget, always labelled as chicken but sometimes contained a form of sausage (hence the pink colour). Pizza served on random nights and being popular was difficult to get, as it was not frequently replenished. Rice and long pasta was served on most nights but was overcooked and salads and rolls were abundant. You had to be patient for the deserts to be served but this was due to people being greedy, as many would take large quantities before their main meal, only to leave it uneaten on their table. At breakfast, croissants often had unusual fillings and few were plain.
Hot drinks :- The coffee machines were constantly broken and any coffee served in the urns was almost undrinkable. Therefore when you queued for a coffee, you never knew what you were going to end up with. Also hot drinks ended when the bar closed at 12.30am and you could not get another until 7.30 the next morning, not what I would call ‘all inclusive’.
Illness :- Although the food was not good, I can quite safely say that it was cooked properly and there were no problems with food poisoning. But 8 out of 10 of our party did get sick over the course of the holiday. My theory was that the virus that had struck the hotel 3 weeks previous had not been completely eradicated and was still being passed around which you can sort of expect when there are guests arriving and leaving almost daily. In saying this, any illnesses did not last more than 48 hours and did not mean you were driven to your bed.
What to be aware of
Wasps :- From sunrise to sunset there were plagues of wasps which was a nuisance. You could not leave any food or drink exposed as you quickly had at least 4 buzzing around you. I was unfortunate to get stung on the tongue (you have to be very careful when you are eating outside) and my daughter and father were also stung. But you really have to feel for the poor poolside barmen. The wasps by the soft drinks machine were horrendous and they apparently got stung at least 5 times a day. TIP drink and eat quickly when outside. Interesting also to note that the restaurant was not plagued by wasps, only the odd 1 or 2 from time to time.
Sunbeds :- If you need a bed (especially with a parasol), then it is an early start with your towel. We found that you had to be down at 6.30am to get a decent spot on the beach (adjacent to the main pool) and 7am for the poolside (high season, so may be quieter off peak).
Water Park :- Adjacent to the hotel with free entry. There is however a 5 Lev charge for each sunbed and parasol.
Mini Golf :- Quite a good crazy golf course, there is a charge of 12 Levs per person per hour which is not to bad however be prepared for the 30 Lev deposit per person. I know that the deposit is refundable but it made me chuckle that it initially cost £35 for a round of crazy golf for myself and my son!
Local Bus :- There is a bus service which starts and terminates at the hotel and runs to neighbouring Sunny Beach and Nessebar once an hour. It is 3 Levs to Sunny Beach The journey to Sunny Beach takes around half and hour however it is on a very bad road and the bus seemed to be always overcrowded and very very hot. On the night that we ventured to town for a good meal, we found that we could not get on the bus on our return and ended up taking a taxi which is around 25 Levs.
All-inclusive facilities :- On your arrival, you are not told about the full all-inclusive facilities that are available. We found that we were almost 10 days into our holiday before we knew exactly where all the facilities were either coming across them by chance or being told by other guests. TIP use your first day to explore the whole complex instead of heading to the pool or beach, this will prepare you for the rest of your holiday.
A La Carte Restaurants :- There were 2 other all-inclusive restaurants to dine in however you do need to book in advance from 10am on the morning that you wish to dine. Note however that you need to be in the queue 1½-2 hours before to stand any chance of getting booked in (this was high season however so maybe not as bad off peak).
Daytime Snacks :- Choice of hot dog, panini, kebab or pizza. Do be aware however that you have to time it right. Time it wrong and you will be waiting for 20-30 mins for your food.
Power Cuts :- Does happen very occasionally and only once during our 2 week stay. The power was however back on within 10-15 minutes. You were unfortunate if you happened to be in the lift.
Lifts :- Sometimes had a mind of their own and skipped floors. Also very busy at breakfast and around 5pm when guests were leaving the beach and pool. Better to use the stairs at these times.
Overall I would rate the holiday as ‘good’ but no more than that. I hope that the bad points will improve as there are many positives for the hotel. For anyone leaving for the Royal Park soon, I hope that you have a great time and that my review has been helpful.
very cheap and i recommend it to anyone
alos this is done by a child x
In general it was way cheaper than going to France, Spain or Portugal. The Bulgarians are not great with Tourists and could do with adding a bit more charm and smile a bit more but that is not a complaint. The Hotel is to big and has too many guests in the building but on saying that you might have to do a bit of queuing if you hit meals at the wrong time I said before going on holiday that if the hotel was not as bad as the reviews I read I would write in my own review that is why I wrote this go there if you have kids they will love the water park and it does not cost a arm and a leg. Enjoy
My 2 girls 14 and 11 thought it was great, Wifey and I think it has become a bit too large now, we went 3 years ago and it was not as busy or expensive. Lot more hotels added to the complex seem to make it too large to handle for the management. Shame really.
By the way, does anyone know the name of the song the Animation team get all the kids up sing and dance to after the kids disco? Thanks
My theory with the pool is because e-coli naturally occurs in the gut and if kiddies get holiday tummy then without being thoroughly washed down get into the pool this may be a problem ?
We will be staying beachside again this year...going Friday
stillv cant believe people think this is acceptable must lead very sad lives x
i am not going to repeat my self over and over again about how we all were just look back andyou will read for yourselves,
sam what is your problem?
first you make out im a liar then you apologise and now youve started again this is not a site to be personal its about the hotel. please dont tell me my kids were not ill or that im after a holiday for next year you need to grow up sam what i am after is for f.c to accept that it was their fault that myholiday was ruined because of bad management NOT THE COUNTRY OR THE HOTEL as i have said before this would be a lovely hotel if certain things were put into place SIMPLE THINGS.
if you want to contact me then please do via facebook.
there are more people complaining and suing first choice than there is saying that the food is lovely this country is now in the E.U so it should have HIGH standards and first choice should make sure that it is.
that is what we pay them for its thier job.
they are responsable they vet these such places.
can i please just make a point about being ill, when you have a bug it does not last 6 wks on/off you have a viral for 3 days at the most could youseriously say that you have had a bug for all this time on/off here no i dont think so. f.c are saying its a viral to cover thier selves if they have had all tests back and they are clear why are they still transfereing people?
also if it was a virus (which it was not) it is also thier job to contain all the people that were ill and trust me enough people were ill and telling f.c reps (who didnt listen) we should of all been put on 1 floor and been treated accordinly. which they clearly failed to do SAM did you not see all the pepole ill of were you too busy eating raw chicken did you not see the people in the med centre, my husband was the only member who was bedridden as if you were watching my family that much you would of seen him missing and u would of seen the ammount of bloody times i was in the toilets with my kids.
ADAM
hi there thanks mate your comment is much appreciated, i could of started to believe i imagined my kids being ill if i listened to sam for much longer.
we werent the only families out there who were ill.
let me know how you get on with the case.x
to all those going out there, i know you should not have to worry about food etc when you pay for all inc but just be carefull and dont touch thewater. only eat fresh food that you see come out of the kitchen.
nade xxxx
Counting the days now!!!
I'm not sure i believe what was said about a hose filling the water containers. We used to see water delivered daily in a big lorry and the empties were peirced from the water dispenser but never with the top removed.
It is such a shame as this is a lovely hotel in a lovery location.
I contacted First Choice this morning and they have told me that they are only offering free transfers if your holiday is leaving up until the end of August. I go in September but think I will be fighting to get the hotel changed. I am so disappointed as even with the bad reviews I was still looking forward to seeing for myself. But with all these revelations and such like I dont think its worth risking my health for.
Thanks
I contacted First Choice this morning and they have told me that they are only offering free transfers if your holiday is leaving up until the end of August. I go in September but think I will be fighting to get the hotel changed. I am so disappointed as even with the bad reviews I was still looking forward to seeing for myself. But with all these revelations and such like I dont think its worth risking my health for.
Thanks
Adam & Family
Adam & Family
I am worried and am trying to keep an open mind, but can't ....I just need to know, if you think this bug that everyone is having is down to the "food" or general hygenine - and how do you think I could prevent it...waiting in anticipation. You can also contact me at julia.davies@rathbones.com.....please get back to me.....thank you..
This message also applies to previous visitors....how can I prevent me and my children from being struck down with this bug.....
I'm going in sept as well and first choice are not moving people at all and this worries me as there is a 16 month old baby in my party
Recomended this hotel to friends and booked for my family of 6 for the 5th of september this year.
on returning from their holiday our friends told us horror stories and advised us to ring fc and change our holiday.within 3 days of them telling us this it was in all the news.
when we rang fc several times we were told that they were not using the hotel until 1st september and that as we were flying out 5 days later they would not change us without fees.very worries is there anyone else flying sept and having the same probs.
i have tried to email you all the documents but it keeps coming back to me, i think the email was written down wrong or i cant read LOL, email me on adamwinchcombe@hotmail.com or contact me thru facebook.
Best Regards
Adam
FOOD:Is nearly all the same everyday,husband lived on mash,or chips,dinosaurs and bread.Kids lived on pasta,chips,pizza or cheese ham rolls.It was always nearly cold/stone cold.At breakfast if i wasnt early found dirty cups only available.I came home 4lbs lighter,hubby 8lbs lighter!
ENTERTAINMENT: Great if yr kids are young 3-7 prob.Nothing for older ones 11,13,13, except bowling,games room,golf which you have to pay for.Any main shows you have to pay for YES pay to watch entertainment.Never done that before on any holidays i have been on.Around 28 lev ad/13lev ch,work that out if a large family around £35 for us,alot if u do that a few times.We went to animation hall a few times the 2nd week,yes managed to leave our room on occasions!You have to start queing bout 7pm to be able to get a seat.Then you will have to sit through childrens disco,s for diffrent nations for two hours.The bulgarian team FANTASTIC shows well worth watching.FC reps shows embarrasing.
ROOMS: LOvely,cleaned everday,cant thank the maids enough.Was worried bout towels and was counting them everyday,but had no probs!
POOL:Had to put towels out 5.30 AM to be able to get sunbeds,people around the pool by 7am.Two occasions people witnessed our towels stolen by hotel workers.Run out of plastic cups at pool bar so couldnt serve drinks! LISTEN TO THIS!Had to get a cleaner as my son was sick next to sunbed,she came with mop and water cleaned itup we thanked her and apoligised,she then went round cleaning where people were bathing WITH the same mop and water my son was sick in!!
HOTEL:IT was lovely,always clean,tidy lovely decor,very impressed lovely views from reception.Now a bad point..Why the hell did they start putting new frames and doors on every public toilet.There was none to use except for your ones in your rooms,like me i needed to go as i had a cramp,panicked as the toilets were out of order and had no choice but to run up the four flights of stairs to our room.If this happened to an elderly or some one with young children i feel for you.It shouldnt of been renovated when the hotel is full of holidaymakers!
POWERCUTS: We had 2 while we were there,1st one day we got there in the day. Couldnt have drinks except for drinks pored out of bottles,and had a cold buffett for lunch.2nd one was thursday evening of 2nd week,we were in shops,friends daughter 16 had gone to room as needed the loo,other kids were in games room.All went off,very dark,very scared,lots of kids were crying.People using lighters and mobile phone light to see around.As parents panicked as it was so dangerous,heard people stuck in lift,We all found each eventually,had no choice but to go to rooms as nothing to do.Was giving a candle which staff were cutting into 2,very dangerous in yr room, too scared to go to sleep.No emergency lighting anywhere even on stairs had to feel yr way around.A big hotel like this with no emergency generator??? Power cut went on all nite.I know power cuts cant be helped but...they should have an emergency plan being a hotel with kids and elderly and wheelchair users.
TRIPS: Didnt do any as we and especially the kids to scared to venture incase sick or the runs came.You have to pay for toilets off the complex.We just didnt have the energy in us to venture out.
BEACH: Lovely,very private,clear water,waves do get big and there is a bit of a dip so be careful if you have little ones.Watch for jellyfish.
LIFEGUARDS:Around the pool.he was always on his mobile phone.ON the beach we saw the guards sat behind there box laying away from the beach reading newspapers! The banana boat went out too far and i had heard he went out with 7 and came back with 5.Didnt no he was missing 2.
AQUAPARK:Kids loved it,would spend all day there if didnt have to pay for beds/umbrellas/food drink.Its only a few minutes walk back to the hotel though so not to much of a prob.BE careful on slides as a few quite fast.Someone told us to watch kids going down slides as lifeguard trips boys up or tries to pull girls bikinis!My husband was stood behind our son and witnessed the guard trying to force him down the flume!
THIS IS WHAT SHOCKED ME!!Me and my friend where in the irish bar around 7pm,we were ordering drinks and at the end of the bar we witnessed a bar member cutting up white poder and putting it in lines! Me and my friend didnt say a thing and ushered the kids away straight away,We were in total shock and said to each other "It couldnt of been".While waiting for our coach to pick us up at 1.15am to take us to the airport to come home,my son wanted the loo,hubby said he will take him as it was really busy around the toilet/entrance/bar area.Hubby and son came back, hubby said"guess what i just saw,2 staff in orange flowered tops come out of the same toilet cubicle,sniffing and had white stuff around their nose! All three of our adult party had witnessed this now!
I have put my letter of complaint into FC Southampton.And we found that they have stopped using this hotel due to all the complaints.We looked in the brochure for nxt year and saw that the percentage rating for the food had dropped dramatically to around 27%.
I had been reading the results for this hotel many months before we went and was worried but we went with an open mind and tried to ignore negative remarks,but hopefully after reading this you will understand why i have put in my complaint and have left this feedback,I will reply if anyone has any comments or questions, x
Just back from Yavor palace, had a brilliant time! food is shockingly bad in evenings, would describe as prison food
Clubhotel Riu Evrika.Hotel was good, food very poor in as much as it was mostly served luke warm.
Hotel Meridian. Food very poor,cold and repetative, We weren't impressed that the restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel, the food was definitley not worth the 15 minute wait for the lift
Iberostar Sunny Beach Resort. THE FOOD IS LUKEWARM AND HALF RAW MY HUSBAND SUFFERED FOOD POISONING THE FIRST WEEK AS THE PORK WAS STILL BLOOD RED IN THE CENTRE.I GOT CHICKEN ONE DAY THAT WAS STILL RAW IN THE MIDDLE.
The rooms were bit and clean.There was a big selection of food for brekkie and lunch and evenings meal.This varied everyday.Went with a friend of mine and unluckily enough he did get food poisioning and was vommiting for a few days and had to see the doctor there.Now i basically ate the same as he did but you could be unlucky and fall sick.What i did notice is down where they give out the pizza they also gave out buns with meat in them,well i was queing one day for one and saw a fly walk all over the buns while the attendant was not there.Not sure whether this was what gave my friend the virus but certainly wouldn't help.
But overall the hotel was fine the beach was lovely and the water was fine.
Rooms are clean and spacious.Food was good never went hungry.Someone mentioned something about the mafia well didn't see any dodgy gezzers around but go about your buisness as normal and no one will bother you.Basically if you avoid the food issue which should not be happening you will enjoy this relaxing place.No cash machines at the hotel when we were there so bring some cash or you will have to go to sunny beach to a ATM.This was a nice hotel.
If you did see such thing then maybe you should confirm to other people in order to make sure not to take any kids with them when they go to this Hotel again and instead go as Adults only, an over 18 Hotel :)
Give us more details cause this is a scandal for such Hotel ??
This is a scandal in my opinion , Mamma mia !!
I am so pleased that you had a good time (I mean that). My friends fly back today (25.07) and have been VERY ill - all on drips etc. and have been desperate to fly home from their holiday early.
Maybe you didn't see anyone ill as they were in a medical centre or shut in their rooms!
take a tourch or candles us we had 2 power cuts 1 on the ist day and 1 in the night kids enjoyed it lol. my only moan is the lifts you wait ages for them nightmare if you have a pram. the moan is the entertainment the kids disco was here there and everywhere and was not long enough and the annimation hall was always full so get there early to get a seat and some shows you will have to pay for.
The Hotel was spotless cleaners work 24/7 keeping it clean.
You have to ring them direct and be prepared to be on the phone for a couple of hours being passed from person to person, but they will do it for you if you persevere!!
WHY IS IS ALSO NOT AVAILABLE NEXT YEAR DUE TO "HEALTH & SAFETY REASONS" - THIS IS A COMMENT BY FIRST CHOICE!!!!!!
Got another message from them yesterday saying that they are desperate to come home - I feel so sorry for them as they had been really looking forward to their holiday :-(
the solicitors number is 0870 1500 100 ext 5034 his name is daviv summer, he is a very nice man who spent nearly an hour on the phone to me today telling me that as well as the other 140 (aparently liars who r going over the top) that we have a very good case against f.c.
MARY
hi there i am dissapointed to here that you enjoyed haveing the runs for a week, you prob got that from the lovely salad, great choice to eat sandwiches,hotdogs,ice cream, chips,bread rolls and cakes. what a great choice first choice give you on an all innclusive.
MAY I ALSO ADD THAT EVEN PEOPLE WITH GOOD REVIEWS (WHICH IS NOT TOO MANY) SAY THE FOOD IS OF POOR QUALITY not what you expect when you pay just under 4 grand. i am finding it very hard to understand people that are getting ill from the food and poor hygiene and excepting this. this worries me.
FED UP
hi, i have said to others that i was hoping that because of all the bad press that they would of pulled their fingers out thier backside and stopped this happening, but from reading lisa marias comment it doesnt look like it, i have spoken to many people and they have been given an alternative hotel so my advice to you would be keep being consistant, you have to ask WHY are they transfering people not a sign of addmittance that their is a prob out there would it be? go out with an open mind coz some have been ok.
take extra money and snack food and if you do unfortunatley have problems then take as many pics as you can, and complain to the f.c reps who are in reception between 4-6 we ahd to wait from 20-40 mins to speak tpo them because of all the people complaing i have never seen anything like it. i really hope u can change but if not i hope it has changed and you have a lovely hol xx
LISA MARIE
hi hope you contacted linus or past message on to your friends i hope they are all ok well feeling better.well at last we have some sort of explaination as to what we are all suffering, DYSENTRY is from poor food/hygiene, which we all kept saying.
SAM
I AM NOT TRYING TO SCARE ANYBODY AS YOU KNOW I HAVE BEEN BACK 10 NOW LET ME JUST EXPLAIN MY EXAGERATION MY 3 TEENAGERS HAD THE RUNS BY DAY 3 WHICH ALSO CAME WITH SEVERE STOMACHE CRAMPS, THEN MY 7 YR OLD HAD IT FOR 8 DAYS YES THATS RIGHT 8 BLOODY DAYS OF MY SON POOING HIMSELF THEN I HAD IT FOR 7 DAYS, MY HUSBAND WAS THEN IN BED FOR 2 DAYS, THEN MY 3 YEAR OLD SON HAD IT ON OUR LAST DAY AS DID MY 4 YR OLD WE WERE AT THE AIRPORT CLEANING UP POO EVERYWHERE, AND WE HAD GIVEN OUR LAST NAPPY TO ANOTHER FAMILY WHOS 6 YR OLD SON HAD IT (VERY EMBARRESING THAT A 6 YR OLD HAD TO B PUT IN A NAPPY) ON OUR RETURN HOME WE HAD TO TAKE OUR SON(3) TO OUR LOCAL HOS HE CONTINUED TO HAVE THE RUNS UNTILL YESTURDAY SO THAT 10 WHOLE DAYS OF SERVERE SHITS I HAD TO TAKE HIM BACK TO OUR G.P WHO TOLD ME THAT IT IS NOT A BLOODY TUMMY BUG BUT IS A BACTERIAL ILLNESS AND SHE WAS WORRIED THAT HE WAS DEHDRATING AS IT HAD BEEN GOING ON TO LONG HE HAS LOST LOADS OF WEIGHT AND HE STILL DOES NOT HAVE HIS STRENGHT BACK NOW HE MISSED ALL HIS LAST WEEK AT NURSERY, MY 4 YR OLD STOPPED AT THE WEEKEND, SO HE HAD IT FOR 7 DAYS, 2 DAYS AGO MY HUSBAND STARTED AGAIN AND WENT TO DOCS LAST NIGHT TO HAVE THE TESTS DONE, TODAY I GOT THE RUNS AND SERVERE CRAMPS AND 2 HOURS AGO MY 7 YR OLD STARTED AGAIN, SO PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS IS A TUMMY BUG YOU DONT GET A TUMMY BUG TWICE AND BEING ADVISED BY A DOCTOR AND MY SOLICITOR THAT IT WOULD COME BACK AND IT WILL KLAST WEEKS I THINK THEIR OPINION IS MORE VALID THAN YOURS DONT TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE NO EXPERTISE IN.
FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS ALL I HAVE DEALT WITH IS POO EVEN ON A HOILDAY WE SAVED AND WORKED HARD FOR.
I DO NOT EXPECT OR MY CHILDREN TO GET THIS ILL BECAUSE OF POOR STANDARDS THAT F.C SEEM TO THINK IS 4 STAR.,
ASK YOURSELF WHY F.C HAVE STOPPED SENDING SOME PEOPLE OUT TO THIS HOTEL, AND WHY YOU CAN NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL OH I GUESS THEY HAVE DONE THAT ON 134 WHO HAVE OVER EXAGERRATING I DONT THINK SO DO YOU.
I SPOKE TO MY SOL TODAY WHO AS I SAID BEFORE WE ALL HAVE A GOOD CASE WE HAVE PROOF THAT WE WERE ILL
FOR GODS SAKE THE SUN NEWSPAPER CAME OUT THERE AND WAS APPAULLED BY WHAT WAS GOING ON .
im not a fussy person i am just a working class mum but this hotel was below standard and as most are saying the food was a serious problem .
hopefully this problem has been dealt with as with many other problems coz im am 100% sure that if this hotel dealt with these issues then it could be a nice holiday .
if you are going out to this hotel go with an open mind just like i did, go down this page and i wrote on here just before i went out so u can see the attitude i had (just b4 27th june).
at first this was not about getting my money back it was a princible matter, but now rest assured i do want my money back coz i do not pay 3,700 to see all my family ill. i do not want to spend hours on the phone and writing letters as well as being in the toilet with my kids, all we wanted was a well deserved holiday.
I suppose the way to look at it is that being as the hotel & first choice are aware of the problems, then things SHOULD be being monitored very closely and you shouldn't get the large number of people getting food poisoning etc.
Have a good holiday & try & make the most of it :-)
We were due to stay at the royal park hotel this friday 25/07, but First Choice changed it for us last thursday free of charge. We are now going to be staying at the Iberostar hotel in sunny beach, its half board, not all inclusive, but a gold choice rated hotel. We are getting a refund of £24. Same flights as our previous booking. We received new tickets on saturday.
We were not prepared to take no for an answer on the phone, we were quite demanding, but without being rude..... got cut off on the phone loads of times whilst on hold with them, but persevered and kept ringing back. I guess we were lucky....
I hate to think what my phone bill will be like though!!!!
I find it strange that they have pulled the hotel for next year yet they are still making people who are booked for this year go and say there is nothing wrong with the hotel.
Were seeking legal advice at the moment and waiting on a reply from the soliitor.
Wb
Adam
Press Release
19th July 2006
BULGARIAN HOLIDAY MISERY STRIKES AGAIN
Personal injury solicitor Andrew Morton from Manchester law firm Pannone LLP says reports of more holiday misery are coming in from two hotels, the Royal Bay and Royal Park in Elenite, Bulgaria, both of which featured in the news last year for similar complaints from holidaymakers.
Said Andrew Morton who heads Pannone’s Travel Litigation Department, “The same problems are reoccurring, with complaints coming in of food poisoning, questionable hygiene standards, filthy rooms and rude staff. We handled over thirty cases last year from these hotels and it looks like lessons have not been learnt. Anyone who has been to these hotels and suffered illness or had to endure second rate facilities and service should contact a solicitor immediately. Photographic or video evidence is especially useful to support claims.”
A totally unexpected and thoroughly unwelcome addition to a catalogue of holiday disasters at the hotels was reported recently when children saw a porn movie being filmed on a balcony in the Royal Park. The Crawford family from Londonderry, Northern Ireland said the filmshoot featuring nude models simulating sex took place in full view of guests. Said Mr Crawford, “This holiday was sold to me on the basis that it was a family break. But if I had known in advance that this was to happen I would have requested a shift of hotels.”
ENDS
Deborah Ascott-Jones, Director of Marketing
Pannone LLP
123 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BU
Direct Line 0161 909 4321
Mobile 07879 891011
e-mail deborah.ascott-jones@pannone.co.uk
Website www.pannone.com
Rob Ainscough, PR Manager
Pannone LLP
123 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BU
Direct Line 0161 909 6422
Mobile 07831 776236
e-mail rob.ainscough@pannone.co.uk
Website www.pannone.com
Inquiries have been received detailing that over 20 families have suffered from gastric illness after staying at the Royal Park Hotel in Bulgaria in June/July this year. Guests have reported that chicken was pink in the middle, undercooked food, dirty conditions in the hotel restaurant and hotel rooms. Guests also reported that staff were unhelpful and failed to do anything to help guests, especially with poorly children.
Irwin Mitchell have previously acted against First Choice Holidays for over 80 holidays makers who travelled to this hotel in the summers of 2004 and 2005 and also contracted gastric illness which was later confirmed as Salmonella Food Poisoning in some cases. Liability was admitted by First Choice and the majority of Claims have been settled.
Irwin Mitchell urge anyone who has been affected by illness at this hotel to come forward and contact us.
I also have the number for the duty supervisor 01293 512068, although the woman I got wasn't particularly helpful!!!
Good luck & don't give up!!
When you search for the Royal Park hotel on the First Choice website it is unavailable for any of next years dates.
Whilst on the phone to First Choice I mentioned it, as it had been available for next year when looking a couple of weeks before (we were looking at the price increases) and the woman said that they are not accepting any more bookings for that hotel for next year at the moment! She didn't know if that would change.
can you pleaswe contact me via facebook nadine orpwood i have some important info to tell you which i cant say on this site, who am i i am just another tourist but i am in contact with some good contacts thats all i can say my e-mail address is on there, or if u r a fb member leave me a message and i will reply a.s.a.p thank you it is important that you contact me
thank you.
ps i am the the mother of the family who was on gmtv on fri morning.
ADAM
hi are you the same adam who i was speaking to before we went out, we both went out with open minds.
sorry to here the same things happened to you to you need to write a letter to f.c with all your complaints also contact irwin mitchell they are solicitors who have sued f.c before re this hotel, and on all times have accepted liability (why have they not learnt). you can find them on the web e-mail them or ring them you will get a call within 24 hours really good.
photocopy everything only send copies to fc.
first choice are guilty for the 3rd year running.
I have just come back from this hotel and there is a problem here, please can you tell me where you got this information regarding next years problem as we are writing a letter to first choice and seeking legal action?
pleae advise me asap
Thanks
Adam
There really are genuine problems out there, this hotel has been in national newspapers and on news channels in the past week - it isn't scare mongering it's genuine. My friends are stuck out there at the moment and they are very ill (kids too).
First choice changing your booking for you free of charge is them admitting to the problems - they have also pulled the hotel from next years brochure!!
My friends are out there at the moment, all 4 of them with food poisoning and have been on drips. They have taken loads of photos, so that they can take legal action when they get back home.
Shall I tell them to get in contact with Nadine? - who is she?
the more the better,
hope they are feeling better soon we all know howthey are feeling and it does not stop there it continues back home soon our g.p told us that it can go on for weeks.
have a good holiday xx
could you get in contact with your friends and ask them to take photos coz first choice have made a statment claiming that there have been no reports of illness in the last 24 hours (on friday) so yet again the are pushing this problem under the carpet.
may i just add also that my solicitor has said first choice will blame a viral infection as they have done in the past, may i also add that my g.p has told me that my sons have NOT got a viral but they have a bacterial infection and we are still awaiting results a viral last 4 days at the absoultly most and with a bacterial it can last weeks on and off for weeks hence ive got them back so at the moment 4 of my family still have the runs now tell me thats a viral, also the medical centre on site will say its a viral try to get to sunny beach to the medical center as they have said to many families that it is the food in the hotel as they have had many people from that hotel and advised not to eat any salad, meat or dairy products of water from the hotel which leaves you with chips and pasta.
zo
hi there
im sorry to here that you couldnt change your holiday, it may have changed since we have been there. i did not see any towel scam or did here anyone saying that this had happened to them so hopefully ths has stopped we did not use any of our towels and give the maids a good tip and be polite to them as we did to prevent this happening. however people that had booked a late checkout were being told that they had not so if you have booked a late checkout make sure you take all documents with you.
take more money with you just in case the food has not been changed i'm sure with all the bad press that they must of sorted it out, i have read that they have sacked the chef, since we have left, but to be on the safe side take more money as there is a lovely res just outside the complex called packos where we found all brits and f.c reps as u go out the complex turn left and then theres a rd that forks right it is just down on the right hand side, they are very friendly and fairly cheap.
there are lots of nice places to eat in sunny beach and nessebar. s.b is 25 levs and n is 40 levs.
if you need to know any thing else i will answer you as trueful as i can.
i did make a comment about the bbq which was it was pink so i took it away from my kids why would i put a bloody towel over it.
you right about money back toooo bloody right i am still watching my kids being ill for christ sake i have just had to put sudocream on both there areas coz they are so bloody sore.
so the nearest toilets from the pool are the ones at reception very handy when all the kids have the runs and you got a pushchair to go up 2 flights of stairs when you des need the toilet very clever idea, oh and not to mention you have to wait 20 mins for a lift.
the wristbands my elder teenagers went to the nightclub which as you know is a 5 min walk away they all easily got alcoholic drinks and so did a 12 yr old boy from another london family we meet.
as i have said before my 7 yr old went to th reception to get his little brother a drink of coke and we all asked him to get us a drink (jokingly) including his dad when our son returned (we watched him from our balcony which was opp reception) he returned with a plastic cup of beer, we dont know he asked for a beer prob coz thats what dad was drinking the night before.
rightly so here are my positive points
1, the weather was beautiful we had a storm which was a nice relief .
2, the waterpark the kids all enjoyed this (but they did have some burn marks and you do have to pay 5 levs for each bed and to have the umbrella up which is stated in the broucher)
3, kids club my kids loved it there too (but youhave to pay every other day on one session when it clearly states free in the brocher)
4, the beach was lovely too
sorry thats it oh and being out of that hotel pakos sunny beach and nessubar.
THANKS TONY AND CLARE AND ANOTHER SAM FOR YOUR SUPPORT ITS A SHAME THAT PEOPLE WILL PUT UP WITH THIS SORT OF STANDARD THATS PROB WHY THEY KEEP SENDING PEOPLE OUT THERE AS YOU CAN SEE FROM LISA MARIE IT IS STILL BLOODY HAPPENING OUT THERE .
LISA MARIE IM GLAD YOU MANAGED TO GET ANOTHER HOTEL WELL DONE FOR BEING SO PERSISTENT I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY AS ITS NOT THE COUNTRY JUST THIS HOTEL XXXX
I have just had an alarming call from my friends that are staying out there at the moment - all of them are on drips with food poisoning!!
It took 3 hours on the phone to first choice to organize the transfer to a different hotel but definately worth it!!!!
i do remember you, hope all is ok thanks for agreeing with me have you spoke to irwin mitchell i did mention you to them, i didnt even take your name so im glad you got in touch. if you can go to facebook and find me and you will see my e-mail address and then send me yr details.
have you spoke to the press re that incident speak soon
nadine orpwood
x
They now cannot find me any accomodation that can sleep 5 unless i consider splitting the family into 2 rooms which are not joining or i pay £883 difference in the only hotel they have found which is not what i have budgeted for. I am due to go in 34 and first choice will give me no guarentees on this hotel apart from saying that it is still under investigation. However they did confrim there had been a situation with customers being charged for towels and overcharged on phonebills which has now been resolved. They also confirmed that they had recieved complaints regarding the food and a new restaurant manager had been appointed 10 days ago. They also confirmed that some countries do cook there chicken pink (Where)and finally that due to the hotel accomodating over 5000 people, mostly british then the first choice reps had experienced problems dealing with complaints.
In summary i have not even gone yet and my confidence in the hotel and first choice have been shot. Oh and i did request that first choice send me an email with there statement to say that they are still recommending this hotel as 4 star family friendly, which they said was not a problem and they were happy to do. this is what i recieved:
Please be advised per our telephone call please go to GMTV website for the official First Choice declaration which you can download.
Interested in hearing any problems that others are experiencing swapping there holiday.
glad you had a good holiday.
i would just like to correct you on a few points that you quoted me saying, firstly my son who wet the bed is 4 and i have never said the maids put the sheets back on, he wet the bed and i placed all wet sheets etc in bath and the maid put his quilt ( not sheets) on my balconey to dry, expecting us to reuse them. i never said anything about my sheets NOT being changed daily coz they were and my maids were lovely prob coz we gave them 40 levs to keep them happy. as advised by many.
i never said i put towels on the plate i stood for 2 mornings to get a sitting for the bbq and when my family sat down to eat the food was pink and i took all the food away from my kids as i am not prepard to let my kids eat pink meat, they don't eat pink meat in this country so why should they here, i also asked the area manager to eat with me and my family in the restarant and he declined.he told be this is how the bulgarians cook there meat which is rubbish as we went to many restaurants in sunny beach, neesabar and packos and none of their meat was pink. i am fully aware this is a up and coming country but first choice should check the standards of these such things before sending out and tourist. this is the 3rd year that this hotel has beed sued so why are they not learning. did you see any reps eating the food one of the reps told me that she wouldnt eat there so why do they expect us she told m to go to pakos coz that where they ate and when we went there 4 times we see the reps there eating i only see 1 in the restarant eating chips i wondr why?
also the chicken i see that you returned they same day as us so did you not see the line of people waitng to speak to the reps, or the man from wales who was walking around with his mobile phone asking people what colour the chicken was and was there blood in the pic, i am in contact with this family and they still have the pic, also did you see the area manager sign the complaints form stating that there was blooding underneath the chicken.
as for your children eating hot dogs and pizza oh and ice cream every day well all i can say to that is we paid A.I why should my kids eat pizza and hotdog for 2 weeks my kids desevre more that that (they did eat more that like pasta and chips coz thats all id let them eat from the hotel).if you think that you work hard all year pay good money to let your kids eat pizza and hotdogs for 2 weeks well i don't think that is going over the top as i'm sure there are many others will agree with me.
i am assuming sam that you didn't see the staff using dustpan and brush to sweep food back into food trays of them putting hot food on top of food that had gone cold, also you wasnt there when we had the 7 1/2 hour power cut where 2 people broke bones or see the family stuck in the lift. did you use the toilets by the RESTAURANT or smell them.
there was poo in the babies pool and when i spoke to the life guard he said dont worry, do you still think i'm over the top?
i spoke to many families and to be honest there were a lot of families worse than us.
all of our family had the squirts as you put it i would disagree we were in pain and watching your kids suffer is not just squirts. my husband was in bed not well and i had taken my 3 younger boys to the beach i lost count how many times my 7 yr old had to go to the toilet and i had to gather all our stuff and kids every time i had to go to the toilet.
since our return my 2 little ones still have the squirts so much so that i took my youngest to hospitial and they have both seen my g.p who is still not happy with the fact that they still have servere runs more test are being taken on both of them they both have missed their last week at school which i could be fined for, and i am up 3-4 times a night whilst they go to the toilet i have gone through 17 loo rolls in less than a week, and neither children are eating properly (may i also add that the families i am in contact with are in the same boat as me their kids and spouses have still not retuned to work/school).
our solicitor asked me to appear on gmtv to appeal to others to contact them regarding the same prob to stop first choice sending more brits out to this hotel may i also add that they accepted liability on all 3 occasion.
this is NOT about compensation at all we all work hard all year we do not expect this from our family holiday we have travelled to many places and never ever have me or any of my family been ill.
please look on IRWIN MITCHELL website and you will see the reports .
i guess over 100 families are making this up also please look on watchdog and tripadvisor go back a few years and see for yourselves how long this has been going on.
NOW PLEASE TELL ME I AM OVER THE TOP AND THAT YOU WOULD BE TOTALLY SATISFIED WITH A HOLIDAY LIKE THIS.
Royal Park was on TV this morning, a family were saying they as well as most of the other guests on their recent holiday were all ill. Seems this is the 3rd year running that this problem has arisen.
They have just changed me to a different hotel!
see address below
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/health/britons+blame+hotel+for+sickness/2340602
reply to the prevoius comment, why would you eat pink meat i assume when u cook a roast back home it consists of pink meat.
maybe you got lucky with your holiday we should not of had to pay for any entertainment we went to the wild west show where the men stripped half naked and the women came out with corsets on all dancing quiet sexily (pelvic thrusting) in my opioion very borderline of being raunchy just what my kids need to see. then the advertising after for the strip show this is a family holiday since when do strippers become part of that regardless if you have to pay for it or not. if i was on a hen w/end of with the girls then thats fine but not with my family.
as for knowing where my kids where this was 11am when my son 7 went to refill his little brothers juice bottle up that my husband asked him to get a drink and he asked the reception bar for a beer which they gave him we was in our room (which was on the 4th floor opp the entrance of rec) and we was watching him.
this is totally UNACCEPTABLE.
we spoke to the reps many times about the food the ara manager came down and i asked him to come and eat with me which he declined. the reps also eat at pacos i was told by one of them that they would not eat in the res and on our visit we saw them in pacos ecverytime. if it was not good enough for the reps then why do they expect us to eat there and more importantly my kids.
i could be here all night telling stories i.e 1 family returned from an eveing out thier kids went to there room to find 2 male members having sex they even used the ashtrays, when the family demanded there room to be cleaned they were told to wait till the morning for thr cleaners to come in.
another family arrvied the same day as us the hotel had been over booked and they were placed in the old staff quarters they had 2 kids and when they went into the toilet there were maggots in there, it took the hotel 2 days to move this lovly family, also the same family when the 7 hour powercut happened the 70 yr old mum fell on abroken tile and broke her arm.another family we were with were all ill the husband was in bed for 4 days and i am still in contact with them and he is really ill still as is there 6 yr old son.
i have got better things to do with my time than to fill out forms being constantly on the phone, but we have got to stop this happenning to other families
How sad to read that you didnt enjoy your holiday, we got back on the 8th July and was very sad to leave. we worked very hard all year for our family holiday and was prepared to enjoy it at all costs. we went with an open mind and a wicked sense of humour and had a ball.
I will agree that some of the food was not cooked thoroughly most of it was, we just cut everything in half before we ate it. I feel that because this restaurant was all inclusive no one ever complained to the chef, they just went back and got something else, so what they dont know thay cant fix. we didnt have any problems with our children getting drunk because we knew where they was and what they was up to at all times. we saw the waiter cleaning up with the brush and pan but did see him put them in the bin and I also saw waiters putting fresh food on top of food that was already there but didnt think this was a problem because trays were emptied within a matter of minutes anyway. I thought the water coolers were filled up with tap water because the labels on the front looked to be old but then I saw a wagon delivering them and they all looked like that. we met up with other familys and they were 13 adults and 11 children and no one had tummy complaints. Pakos i thought was a rip off, the food was no better than the hotel, the prices were dear I thought for Bulgaria and the flys were a problem, we only went there once. The kids academy - well where do I start - they took your kids off (aged 3 to 16) from 10am till 12pm 2pm till 4pm 5pm till 7pm then 9pm to 11 pm, I had to beg my kids to spend an hour in the pool with me sometimes cos they were having so much fun. in addition to this they were an entertainments team and an animation team who put on entertainment all day even getting in the pool with the familys inbetween sessions. the "strip show" was ticket only and was held later on in the night, was a family take on the chippendales, we did'nt go to this because it wasnt appropriate for the ages of our children, instead we got with friends in the bar area. The food did finish at 9.30pm but it had been going since 7.30am so we had plenty of chance to fill up. we had an excellent holiday and are trying to book to go back next year but unfortunatly first choice seem to have taken this hotel off there web site. If you have already booked please dont worry, go with an open mind and if you are expecting english beer and english food please go to Benidorm.
i really dont know where to start, firstly we went very opened minded, we were a party of 8 me my husband, and our 6 kids aged 3,4,7,13,14,15.
i will just point out the main issues at the moment we are waiting for test results from our local hospitial re our 3 yr old food poisioning out of the 8 of us 7 had the runs and tummy cramps, the runs lasted from 3 days to 9 days, my huband was in bed for 2 days. at the airport the baby started with the runs. he is in isolation until results come back in the morning.
food is uncooked, the staff put hot food on top of food that has been sitting there for 30 min-1 hr, a dustpan and brush was used many times to sweep food back into food trays, water is refilled by hosepipes.
our 7 yr oldson was served a pint of beer as was our 3 eldest kids, our 14 yr old was drunk on vodka at the nightclub as was many young kids.
the nighttime entertainment was stripers. i was so disgusted with this hotel that i contacted the sun newspaper who came out and took pics from many families all of which were ill on drips or had collapsed. many many families in the same situation as us i still cant believe that 1st choice are still sending people out there, we are as many others are suing first choice and the hotel and today this hotel is in the sun newspaper page 20.
if you have had any probs the solictor is irwin mitchell just type in at google and it will come up.
we paid 3,700 for this and 5 of my kids are ill.
pakos is nice we ate there on day 9 after being so hungry we had to get food from somewhere, when you get there you will see the reps there coz they wont eat in the hotel either,
if you can cancel please try to cancel.
oh and the food all finishes at 9.30 pm and dont restart untill 8am .
if you have any ? please feel free i will get back to you.
i have got a 20 page long of complaints which is being sent to 1st choice,
All the best
stay at the Royal Park Hotel. Everyone at First Choice is very proud of the level of service we offer to our customers. Therefore, I do hope you will accept our sincere apologies for the way you were treated by the staff at the hotel and the quality of food that was provided at the resort.
With this in mind, I have arranged for a holiday voucher for £70 to be sent to your home address. We have taken a fair view on this payment. I believe this amount reflects not only your own issues but the amounts offered to other customers who have reported similar problems with this particular hotel.
Again of sincerest apologies for the poor level of service you endured whilst at the Hotel Park Hotel.
thanks again..
If anyone has got some info of places to see or go to eat can you let us know, thanks
for all those goin away soon good luck!!
We have been to Bulgaria before, to a different resort and loved it out there.
Did you come across anyone getting hurt on the water slides next door to the hotel?
:-)
Lucky uou adam i working tomorrow last 1 see you all sat come on
The staff are rude, the food is repetive and uncooked, we got food poisoning after the first few days. There isnt alot of activities in the evening for children to do, unless you want to pay 20Lev each. The waterpark is dangerous, and a few children really hurt themselves on the sides. I had two of my personal towel stolen from my room, the air conditioning doesnt work. The reception staff and resturant manager are extermely rude and unhelpful. Ice cream is only avaliable at meal times unless you go to the shopping centre which is a 5-7 minute walk away from the hotel. Ice cream is not avaliable at the bars. The alcohol is so watered down that it takes 30 pints to feel tipsy (not that i drank it)
But as you have probably already booked this holiday are leaving shortly here are some tips:
1. DONT TAKE ANY OF THEIR TOWELS OUT OF THE ROOM OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE CHARGED 30LEV EACH, EVEN IF YOU BRING THEM BACK
2. AVOID ALL CHICKEN(MOST MEAT ACTUALLY) AND EGGS AS THEY TEND TO BE UNCOOKED
3. BRING PLENTY OF MONEY WITH YOU, AS YOU WILL SOON TIRE OF THE FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT LOCALLY.
4. KEEP ALL JEWLERY HIDDEN AND DONT LEAVE ANYTHING ON DISPLAY IN YOUR ROOMS.
5. DONT LET TOWELS DRY ON THE BALCONY OVERNIGHT, YOU WILL NOT SEE THEM AGAIN.
6.DONT LOSE YOUR KEY OR ARM BANDS AS YOU WILL GET CHARGED 30LEV EACH FOR NEW ONES, IF YOU DO LOSE THEM GO TO THE FIRST CHOICE REPS AND ASK THEM TO FIND SOME. I GAVE MINE TO THEM BEFORE WE LEFT.
7. LASTLY DONT BUY ANY GAMES FROM THE GAMES SHOP UNDER THE HOTEL, WE BOUGHT 3 AND THEY ALL ARE CORRUPTED, YOU CAN PLAY THE GAME AND SAVE IT, BUT WHEN TURNING IT ON AGAIN IT WOULD HAVE DELETED YOUR SAVE FILE. THE SHOP KEEPER DONT GIVE YOUR MONEY BACK WITHOUT A FIGHT.
Some things to do:
1.Enjoy the beach, it is lovely and clean.
2.Book the lazy day cruise, it is definately worth it.
3. Swimming pool water is freezing but nice when the weather is hot, and it is always clean.
4.Have some change for the bellboy, and he demands a tip when you first arrive.
5. My son is 10 and made alot of new friends with wavelength so that is worth a try, they get you to sign them in and out for security.
I hope this helps just a little, i know this hotel isnt the best but not alot you can do since you have already booked it, so make the best of it and enjoy what you can. We did have some good days away from the hotel and my son did love the swimmimg pool, he spent most of his time in it.
Well all the best
c ya friday
To everyone who is going on to this holiday in the near future DONT take in any of the bad reviews, I think it is best to juge things for yourself, a holiday is what you make of it, i hope you all have fun because i go in a week and my family and I cant wait, were going to have a great time in the sun.
Happy Holidays
Adam 22 from Kent
Jo,
we are on the same flight and its going to be a long day on friday lol, oh well thats what holidays are about long days loads of booze lol. see you there
if not we will b by the bar in our chelsea shirts well 3 of us, 3 are man u, 1 spurs and very sadly 1 leeds united fan, ( i am trying to lave his shirt at home) lol
see u soon have a safe trip
nade
xxx
gail an jo we are going for 2 weeks so we will see you out there,
we recieved a call today from first choice (2 days before depart)to tell us our flights have changed. we where meant to take off 5pm its now 10.25 pm.
we depart at 4.45am and arrive at gatwick at 6.20am.
i spoke to fc today and they said that they recieved an e-mail from hotel today stating that the situation regarding the TOWEL SCAM is under control, she also claimed that not one member of the public has made a formal complant about this hotel, and she has had plenty of people ringing up with their concerns and worries and she assured me that all was ok at the royal park, i did mention quiet politety that if me or any of my family witness or become a part of this scam i will be goin to national press upon my return, so if they dont want the bad press then stop sending people out there if it as bad as the reviews claim. she once again assured me that all was ok.
i was adviced to take pics on camera an camcorder if i had any probs.
so as i said before we are all going out with an open mind and to enjoy ourselves.
to all that are out there the same time as us we will see you there.
p.s our flight number is still the same.
nade
xxxx
Adam
Thanks for all the info on fags and the towel thing.
c ya soon
We think it worked out to about £5 each for a return trip to Nessebar(kids too). We got on it at the Sunny Beach pier, but have been told that it also goes from the pier outside the Royal Park hotel. The kids love it (me too!!) and its much better than the crowded buses.
***By the way - beware of pick pockets everywhere***
booze? cant find that must be no limit lol
see you all on the 5th of july here's a link for the weather its HOT oh yes (hope the pool is cold lol)
http://english.wunderground.com/global/stations/15655.html
Take care and thanks again
Have a good Holiday :-)
Thank you for your email.
Your comments are greatly appreciated. First Choice is aware of the towel
scam and is monitoring this closely with the hotel. This will now not
affect any of our customers.
Our customers give us regular feedback on all of the holidays we sell and
we feature them in our brochures and websites.
If you wish to look at the feedback from other First Choice customers, this
can be found when you conduct a search on the Internet and select the
customer feedback option located under the property photographs.
We are aware of several websites that allow the general public to leave
their comments about holidays they have taken or view information on
holidays they are interested in booking. These websites are not checked or
monitored and anyone can add their comments, regardless of whether the
information is honest or accurate.
We monitor all of the properties we sell and we also receive customer
feedback from questionnaires that are handed out on our flights.
I hope that this information has answered any questions you have raised and
if you require any further help, please do not hesitate to contact us on
Clerical@firstchoice.co.uk
we can't wait to go and we will make the most of it and will have a great time.
Have a great hol - don't forget to post us your comments when you return
Don't let it worry you - Just check your towels daily!!! :-)
First choice said that they were aware of the recent 'towel scam' problems but assured me that it no longer happens.
Counting down the days lol.
Thank you for your email.
Your comments are greatly appreciated. First Choice is aware of the towel
scam and is monitoring this closely with the hotel. This will now not
affect any of our customers.
hope this helps there is 15 of us going on the 4th july and can't wait. 9 days to go lol.
Whats the food like?
Does anyone know what allowance youre alowed for alcohol & Cigaretes?
is there anything to do away from the resort like markets,Clubs & Bars
please advise
Adam W
Well im flying from gatwick in a few weeks and i know that im going to enjoy this holiday like i have the past 2 holidays.Also, its really romantic to walk along the beach at night and there is massiveson entertainment for all ages i promise.
Thank you
if anyone would like reply back to this
your welcome too.
xx
we are a family of 8, my husband alan myself nade, and our 6 kids, 2 girls 15 an 14. 4 boys 13,7,4 and 3.
we are all packed ready to go or so i thought i have been reading some reviews and im going shopping tomorrow to buy, torches, imodiumm,more towels, pot noodles.
looking forward to my diet and walking the stairs so will be fitness holiday. ha ha.
we will be turnng our girls into boys for 2 wks. we will also be taking loads of cash for tipping to keep them happy lol.
i have embassy number ready.
we will be making the most of this holiday as we work hard all year.
our minds will be well and truely open.
hopefully we will ave a good time.
is there anybody else going out at the same time
The waterpark - are adult allowed on the rides?
Is there any internet access? Wireless or payable?
Any good steak resturants? any in St Vlas?
Is ice cream available in the Royal Park hotel - where?
Are there any benefits to taking £'s or euros rather than Levs?
What type of booze do they have? anything decent and what kind variety is included? Should we take our own bottle or would it be cheaper to buy a bottle there?
Thanks
The gates of the Royal Park was always manned by security. As everybody was staying on an all inclusive basis there was no need to have money with you while on the beach or at the pool.
Staff were mostly quiet but polite and if you gave a small tip for their help it was really appreciated. Remember this is still a very poor country, independent only since 1990.
My observation was that a small minority of guests were rude, loud and demanding. Sometimes it is not wise to believe all you read from the reviews.
My only gripe was the food. While there was plenty of it and it was well presented, the chicken, pork and beef was of very poor quality and very undercooked. It was full of bits of skin, griste and bits of bone. The fish defies description. Surely it would not cost that much more to get reasonable quality meats. As it was there was so much waste because people could not eat what they got and had to keep going up for something different.
The fruits and salads available were excellent.
We hired a car so were able to move around a bit. Driving is not for the faint hearted though as the road surfaces are diabolical and drivers there overtake regardless of the consequences.
While I will not be booking to go back next year, I would not rule it out in the future. I enjoyed my stay 90% of the time. I had a far worse holiday last year in Mallorca and they have had alot more practice at being good hosts than the Bulgarians.
My advice would be, Go with an open mind, a smile on your face and a few lev for tips and it should be fine.
If you want it to be the same as at home, then maybe you should just stay at home. Life is full of chances, but few are really the end of the world.
If in doubt eat out!
My 14 yr old daughter was gropd by a waiter my son was ill for a whole week from the under cooked pink pork.
Hell hole a scam a place you need to never visit and go filth
and that what there normally is every night no change i would not go here again and im thinking of comming home 1 week early its that bad my wife already has been ill so its your choice its what u make it
In the hotel they were changing it for £1=2.24 lev, however if you go into sunny beach, at the top of the main stretch by go-go girls there is a taxi rank, if you walk past that (Going away from the main stretch) there is a green bank, in there they were offering £1=2.43 lev. I managed to get £1=2.50 lev from a bloke on the royal park complex ;-) not sure if he will do it for everyone though!
It's just about common sense!
There's also a waterpark at Nessebar, well it's not actually nessebar it's just outside, you should see it on your way to the hotel from the airport so keep your eye's open!!! (Never been to that one!)
After reading BigWaynes (thanks for that - it has put my mind at rest) comments we will go with an open mind and a good sense of humour and hope to see you all there and perhaps there will be safety in numbers lol.
1. Yes there is a towel scam, but as long as you make sure you have the correct amount of towels in your room every day you don't need to worry, if your short go down to reception and tell them. This came about because staff were finding towels left round the pool and on the beach, so if the cleaner forgot to put them in your room they will try and get money from it!
2.The food, ok so it wasn't world class, but we found there was something decent every night, there was always pasta, veg etc. Some of the meat dishes were a bit dodgey but anything we brought back to the table we checked before we ate and we had little to complain about, the english have only just started holidaying here hardcore in the last 12 months, up until then the bulgarians have catered only for themselves and scandinavian countries so that's why the food isn't up to a lot of peoples tastes.
3. Coldness of the pool, but as they are such a poor country I don't think they fit heated pools, they constantly pump cold water in but once your in there you get used to it.
4. Our pick up from the hotel coming home was rubbish, our coach hadn't come and the rep didn't know where it was, people who were leaving on later flights were going to the airport on half empty coaches.
They are really my only complaints, as for the inflatables thing, they are allowed in but only up one end of the pool, possibly incase any little kids fall in the pool from the baby pool and the life guards can't see them, plus the pool is a bit deeper up the end where they are allowed.
The Positives....
1.The entertainment team are great, they do a great deal with very lttle and are evr so friendly and helpful, Steff, Andy and Kelly, Jamie and Leanne were really good.
2. The waterpark is great, you pay 5 lev for a sunbed all day which you can leave your towel on and keep going in and out, the kids who we were with enjoyed it.
3. The setting. You will struggle to find a more beautiful hotel in such a great location, nice and private with the hills behind and the beach outside the hotel.
All in all it's really not as bad as some people make it sound.
If anyone has anymore questions about it ask and i'll leave feedback about each and every question, i'm not any kind of rep or anything I just wanna leave the honest truth coz I read all this before I went.
Also your only about 10 mins away from sunny beach, so if you hate it that much there's plenty there to do, can even recommend a restaurant or two!
BigWayne81
Pacos the only place outside the hotel ok food cheap enuf but no where to go.
We walked on the only road out of the hotel 1 n a half hours later we found a little shop in a run down place.
The towel scam is true like it or not it happens think your hard enuf to take em on try it they send the russians in n they will give u hell n lock up the gates remember the rep's no wat is going on but are to scared to say anythink.
The hotel is stunning to look at the beach is fab n the sea is like a mill pond.
When we was there a 17 yr old boy got beat up badly by a bulgarian who had no all inc band on a 14 yr old girl was in tears as a member of staff was trying a little to hard groping her at night by the club.
I am telling you and you have to trust me this place is bad news a intimidating place a place that caters for a hell of a lot of ppl who where burberry caps to one side and i have neva seen so many fights on a holiday.
Read this and choose to ignore go and take a hard mate a not so attractive daughter and a shed load of money n you will have the time of your life
still looking forward to it. The holiday is what you make and as long as the kids enjoy how cares.
still looking forward to it. The holiday is what you make and as long as the kids enjoy how cares.
The food, needed heating up in the turntable-less microwave, before it was edible, (presuming you could find cutlery), you have to pay for the Mini Golf, at 10 LV per person per hour, with 20 LV deposit, the problem is there are a number of water hazards, which contain the blackest water known to man, so you can easily spend an age trying to find your ball if it goes in, for fear of losing your deposit; Pool tables are 3 LV, internet access is 3LV 1/2hr or 6LV/hr
There is a Beach Bar, where you have to pay for the drinks, I never saw any people in it for more than 5 minutes.
If your kids want ice-cream out of meal times, they can only get it the bar beyond the "animation hall", if they want pizza, it's at the opposite end of the structure (which doesn't serve spirits, only beer).
We had two rented towels go missing from our bedroom, along with a white towel we had taken with us, I abused a First Choice rep until she managed to get the hired ones returned to us, but it was something I overheard happen to a number of people, with one lady with her two kids on the last day being accosted for 180 LV for towels she claimed she hadn't had at all.. (the towels are 20LV deposit - a nice little earner if they're not returned).
Other than Pacos mentioned, there is nothing in the vicinity outside of the complex, if you're interested in eating out (and for the love of god you want to after visiting the 'restaurant'), without getting a taxi (conveniently also owned by the same group who own the hotel) to either Sunny Beach (25 LV) or Nessebar (40 LV).
The reps are great at entertaining the kids, but woefully useless at solving the problems the hotel suffers, and when pressed, one said, we've been told to keep out of it by our bosses.
The water park next door is almost finished, they were just putting the finishing touches to a wave slide when we were leaving, but the 5 LV charge for hiring a sun bed, and the charge for the drinks is taking the piss (it is also part of the Elenite holiday village).
The 24H medical centre is seemingly on the take from SunnyMed in Sunny beach, arranging an ambulance to collect you for the most minor of injuries to take you the 6KM trip to the medical centre, for holiday insurance claims - funny looking bloke, looks like Dr Nick Riviera from the Simpsons.
Where possible, do not buy ANYTHING in the hotel complex, 11-15 LV for plastic football, 18 LV for inflatables rings/lilos - which incidentally, you can't use in the pools, and aren't safe enough to use in the sea, the knock-off D&G, etc clothing they sell in the market area on the basement level floor is much more expensive than the multitude of market stalls in Sunny Beach.
The weather was nice 90% of the holiday, and the hotel is physically 4*, but service was 2*.
Evening entertainment was kids disco at 8pm and bingo at 9pm in the Animation Hall, which gets VERY smoky as the night wears on, and the steps up to the bar are all tiled, and get slippy quickly as people spill their drinks up and down it.
Curiously the Irish themed, more adult orientated Morris Bar in the basement area again doesn't allow smoking, so people congregate outside it, whereas the kids / family Animation Hall becomes thick of cigarette smoke.. As a non-smoker the Morris Bar was a godsend.
My only genuinely, really enjoyable part of the holiday was having a mud massage and Turkish bath in the spa, which for my wife and I, including a facial for the missus worked out at around 350 LV.
Avoid this hotel like the plague.
The food was fab, loads of choice but as always lost of ppl complained there wasn't enough choice or variation. We never had to queue more than a few mins and that was in August so very busy time. Lots of ppl have said that they had to queue for drinks and snacks but again the queues were never more than 5 or 6 ppl.
We found that by booking trips in the town of sunny beach were much much cheaper but we only did a couple as we were all unwell.
The bus to sunny beach runs regularly an stops at the hotel ands its very cheap.
I didnt go to Pacco's but I heard people say it's good too.
Claire - I brought a small paddling pool for my 17 month daughter, filled it with water from the poolside shower, let it heat up a bit and put her in with some toys. She loved it!!! It saved her from going into the cold pool.
Sam - I didnt hear of any food poisoning while I was there. The food must have been alright for everyone as there was always a queue. :0]
I wish I was going back on Monday!!
Linda- Elenite is just a big resort on the beach. all you have is the facilities and little shops, no bicycles. You might be able to hire them in sunny beach which is 15 mins in a car away though.
Evening entertainment for kids is great, teenagers might get a bit bored, then again when are they not bored!! :o). Although the new bowling alley will be a hit with them. All children can go to any of the bars.
Oh yes - it was nippy at night when we went - you might need a cardi!!
As I said before I will be booking this place for next year for my family, my parents have invited themselves too!!
Leebo
I give my overall experience there an 8 out of 10.
Sorry for the long review, but i wish i had read something like this before i went.
Don't get my review wrong, I had a very enjoyable visit to this hotel, i'm just pointing out a few things that i wish i would have known before i arrived, that way i could have been better prepared to make the most of the amenities and facilites.
Some things to note:
Read the noticeboard at the first choice side and near reception. You will find details on your pick up times and what and where to get the free snacks. The jacket potato/savoury place does not exist yet.
Try to get 5 levs before you get to the hotel as when you arrive your bags are collected by very peristent bell boys who want to carry your bags from the bus to reception, wait till you check in and bring bags to your room. Its not that far to carry it yourself. They don't take no for an answer unless your prepared for them. When we got to the room it was quite obvious he wanted remunerated, all i had was 20's and 50's, so i gave him a 20, which is not far off a days pay for him. Felt like a right mug. Best 5 minute job he ever done.
However do give a tip to your room maid when your leaving. They work so hard to keep the place clean and do an excellent job. You tend to have the same person every day.
Plenty of hotdogs, kebabs, pizza's, icecream, biscuits, panni's, sandwiches and crosants to eat most of the day.
No food after 8.30pm so if you feel hungry and expect the kids to go hungry soon, then either have your dinner late, say about 8:00 or buy food from the shop across from the hotel entrance or from the shop in the hotel shopping centre.
They smoke everywhere in this hotel, except main restaurant, that goes for both guests and shopping centre owners. There are no laws regarding smoking indoors. Didn't bother me too much, just thought i'd point it out.
Water park is great, drinks, crisps and icecream are very overpriced. A sign at the entrance says no food or drinks allowed in from outside, thats cause they want to empty your wallet.
Poor English spoken/No english spoken by majority of staff, including reception staff which was extremely irrating. You really must speak to them like you are talking to a 5 year old to get your message across.
No baby changing facilities. Just make do with the toilets or find a quiet spot!
Bar staff are great! Very friendly and remember you when you give a tip in the tip glass. Comes in handy when you want your next drink and want a little favouritism from the queue.
Pool is ice cold, I tried on several occassions to get used to the temperature but could never get beyond 10 minutes. Although energetic kids seemed not to mind. This was agreed across the board.
Plenty of sun beds to lie on at front of hotel and on beach. They are free to use and the beach is cleaned every evening.
Very clean in general. Cleaning staff are on the go 24 hours. Big Plus point there.
Kids club is great. The staff are excellent. You sign your child in and then sign them out. You only get your child back if your name and signature match their records. Big Star for that.
Don't use the taxi's as they are expensive 50 levs return from snny beach. Get the bus at the front of the hotel gates. Its 3 lev per adult and kids appear to go free, I didn't pay for them anyway.
Your must visit Nessebar. You can get the bus from the hotel to Sunny beach then wait 10 minutes at the same bus stop and pay 2 levs per adult to get to nessebar. Beautiful place, great shopping and gift buying opportunity at fairly good to excellent prices. Great food, especially the Dioni's restaurant. Mimi will usually grab your attention and try to get your business. If you want to shop first then come back then tell her, as we did. We came back and really enjoyed the food and beautiful panaramic view of sunny beach.
Don't be tempted to take the Train bus from nessebar to sunny beach. Its a little bus tram thing that pulls the kids in like a sweet factory. It will only result in tears when kids then have to walk after your short trip. It leaves you off only half way. From there you have to walk or somehow find the bus stop. Get the bus and do the journey in the reverse order, leave from nessebar from where you go off. I learn't the hard way.
Bus time table is in reception.
There is only one English speaking TV channel and thats the news. The rest is german and bulgarian. TV's have the 3 phono plugs connections at the side so if you have a portable dvd player or IPod video, bring your AV leads.
Evening entertainment is mainly for kids in the animation hall. Which is ok as I had two kids with me. Two free bars in the animation hall. Free bar in the icecream parlour. Free bar at the pizza and kebab stand. Free bar at the pool, free bar in the lounge and in the downstairs restaurant.
The lifts have a mind of their own, trust me you'll find that out, patience is a virtu as they say.
Its true about the towels. For god sake, count them everday and make sure you put them in the bath if used. That way the cleaners know what to replace. You should always have the same amount of towels everyday. DO NOT take anything belonging to your room out with you like towels or sheets. Its not till you check out that you are informed that on (for example)day 4 of your holiday a towel was missing and now you must pay. If you don't pay, its true that security guards are aggressive and you will not get out of the hotel till paid. I witnessed this twice at reception, was not nice.
If you take stuff belonging to the room and then return it, it is still seen as stealing by them. The cleaners notify reception everyday of missing items. We watched an arguement where a woman had brought sheets and towels from the room and returned them but got charged 150 levs fine! Seriously, do not take anything belonging to your room out during the day and don't even think of taking something from the room as a souvener, they will know.
The bowling alley was only just opened last week. It costs 10 levs per person per game and last about 30 minutes for 3 people. thats about 14-15 quid in total. Its brand new with 8 lanes. I enjoyed that.
There is a Night club that over 18's will enjoy.
Plenty of food and deserts to keep you full. Good choice for meat eaters, vegetarians etc. Some people complained of getting bored with it, but you do have access to other restaurants to prevent you from feeling this way. Note you must book your reservation before 10:30 am at your resturant of choice (except the main hotel restuarant on the ground floor, just walk in.) You can't just turn up and expect a seat at the other places.
Never got the chance to visit pacco's, but i heard good reports.
The excursion trips are very expensive, we went to varna and visited the dolphin show which was very good, but only 30 minutes long, rest of day you can shop then travel back again to hotel. 2 hours to get there then two hours back. Cost 216 lev for two adults and one child. CHILDREN UNDER TWO ARE FREE ON ALL TRIPS. If your child is 2 then say he/she is just under two. (Nice tip there!)
When you are leaving you must be out of your room at 12:00 noon. If you are collected by bus at 10pm or later the thats a long day for you. We paid the extra 150 lev to have the room till 6pm. Our bus came for us at 10pm. We actually didn't even stay in the room as it allowed us to spend the whole day at the water park then come back for a shower and a quick rest. So we really paid for what we could squeeze out of the holiday and not for the room.
Sorry for the essay but atleast you have a good foundation knowledge.
I had a great time and i'm sure you will too, just remember your holiday is also how you make it, so try to stay out of your room as much as you can and get out and about the hotel and sunnybeach.
The 2 pools that are with this hotel are okay but both were freezing. The area around the pool was usually full even though the hotel was only at one third full occupancy, i would imagine that in august its a complete nightmare.
The food is not brill. The buffet restaurant was always busy and i dread to think what its like in the summer, i was usually able to find something to eat but it gets a bit repetitive after a few days, its regularly stone cold and quite often the chicken was not cooked.
there are 3 other restaurants that you can use, the first is Talyana which is a BBQ style restaurant and was not bad, again watch for the raw chicken, the second is a Bulgarian style restaurant called Sozzapol (not sure of the spelling), we did not eat here but heard good reports about the food, the last one is in the 5 star hotel next door, its called Sunshine and is only open from 10pm till 11pm (great idea that) this one has waiters and you get to choose from a menu. All 3 of these need to be booked in advance, although Sunshine was always empty, probably because of the opening times.
Ther are many snack bars around for hotdogs, kebabs (or as the sign says kepaps), pizza and sandwiches. the only place on the whole site for ice cream is in the back of the coffee shop. the poster in reception says that there is a baked potato stall next to reception but no one could find that. another thing i find strange is that there is nowhere to get food after 9:30.
we found ourselves going accross the road to Pacos Bar, dont be put off by the fact it looks like it was built by robinson cruso, its a great place and opens from 4pm till whenever they feel like closing.
The entertainment was awful. the ampitheatre was closed for repair so the only place for entertainment was the animation hall.
my kids will usuall watch any old rubbish but even they complained about it, imagine getting the krankies and the chuckle brothers together, getting them drunk and watching them, well thats the quality of the entertainment.
the kids clubs are good but only take 24 kids so the chances of getting them in is pretty slim, also some of the clubs have to be paid for (6 levs for the chocolate club for example)
The reps (first choice) are a waste of space, they are only there to sell the product (trips) all of which are VERY overpriced.
The trip to Khans Tent is 89 levs per adult and kids are 54 levs, total for our family would be 286 levs, for that you get a coach to the dinner show and a 4 course set meal. if you go to Pacos Bar he will arange a taxi for you to go, entry is free and you can choose from a menu, cost of taxi 60 levs return plus food 28 levs, total of 88 levs, so we saved 198 levs on this trip alone.
all the other trips can be booke else where, we found the best place to be at a travel shop called Condor, its about 100 yards past the sunny beach bus stop, all the trips are much cheaper and are exactly the same including being picked up by coach from the hotel.
the water park is quite good, drinks and food are expensive, and for god sake dont break anything, they wont let you leave till its paid for.
now this is where it gets scary....... THE GREAT ROYAL PARK TOWEL SCAM....... we had heared about a great many people being charged for missing towels when they tryed to check out, so we kept count of ours each day and if they were incorrect we would go to reception and ask for a replacement, after being accused of leaving it on the beach or by the pool we would get another one. when we were checking out 2 familys were being asked for payment for missing towels, one lady, staying with 3 kids was being told she had to pay 155 levs, she had no money left and could not pay and why should she as it was a mistake,
within half an hour 6 big Russian (not Bulgarian) men arrived in reception and were following her around intimidating her. some of the male guests tryed to intervine in this and they became very theatening. the gates to the resort were locked and no one was alowed in or out. she was told that she could not leave the hotel until she had paid, this went on for about 2 hours until we had a whip round and paid it.
while this was going on the reps (Alan and Vlado) did absolutly nothing to help, saying it was not their problem, after a stand up row with some of the guests Alan admitted that this was a known problem and a regular occurance.
quite why first choice still use this hotel if this goes on, and why they dont warn people is beyond me.
when you book out they try and cut your wrist band off, DO NOT let them . if you are on an early in the morning flight it means that you could be sat around for over 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink. you cant even go to Pacos because they wont let you back in without a wrist band.
this hotel is classed as 4 star but is no more than a 2 at best.
im just really glad i didnt go in the summer.
2 years in a row and has no complaints whatsoever she said we will have a ball.Cu all there!
Oh yes, sorry Ben & Richardson-Langs I did look out for you but there were so many people there!!
Leebo
I found the holiday to be like any other all inclusive. A large buffet style selection of foods and plenty of it!! There was your usual chips, spaghetti, pasta, pork, chicken, salads,so dont worry. There were a few extra for the European belly such as gizzards, hearts of (I dont know what :o) and liver - village style???) The desserts were to die for - yum! Food stops being served at 830pm, our body clocks were up the left and we ate at various times. I felt that I had to keep reserves for the kids such as fruit and breads after this time incase they got hungry for supper.
The resort is so big with alot to do so I think that First choice need to get a map and some indication of what is going on and where you can eat and drink for free. Bascially you just had to find out yourself.
My little 17 month old was in her glory - epecially in the animation hall and waterpark (which is free)- she had a ball.
The resort is so clean, I have never experienced cleanliness like it in the UK and that is a fact. They are touchy about their towels and sheets so be very careful with them. Never let them leave your room as you can get fined and account for them everyday. I experienced a few rows over these and their security boys take no chances.
The Hotel is so luxurious - superb, the new bowling alley is gorgeous and the animation hall is fabulous, I would be writing an essay if described everything at the resort which is brilliant.
We visited nessebar - absolutely beautiful, sunny beach and the dolphinarium - superb!! Nessebar is brilliant for your pressies - good deals!! You will be approached by a number of people wanting you to visit their restaurants in Nessebar, however we had a meal in Dionis, the food was cheap and gorgeous, it has a beautiful view of the Royal Park across the water and the toilets were very clean - Mimi is the Manager who pulls in the customers - lovely lady, she promised us if we didnt like our meals it would be free, we cleaned our plates!!
We had a brilliant time, some people had it bad but everyone is different!
I was trying to book this Hotel again for my family next year - I was told that I have to wait until the end of June :) Cant wait!!
It may sound as if I am a First Choice Rep trying to sell this complex but honestly I am not. It wouldnt be my choice of career!
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me!!
Cheers
Leebo!!
the room was spotless and had everything you needed.
the food was stunning and wasnt repeated the second week either. there was so much to choose from there wasnt one day that there was nothing there you wouldnt eat. i have never seen such a good selection. (all warm to not like i read in other reviews)
Staff were great they made so much fuss over our kids, they were so pleasant. i supose if i had to say anything negative it would be about the first choice reps. they were not in the least bit helpful all they wanted to do was sell trips and get their commision. they didnt want to help with anything. however the kids reps were fab. my little boy was obsessed with naughty nicky, he loved her. they were great.aloso the entertainment round the pool was great. there was always a quiz or something to do if you were bored.
snack bar was great, pizza kebabs and hot dogs whenever you want them. if you are going make sure to book for the BBQ we went 4 times in the fortnight there is no limit as long as you book it. its stunning. very chilled out as theres limited numbers who can eat there.
beach fab loads and loads of sunbeds you would never be left without one.
shops underneath hotel are great too. nice and cheap for your clothes. we went to sunny beach a few times and the prices in hotel were cheaper. by july august there will be alot more facilities there as a new shop opened the day we left selling ipods, mp3s and computer games. 2 new bars were due to open and an amphitheatre where they have outdoor shows.
you certainly wont get bored out there.
waterpark well worth going to. slides are great and the drinks are not tooo expensive but you can just pop back to the hotel and get your free beer as its literally seconds walk.
alcohol was free flowing and not watered down. (well the vodka was definately not!!) very large measures which you cant complain about can you?
anyway if you have booked dont panic you will love it. go with an open mind dont read the negative reports. not one of us got sick and usually my husband does when we go abroad.
enjoy it!!!!
The 2 pools that are with this hotel are okay but both were freezing. The area around the pool was usually full even though the hotel was only at one third full occupancy, i would imagine that in august its a complete nightmare.
The food is not brill. The buffet restaurant was always busy and i dread to think what its like in the summer, i was usually able to find something to eat but it gets a bit repetitive after a few days, its regularly stone cold and quite often the chicken was not cooked.
there are 3 other restaurants that you can use, the first is Talyana which is a BBQ style restaurant and was not bad, again watch for the raw chicken, the second is a Bulgarian style restaurant called Sozzapol (not sure of the spelling), we did not eat here but heard good reports about the food, the last one is in the 5 star hotel next door, its called Sunshine and is only open from 10pm till 11pm (great idea that) this one has waiters and you get to choose from a menu. All 3 of these need to be booked in advance, although Sunshine was always empty, probably because of the opening times.
Ther are many snack bars around for hotdogs, kebabs (or as the sign says kepaps), pizza and sandwiches. the only place on the whole site for ice cream is in the back of the coffee shop. the poster in reception says that there is a baked potato stall next to reception but no one could find that. another thing i find strange is that there is nowhere to get food after 9:30.
we found ourselves going accross the road to Pacos Bar, dont be put off by the fact it looks like it was built by robinson cruso, its a great place and opens from 4pm till whenever they feel like closing.
The entertainment was awful. the ampitheatre was closed for repair so the only place for entertainment was the animation hall.
my kids will usuall watch any old rubbish but even they complained about it, imagine getting the krankies and the chuckle brothers together, getting them drunk and watching them, well thats the quality of the entertainment.
the kids clubs are good but only take 24 kids so the chances of getting them in is pretty slim, also some of the clubs have to be paid for (6 levs for the chocolate club for example)
The reps (first choice) are a waste of space, they are only there to sell the product (trips) all of which are VERY overpriced.
The trip to Khans Tent is 89 levs per adult and kids are 54 levs, total for our family would be 286 levs, for that you get a coach to the dinner show and a 4 course set meal. if you go to Pacos Bar he will arange a taxi for you to go, entry is free and you can choose from a menu, cost of taxi 60 levs return plus food 28 levs, total of 88 levs, so we saved 198 levs on this trip alone.
all the other trips can be booke else where, we found the best place to be at a travel shop called Condor, its about 100 yards past the sunny beach bus stop, all the trips are much cheaper and are exactly the same including being picked up by coach from the hotel.
the water park is quite good, drinks and food are expensive, and for god sake dont break anything, they wont let you leave till its paid for.
now this is where it gets scary....... THE GREAT ROYAL PARK TOWEL SCAM....... we had heared about a great many people being charged for missing towels when they tryed to check out, so we kept count of ours each day and if they were incorrect we would go to reception and ask for a replacement, after being accused of leaving it on the beach or by the pool we would get another one. when we were checking out 2 familys were being asked for payment for missing towels, one lady, staying with 3 kids was being told she had to pay 155 levs, she had no money left and could not pay and why should she as it was a mistake,
within half an hour 6 big Russian (not Bulgarian) men arrived in reception and were following her around intimidating her. some of the male guests tryed to intervine in this and they became very theatening. the gates to the resort were locked and no one was alowed in or out. she was told that she could not leave the hotel until she had paid, this went on for about 2 hours until we had a whip round and paid it.
while this was going on the reps (Alan and Vlado) did absolutly nothing to help, saying it was not their problem, after a stand up row with some of the guests Alan admitted that this was a known problem and a regular occurance.
quite why first choice still use this hotel if this goes on, and why they dont warn people is beyond me.
when you book out they try and cut your wrist band off, DO NOT let them . if you are on an early in the morning flight it means that you could be sat around for over 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink. you cant even go to Pacos because they wont let you back in without a wrist band.
this hotel is classed as 4 star but is no more than a 2 at best.
im just really glad i didnt go in the summer.
Anyway, See you all there!
xx
http://www.victoria-group.net/hotelroyalpark/index.html
Hope it helps :-)
Soph x
Soph x
Hope to meet up for drinks with all of ya going 6th June.
Soph and Gra x
The weather is looking fab over there!!
Does anyone fancy getting together for a drink when over there?? it's me and my fiancee dean..x
Weather is lookin like a factor 2 and will be seein ya by the pool !
Myself and my Partner Dean will be flying out to The Royal Park Hotel Bulgaria on the 6th June for 2 weeks, bit nervous after reading some of the reviews though!! Who else is out there around this time..xx
Soph x
Is anyone else going out 6th June? as only me and hubby going (no kids) would be nice to meet up with others for maybe a few drinks, might kill hubby if i have only him to talk to all week!!
Soph x
Leebo
I am a Brummie n Kell is from wales so listen out for the accents lol oh Kell is also about 5 ft 4 lol see ya there !
Leebo
Leebo
water park isnt finished either only 4 slides to go on and they charge for sun loungers drinks in water park are expensive too, we found that the 6th day of our holiday we had to check out our room which left us in the reception area for 14 hours b4 our flight were told there was no rooms available then told if we pay 300 lev= £150 we could have a room for 6 hours stay clear of drink called rakky very dangerous, reps were nowhere to be seen when needed either, i do have good points too hotel is very clean and looks amazing rooms are huge with balcony's looking out to the sea, one more thing a barman called Nasko u need to watch well keep ur daughters away thats all i will say all in all have a good 1 probably better than wat i did...........
I went Bulgaria last year not the Royal Park but a 4 star hotel and of course when i had booked it up i went on all the sites with the reviews people saying never go here stay away the jelly fish eat you and the flys kill and the food is cold and the mafia own the hotlels. I was so worried about going but the hotel was clean the staff was friendly and guess what the flys never killed. I guess my point is for all you people booked up soon to be going DONT Worry like the previous comments the holiday is what you make it all the beer you want a water park on the complex a fab looking beach whilst getting a great tan i dont see what all the fuss is about i CARN'T WAIT see you there.
The notes are fine to use over there eg 10 20 50 lev so hope that helps.
Ben
See you all in a week and a half!
going.(nice to know we are not mad 2!!) When is it you go
Thank you for the quick response much appreciated.
I will save a bit of extra cash in that case and hopefully all be good.
Once again Thank you
Regards
Ben
In other words people who didnt like the food were just far too fussy.
I dont know where anyone got the idea of only being aloud to get 2 drinks at any one time. I went to the bar and asked for 9 largers and they gave me 2 full trays of it. And the waiter carried the full lot up stairs for me. They let you get as many hotdogs as you want from round the pool and also as many drinks.
The staff were mainly lovely. Some of the cleaners looked like they werent aloud to talk to you but others talked. They arent all great at speaking English but they are alright. One of the staff who works in the shop downstairs is violent. She is blonde and ugly. In her 30's She works in the shop which sells magnets and ornaments.
The pool water is quite cold but it isnt unbearable and you get used to it. The only place you arent aloud to smoke is the dinner hall. Which is understandable.
My bed sheets were changed at least 3 times in the 1 week I was there. My towels were changed everyday. If you fold your towels or bedsheets up then you end up not getting clean ones because they think you havent used them. But i think 3 times in 1 week is enough. How many people actually change their bed sheets 3 times a week?
The reps (first choice) were fantastic. They deffornitaly done their homework and made sure they could answer any questions.
We had one power cut. It lasted about 3 hours but it was through the day when it was light. It couldnt be helped as there is alot of building work going on in the whole area.
We didnt get to use the water park as it was shut due to the hotel being closing so please dont go in the last week of season if you are wanting to use the water park.
All in all i think this hotel is great. I would go back here.
on to the food, it was exactly what i expected. standard buffet food, not boiling hot but definatly not cold. it was not what you would get at home but to me that is the point of traveling to another country. i saw kitchen staff always wearing gloves and using digital thermometers to check the temprature of the food on the buffet.
the selection was fantastic. it could be called repetitive if you call two meat dishes, a chicken dish,a fish dish and pizza and pasta every day repetitive!! the selection of salads and desserts was very good too.
I saw one family Q up every night complaining about everything they came to until they got to the pizza and chips, which they then promptly filled up several plates of for the whole family and then smother the whole lot in HP sause that they had brought from home!!!
Pools & Beach, Fantastic is what they are. beach right on your doorstep with lovley warm calm water, clean sand and free sun loungers. pool is cleaned every night and looks very nice, it is true what some people have said about the life gaurds not looking after the children in the pool, but then again that is not there job. we saw loads of people getting hammered all day long, just sitting on there loungers and drinking from the free poolbar while there children played in the pool totaly unsupervised, sorry guys but its your job to look after your own children while they are in the pool.
Entertainment, Great for children but not so good for adults, the first chioce reps try there best and in some areas they are great but don't go expecting to be looking forward to a good night. unless you call sitting in the pub getting smashed a good night, if you do your laughing.
There were no power cuts while we where there and there was nobody sick that i saw or spoke too.
overall this hotel was very well worth the money we paid and if you go in early september you will have a good time. the only thing wrong with this hotel are the "Typical Moaning" guests who all seemed to be of one nationality ( i won't say which nationality as that would sart more arguments) who complane all day long about the food and drink and the lack of other people to look after there kids, while sitting there drinking beer and eating pizza and chips and letting there kids run riot. now not all the Guests where like that, we got to know and like a lot of families while we where there but there was an element of moaners about the place.
If you have book just go and make your own mind up, i am so glad i did not listen to those people on this and other sites, they almost ruined my holiday.
And i spent money on imodium and torches to bring with us that i never used :)
But when i got there my views changed completely,
I thought the place was fantastic we didn't leave the resort for 2 weeks which is very unusual for us.
The hotel itself is amazing all of the decor they have spent alot of time and money on,
The pool was lovely and if you walk around the complex you can find more swimming pools that you are able to use as well about 6 in all the beach was lovely, it was great being so close to the beach and the pool. The waterpark was amazing really good for adults and kids.
The food was good always a selection you could always find something you wanted and also there were 3-4 other restraunts to choose from.
We had a suite and our room was huge and was lovely you cannot expect everything to be perfect because you have guests comeing and going constantly.
The complex is lovely to walk around and they have great entertainment there and what i saw a great kids club.
The hotel and the grounds were constantly being cleaned never saw any mess and all of the staff are so friendly.
We would definatley recommend this hotel and are planning on going back we loved it
Just keep in mind you are going to a different country.
I would say dont worry about it because as soon as you get there you will love it
all i would say is buy the bottled water its not expensive, thats what we did to be safe and we had a brilliant time
I'm so pleased that you were all OK & had a great time. I can understand why you were so worried before you went. Isn't it a shame that the anticipation of a holiday was spoilt & that you were worrying about what you all ate & drank? This is not what a holiday is about! I think that they have had an issue here & that they cannot cope with the volume of holidaymakers during high season. All this has put me off returning. Pity!
The hotel is set in what they call a little village behind closed gates you had plenty with in this shops cafe spa etc it was very safe my 12 year old was able to walk around with friends with out any worry.
We did not wont to come home we were certainly not expecting what we got i do wonder with some of these bad reveiws if we went to the same place? maybe there was a problem in high season but i sure there is not now we saw nobody ill or heard any one complain,i would just say dont drink any of their water the water in the resturant, so i was told is tap water bottled water is so cheap its no hard ship.What we did see alot of is people making pigs of themselfs going up for seconds and thirds also with drinks to, maybe these are the ones that get the bad stomachs!!
What i have learnt from all this is not to take any notice of these web sites!!
dont book to go to this place if you can change i would change now unless you want diappointment
The reception area again when you arrive in the dead of night is also very impressive, and we have never had bell boys before.
We were very happy with the room (5th floor) and the sea view was fantastic.
This unfortunately is pretty much where the good went bad.
These are our experiences over the next 14 days,
The food in the canteen, it cannot be called a restaurant by any stretch of the imagination was very poor. It was pretty much exactly the same as the day before. Stewed meat, rice, chips (mostly cold) pasta, tasteless pasta sauce.
Fish fillets with the biggest bones I have ever seen and with the heads on clearly not fillets, rabbit ribcages, and if that’s not enough what the hell are GIZZARDS?
Salad bar consisted of cucumber in half inch slices, tomato, spam, and sliced processed cheeses, olives and not much else.
The bread was hard dry and to my mind stale, for the whole 2 weeks.
When visiting the canteen the staff in there were quite rude and couldn’t wait to take your plate, if you get up to fetch a drink don’t expect your plate to be there when you get back.
The first day I went to the bar to get a round of soft drinks for the kids whilst they were eating, 9 cokes please and was told I could only have 2? What’s all that about, we had 9 kids in our party?
On complaining about this to the reps we were told, and I quote “we never eat there; we go to pakos bar just down the road if you want decent food we suggest you go there!”
On complaining to the rep that all of our 22 strong party including the kids were ill with stomach upset and/or violent diarrhoea we were asked, and I quote “have you tried pakos bar” we told her that we had just been drinking the water from the water siphons and were told “don’t drink that the bar staff just fill them from the tap” brilliant I and both my kids had the squits for the last 3 days and that’s all we had been drinking!!!!
The mixer drinks machines are also plumbed into the tap water so no escape there either!
Poolside bar, you have the choice of 1 kind of beer, vodka, rum, gin, whisky (until they run out) coffee, hot chocolate, Pepsi, orange, lemonade or tonic water.
Hot dogs, both the bread and the hot dog sausages left uncovered all day from when they put them out at 8am to when they take them away at 5.30.
Pizza/ kebab hut, again all food left out in the open all day. Pizza is admittedly fresh as there is always a long queue and is served as soon as it comes from the oven, but is thrown onto a plastic tray and shoved across a dirty counter top to you by a old woman who clearly didn’t want to be there. The kebabs consisted of 2 or 3 pieces of pink chicken meat, one slice of cucumber and a tiny bit of onion in hot dog bread, again all left uncovered to anything that might want to land on it whilst the staff sat in the back room behind a curtain smoking.
Reception bar, in the whole 2 weeks holiday I didn’t get a cup of coffee in a cup or a beer in a glass. All the drinks throughout the hotel were served in plastic cups. Around the pool is expected but in the bars away from the poolside and indoors this is unacceptable for a 4 star hotel.
All the hot drinks were out of a drinks machine similar to the ones found in your works canteen or train stations etc so don’t expect a proper coffee anywhere in elenite. Unless you go to the frigate bar and pay for it! This is also in the next hotel down the beach.
Irish bar, sounds great, an Irish themed pub not like any I have ever been in. it looks like this pub was an afterthought as it is virtually underground is small cramped scruffy and quite stuffy when full, without any windows or proper ventilation. Again all the drinks were mostly served in plastic glasses but if you do manage to get a glass hang on to it as they only have about half a dozen. Also the bar staff have a weird notion of setting light to paraffin on certain cocktails, we didn’t ask anything else about this but it did fill the room with paraffin fumes which had nowhere to escape!!
Anything other than the one choice of beer and the spirits mentioned before then you have to pay for it. 5 lev for a bottle of beks about £1.80 and the spirits were just ridiculous prices. We went to the shop just down the corridor from the bar and bought it from there 1.60 lev about 60p a bottle.
Took our own spirits too, just got the mixers from the bar, left the bottles on the table all night and nothing was ever said so we kept doing it.
At least we had a decent drink and it was a hell of a lot cheaper than the bar.
Above I mentioned the corridor leading to the Irish pub, to get to the pub you have to go by the computer room 6 lev for an hour which is reasonable, loads of pc games and that there tinterweb thingy. Gift shop, jewellery shop, shop selling beer, crisps, and sweets fags etc. a dodgy clothes shop selling fake brand name clothing. A so called jjb sports shop also selling fake brand names. A tattooist of all things and a pool/ arcade. 1 token for the arcade games is 1 lev/ 35p ish one token for the pool table is 3 lev/ £1 ish. If you have kids and sit in the Irish bar expect most of your holiday money to go into those machines as there is nothing else for the kids to do.
The amphitheatre, we never actually got to use this as none of the evening entertainment happened. Just as well as we didn’t even find it until the start of the second week. When we complained to the rep about the evening entertainment that was not only advertised in the brochure but was also on the first choice board in reception, she told us that the manager hated first choice and wouldn’t let them put any entertainment on. We had bingo and a couple of game shows in the Irish bar in the whole two weeks of our stay. Fine you might think but if you are not sat around the bar you will not see a thing as the place is just too small and simply not laid out for such things.
Also the rep told us that after they had finished bingo or whatever they had to leave the hotel grounds immediately and could not have a drink or chat with anyone.
Beach bar, this is a fantastic looking bar smack on the beach but you have to pay for all the drinks there. Also don’t expect a quiet day on the beach as this bar bangs out dance music from about 10am till 10pm and it is very loud. Anywhere on the beach its loud full volume dance music morning till night, anywhere behind it and all you get is the bass, bloody annoying I’ll tell you. What’s more it’s always empty. We made the mistake of going in there the first night 1 beer (half pint) 1 amoretto and coke, 1 Jim beam and coke came to 45 lev which worked out at roughly £16. Needless to say we didn’t venture in there again even if we couldn’t escape the noise of the place.
Frigate bar, next hotel down the beach but in the same complex.
This is a pay bar and not all inclusive so we didn’t bother going for a drink there, looks nice inside though. Dam site nicer than the inclusive bars anyway.
Coffee shop, in the same complex as the frigate, ok same as all the other inclusive bars but had more glasses. Also this is the only place in the whole complex where the kids can get ice cream. Only ice cream mind no suckers/ lollies etc. so if you are sat beside the pool at the royal park and your 7 year old wants an ice cream as they do then it’s a good 15/ 20 minute round trip in flip flops to take them to fetch an ice cream. Also in there you have the shops mentioned before minus the dodgy clothing and the arcade and pool tables prices as above but different tokens. On the plus side on the steps leading up to the coffee shop you can buy a fake Rolex watch from the watch stall (other fake watches are available)
Also in this complex is the night club where you can send your 13 year old to get drunk of a night if you so wish as many were doing while we were there. But they can get a drink at any of the other bars on the resort as the bar staff didn’t care who they gave alcohol to, as did the shops. We didn’t believe it so we tried and every time my lad came back with a drink. (Obviously we didn’t let him drink it)
The entertainment in this complex was not for the English at all.
The restaurant in this hotel looks a lot nicer than the one at the royal park but you can’t eat there.
Bowling alley, looked newly built never tried it as our kids weren’t interested so cant comment on that one.
Sozopol restaurant, not bad but not great either and you have to be up early to book it on the day you want to go.
Sunshine restaurant, booked a table for 16 at 8pm, when we turned up it was closed. Back at reception the answer we got was the preferred one to any problems “I don’t know”
When we went to the royal park canteen around 8.30 most of the food was gone and was not being replaced either. Bearing in mind it closes at 9.30 this isn’t good.
Most nights around the complex you will find drunken teenagers running amok. Up and down the corridors banging on doors, up and down in the lifts and being noisy and at times abusive, parents probably sat in the Irish bar.
One night my cousin and her family in the next room had a powder fire extinguisher fired under her room door. Her 7 year old was going to the bathroom at the time and was covered in the powder and was subsequently sick all night. The whole room was covered it was on the clothes bedding everywhere. When we rang the reception it took 10 minutes for them to get up to the 5th floor and there were 6 of them. They first accused us of doing it saying that it couldn’t get under a closed door and after much arguing in the corridor my cousin’s husband and I were made to go to security. Once there we were forced into a small storage room with the CCTV recorders. At this point none of the staff would speak English to us, we had to stand and watch the footage which clearly showed it wasn’t us. At no point were we offered an apology for the way we were treated. Nothing ever happened to the people who did let off the extinguisher. The next morning the staff went round the hotel and removed all the powder extinguishers fro the fire points.
If you plan on going into sunny beach, which is the closest town of 10km go for the 9.50 am bus, the 10.50 am bus is rammed and you probably won’t get on. Everyone queues up but when the bus arrives it’s a bit of a bun fight to get on.
2 lev or 70p ish though is very good value.
The taxis outside the gates are very good 25 lev and 20 return and they are always waiting for you whatever time you want to return.
Sunny beach is an experience you can buy almost anything fake there from a Rolex watch to designer shirts and jeans dirt cheap too. Great if you like that sort of thing. You can also buy cs gas, pepper spray, cross bows, hunting knives, flick knives, throwing stars, nun chucks, stun guns or tazars, coshes in fact a whole array of deadly weapons on the market stalls also along the beach. If you can buy them you can bet the local thugs and street robbers have them too.
The bars and restaurants along the sea front offer some great food and beers at really good prices. Also whilst visiting the sea front you can check out the other hotels. Kind of like on bulls eye, look at what you could have won!!!
Steer clear of the fruit sellers, they will rob you and they are everywhere. Buy a money belt is my advice if only for your own peace of mind.
The royal park hotel should be a fantastic place, it looks fantastic in the brochure and on the internet, but beware something has gone seriously wrong to cause this many complaints. Also don’t forget once there you are trapped there is nothing else within walking distance.
The food, the service, the ignorant staff and the management’s attitude towards first choice will guarantee you a fairly miserable holiday, probably one you spent all year saving up for.
My holiday cost £1700 for 2 adults and 2 children, but we ended up spending over £1000 on eating out, drinks and entertainment. Not great for an all inclusive holiday.
I would not recommend this hotel or resort to anyone
Dear Mrs Wright,
Thank you for contacting First Choice regarding your concerns about food
poisoning.
First Choice would not consult the website you refer to due to the fact
that it is not regulated by any independent body. The claims posted on
this website have not been investigated independently and therefore are
unsubstantiated. While I would never suggest that the opinion of our
customers is not important, what is posted on this website is,
nevertheless, opinion only.
I can assure you that the health and safety of our customers is of
paramount importance to First Choice and our representatives in resort
carry out regular health and safety audits of all our contracted
properties in accordance with health and safety guidelines.
Should you wish ask any further questions regarding the most up-to-date
information on your chosen property, please do not hesitate to call our
Customer Services Department on 0845 600 4945 and one of our advisors
will be happy to help.
I hope this reassures you Mrs. Wright and I hope you have a wonderful
holiday through First Choice.
I am just going to stick with it just now as am sure after all the publicity it has been having over the last few weeks in the papers and on most holiday sites they will make sure it is perfect for next year.
here's hoping we are not going to july so i will be reading up on all the reviews from may onwards...
I've been told that a solicitor from the uk is going over for a week to see how bad it is as they have over 50 clients who have complained about the same thing. You can't say that 50 people with the same complaints are just moans!!!!!
I have been back 3 weeks and still have stomack cramps this hotel?(prison) is not nice all 6 in my party got ill 4 are still being sick .................
I have contacted holiday watchdog and have reported this hotel and i would strongly recommend all those who have had themselfs or loved ones sufferd what ever this thing! is to contact them as well
I will NEVER return to bulgaria EVER again and i will make sure everyone i know finds out about this place and stop others going throgh the holiday from hell!
By the way, you were told lies by the tour operator, there is a problem and it is being investigated by First Choice. The tour company are only telling you their basic speil to put you off, but if you ring again and escalate it, they may listen to you. It is worth paying the fee to change the holiday details to avoid a holiday from hell!
I am sorry if you have booked but i didn't take my children and i am glad because there is some problem out there that needs to be addressed and i feel you need to know this information .
I promised myself I'd post on return whatever we found!
The hotel is beautifull, our room was cleaned daily and even on days we weren't due a linen change we had our beds tidied and fresh towels.
The bathroom in our room was cleaned daily and fresh smelling !
The carpets were hoovered as required and their presence made it the quietest hotel I'd been in in many years. No scraping beds, chairs, tables and stomping feet in the middle of the night.
The staff were always willing to exchange a smile even if they didn't speak much English ...but isn't that part of the charm of foreign travel?
I took my torch and never used it !One short power cut deprived the pool bar of fizzy drinks for a short while..
The queues for pizza were long as it is freshly baked in a hut but hey...any pizza addict could gorge pizza in the evening in the restaurant so why bother??
Slip on a sundress or tee shirt and help yourself to salads, pasta, fresh rolls, fresh fruit or chicken nuggets and chips if you must. All of which can be put on a plastic plate and taken to the beech for anyone who prefered to eat Alfresco!
Yes the food could be tepid but for all the moaning I never had to Queue for the microwave!!We routeinely blasted each meal for 1 min in the industrial mics and enjoyed piping hot meals each day.
There were fresh warm croissants, yoghurts, cereals, cold meats cheeses, as well as foreign dodgy bacon, eggs scrambled, boiled, mini frankfurters, excellent omlettes,pancakes, baked beans and cooked tomatoes and fresh rolls and fresh fruit each breakfast and yes it was the same each day but you couldn't possibly eat it all in one sitting so it was easy to have a selection!!
The main meals were predominanently Bulgarian ...The point of foreign travel? and so were not the steak, chinese, burgers and fried chicken! But we, my husband and 1 and 14 YR old ate well and never felt there was nothing to eat! And the chefs bringing food out wore gloves and were all very clean.
The hotel cleaners did just that CONSTANTLY!! just as well really as judging by the number of ignorant tourists that felt it was fine to leave the sand littered with plastic cups and plates each day we wouldn't have been able to find the sunbeds!!! Which were always available on the beach if not by the pool.
Yes I do think a virus is going around plenty of people were ill but we ate the food, my daughter ate her fair share of hot dogs and swam in the pool....which was also beautifully clean and didn't have a problem.No thanks to the middle aged English lady who was using her hands to pull open all the croissants at breakfast to find the ones with the jam dropping the ones she didn't fancy back for others to eat!!
We chose Bulgaria because we were fed up of going to samely majorcan and Ibizan resorts with back to back English bars and being surrounded by English tourists...We got what we were looking for ...If you are looking for something else look elsewhere!
There was a viral infection going around and unfortunately everyone we spoke to including ourselves were ill at some point during the holiday. I thought the food was ok, we did get a bit bored of it towards the end of our 2weeks but it was ok, there were different things on the menu every evening but being veggie our choices were very limited. Our kids ate the meat and were fine so i really don't think the chances of getting food poisoning are high, all the meat dishes looked well cooked. I didn't see one dish that looked under cooked.
I think you always get people that like to moan, i wouldn't have a problem returning to Royal Park.
We are well experienced travellers and were not expecting nor wanting an English experience abroad; we have been to many countries, stayed in many resorts and never usually moan or complain. We would not however return to the Royal Park Hotel, even if the holiday was given to us free of charge.
We stayed in a 4 star, all inclusive hotel in Cuba last year and the service, food and experience cannot begin to be compared, as was superior to the Royal Park in every way.
The whole family had severe food poisoning, which definitely was not caused by over indulgence.. the chance would have been a fine thing! Food was often undercooked and cold. I agree with the comment by Elaine.. it could be marketed as the latest fad diet. Seriously though, none of us feel completely well and we have now been back over a week. The children came back looking thin and pale. We have also had eye and ear infections.
Unbelievable but true.......
Emergency lighting that did not work! Regular power cuts, (at least seven), meant this was extremely dangerous as stairways and corridors were pitch black. Seriously, take a torch.
First Choice reps get paid!
They were unhelpful, lacked empathy and did not effectively deal with guests' problems. Hotel staff not surprisingly looked shocked by the behaviour of many hotel guests. People have commented that they didn't speak much English.. no problem there. Their English was far better than our Bulgarian!
The queues..
expect to queue and wait for everything including lifts.
The noise from the beach bar..
Club style music played at high volume from ten in the morning, until past midnight many days.. hardly the 'quiet relaxed, atmosphere' as advertised. Would have gone to Ayia Napa if wanted to party day and night!
Good bits
Packo's bar, outside the complex was a good escape. The food is cooked properly and it was inexpensive. A great atmosphere too.
The beach looked lovely.
Our room, although noisy; was clean, spacious and the maid visited every day.
We appreciate that it is August, but feel at such a busy period, there were not enough staff for the amount of people staying at the hotel. It was also upsetting to see that although there is a massive increase in development/tourism going on within Bulgaria, it didn't appear to benefit the majority of people, who live in abject poverty.
Re power cuts- no had one so far
Lift- bit tempermental but nothing as bad as has been made out so far.
We're having a fab time but there are lots of the usual brits that are moaning about everything.
water park good but beds and drinks not part of all/inc
Be prepared for regular powercuts, a torch would be handy as the hotel toilets and stairwells are pitch black. If you want a snack at lunch time from the beach bar, start to que after breakfast and you might be lucky! Apart from the food, the complex is actually quite nice, lovely beach with plenty of sunbeds, the waterpark is good. The evening entertainment isn't brilliant and you sometimes have to pay to see some shows. Also you have to pay for courtesy room on last day thats if they have any free!
There is squash for the kids in the restaurant and also on sale (about £1 a bottle). You can also buy small cartons of juice with straws.
We had a fantastic time, it was our 2nd and we've booked again for next year. You do have to watch the food for being undercooked but there are microwaves, you just use your common sense. Have a good time.
ALSO IS THERE ANYTHING ANY GOOD COLD TO EAT ? I GATHER THE COOKED FOOD IS CRAP BUT WHAT ABOUT SALADS OR FRUIT , ROLLS AT BREAKFAST?
Someone else asked about baby food etc. The reply said they weren't sure that Elenite sold many supplies for babies but Sunny Beach, 15mins up the road by bus/taxi definately would. Maybe take enough to last you a couple of days til you can get to sunny beach. See you there!!
And What to Expect remains to be seen
The reviews Do Point to Going on a diet
For 2 week I could do with that anyway
so what the hell as long as the suns shines
The rooms are realy clean and we had a fab cleaner. the entertainment where great my daughter had her 1st crush on luke lol even the wife was giving him the eye lol.
The food was ok we went to sunny beach most afternoons so we ate there a bit of the time.
There did seem to be something going around we noticed the family in the next room to us i know they caught somthing cos i saw the doc go into there room and i spoke to the guy a few times who said his wife and daughter were ill with upset tums.
Also me met up with nat and her hubby geoff who has also let a message on here hope craigs ok now babes. Craig was one of the kids who made freinds with my daughter befor he got ill and taking to hospital, i will say mind the hotel where great from what we heard about the fact they were stuck there for 3 wks. well enought about other ppls hols we had a great time and would defo go back
We were all fine had a few days when the chicken wasnt cooked very well but you just remember for next time. The beach and waterpark are great you have to pay for the beds and stuff in the waterpark but whats 5lev, we used to go in the morning then just leave our stuff and head over for dinner then come back. anyone heading over there you will have a great time, we did.
I've read similar reviews prior to other holidays and once they they have never appeared justified to me. Some people just like to moan i think.
Cheers very much for any replies.
Our 13 year old is Jamie and Gemma is 12 years old, we also have Jack who is 2 years old.
We fly from Stanstead on the 17th so we will look forward to seeing you then - Jamie and Gem don't live with us they live with there Mum - they are coming on Saturday to us so i will tell them about you.
Can any one tell me if there is a shop nearby for buying things , nappies ,food etc , for my baby sister .
has any1 got the mini disco cd if so can u email me at so_u_wanna_be_a_boxer@hotmail.co.uk
I have also started adding video if anyone is interested!
thanx
s.mcgready@ntlworld.com
12 days to go and counting
Take a look at the hotels official website http://www.victoria-group.net/hotelroyalpark/en/rooms.htm Lots of pictures of the hotel and info.
janet.bayley@freeclaim.co.uk
Kate -if you do come accross the cd when you are there a copy would be appereciated. Will mail pics tomorrow.
** ALL NOTE , DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE POOL IT'S STILL THERE. HOWEVER.... LOOK CLOSLEY IN THE BROCHURE ...THERE WERE "2" POOLS ... ONE IS NOW A "PAYABLE" BAR. ***
YOU WILL ALL HAVE A GREAT TIME wish I was back !! :)))
janet.bayley@freeclaim.co.uk
Look out for us it will be the 4 of us and our 2 year old Jack!
Look out for us it will be the 4 of us and our 2 year old Jack!
jimoo33@yahoo.co.uk
s.mcgready@ntlworld.com.
thank`s a lot.
thanks ,
Plenty on ice cream biscuits etc for the kids up to 10pm at night. "most" bars free , great beach , waterpark and pool's
Wish I was back ... going to re book for next year.
If anyone wants to see any pics let me know and I will post some.
Happy holidays for all you lucky people going :)
Denise
wife Ann.
Are you Kids going to Kids Club which is very good hopefully as we have been on a number of first Choice Holidays and they have always been good.
See you out there and say hello at the reps meeting I will be wareing my Black Charlton shirt.
Tim
thanks for reply and we are flying from gatwick at about 11.00pm.
are you going with your family? and if so how old are your children if any
look out for me at the reps meeting i will be waring my black charlton shirt
probably the only one in bulgaria !!
see you there
Have you tried copying & pasting the above address into your address bar?
Hope this works!
Richard.tobin@virgin.net
we came back on the the 7th as well hope you had a good time we really did. xx
see u there in less than a week wooooooo
Is anybody else going that would like to meet up.
Look forward to hearing from anybody.
Tim
Glad you had a great time ,we travel out on 3rd Aug
What sort of food do they do at Pacos? is it a large place and does anything else go on there?
thanx tracy.
If you visit my website & look under pictures, there is one showing a marqee being built. In front of that is where the other pool was (now a beach hut/bar)There are still 3 other pools & waterpark to choose from! Wondering what picture you have seen?
Have a great time! (we did)
Hope this helps
glad to here you had a fantastic time,
do you mind me asking who you book though?
that the hotels are part of a group. (dont think you can use their facilities tho)!
I think it's called the Victoria Palace Hotel in Sunny Beach (just heard someone on the bus talking about it)
sam.
Weather brilliant...few power cuts but there werent for long.
Building work...only knew it was there thanks to the letter from first choice a few weeks before we went
Defo recommend to anyone.
So glad to hear a great review. We went end May/beg June. Would def go again. Have you seen my website:
www.elenite.piczo.com
If you do upload some pics, would you mind me adding some to my site?
It seems that it has put ppls mind at rest (I always do the same -book a hol then search for reviews, THEN start panicking if I they're not good!!
Cheers, Jan
I will upload a few pics in a few days and ill put the links on so you can have a look for yourself what a really nice place and what will be a great holiday xxx
We almost cancell our trip ,because off all the bad reviw, some people gave the hotel. i would like too come back to Royal Park .
have a gr8 time we did.
Date of Holiday: Jun 2007
Tour Operator: First Choice
Submitted By: Mr P Kent
Overall Rating: 10/10
Comments: We are in our second week at the Royal Park Hotel; we are delighted we did not cancel as this has been a great holiday.
It is a very impressive large hotel sat on a lovely beach; it is away from Sunny Beach - thank god.
Our room is a kids suite, adults one room and then a curtain separates the kids room from us. This is excellent for privacy but also allows us to make sure they are OK.
It is a very large room and with a balcony, the decor is OK and kept very clean by the chambermaid - cleaned and fresh towels everyday
The staff have been very friendly and helpful, absolutely no complaints with them.
The food is great, a very impressive fresh salad spread, every type of meat / fish etc you could ask for and all in ample supply - I did laugh though when I witnessed a fellow Brit eating chips and mashed potato that would be the type of person who would complain about the food!
You can eat as much as you like soups, starters, main meals, deserts, fruit...
The building works do not affect us as we cannot hear them from the room or beach.
The kids club is ace , our two girls ( 5 & 3 ) have loved it and go twice a day - at their request .The kids club reps are fantastic and really do ensure they are safe
As you can see we have no complaints and are really looking forward to our second week.
Instead of asking the question..."What's it like as I've heard some iffy reports about this place...", why not use the down arrow on the keyboard and read the answers to the question you have the burning desire to ask, but not the gumption to look for.
Hi, we went into Sunny Beach one night but it wasnt our cup of tea, loads of restaurants and bars there and nightclubs.
I hope that this is helpful to those that are going or thinking of going.
Have a fantastic holiday. I wish we were back there now, fed up with all this rain.:(
Hope you can pick up this link:
http://www.elenite.piczo.com
Hope you have a good time
Did you venture out for any meals or nights out off site??
Whats the best way to get money ? , change some to levs before I go , or take sterling and change it in the hotel ?
Can someone who has been let me know, normally I just use cash machines but as there are none in Elinite this is not an option ....
Thanks,
Hope you all have a good holiday!! :)
The pool that has been covered in was furthur along, and there is now a bar over it, but 200 yards away towards the royal Bay there are another 2 pools (more than enough). We did managed to get Pepsi Light in all the bars, only the restaurant didnt have it, There is wine, all spirits, and 1 type of lager available as AI.The Irish Bar was empty the whole time we were there this is the paying bar,The nightclub charges for drinks after midnight, and the bar staff do advise you of this leading up to 12,word of advice the spirits are very strong, but you can ask for a small vodka etc. My husband said the beer was ok but quite weak, you can purchase beer in the shop very cheaply if the local lager isnt strong enough, I put 2 teabags in my cup and got a nice cup of tea out of it.The food is ok, Im a veggie and there wasnt a very good choice for me salad was good but alot of the salad mixes had meat in them, pizza also had meat on it, there are chicken nuggets and chips for children every night near the outdoor eating area , the desserts are lovely, there was alot of broken and chipped crockery and never enough condiments to go round, we found that is was best to get to the restaurant 15mins after opening you then had a good choice of crockery and seats, but the hotel was getting alot busier this past weekend, and they did bring in more staff.
I would definitly go back I like you was worried about the reviews, and there were a few small things like the crockery and the lifts but these little things shouldnt spoil your holiday,Iam sure you will have a great holiday, we certainly did.
No u cant get diet drinks at the bars
yes ur irish bar is included in all inclusive but b sure to wear ur band at night as they do look for ur band
yes u can get beer and spirits wine im not sure
im not sure what swimming pool ur on about but there is a large pool and a childrens pool on site
Most restaurants at the other hotels are all inclusive but u have to book them!
hope ive helped
Can someone answer these questions who has been please :-
1. Are diet drinks available at the bars ?
2. Are drinks the Irish Bar included in the "all inclusive" ?
3. Are the common drinks available (wine larger spirits)
4. Has the swimming pool in the brochure been filled in ?
5. Anything else thats "no included" ?
Thanks , just working out if I should start to investigate these with the tour operator but need some evidence. With all the mixed reviews I'm confused
Is there anything else that you can tell us about your recent holiday - we are going on the 17th Aug with 3 children ( 13, 12 & 2).
Is the AI as bad as people say? or is it what you make it?
thx..
CAN SOMEONE LET ME KNOW ? PLEASE
There was no sky news but Paco was trying to rectify that when we were there.
Have a fantastic time everyone I would happily go back again.
Not everything that was advertised was available, one of the restaurants was closed,(Talyana) & no boat trips from jetty.
Food Ok, but quite repetative. (tasted better than it looked) plenty of pasta,chips, salads if you didn't fancy the Chicken, veal or pork (my daughters used to make themselves cheese on toast) There are 2 other restaurants available under the A.I.
1)The Sozopol, you have to book between 10 & 11 am of the day you wish to go (up the steps in front of the Galaxy nightclub, turn right & see the person sat there to book (Bulgarian a la carte food) & it was nice to sit a have waiter service. 2) Sunshine restaurant- same re booking- walk into the villas up behind the waterpark & eventually you will find it (Dont follow signposts -they are wrong!)
There are 2 animation teams, 7 1st choice entertainers, Nathan Luke, Carrie, Hannah very lively,great with the kids. The 'village' entertainment team also great, they put on some brilliant shows. Waterpark & beach great, saw dolphins several times. 2 other pools availabe within village. Lazy day boat trip was very good,(but pricey(£95 for 3 adults, 1 child) fishing & swimming,dancing, then they put on a lovely buffet lunch -great day.
Rooms very spacious, carpeted(But not hoovered?)
Lifts are a law unto themselves.
Taxi's outside, contracted to hotel - we discovered that if you walk a bit further towards Paco's there a more taxi's half the price!
Nessebar lovely, Sunny beach very commercialised.Watch your bags & do NOT buy anything or exchange money on the streets!!
We had a lovely meal in a beach restaurant in Sunny Beach & they still charged us to go to the toilet!
We found them to be quite crafty where money is concerned, be on your guard.
On returning, they tried to charge us for excess baggage(they said 1 case weighed 28 kilos), even tho it didn't come up on the display at that??? They sent all the cases threw THEN pulled us to one side. We refused to pay point blank, as there was less weight than when we came, no probs then & how could we rectify it when the cases had gone through? They eventually let us off but an elderley couple or someone else might be more vunerable & pay up. We weighed the case on return & it was acually 22 kilos. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH BAGGAGE WEIGHT ON RETURN.
Despite my comments we did have a good holiday REALLY!!
With all the negative and positive reviews it's hard knowing what to expect here !
There is a HIGH PROFILE wedding taking place on the resort starting Saturday afternoon and continuing until the wee small hours of Sunday morning (3-4 am).
This will involve closing 1/4 of the resort and it being patrolled by ARMED GUARDS. This is due to the Bulgarian President being is attendance. There is an outside disco involved in this so I'll let you be the judge of the noise. From all accounts it will be LOUD and LONG into the night. My advice...get plenty of sleep on the Saturday morning as if you are on the front of the hotel you will not get any on the night in question. Oh and top it all there will be not be any 1st Choice reps around until the Sunday morning as they are at their Reps Night Out.
The building work did not bother us at all as it was shielded and noiseless. The rooms were spacious and clean. Clean towels and beds made everyday. The food was nice but a bit repetitive. Children could sit at there own little Barbie table if they wanted with matching Barbie plates and cups. You can also choose to sit outside on the verandah.
First Choice offered a Mini club with activities such as chocolate party for 3 lev's/Jungle adventure where they made binoculars and played Jungle games/Design a label where they make labels and designed dresses. At night there was a mini disco which usually lasted about 45 minutes. After that it was Bingo and then either a quiz or game show. On the beach in the evening there is a bouncy castle 10 lev's and a trampoline 20 levs. Other activities were paint a pot (small charge) and mini golf 30 levs plus 30 levs desposit.
The resort is mainly just a Hotel complex, with Family based facilities and entertainment. Would not recommend for thoose looking for nightlife as we did not see one bar/restaurant.
The waterpark behind the hotel is free and you only pay for the sun bed at 5 lev's at each (but they dont always come round and charge). My 8 year daughter loved the childrens section of the waterpark with its several slides and tipping bucket. My husband preferred the larger 6 slides towards the back of the park.
The beach was lovely where you can easily catch Hermit crabs on the shore bed (dont worry they don't bite your feet). You can also hire Canoes at 15 lev's for a hour for 2 adults/1 child canoe. If you preferred a yaught for the family it costs 40 lev's. Banana boats and pedaloes were available but I dont know how much these cost.
We caught the bus the Sunny beach with cost about 2 levs each, however had to catch a Taxi back as buses were not very frequent 1hr and half wait between buses but could not understand the timetable to work out what time these arrived. Sunny beach has lots of things to do, like hire Motor buggy or 3 seater bike buggy for 10 levs per hour. Motion similators and plently of shops. However much preferred our resort as Sunny beach was scruffy and you get pestered all the time from people selling cherrys and children wanting to show you puppy dogs.
I would definately return to the Royal Park Hotel as it is a safe environment for families wanting family activities.
i must agree with you mate on the whole sign language thing. We went to sunny beach and i was trying to find a public loo for my little one and trying to act out something i can only think made me look like a right nutter.
Jack
Overall the resort is not 100% perfect!
There are many "minor" faults... All can be easily overlooked by someone wishing to have a good time!
BTW, this resort is in Bulgaria..... English is NOT their first language.
The staff`s "English" is a darn site better than my "Bulgarian"!!!!
If a Manhole cover is missing, just ask a member of staff to cover it! It`s actually quite good fun asking someone to do something in a foreign sign language! LOL
It is definitely not worth cancelling your holiday for! ... Unless you are "Hyacinth Bucket"... sorry "Bouquet"
Also - are there waterports at the beach and are they free?
Going on 22nd June. Cheers for advice
Im currently in elenite staying in the holiday village. You can get beach towels for a small deposit but its advised to bring your own. The current exchange rate is 2.50
Really loving it out here would def recommend! Watch out for bell boys wen you first arrive as they tend to hang around for tips which aint to good wen you've only just arrived its 1am and u only have large notes. Apart from that no complains food is really good and always hot. If flying with 1st choice all trips are about 20 to 30 pounds each.
so all you guys who are heading off soon have a wicked time and them who go in 3 wks see ya there ill be with my wife and 2 kids all dressed in newcastle football shirts see ya!
It was a fun night.... Shame some idiot made the floor very slippery by spilling beer on the floor! ........ !
We are a family of 4 (kids 15 & 4) and although we had no Major complaints, we felt there were lots of minors. The reception staff speak very little English and during our stay, I would guess that at least 70% of guests were British! The other staff of the hotel speak even less English and apart from a few bar staff, they really do not like smiling or being polite, especially in the restaurant.
Food.
The food is quite repetitive and at some times took 10-15 minutes queing up for it. 90% of the breakfast food was at most, luke warm and I usually had to microwave mine! Desserts were slightly better and the ice cream (continuous supplies) was excellent with several flavours.
Rooms/Facilities
Generally we found them to be quite good, the rooms are fine, they get cleaned every day with fresh towels.
Some facilities were clearly not finished during our stay, they were working on the crazy golf at the front of hotel and the day we left we noticed some bouncy castles going up on the beach as well as the new bar.
Pools /Beach
The main pool was fine although there wasn't much organised activity going on in it. The water park is very good for all ages, there are no queues for the slides and it's free to use, although you have to rent the sunbeds/parasols approx. £2 per bed /parasol for each day and buy your drinks in there. We just went in for an hour or so and then headed back to the main pool area, it's only 2 or 3 mins stroll between the 2. The beach is lovely and very kids friendly, during our stay there were always plenty of sun loungers/parasols available.
Entertainment.
The first choice entertainers were very hard working and good at their jobs and always had time to chat and offer advice. Luke, Carrie & Nathan seemed really nice people and were good fun. We left them in Paco's bar on our last night (just over the road from hotel, cheap beer, burger& chips etc & Sky Sports!!) and Luke was spilling his bottle of strawberry liquoer as he was trying fill up the 'shots' glasses for us, bit pissed, but hey, it was his only day off!! Some of the FC entertainers have excellent voices and are well worth going to their cabaret nights.
Warnings.
The building work is ongoing everywhere you look outside the hotel but this wasn't too much of a distraction. However, there is also building work going on at present inside the complex which you can hear! They are building a new bar/seating area close to the beach/pool and a new animation hall but we heard that these should be finished in the next couple of weeks.
Be very careful in the dining area and especially the nightclub as the floors get extremely slippery, many people slipped over!
Most toilets, especially at night are overused and usually stink!
Don't pay the extra to keep your room on when you leave. It costs approx. £50 and you still get kicked out of your room at 6pm. Ask reception the day before you depart for a 'courtesy room' and they will provide a room for you to use for 1hr to shower and freshen up before your flight home at no charge!
Keep a close eye on toddlers around the complex as some areas are not always too safe! I noticed a couple dangerous areas where there was an uncovered, below ground level storage area that a child could easily fall down and cause serious damage and not be noticed for hours!
To summarise, it was ok but would not recommend or go back, once all work has been completed it will be better!
FIRSTLY THE BUILDING WORK DOES NOT EFFECT YOUR HOLIDAY, THEY TRY AND KEEP IT OUT YOUR WAY, WE HAD A GREAT TIME WITH NO TROUBLE OR NOISE FROM THE WORK SITE. NEXT THE ENTERTAINMENT REPS ARE FANTASTIC TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE ENTERTAINED AND THEY DO A GOOD JOB, NATHAN IS JUST MAD, THE KIDS REPS WERE THE BEST, MY KIDS LOVED THEM, AND IF ANYONE IS GOING SOON CAN YOU TELL AMAN, THAT MY SON RYAN SENDS HIS LOVE XXX THEY KEEP THE KIDS SO OCCUPPIED IT'S GREAT. THE FOOD WAS WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING, HOPE YOU ALL LIKE PORK, BEEF, VEAL, CHIPS, PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD, ICE CREAM, CAKES, RICE PUDDING AND ESPECIALLY THE HOT DOGS FROM THE POOL BAR, DRINKS ARE OK LOCAL VODKA, RUM, BRANDY, OUZO HOPE YOU LIKE LARGE MEASURES BECAUSE THEY DON'T GIVE ANY SHORT ONES AND ALSO YOU GET BEER, SPRITE, PEPSI, AND OTHER SOFT DRINKS, I TELL YOU WHAT THE HOT CHOCOLATE IS LOVELY. THE ROOMS WERE CLEANED EVERY DAY, ROOMS ARE ALSO COMFORTABLE, THE CLEANERS ALL OVER THE RESORT WORKED REALLY HARD ALL THE TIME, ONLY EVER PROBLEM WAS THE TOILETS BY THE RESTAURANT, THEY ARE ALWAYS VERY SLIPPY SO BE CAREFUL, AND WATCH THE TAP IN THE TOILETS BY THE MORRIS BAR ESPECIALLY THE LADIES SIDE AS YOU COULD END UP VERY WET, BUT I'LL LET YOU FIND THAT OUT YOURSELVES (HAHAHAHA). WELL NOT MUCH MORE TO SAY BUT THE WEATHER WAS GREAT IN THE THIRTIES, GOT A GREAT TAN, EVERYONE ENJOY YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME....
PS HOW COULD I FORGET EVERYONE GO TO THE WATERPARK IT IS THE BEST PLACE TO GO BEDS AND PARASOLS COST 5 LEV EACH BUT YOU WILL HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME.
HAVE A GOOD HOILDAY.
There is plenty of free alcohol.
They have liqour (Vodka etc), Beer (Australian lager is stronger!!!) and wine (red and white)
On busy days they only have one barman serving at the poolside bar, so it`s quicker to go into the hotel, wait for the lift to make up it`s mind where it want`s to go, make your way to the hotel lobby bar, get your drinks and go back to the pool.
Georgina. Yes I saw your boyfriend doing the caterpillar on the floor next to me, and then run off with the rep .... LOL!
Starting from the top:
Reception
Hard going as they dont all speak english bu they do try, which is more than can be said for the First Choice reps.
Rooms
Cleaned daily as are the towels.
Restaurants.
Food is perfectly acceptable and plentiful. It is always replenished and is hot. Queues averages out at about 10 mins maximum.
Reps.
Entertainment reps are very good and will entertain all day. The children reps are fantastic. Need I say more!!
The hotel reps are dreadful. If you want to book an excursion they are all over you like bees around a honey pot. If you have a problem or a question they are just plain not interested. Ask reception instead of them, you get more help.
And the biggest question:
Building work.
Yes it does exist but it is minimal. The odd drill or chainsaw in the background. Other than that it is quiet.
Weather sofar has HOT apart from one day that rained but other than that it has been gr8.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!!
Hope this helped x
ADVICE.... Put a towel down before exiting the bath/shower.
There was 21 in our party, we went on the 21st May for one week.
Where do we start?
The hotel itself was a beautiful place it looked amazing both inside and out. It is situated ontop of the beach (with lovely sand unlike some people have commented) The hotel was always clean, maids cleaned the rooms and left fresh towels every day and i never once see any litter or mess on the floor it was cleaned straight away. So 10 out of 10 for that.
ENTERTAINMENT: Unforuntaly we went at the end of May and they did not have there thetre completely built so we didnt have the full entertainment we should of had but there was 21 of us and we made the entertainment ourselves. some of the younger ones in our party (between 18 and 21) befriended the entertainment team reps and spent most nights with them, having a drink once they finished work or going to the local bar down the road called Pakos. Which i can only describe a a little love shack looking place but had a good atmosphere and drinks were really cheap (if you go there make sure you try the cheesey chips) The entertainment team were brilliant, There was a girl called Tara who had an absolutly amazing singing voice - had her own caberet one night, if its on dont miss that she was excellent, The others like Luke, Carrie and Nathan were all up for a laugth and great fun.
DRINKS: Our lot did have a bit of a problem, i myself only drink diet drink and only drink Malibu (or equivelent) and three others in our group dont drink fizzy drinks at all.. They did not do fresh orange only still drink you could get at the bar was water, so in the end we were having to buy our own drinks to drink of a night time. Which we did not exspect to do with an all inclusive but its not really a major problem as drinks are cheap anyway.
SERVICE/FOOD: Not one person in our group complained about the food, there was a veriation each day and the pancakes at breakfast went down lovely every morning. Ha Ha. The service i must admit was a bit poor in regards to the Bulgarians working there they never smiled and dont speak much english. Which was quite unhelpful. However my partner learnt a few words such as "Strusty" which means hello "Blagadalia" which means thank you "Neddubray" which means not good and "chao" which means Bye which helped along the way.
WATERPARK: The water park was brilliant. We spent more time there then we did at the pool in the hotel as the water was warmer in the water park. However we had a situation with the life guards so keep an eye on your kids as the life guards seem to just be sunbathing and messing about in the water themselfs instead of doing there job properly. The slides were great fun for all ages. The orange slide was the better one as it goes really fast and shoots you of the end... Especially if your all oiled up..
ROOMS: Rooms were lovely could not fault them at all, very clean and lovely to look at. Towels changed and bed made every day.
BUILDING WORK: Nothing to worry about, never heard the building going on, and is situated behind the hotel so hardly noticable.
PROBLEMS: Yes sorry! we had our fair share of problems (then again there was 21 in our group so its quite alot of us) Although the floors were always being cleaned (which is a good thing) they were left wet all the time, and being marble was very dangerous. We met numerous people who had fell over in the hotel.
One night my nan who is 70 was walking out of the resturant (she is always careful of how she walks having had 2 major back ops) she slipped over on the wet floor and bruised all her arm, thigh, back anfd leg. She fell pretty hard and was shaken by it but did not want to worry anyone with going to see a Dr.
However the next night in the Nightclub, drinks had been spilt on the floor and my nan came from the dance floor and slipped on the wet floor, she cought herself on the raised platform and then the floor. A Dr was called from the medical centre which was luckily next door. They got her there and she ended up in hospital till 5.00 in the morning. She was put on a drip and x-rayed at the medical centre before going to hospital. They thought she had broken her hip and arm. Luckily after all that she was okay and allowed back to the hotel with only fractures not breakages.But was still very shaken up..... But for a 70 year old lady to have to go throught that was terrible especially as the hospital thay took her to was as quoted "a slaughter house" with operations going on in the hall way, people being stiched up in the hall and the Dr's going from one patient to the next with bloody gloves on.
Just letting you know so you make sure you are very very careful in how you walk around on the marble flooring....it is dangerous.
Apart from that we had a fantastic holiday. Weather was amazingly hot, loads of activities to do during the day like killer pool, kayaking, electrical mopeds, vollyball, water polo, Football on the beach... They had loads for the kiddies during the day like trips to sunny beach and pizza and ice cream partys, the little ones from our group loved the kids clubs.
TATTOOS: Our group got 9 tattoos in total we got them all done by the Morris bar (Irish pub) The tattooist was called Adam and he was a top bloke. My partner designed his own tattoo and he copied my partners design and it looked brilliant. It is so cheap over there for tattoos its unreal my partner got a quote in england for 200.00 for his tattoo and it only cost his £55.00 in Bulgaria. The guy who does it Adam is very nice, he makes you feel comfortable and is very friendly, he only gets 30% of the money he makes so try and give him a little tip as he is a very nice talented man...Its well worth it.
I think that sums up our holiday. We had a brilliant time and met loads of great people out there. We would definatly go again but maybe in a few years when Bulgaria is more developed. Hope you enjoy your holiday as much as we did
x x x x x x
x x x x x x x
I didn`t see every venue so I may have missed School of Rock.
The reps done some singing and dancing a couple of nights .... I give `em 10/10 for trying. :-)
Danny. You get about 2.70-2.80
There are no ATM`s at Elenite. The closest one is in Sunny Beach.
As for the weather, it seemed to rain mostly at night. Sunday and Monday were the worst days, there was plenty of cloud cover, but the sun usually broke through in the afternoon.
Drinks.... There is a good reason why the beer is free. ........ They`d never be able to sell it!
The soft drinks are fine. (Pepsi, 7up etc)
Something else I forgot to mention, you can go for a walk up the hill behind the hotel, but it is hard going. It`s not something for people with walking difficulties to do. (Impossible for push/wheel chairs)
The treck up there can be interesting, with plenty of wierd bugs and giant ants to see (we even saw a Greek Tortoise). The view at the top is awesome.
Some photo`s for your enjoyment .......
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_148=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_069=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_068=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_071=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_077=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_075=jpg.jpg
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_115=jpg.jpg
thanks very much x
Stopping at the royal Park in August, are there plenty of ATMs around, thats our prefered method of holiday cash?
Also has any one seen or stayed in one of the suites? and were the All inclusive drinks ok .
Would appreciate more info on Pakos , did they do food there?
We used the atms to get our money, if not only use the banks or crown exchanges, they have a crown on their signs.
Another thing, when you go for a wee in Sunny beach you are expected to pay 50 stinkys (1/2 lev) even in Mcdonalds.
Dont accept strawberrys and cherrys from the gypsies they will not leave you alone trying to get you to buy, they are only minor things tho, we had a great time and we will go back hopefully next year.
Never got to speak to you Darryl but we enjoyed the table and chair dance as well that night !!
All the pools at the waterpark are shallow (1.20m at it`s deepest), and to avoid paying for sunloungers just sit on the chairs by the bar.
Give us a day or two, to sort a few things out, then I`ll post some more photo`s.
http://www.yesalbum.com/v001/aardwolf/tm_holiday_125=jpg.jpg
There was very little noise comming from the site.
2) There are no kettles or irons, but there is a hairdrier in the rooms.
3) The plug sockets are the same as the other european countries.
4) The Entertainment Reps are great,(esp. Luke and Nathan) but the transfer/hotels reps (Matt and the Ice Queen (I didn`t know how to curtsy, so I spoke to her as little as possible)) are both as much use as breasts on a fish!
5) In Sunny Beach beach, the exchange rate varies between 2.60 - 2.86 Lv (Use a bank or exchange shop. NOT the blokes who approach you in the street.)
Over all, this was a great holiday. If you are the type who intend to make the best of it, you will have a great time, but if you are the type who likes nothing better than to pick fault, you also will enjoy yourself.
The lifts have a mind of their own!!!!
There is a broken tile on the side of the pool (Just under the dinning hall veranda)
The Irish bar is about as Irish as a Fiat Punto. (NO Guinness!!!!!)
(BTW, I`m the guy who poured a full pint over my head, which won us the TV theme tune game) :-)
The food....... There is a variety of food laid out, but you will also notice that it`s the same variety every day.
Anymore questions please ask. If not, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :-)
We will see you out there, you will notice us all drunk of a night time!!!! Lol. Happy holidays! x
ps let us all know how you all get one
Anyways there is 22 of us going from Gatwick on the 21st of May (this Monday) and we are all SO SO SO excited. So even if it does rain or it is noisey im sure we will all still havea FAB time!!!! We all know how to have fun so BRING IT ON BULGARIA!!!! WWWOOOOOOWWWWWW SEE YA MONDAY GUYS!!! hee hee x
I'm sure it will change again for next week! it better do as we're flying out Monday night!
I have a friend who has an apartment right next to the Royal Park and uses it 3 or 4 times a year. she has nothing but good things to say about it