Hi, my name is Karen and am 32 years old. I live with my partner of 7 years in Lowestoft, Suffolk. I...
Hi, my name is Karen and am 32 years old. I live with my partner of 7 years in Lowestoft, Suffolk. I have a 20 month old Son and a 13 year old step-Daughter. I love my family, films and ebay.
Member since:29.04.2004
Reviews:2
Just got back from Bulgaria on 12th July and have to say it was fantastic.
Stayed at the VictoriaPalace Hotel in Sunny Beach. This hotel has a 4 star rating and being Bulgaria I thought that the standards would be lower, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
The hotel was amazing to look at, everything inside was co-ordinated and you could tell that money had been spent on the furnishings. The staff were friendly and spoke good english (among other languages), there was maid service every day, everywhere you looked there were people cleaning, the rooms were spacious.
We had the half board option and have to say that the food was very good, lots of choice for both breakfast and dinner.
The pool was something else, very big had two levels with fountains and a seperate area for small children. It has a pool bar and could not resist having my photo taken in there whilst sipping on a cocktail.
The sunbed situation was a different matter - unless you were out there early you could not get one and it is no use leaving your towel there because if it is left unattended for half hour the life guards
take it away.
The rear of the hotel practically steps out onto the beach.
Sunny beach is a man made resort and nobody actually lives there although they are building appartments at the moment. It boasts 5 miles of beaches, there are more than 120 hotels, countless bars and restaurants, nightclubs, play areas, surfing, speedboats, horse riding, water skiing and beach volleyball to mention a few of the attractions.
The temperature was 34 degrees whilst we were there, but don't be fooled, this is not a winter resort. It is only open May - October as the temperatures in the winter can go down to -24.
The Victoria Palace hotel is in the quiet part of the resort although not too far from the action.
The resort is made up of three main streets. I'll start with the one at the back of the hotel, this runs all the way along the beach front and is full of numerous bars and restaurants where a large lager ranges from 37p to £1.00. All of the bars have happy hours where you can purchase a cocktail for £2.00 (but remeber you get 2 for that price).
The restaurants all serve roughly the same food, grilled meats, fish, pizza and there are also a couple of chinese restaurants. Again the prices are very good, you can get a meal for less that £5.00 and that includes drinks.
One good place to go is Restaurant 'Bris', every night they lay on a traditional Bulgarian Night where they have Bulgarian dancing and music, fire eating, sword fighting and do not charge an entrance fee. We had a 3 course meal and drinks for 2 and it came to about 50 levs which is around £18.00 in total. This is a much cheaper option that Khans Tent which you can book through your rep which costs £28.00 each.
If designer clothing is what you are into and don't mind if it is a good fake, then this is the place for you there are a number of stalls selling anything from Diesel, lacoste, addidas, burberry, miss sixty, etc. They are all at very good prices, you can pick up a diesel jacket for around £17.00 and jeans for around £10.00.
There is also a stall called MATRIX which sells all the latest DVD's (copies of course), Shrek 2, Spiderman 2, around the world in 80 days (you get my drift). They are all region 2 and were reccommended by our rep as the ones to go to. They cost 20 levs each which is around £7.50.
If beauty is what you are into then you can get your hair braided, have your nails done, buy some make-up and perfume then have a massage on the beach (sounds like heaven to me).
If clubbing is what you are into then they open at 11.30pm. But to be honest by the time you have done the rounds in the bars with happy hour and found your favourite bar (which stay open till about 4 anyway) you can't be bothered with the clubs. Whilst we are on the subject of drink, i'll just mention the toilet situation. There aren't very many, most of the bars and restaurants do not have them and if they do you have to pay 17p to use them.
There is also lots for the kids to do with inflatables, bucking bronco, mini bungee, mini fair, 3D cinema, etc.
There are also stalls selling jacket potatoes, chicken kebaps (yes, that's what they call them) and crepes for around £1.50 and they are delicious.
The other two street sare roughly the same but they are where the clubs, casino and english bar are as well. You can't get lost as all three streets run off eachother.
Thre is also plenty to do on the beach with volley ball, inflatables, water slide, pedloes, paragliding, banana boat, etc. There are plenty of sunbeds along the beach which you have to pay for.
There is also a water park nearby and you can catch a free bus in the centre of the resort.
A good day out os Nessebur which is across the bay, you can cacth a boat for £3.50 or a bus for 17p, we took a bus there and the boat back so we could get land and coastel views.
Nessebur is an old fishingvillage and boasts churches dating back to the 6th century which are quite beautiful, it is also home to a museum which holds some old artifacts. This is also a market town where lots of bargains can be found. This is the place to buy your gifts as they are much cheaper here than in the resort. There is lots of bulgarian pottery and crochet, along with the fake designer goods as well.
A couple of warnings, be prepared to que at the airport as they check your passports very carefully and enter information into a computer, you could be there for an hour and a half.
The other thing is most important - don't change your money in the exchange boxes in the street, people will come up to you and ask if you want to change money and offer you a very good rate, don't as when they give you your money you will find thay have ripped you off and if you complain out of nowhere come half a dozen burly men ready to pounce. Change your money in your hotel or in the resort bank. Well, that's all I have to say about Sunny
Beach or i'll bore you all. I will just say one more thing, why not try Bulgaria as your next holiday destination, I know I am.
Thank you.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
What you have written is actually very good; I rated H because the information is rather limited, and doesn't really tell me a lot about Bulgaria in general, the category your op is posted in. I'm putting you on alert, however, as you have a good style and obviously have lots to say!
MAFARRIMOND 21.07.2004 17:45
Welcome to Ciao. A great holiday destination. I have been once and would return. Maureen
jennybosson 21.07.2004 11:35
A brilliant first review. I had forgotten that Bulgaria is a holiday destination. Welcome to Ciao. I chose very helpful because it covered the one area very well indeed. Perhaps you could update it with more info about Bugaria in general, and give us all some back ground info. Space your words out better to make it easier to read. good luck. jen :o)
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Advantages: Cheap hoilday, not overcrowded, friendly people,fantastic food,beer 30p a pint,Not a 'tourist trap' Disadvantages: Street vendors harassing you, hygiene in toilets, quite a long journey, can be crowded at PEAK times
bwsr2 07.07.2001 (08.01.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Bulgaria
Advantages: Cheaper than Western Europe, Great nightlife, English-speaking, Stunning Scenery, Friendly inhabitants Disadvantages: Pricier than other Eastern European Capitals, Very busy in summer, Adverse weather in winter
bwsr2 15.02.2004 (05.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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