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| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Sam from Birmingham travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Like many others I considered cancelling this holiday too. I am so thankful that I didn't, we had a wonderful time.
I think people need to put things into perspective here, here's just a few points
WASPS - Is that the hotels fault? Yes there are wasps, if you leave fizzy drinks unattended of course you're going to attract them. The hotel had the area fumigated whilst we were there and our party of 6 were never stung once.
STAFF - A smile goes a long way, give them a smile and they will smile back quite happily. The maids were visibally shocked when we held doors open for them etc.
FOOD - This is Bulgaria, not Blackpool. Typical menu was Breakfast - bacon, sausage, eggs, pancake, bread, rolls, cold meat, eggs, cornflakes, cake and pastries, fruit. LUNCH & DINNER - chips, onion rings, fish dish, chicken dish, Veal dish pasta, rice, spaghetti, pizza, sausage, nuggets, salad, cold meats, lovely fresh bread, cheeses, cakes to die for and fruit in abundance. The ONLY thing that ruined the mealtimes were the damn greedy people that pushed into queues, ran into the restaurant when the doors were opened, piled the plates sky high, leaving half of it on the table, and filling bags with fruit!! People were grabbing whole bunches of bananas - I've never seen anything like it, and I hate to say it but most of them were Brittish.
KIDS CLUB - fantastic staff, my 8yr olds had an amazing time. they had a birthday while we were there and Happy Hannah made sure they had a great time.
REPS - Worked thereselves into the ground, a fab bunch of boys and girls. Well done guys.
POOLS - Why are you moaning that the water is cold? If you want warm water, have a bath!! The weather is hot hot hot, the water was perfectly refreshing!
BEACH - Like everywhere else with free sunbeds, you gotta get up early to beat the towells!!! But the beach was spotless and the water was quite shallow. Lifeguards too all down the beach.
ROOMS - To be honest, a little dated but oh so clean and spacious! Yes, some repairs were needed, but report them and they will be sorted. I accidently broke the shower, went to reception to report it and 2 maintenance men were at my room within minutes.
MOANERS - sorry, but watch out for the moaners, because they are everywhere, heres a few examples. The welsh woman overheard complaining to a rep that 2 flies were in her room, the coke that was too fizzy and the grapes that were too small!!! For heavens sake!!
My advice is too kick off your shoes, grab a drink, ignore the moaners and relax. the Royal Park is a lovely hotel and if you go in a positive frame of mind I'm sure you'll have a fab time. Go in a negative frame of mind, then you need to go sit in the corner with the other moaners!
I hope this honest report has been useful, and if you're going then have a fab fab time x
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Lorraine from Airdrie travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On arrival we had some bother with the booking. They appeared to have lost our booking arrangement, but finally found it. The rooms were spotless and we had a particularly nice cleaner. The entertainment was mainly for children aged 10 and under, my 12 year old had to amuse himself but there is a big water slide park round the corner. The food was not as good as other places I have visited and my husband went down with a bad tummy not sure if it was the food. Nights were rather boring as not much entertainment. The beach was lovely and always kept clean and tidy.
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mitton from carnforth travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I was really worried about going to this hotel with all the bad reviews but I can honestly say it was fine more than fine it was good. Rooms big and very clean no complaints there. Food was the usual for all inclusive after a while you always get fed up of rice chips and pork. Food through the day was very good piza, hot dogs, kebabs, paninis and all the ice cream you can eat. Drinks very good measures and strong. Staff in the hotel most are very pleasant, our cleaner gave us a present on our last day. The water park kept our kids busy and the beach was lovely. You must go to a little place out side the hotel gates it is a shack called El Paco's the food is lovely and the cocktail are good there is a great atmosphere it is very cheap but good it is a must we went 3 times and had takeaways from there for the kids sometimes. The location is a bus or taxi ride to sunny beach but beware the buses are always full, so taxis are easier. Nessibar is a great place to visit very pretty. In Sunny Beach you can go Go Karting that was great fun. I wouldn't hesitate to go to this hotel again.
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Mark Harrison from Manchester travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hi everyone,
Just back from Royal Park last Saturday. We was like all you, very worried about all the reports on this forum and contacted FC to see if we could get a move but got the same response. There is 2 problems with this hotel:
1. The food. It seemed to be cooked ok while we was there and saw on a couple of times staff coming out checking the temp of the food but it was all the same stuff everyday and what was there was not very edible but I suppose you have to remember that your are in Bulgaria so expect different food. Although 1 night there was chicken innards made up into a stew
2. Entertainment. There are 2 main venues for entertainment of an evening, the ampitheartre which alot of the time you have to pay an entrance fee and the animation hall were again, sometimes you have to pay to enter so as a result there are alot of people sat around doing knothing but playing cards of an evening.
We was surprised to here the hotel had been on the tele while we was there because honestly there is no more sickness going on at the hotel than there is at any other hotel in Europe. We had a dodgy tummy for a couple of days but nothing out the norm.
By the end of the 1st week though we had, had enough of the food so was eating out most of the time, Sunny beach is only 10 mins away and only 3 lev each to get there plus pako's is just outside the complex which serves great english food at a good price.
All in all, we had a really good holiday and didn't let the poor food upset us, the hotel is immaculate and all the staff are very nice. The beach and sea are fantastic and if you get the chance go on the VIP cruise and the jeep safari, they are the 2 best trips they do and had a brilliant time on both.
Hope this makes a few of you feel alittle better before you go.
P.S Don't forget to take some playing cards, you will need them!
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chipster from london travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back and have to say on the whole the holiday was ok.
The hotel its self was ok the reception area is outstanding, the rest of the hotel however is starting to show its age, general wear and tear but no real problems pretty clean (however the public toilets are a mess and no locks!!!!!).
FOOD,.. its true unfortunatly food in the main restaurant is in the majority in-edible, uncooked,cold,pink chicken, food named"chicken innards" or "a kind of paste product"???!!!)flies over uncovered food and mould on the cakes so do check. Breakfast is the only meal that you can eat without fear of poisioning but after 5 days of eggs,bacon,sausage it becomes a bit boring and to cook a peice of toast takes 15-20 mins!!
LUNCH- best avoided.
DINNER- have to be honest you will struggle to find a meal worth eating every day of your stay, we lasted 4 days before venturing out, ANYONE who says the food is good (or what you should expect from all inclusive) is talking utter rubbish or they really must eat complete crap at home!! sorry but for your money you expect better, if you eat there for your entire stay at least one of you will get ill and in the surgery there, you will queue with others as the docs put you on a drip, and if they offer you a trip to the local"facility" try to resist. It looks like a bomb has hit it!!! In the day there are hotdogs (ok), kebaps(avoid),Paninis(to locate them go to the ice cream parlour (about 500 yards away upstairs) at 11.30, they are only there for an hour each day so order as many as you can carry as they are ok)pizza(ok)there is the bar-b-cue which is ok to eat just check.
There are 3 other returants that you can go to (Sunshine,only open at 10pm, food looks great unfortunatly chicken pink kitchen closed half way through dinner??. Sozopol, Bulgarian menu, choose only the Soups, Chicken and 3 bean and for the main only the "kavama pot, really nice but every thing else on the menu is horrible and any one who sat there said the same thing!! Talyana never had the pleasure of eating there so pot luck really)
Unfortunatly to access these you will have to firstly queue at 9 o clock each morning & if you are further than the 15th person in the queue you will not get in!!! That is a promise, secondly try and stand as close to the desk where they take the bookings as people will just push in at the last minute. P.s there are no snacks of any description (except in the shop outside) any whwere after the resturant closes not even a packet of crisps anywhere!!!!.
OK here is your lifeline, there is Pakos bar outside the complex about 200 yrds to the left of the main gate, open from 4pm the atmosphere is really good local beer is 2 levs big bottles of Becks 2.50 lev so cheap, food is hit and miss hotdog really good burger horrid but its open till 4am and gets lively. Worth a visit but be prepared when yo first see it as it relly is just a wooden shack that looks ready for demolition!!!! BUT THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT, the reps do not eat in the resturant despite them saying they do. If you head to Pakos outside there, just on the left is a small turning as you enter it go right through thre barrier and then left down the slope and follow round to the left past the pools and lo and behold not one but 3 resturants!!!!! One in each corner and in the swimming pool a giant wooden boat with a resturant on!!! The two corner ones are good food and cheap prices so rather than waste money going to sunny beach these will see you through but keep your reciepts, you will even see the reps there.
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Parkinson from Coppull/Chorley travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just thought i would let everyone know, as i am one of the fussiest people i know, that we thought the hotel was ok. The cleanliness is quite impressive, we arrived at three in the morning to be greeted by 2 maids sweeping and mopping the reception area and terrace outside, we later saw that they proceeded to do this throuougt the day and our room maid was great we got clean sheets and towels each day.
The food is ok but not great, as someone who has been all inclusive before this was not the worst place i have eaten.
The location for us was poor as we are quite a active family and there is nothing around the hotel within a reasonable walking distance.
There were lots of complaints about hotel staff attitude, they did appear to be very ignorant but most of the general staff other thatn reception spoke very little english if any.
Entertainment for kids is great, the kids club operate most days 3 times a day for a few hours, however the adult entertainment is poor. Beware at the private beach bar where a lot of the evening entertainment is held, it is payable and quite expensive about 3 quid for small beer and 6 for a cocktail you will pay about 1 for a large beer and 2.50 for cocktail in sunny beach. The hotel is set in a very secure enviroment with a gated main entrance and security 24 hours a day.
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wakeford535 from sussex travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: Arrived back a couple of days ago am missing the weather and that is all!!
There are too many faults to list but here are a few: staff rude, power cuts, too many people, EXPENSIVE, middle of nowhere, pools dirty, awful cold food.
Can't believe you save up all year for this. £2700 for our family would of been better at Butlins.
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bryan newman from merthyr tydfil travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: just arrived back from royal park and heard all the fuss from tv and papers,some points i'd like to make-
1 the hotel was to close to the beach
2 the beach had to much sand on it
3 the sea was to cold
4 the hotel had to much going on for the kids
5 to many people enjoying themselves
6 beer was to cold
7 there are glass pint glasses not small plastic cups in the bar for your beer
8 staff were to helpful,on my birthday they even made me a cake which was to nice.
9 rooms were cleaned to often
as you can see me and my family enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning next year,some people have gone to this hotel and looked for problems to complain about,just relax and enjoy your stay,we did!!
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larkman from west glamorgan travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: arriving at midnight, the hotel looked fabulous. however, when we were taken to our room we soon found that we did not get the suite that we had paid extra money for! we promptly asked at reception if there had been a mistake and could we be moved but were told to come back two days later! this would have been ok if i didnt have two children with me but i did so it wasnt acceptable. we were also put on the 7th floor after we requested a low floor! apart from this the hotel is clean. there is no entertainment to speak of apart from a few quizes in the morris bar. the food is plentiful but undercooked, cold and pink meat, we all had dodgy tummies and my 2yr old son had to be put on a drip because he couldnt eat anything and ended up with dehydration! although we complained to the reps i dont think they were interested. most of the staff were rude or wouldnt even look at you, but there were some friendly ones if you made an effort with them.
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Ladymarmalade from Donegal travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Got back from the Royal Park 4 days ago and have to say we had a ball. The hotel is spotless and the staff are hard working and conscientious. The location is quite simply stunning, set on a very clean beach with the hills in the background. Will divide the rest of my review into sections for ease of reading.
1). Food:
Plenty of choice in the main restaurant and never found food to be cold. Plates and cutlery do run out at peak times but are replaced within minutes by staff. Some of the crockery has small chips in it but nothing major. The food may not be to everybody's taste in the main restaurant but there are several pre-bookable ones you can also visit. The Talyana is a lovely barbecue restaurant which we visited 4 times and can be booked between 10-11am on the day you want to eat at it. My absolute favourite though was the Sozepol which serves traditional Bulgarian food.... their chicken soup, tender roast lamb and honey pancakes were superb, they also have traditional dancers on a Monday and Thursday night at 8.30 pm who take all the kids out to dance. Paco's is outside the complex but cheap to eat in, we were getting 4 meals and 4 drinks for under 40 leva or Euro 20 !!! You can get hotdogs,pizzas and chicken kebabs from 10-5pm beside the pool and there is a brilliant coffee shop that serves cappucino's, ice cream, biscuits and panini's. Trust me you will not starve and the alcohol is most certainly not watered down and the measures are humungous!!
2). Staff
The staff at this hotel are the most dilligent I have ever come accross. The place is spotless, someone is always sweeping, wiping tables, collecting glasses etc.The maids are lovely and our linen and towels were changed daily, they even put the kids dolls and teddies in different poses everyday eg in the bed, wearing sunglasses etc and they used to pick the kids up and hug them. The bar staff are friendly and efficient and get to know your order very quickly. If people are treated with respect they react to you in kind, I had only positive interactions with all staff where I used good manners and smiled as did they. I did however witness other guests being incredibly rude and verbally abusive towards staff.
3).Entertainment:
The kids club is fantastic and the girls who work in it are patient, kind and a pleasure to deal with. The club takes 24 kids at any one time as there are only 3 staff, but if you make your way to the academy 20 minutes before the session starts you will generally have a good chance of getting in. My 3 kids went everyday and loved it, sessions are 10-12, 5-7 pm, 9-11pm and some days a party from 2-4pm which you had to pay 15 leva for because they got sweets and had their faces painted etc. The animation hall hosts all kinds of entertainment each night after the mini-disco. There are plenty of bars with quizzes on in or in some cases dance troupes ( strippers really) there was also a firework party on the saturday night. The first choice entertainment team also provide lots of entertainment around the pool during the day. Sunny Beach is only 15 mins and 3 leva on bus/25 leva in a taxi if you fancy getting out and about.
4). Location:
The hotel will take your breath away at first sight if you arrive in the night as we did.... its spectacular. The foyer is something else, really beautiful. Our room was a kids den and it was huge, the air con worked perfectly and we had a fabulous seaview. I went to Nessebar by bus which was very pretty and then on to Sunny Beach which I found very commercialised and was glad to be back in quiet Elenite.There is security guards at every gate of the hotel and nobody without a wrist band can come in, I found this very reassurind as you were not bothered by people trying to sell you stuff on the beach/at the pool. The hotel has 2 pools which were lovely, freezing when you get in but fine after a few minutes. The water park is also brilliant with lots of slides and very little queuing. You have to pay 5 leva for a sunbed at the waterpark and you cannot bring food and drinks in with you. I found the prices a bit steep so we used to leave our stuff with the sunbed and walk the 2 minutes back to the hotel for our lunch. The beach is lovely and very clean, beds are plentiful and free as they are at the pool.
We had a lovely holiday at the Royal Park, met lots of people who were constantly moaning about every thing and they were the only thing that put a dampener on my stay!!! None of us were sick, none of us were starved and none of us had to pay for missing towels. I'm sure there are things I could have found fault with if I put my mind to it, but they were so insignificant at the time and not worth getting worked up about, in other words every hotel in every resort you ever go to will have faults if you go looking for them. If you are a 'glass half-full' type in real life then chances are you will have problems at this hotel. However, if like me you go on hols to unwind and experience other cultures you too will have a ball!!!
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downer from brighton travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Food good, hot always something to eat.
hotel is always being cleaned at all times of the day and night.
location is about 15 mins from sunny beach, but situated right on the beach.
Staff friendly if treated properly
First choice entertainment ok, also resident hotel animation team doing different stuff
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chris mike from withernsea travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: when we arrived it was 5am it took nearly 2 hours to get a room we then found out we were on the 5th floor of the new part which didnt have a lift so we had to go to the 4th floor then walk right round then up a flight of stairs. room was ok but when we booked we were told it was a bedroom amd living area but there was no wall inbetween so no privacy . food was repetative and cold and chicken was undercooked and tables were never cleared we had to queue for at least 30mins to eat. there was one staff on the bar so getting a drink was a nightmare. entertainment was ok when you were drunk . the pool was freezing cold nearly had a heart attack when you got in it . the pedaloes were ment to be free but the life quard was charging 20leves we reported it to the reps but they were not interested. on the day we checked out the TOWEL SCAM STARTED. i lady with 3 kids was told she had to pay 155 levs as she had stole the towels after a few hours and a lot of arguing we all put in some money to pay it for her as soon as it was paid the security backed off . the reps just sat there and did nothing . 10 mins later another man was charged 60 levs and he kicked off but payed as his wife was upset.you have to check out of our room at 12pm and if you wish to keep it until 6pm it costs140levs which is a rip off . we booked a shower room from 6 till 7 pm and it was 20 levs when we got to the room the water was cold and we were told the whole complex was off , funny it came back on at 8pm when everyone had payed. they would not refund the money even though nobody got a shower.
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andy from newton abbot travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel looks great. we had a family room with the separate side room for the kids. the room was huge which was ideal for the kids, TV in the kids room had no socket to plug in an ariel so that never worked, our TV was dead when we arrived and it took 4 complaints to reception and me walking a manager up to our room to get it sorted. The air con never worked but i couldnt find anyone who had a working unit. the only english TV channel was BBC world news.
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.
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Barry from wigan travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: reception staff ofhand hotel very dirty staff not cleaning every body smoking even in restaurant food rubbish basic entertainment bingo barbeque staff very helpful alway,s smiling
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smith from walsall travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: hotel was spotless, the cleaners and glass collectors never stopped clearing up.
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smith from walsall travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: the hotel really does look stunning very clean,cleaners never stopped working, I found the staff at the hotel quite helpful and pleasant.the food seemed to be not very warm, but plenty of it maybe cause people could't eat it.wasn'nt to impressed with the food.the hotel location not very good,if the weathers crap there's not much to do, and nowhere to go. the beach is nice so is the pool area.entertainment wise they really need to work on that. its non existant,they have a kids club to keep them entertained, but if you ain't got kids there is nothing they need to put some on in the hotel.other than my wife slipping up on the stairs and breaking her wrist the holiday was ok, would i go back don't think so,
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Julie & Graham from Wigan travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: When we arrived at the hotel it was very grand and impressive and after reading some reviews we didnt what to expect. we had paid extra for a family room and it was well worth it! The room was immaculate and very big! The hotel was spotless with cleaners everywhere which is a priority for us to go somewhere clean. They were around the pool area and the reception area, waitresses were constantly removing dirty cups, really impressed with the cleanliness.
The food was really nice, we all ate well every meal time and only queued for 10 mins at the most! It was constantly being topped up and the waitresses were friendly and polite as were all the staff at the hotel. We were told to meet the rep the morning after we arrived but after 15 mins in the foyer, we realised he hadnt said where? We found our way around the hotel and the pubs etc but didnt really see any entertainment for adults apart from during the day.
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shell from tyne and wear travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice/thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was spottless.Very clean.The food was of poor quality,slightly undercooked,but had a microwave.Not many changes to the menu.The location of the hotel,i thought is great.Its right on the beach and seems to have everything on sight that you may need.Its only a 10min journey to neighbouring sunny beach which to me is like blackpool.Hotel staff seem very,very over worked and not polite at all.They are all very ignorant and miserable.Firstchioce entertainment was ok but iv seen better.Hotel entertainment was good but didn't see much of it as could never get a seat.I would visit this hotel again if i ever came back to bulgaria.
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Kerry from Blackpool travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: the hotel reception area, in my opinion, is spectacular. Extremely spacious and evn a first floor to sit either inside or out and have drinks. The decor is nice too.
The lifts are in short supply here, there are 4 for the hotel which has 11 floors. It was not too bad for us as obly on 4th floor so used the stairs, which did not do us any harm!
The whole of the complex is really nice and extemely spacious. Beyond the pool is a promenade which leads to shops, the nightclub and cafe and various hotels which are part of the chain. Going the other way is the waterpark which is great for the whole family and beyond there is the Sunshine restraunt. You can book for this in the Solzipol Restraunt above the cafe. There are 3 pre bookable restraunts in total.
We managed to eat in the Talyana 3 times(and only qued from 9.30) and the other two once each.
got checked in swiftly and we were escorted to our room and our luggage was carried. All staff throught the holiday were friendly and pleasant. I did witness one or two english people arguing with a member of staff, but we certainly expereienced no problems.
Quite a few people we spoke to had experienced stomach pains etc, but fortunately this did not happen to any one of us.
There are so many staff emplyed to work here and the place is kept very clean, the toilets near the pool and dining room get a bit pongy but there is always at least one cleaner around.
as far as the food goes well yes, it could have been better, but it is adequate and you come here you will not starve.
I did not need to speak with the First Choice Reps, but they were there every day.
The entertainments team were really good - Nathan inparticular. He really does give it his all. My 6 year old daughter took a shine to him especially. She and my 4 year old son though the little dance he does after a bingo win was great and loved to join in.
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joanne from birmingham travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: well waht can i say this was the worst hotel i have ever been to the food was cold the entertament was rubbish first choice staff incopertent paid !96 extra for a sea view room never got it had a view of the bins great smell was lovley reps no help food was cleaned up when you were getting it with a dust pan and brush rooms ok apart from electric sockets falling of the walls and shower curtain always falling down
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dave from torquay travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: If you save all year for your holiday you do not expect to be ill !
we have have been back 4 days 4 out of our 6 are still ill. I did not expect English food but the food in this hotel is unhealthy. they have no food safty laws. On my last night I watched warm chichen being poured into the cold chicken trays which had been out for 1/2 hr..
the staff never smile !!!! not sure why
they also use the same tolets & lifts
the location is ok but you have to travel by crowded bus or taxi's to go anywhere outside the complex.
power cuts happen all the time.
and be prepared to queue for just about every thing...
the kids clubs 3-9 yrs are ok
but waVe lenghts does not really happen ! we saw Mel the rep about 3 times in 2weeks.
The rooms, we had a den and it was very good size but it stank of wee, !!!!!
entertainment was ok first choice reps try hard but not our cup of tea . never saw any shows by hotel staff as you had to pay or queue.
if you have not booked yet don't go in Aug/July
| | |
donna from southampton travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We arrived here at 2am and were booked in an in our room by 2.15. The hotel is very clean and the cleaners are working all the time, can't fault it on the cleanliness.
The bar staff and cleaners are friendly but the restaurant staff are completely ignorant.
Our room was cleaned daily so no problems there.
The entertainment is good if you have little children but otherwise I'd recommend taking a pack of cards like half of the hotel seemed to do as there is nothing else to do and the decent entertainment brought in you have to pay for, unless your balcony overlooks the ampitheatre as our did!!
The first choice entertainment girls never smiled once in 2 weeks, but the guys worked hard.
The location is quite out of the way and there is only one road in and one road out and with all the building going on, I can see this becomming a grid lock once it has all been built.
There was always plenty of food to choose from, fresh salads, fruit, toaster, microwave and hot selection but the meat was not cooked properly and even without eating the meat all 5 of us had a poorly tummy and it was not because of drink or hotdogs etc as some have already said. My husband had a poorly tummy for a week and we took 12 immodium away with us and bought home 3. The second week we eat out and we were all fine, although we did not pay to go all inclusive and then have to pay to eat elsewhere just to escape a poorly tummy. Alot of parents were letting their small children help themselves to food and most of them were using their fingers to touch everything.
I did see a restaurant manager once, a cleaner knocked a pair of tongs on the floor, the restaurant manager picked them up and put them back on the croissants!!!! That was a manager!! I believe there must be a virus in the hotel restaurant as most of the people we talked to had the same illness as we did.
Unfortunately, you do have to get up early and put your towels on the sunbeds but this happens everywhere. There is a notice on the pool bar asking guests not to leave towels out before 8.30 but this is only in English and there were alot of other nationalities there as well!
The waterpark is good for children and you can always get a sunbed there as they are 5 levs each for the day and they have a payable bar there as well.
You do have to wait ages for a lift if you are on a high floor.
There is an italian restaurant you can book but you have to queue an hour beforehand in the mornings to get anywhere, which shows what people obviously think of the restaurant. Also you have to queue 45 minutes for 2 slices of pizza in the afternoon.
Overall the hotel is nice and looks very impressive day and night but I wouldn't say it was worthy of all the stars it has been given.
We used a guy called Stan as our taxi driver, (he waits outside the hotel gates)he speaks really good English and will give you a talk about the places on the way to Sunny Beach.
If we did go back to Bulgaria, we would probably choose Sunny Beach, purely because there is more going on, otherwise you only have the hotel and nothing surrounding it.
They are still putting the finishing touches to some parts of this hotel and if they sort the food and entertainment out, this will be a nice place to stay in a couple of years but we won't be returning.
| | |
Nick from Essex travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Overall I would say the hoilday was good as soon as we realised that Bulgaria is cheaper than other places for good reason. I found the place too big, too many people for far too few amenities.I would travel to Bulgaria again but NOT to the Royal Park.
On arriving at the Hotel Royal Park I admit it looked very impressive.
Checkin went smoothly and was soon shown to our room. We had booked a room with two bedrooms which was meant to have a connecting door. There was no connecting door just a archway with a curtain, which seemed to be the norm.
The hotel appeared very clean and I always saw cleaners everywhere we went.
The room was cleaned on a daily basis so no complaints there.
The hotel location was poor as you seemed to be a long way from anything to go to outside the resort.
The staff on a whole I found friendly. Though the staff in the food hall had double standards on dress allowed. It seemed that guests were not allowed in unless properly dressed which is okay but when you see the staff going in to eat half dressed and nothing said it got on your nerves.
If you are expecting much from the entertainment then this is not the place for you. This took place most nights in the Ampitheatre which had one tiny bar and no toilets, you had to traipse all the way back to the hotel.
The First Choice team did their best for the kids but that was about it.
The daily kids club was very good with the kids going into it for a couple of hours. The times my children went they had a good time.
Make sure you get get up early to get a sun lounger around the pool. It has signs up to not put out your towels until after 0830am (Only in English, even though the place is filled with Germans), but no-one takes any notice. Get your towels out by 0730am.
Try to get your meals early because the food hall gets so crowded and manic it puts you off your food.
The food on offer is pretty poor, hardly any variety and the chicken is definately undercooked. I'm still suffering now and I've been back in the UK for two days.
Same kids food day after day.
A plus was being on top of the beach which was lovely (Though watch out for jellyfish). The beach was clean and certainly felt peaceful compared to being around the pool. Yet again get to the beach fairly early to avoid disappointment on getting a sun lounger.
A big problem with the place are the queues. You queue for everything unless you are really early. The ice cream parlour which is one person serving the same ice cream you get in the food hall has particularly large queues. I gave up on the snack bar, the queues were terrible.
I found out that the two other hotels were also allowed to use these as they didn't have their own resulting in this madness.
Yes, there were queues for the bars but they were never to bad.
If you want to book for one of the A La Carte restaurants get there really early. The booking time is between 10 and 11am but for three days in a row I got to the BBQ restraurant earlier and earlier but no chance. On speaking to someone who ate there they told me they started queuing at 9am. I don't know about you but I don't want to queue up for an hour just book a meal, it shouldn't be the case.
We gave up on going to the Animation Bar for the kids entertainment, just too crowded and dark, both mywife and myself slipped on the stairs. I found out later that the place is mainly filled with Germans.
I would not recommend this hotel and it just doesn't seem ready for people to stay there. But on the other hand you have to think that Bulgaria is a few years behind other places in their tourism and in a few years time should be better.
| | |
Smith family from huddersfield travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned from an absolutely fantastic two weeks in the Royal Park. All members of our party thoroughly enjoyed it. Yeah the food wasn't fantastic but there was always a good selection and we travelled with some very fussy eaters but nobody went hungry.
The only downside to our holiday was the amount of whinging brits in the hotel. The entertainmenets team put on some fantastic shows at night but for the best entertainment during the day it was to be found in the reception listening and watching people complain to the reps, it was always amusing but unfortunately at times it was embarassing.
The reps - Dianne, Becca & Craig must have the patience of saints to put up with it all and we would like to thank them and all the team in the royal park for a great time.
For everyone travelling to anywhere in the world remember your holiday is what you make it yourself!!
| | |
Nicky from London travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
Eclipse
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having just returned this hotel is not 4star the food is diablolical. The breakfast never changed in 11 days and was cold,Dinner was under cooked Chicken, Veal and Pork with chips and Pasta.
Drinks Local Brew Only pourded from dodgy green bottles only and wine poured out from old sunflower bottles and dodgy beer on draught.
You have to queue for everythings get up at 7am for a sunbed and getting into the three so called alacarte restaurants forget the queues start at 8.30am and the bookings can only be taken from ten.
So yes you are left with the grotty buffet they have stopped you eating in the elenite village buffet as its full of Europeans .. Sunbeds you have to pay for in aqua park, Waterides have gone up on Beach and know charging 25levys to get into Sunny Beach as there is only one bus an hour being sent.
Beach Bar you have to pay for also pay for a decent drink. Irish Bar you ahve to pay for the other Irish Bar is in a dingy basement with no windows so with people smoking ist awful.
No tables at night for entertainment and yes guests are suffering usual stomach problems the reps are aware and apparently there is a viral Infection at the resort and Sunny Beach. Toilets are filthy and the rooms are okay beach is good but runs out on the one kind of pizza at 4pm and no kebabs..
Take extra money to eat out as you will need it after seeing the food.
| | |
Sharon from Bristol travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: What can I say! I must say I was very concerned about going here after paying £2,000 for a weeks stay all inclusive, after reading previous reviews. However, it was not as bad as I was expecting!! It was pretty bad in some parts ie the food but others like the complex were good. The hotel was quite nice (slight language problem at times with staff - but hey we are in their Country after all). Workmanship in the hotel rooms was poor (wait and see for yourself). The lifts were diabolical (expect to wait half an hour for one and when you are on the 5th floor you really need a lift when you have towels, boats, bags etc to carry with you - they were useless). Try to avoid the lifts and pray you are on a low level floor! The food in the main restaurant was absolutely the worst I have ever experienced in a 4* hotel, cold, dried up salads, stale bread, uncooked chicken, soggy pizza (need I carry on). Was so pleased when on about day 5 I discovered the "happy flower" section with kids fish fingers!! All I can say is thank goodness for the Tallyanna Restaurant which was really nice (but that you can only visit once a week, expect to queue too from 9ish on the morning you wish to go as it gets very busy and don't expect to get in first time - we had to queue for 2 mornings to get in. Worth it though - with lovely live music. Luckily there are snack bars too that are better than the buffet restaurant so we tended to use these. Didn't find the china to be chipped but mugs in the morning were stained and had to search for cleaned ones!!
The first choice staff tried their best with the entertainment in the new ampitheatre but to be honest it was not very good!! (We had the ending of a 70s production half way through the performance for some reason - but that may improve - good luck). They tried though and Nathan on our last night with his Mr Royal Park evening was brilliant and had us in stitches - so not all bad!
The waterpark at the back of the hotel was really good but bad infestation of wasps (as there was at the main pool areas in the Royal Park). Had to pay for sunbeds, parasols and drinks there though. Worth going to for the kids.
It was OK overall - complex very nice, hotel OK and food dire! Also did not have a decent alcoholic drink all week as that was bad too!! Have fun - its OK but not brilliant and we will not be returning.
PS - we all had had stomachs during the week and had avoided the chicken after what we had read on Hol Truths before going. So best not to eat at all - and come back without having to diet.
Have fun and best of luck!
| | |
Broony from Motherwell travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I cannot believe what I am reading from the other reviews - what are these people used to eating.
The food is absolutely atrocious, unless you love veal, raw chicken or grilled fish every lunch and dinner time. Every person I spoke to complained about the choice and quality.
If you don't want a dodgy stomach for your entire holiday eat somewhere else!!. Although there is only one "shack" within walking distance where you can buy a limited meal. So get used to the idea of going out to Sunny Beach ALOT - take plenty of cash.
There is no kids pool. If you have children under about 8-9 years who are not strong swimmers, they will not be able to play freely and safely.
On a plus the hotel is very clean and spacious set in nice surroundings.
| | |
Sharon from Bath travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just returned from a fantastic week at Royal Park!!
We arrived in the early hours of the morning with a prompt check-in by hotel staff with a fair understanding of English. The bell-boy immediately took our suitcases to the room and did not hover expecting a tip (a welcome change from other countries we have visited)!! We had booked a suite and were pleasantly surprised. Our room was immaculate. We had a large bathroom with both a bath and a shower. Both bedrooms had a balcony. It took a while to get used to the fact that there were no doors on the bedrooms (only arches) but due to the way the rooms are angled, you soon adapt to this lack of privacy.
Throughout the week the suite was cleaned daily with clean towels provided as neccessary.
We could not fault the restaurant. OK, the food got a bit repetitive after a week, (as in lots of All-Inclusive hotels) but there was always a great choice. The hot food was always hot and when trays were empty they were promptly refilled. You did have to queue at times, but only for about five minutes at most. There were always plenty of plates, bowls and cutlery avaiable. Some of the mugs were chipped, but it was possible to find a non-chipped one easily enough.
We did try to book into one of the A-La-Carte resataurant but they were fully booked. Apparently, you have to queue up at Reception by 10.00 a.m. to book so we didn't bother in the end.
We spent most of the week by the pool. It got busy, obviously, but provided you got down to the pool before 9.30 a.m. it was easy to get a sunbed (unlike other resorts we have visited where you need to set up camp the night before)!! Bearing in mind that the temperatures were in the 90's during the day, it was good to see that there was one parasol to two sunbeds (again - not the same in other countries where you have to fight to find a bit of shade). There were some wasps around the pool but usually they were hanging around holidaymakers who had empty drink cups under their sunbeds. Compared to English wasps, the Bulgarian ones aren't at all aggresive!! We didn't see or hear a mosquito all week!! The poolside area was cleaned regularly during the day by cleaners who worked continuously throughout the entire hotel complex.
We spent a couple of days on the beach which is directly adjacent to the hotel. There were always sunbeds available at no charge. The beach was clean and it was great to watch the little fish in the sea swimming round your feet.
The staff at the hotel were great. If you smiled and said hello to them they always responded positively. We had no problem getting served at the lobby bar, although again we did have to queue at busy times. There was no restriction on the number of drinks that you could get at any one time. They could do with another couple of bar staff working during the evening.
For the energetic amongst us there were always activities to take part in. The First Choice Entertainment Team of Erin, Carrie, Steph, Kirsty, Leanne, Luke and Nathan worked so hard to keep us entertained thoughout our stay both daytime and evening. The cabaret shows that they performed in the Amphitheatre were great - the team are so versatile. A holiday just has to include a British game of Bingo. Some of the audience participation game shows the Entertainers put on were so funny!!
The Amphitheatre had only opened the week before we got there and our main criticism was that the bar facilities and toilets were not finished, meaning everyone had to trek to the lobby bar for drinks and toilets. By the time we left, they had almost finished building the bar at the Amphitheatre, so this situation will probably improve in the next week or two. Quick tip - make sure you take a jacket with you if you are going to watch a show as it can get pretty chilly in the evenings!!
Another criticism was the external show provided by the hotel. The First Choice team had to vacate the Amphitheatre and decamp to the Irish Bar for the night (which got pretty cramped) as the hotel owners had arranged for an external show to use the Ampitheatre for a show called 'Dance of the Wind'. Guests were charged 25Lev to watch the show (needless to say we didn't watch - not sure how many people actually did).
We found Pacos bar which is just up the road from the hotel and ate there. The atmosphere in Pacos is great and laid-back.
On several occasions we also went into Sunny Beach which is the nearest resort. We used the taxis outside the hotel every time. You can get a bus if you'd rather travel cheaper. At no time did we feel intimidated whilst out and about. There was no pressure on you to go into shops and if you did go in and you said you were "just looking" the shop owner left you in peace. This is so different to some countries and resorts we have visited.
All-in-all we had a great time in Bulgaria and would recommend the country to anyone.
| | |
McCormack from Glasgow travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Arriving during the night checked in very quickly and luggage taken to my room for me.
Room with kids den was excellent extremely big, beautiful view to pool and beach.
Breakfast plenty choice hot and cold, lunch and dinner quite similar but plenty of choice, kids had pizza,chips hotdogs, and kids meals available, they even tried the meat and veg and liked it.
Hotel spotless, found staff nice enough was never ignored.
I had a bit of a problem with something being stolen outwith the complex, first choice staff extremely helpful, staff at main first choice office helped to get my crime report once I went home and posted it to me, above and beyond the call of duty really thankful.
Entertainment staff excellent, my children loved them, reps brilliant too (where do they get their patience).
Beautifully clean and cared for complex, plenty to do, entertainment staff are excellent, never seen people work so hard, my kids loved them.
Water park excellent, Beach beautiful. Alcohol was fine, plenty coffee available. Enjoyed it so much going back July 08.
| | |
clare budd from weymouth travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: staff allways cleaning,however rooms not cleaned very well.food absolutley disgusting,uncooked,cold,raw chicken,really wouldn't feed it as left overs 4 a dog,don't forget to search 4 a un chipped mug.not a bad location,much more to do in sunny beach.hotel staff,well what can i say,don't understand english and the one's that do are very ignorant and rude.entertainment not bad if you enjoy a game of bingo,personally not for me as a family holiday.
| | |
ed & clare from weymouth travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: towels not changed daily,rooms not cleaned properly.toilets not cleaned.showers were cold thats if u were lucky enough to have any water at all.food was disgusting,would not even feed it to a rat,it was either raw meat or cold,crockery chipped and filthy.location not bad but wouldof prefered sunny beach. staff a joke,couldn't speak english,first choice staff useless at sorting out complaints.entertainment rubbish unless u enjoy bingo and the same old kids disco songs repeated 4 two very long weeks.swimming pool really not suitable if children r not strong swimmers as recently dug kids pool up 4 the famous wedding,what a joke that was.i would never visit this hotel again and i wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.you have been warned.do not go to the royal park.it was truly that bad that our complint is being dealt with.
| | |
Edward from Gillingham - Kent travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I cannot fault the cleanliness of the hotel rooms,very clean and everything tip top.
Onsite toilets near restaurants were very poor, no locks on the door, floors wet. Food was good quality but bit repetitive after the second week, specialist restaurants doing traditional Bulgaria food was great and the drink, wow well strong.
General hotel staff i.e. bar staff, restaurant staff and cleaners etc very friendly only staff that were rude were the check in desk staff! Entertainment by First Choice Reps very poor and should be working in Butlins and not in this resort.
The Elenite Village Animation Team shows were great, with effort and professionalism for everyone of any age. The location of the hotel was great and roughly 20 mins to Sunny Beach, good thing hotel grounds is on the beach line.
Planning my next trip for 2008
| | |
Jodie & Stuart from Stafford travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We traveled out on the 18th June 2007, yes i would agree that the hotel and water park look very impressive when you drive down to it upon arrival in the dark.
We checked in a around 2ish in the morning, only to find that the receptionist and bellboys speak very limited english, we had a problem with our room which transpired that the UK end had booked all 5 of us into a standard twin room, we thought we had a twin connecting room (meaning 2 rooms with a connecting door between) but we were so wrong, we actually paid for a door which we didn't have in our room. After complaining to the First Choice reps the next morning, we had to stay in our cramped room for a total of 2 nights before we paid a extra 182LEV approx £66 to upgrade to a suite. We are now trying to claim this back.
Hotel yes very impressive, always clean and we had no problems with our none speaking bulgarian clearer. Floor in the toilets by the resturant are always constantly wet, as they are forever mopping the floors.
Food very boring after 1st week, seemed that they ran out of money and they hadn't received any new deliveries in. Plates, bowls and mugs are all chipped, they have brough new stuff but refuse to put it out untill it is actually necessary. It's all boxed up in one corner of the resturant.
No decent food for the kids, same old chips, nuggets or veal burgers. No babies food unless you brought it from the shop at a cost of £2 per jar. They had about 10 highchairs which meant that you had to search for one, (which we needed 2 of). Both myself and my husband suffered both sickness and the runs both on the same night at the same time, we both had eaten some chicken that night. Definately take some immodium instants with you.
You could buy nappies, wipes, powered milk and very limited jars of food.
Building work - you could see it going on, but we never heard it, they are just finishing off the plastering and painting both externally and internally of the hotel next door. But nothing major.
Pool ok, did smell at bits sometimes because of the drains, Wasps/bees started to arrive in swarms by the end of our last week, expecially around the pool bar, bins and where people had spilt fizzing drinks on the floor, Becareful where you walk, my husband got stung on his foot, and my one twin daughter got stung on her face at the waterpark and on her arm in the baby pool.
Yes we would return to Bulgaria, but not Royal Park,perhaps in another few years when they have gotten used to tourists.
| | |
caroline from galashiels travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: this hotel is great the resort has got it all water park beach and pool my kids just loved it. the food is ok did get a but did get fed up with it so went up to pacos and had dinner there but the resort made up for the food. went to nessebur on the boat that was a great day out.went to sunny beach for the day but did'nt like it at all. the entertainment reps are fab. the weather was very hot. we have just booked to go next year can't wait
| | |
Steven Walker from Limerick travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
Falcon
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Its a very clean hotel.
The food is disgusting. There are a lot of German oriented food, which is no good for Irish and English.
The secretary doesnt speak English, therefore unhelpful.
The trips are way too expensive. Your better off getting the bus.
All the cups are chipped, I mean ALL the cups. Bread is stale. I dont recommend it. Its great for kids though.
There was a lot of building work going on.
| | |
mooney from westmeath travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
falcon
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I can't believe I forgot to mention the absolutely fabulous Spa that this hotel has. It has all sorts of wondreful treatments on offer, plus all the usual beauty salon stuff. I had the cleopatra treatment, it was bliss. Chocolate massages sound tempting, but sadly I hadn't the time. Treat yourself!
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Mooney from westmeath travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
Falcon
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On the drive up to the hotel, it looks very impressive, especially at night time. The place is kept very clean. The have a small army of cleaners working day and night. Occasionally the toilets were disgusting, but this was the fault of other guests, as soon as the staff were notified they were cleaned.
The rooms are a bit disappointing, given how lovely the grounds and reception are, but they are clean and comfortable. We had a suite so our room was really big, but there was no separate bedroom, so no privacy! The bathrooms are fairly small, they have only a shower and the sinks have no plug in them, you wouldn't be able to do any hand washing or bathe a baby. There is no launderette in the hotel so bring enough clothes.
The food is good quality for a buffet, however it is a bit repetitive. The hotel definitely needs to invest in new crockery though, everything is chipped! I have never gone on a fully inclusive holiday before, and won't again, it just wasn't for me! I found it too restrictive, e.g. If you decide to have a lie in, it's hotdogs for breakfast! If you fancy a snack after a few drinks in the night, tough! We only tried one of the a-la-carte restaurants, it wasn't great, very small portions and not always hot, you are probably better off sticking with the buffet. The waitresses were very nice though.
The bars have an adequate selection of spirits and be warned you get huge measures. The beer tastes OK but is not very strong, the wine tastes like water but is lethal. You can't get diet drinks in some of the bars. There are water dispensers all around the hotel.
The Hotel has beautiful gardens and is situated on a lovely beach. But that is all there is, you can't go for a walk around anywhere else because outside the hotel there are building sites and it is just too dangerous. Health and safety mean nothing in Bulgaria.
There are four pools in the hotel now, one was filled in. The pool at Royal park has a small kids pool and a bigger pool, most of the first choice activities go on here, and it is great for meeting other guests. There is a bar serving hot and cold drinks and hotdogs, a walkway onto the beach is where the hut serving pizza and chicken kebabs is - hygiene is non existent here- you will be shocked! The second pool is further along the promenade at the holiday village, it is quite deep so good for jumping in and swimming. It is very sheltered from the sea breeze so it gets very hot. The lifeguard here is great fun, she's not afraid to get involved! This is where most of the hotel run activities happen and where you get the ice creams, biscuits and drinks. Further along the promenade is the kids pool with hotel run kids club, and further along again is the royal bay hotel pool.
On the promenade there is a small shopping area. You can get hair braiding, sunglasses, game-boy games, portraits, hats and a few toys. There is also a shopping area in the basement of the hotel and in the entertainment area in the front of the hotel, selling clothes, bags and jewellery. Things are much cheaper in sunny beach.
There are a few games rooms around the hotels and a few pool tables, all are payable.
There is a great little water park in the grounds, this is where we spent most of our days. You have to pay for sunbeds, drinks and snacks but it is very cheap. The bar serve lovely cocktails and it doesn't get crowded, it is a perfect place to relax with a drink while the kids go mad on the slides. It looks like they are putting in more slides and a wave pool too. The toilets were kept locked for some reason - I couldn't get any answer from anyone when I asked about them. It was very frustrating having to keep going back to the hotel when kids needed no.2's!
To get the most out of this holiday you really need to get involved with the reps, they are very enthusiastic and seem to really enjoy their jobs. The usual holiday stuff is on offer. During the day you have beach football/volleyball, pool polo, water aerobics, pool and quizzes. At night there is kids disco, bingo, and adult themed game then two reps take it turn to put on a cabaret. They are excellent singers but it's all very amateurish -sorry! There was no professional show while we were there but there was a male strippers show for the night we came home, so maybe there are other things planned. Everything stops at 11, and you have to pay in the bars after 12.
We were there for 'the big wedding', and it did feel that most of the hotel's resources went into putting it on. Some of the restaurant was closed off for the wedding guests who were staying in the hotel and part was used for the wedding caterers, this made it quite difficult to get a table. There was a beach bar built for the wedding which is staying, they serve cocktails, but it is payable. The pool that was filled in is staying filled in. We were also restricted from walking around certain areas while the wedding was on. It was quite frustrating and I think guests should have been notified what was going to happen.
It was great to see the wedding though! It was like something out of hello magazine. The kids loved looking at all the wedding guest's cars. There were Ferrari's, Aston martins, porches, maserati's to name but a few. It was amazing to see how the other half live. and we got to see the gypsy kings -from a distance mind you but you could still hear them OK.
First choice have a good selection of organized trips on offer. They are expensive, if you consider how cheap things are in Bulgaria but we enjoyed the ones we took. Khan's tent, which is a dinner and a show-but not in a tent and not Bulgarian which we were led to believe, but it was good for a bit of a sing song. A lazy day family cruise, the kids loved fishing and diving in the sea. Off road day, an hour long drive up an extremely bumpy mountain road in a land rover, then rifle shooting, archery, quad biking and horse riding, and then a stop at a quiet beach.
On the whole, if you like going fully inclusive you will love this hotel and what it has to offer. If you prefer to go to different bars and restaurants and do different things during the day you will be disappointed here. We ended up getting taxi's into sunny beach most nights. I will definitely go back to Bulgaria but I would much rather stay in a self catering apartment in Sunny beach or Nessebar.
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Janet from Manchester travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Returned 4th June. Overall we had a good holiday. Would recommend this holiday, but in another 12 months time, as there was a lot of rennovation work going on within the complex, apparently due to a high profile wedding that was to be held on the 9th June of Ex Olympic gold medalist, with Bulgarian president & Gypsey Kings in attendance(this was in addition to the building work on the other side of the hotel) It appears that one of the swimming pools had been filled in to make way for a beach bar & marqee?(For this wedding-not the punters!) The animation hall was in the process of being 'done up'(for the wedding!) so all the evening entertainment was either held in the Irish bar(underneath the hotel)very smokey, or the Galaxy nightclub, very dark & slippy floor. Whilst we were there, the road in front & up to the hotel was tarmacked & they were generally working flat out to get everything ready for THE WEDDING! Would be very interested to hear from anyone that was there whilst the wedding took place.
Not everything that was advertised was available, one of the restaurants was closed,(Talyana) No BBQ's & 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 into reception & 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 is also a coffee shop in middle of complex
(? phillodopollis)where you can get all your drinks, biscuits & ice-cream in cones during the day.
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!
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sara from sussex travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: If you have kids DONT whatever you do go here, there is no kids pool, well you have a 2 meter deep pool or a 6 inch deep pool, Staff very poor.
You have to Que about 30 minutes for breakfast lunch and tea, nothing for kids to eat, very noisy at night, and we went in may I would hate to think what July/August would be like, they have a water park there which is great, but you have to pay for the sunbeds food and drinks there, and you can't take anything from the hotel with you as the security staff take it off you, if you have booked then very best of luck to you.
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sara from sussex travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have been to some good and bad hotels and this is not a good one, really I'm not a fussey person but this hotel is no good.
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joanne from northamptonshire travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I went to the Royal Park hotel with my mother and 2 sons, 18 and 14 yrs old in May 2007. The weather was out of this word, one day it rained but was still hot.
The hotel on first impressions was fantastic, as we arrived in the early ours of the morning. We had a family room facing the beach, which was lovely. Bad point was the sofa bed that my boys had to share, very uncomfortable and not big enough for 2, no matress, just board underneath, my 18 yrs old still has a bad back.
Patio door didnt shut properly, had to lift it up to lock it, fridge didnt work, the socket on the wall was shot, one wardrobe for all 4 of us, the kids lived out of their suitcases, and no drawers at all only for small makeup items. Safety deposit box was in the wardrobe attatched to some shelving was removable, (this costs 25 lev)and not refundable. Shower fixing was coming off the wall, and had a leak on the floor, but couldnt work out where it was coming from.
Hotel food was ok, sometimes not very hot, the rolls were mostly stale, but apart from that good selection. Hotel location, very close to the beach, and that was beutiful, but there was nothing near the hotel, you can catch a bus that goes on the hour but comes back every 2 hours.
Hotel staff I found were very nice, they speak only a bit of english but enough to get by, lets face it we are in their country. Cleaners are on the go all the time.
Entertainment, nothing for my liking or my kids. You had to be 6 or 7 yrs old in the day time or some one that likes putting some ones pants on your head in the evening..........that wasnt for me.
I would go back to Bulgaria, but not to this hotel. Oh and I forgot to say that the Bulgarian Playboy girls were doing a photoe shoot all week at the hotel and apparently do this every year at the hotel, nice one ladies, they get served first all the time at the bar.
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Jane from Essex travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Royal Park is a fantastic looking hotel right on the beach.
The staff are always cleaning the hotel so it is spotless.
We found we could not fault the food. There was always a good selection, something to suit everyone.
The location of the hotel is actually outside Sunny Beach. It is right on the beach. The view from the hotel rooms is lovely and sometimes you can see the Dolphins out at sea.It is actually a holiday village. Unfortunately when we went in May it is still classed as there winter so not everything was up and running. Once outside the hotel there us nothing. You can catch a bus into Sunny Beach which is cheap.
The hotel staff always seemed helpful.
The First Choice entertainment team were first class. T
There was one singer there who has so much talent she completely stood out from the rest. She had the most powerful singing voice.
I think we would return to this hotel again. I would probably go a few weeks later when everything is up and running.
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Jobi and Becky from Llandudno travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I just wanted to add a comment as all comments are from last year and the hotel has clearly improved.
The hotel is fantastic, staff, food and all First Choice team.
We requested a low floor, and got a 1st floor room overlooking the pool.
The entertainment staff were energetic, the kids club girls were lovely and althought the mainline reps were not very knowledgeable, they would always go off to find the information.
All the food was warm, except certain items on the breakfast (bacon, eggs) but all other meals were beautiful.
The only downside I felt was being the first arrivals of the season - not everything was open, and some sites on the hotel were still being built, or opening up.
But I loved it so much that we are about to book again for next year, but towards the end of May.
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anna from birmingham travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back from Royal Park we were a bit worried after hearing some of the reviews on here beforehand but I've gotta say we all had a great time.
There was 2 adults and 3 kids in our party the only thing that let the hotel down was the fact that there was not much variety of food for the children, apart from that everything else was ok and we've just booked up for next year.
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williams from devon travelled to Royal Park Hotel with
first choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 | rated the Royal Park Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: When we landed in Bourgas airport we were very Dubious having read the reviews beforehand.
On arriv |
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