| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Debbi & Glyn from Oswaldtwistle travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We were moved to Hotel Bravo on our second day as we complaned about our first allocation.
We were shown to our hotel by the manageress, who in our opinion appeared extremely rude and ignorant.
We had booked a 3* and the room seemed to reflect this. It was fairly spacious and had two balconies.
There was plenty of storage space, although the kitchen facilities were not excellent. A family would find it difficult to cook with the resources.
The bathroom was fine, although the hot water did run out if one person used the shower for too long.
We did not see any memeber of staff during our stay. However, the maid visted about 3 times during the week and left clean towels, toilet roll and folded our clothes.
We feel, after reading other people's comments and talking to other holiday makers that we were lucky with our apartment.
We would not however risk visiting Hotel Bravo again, especially not in peak season as it seems your apartments depend on the private owners.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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gray from lincolnshire travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
low cost beds
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: we stayed in casa brava 2 the room was cleaned only once in a week and we only had towels and sheets changed once. the apartment was ok but the shower kept flooding and it smelt like sewage.the bar was not open and the pool was very cold. the location was ok for us quite but if you had difficulty walking its not the place for you, as there was hardly any taxis about.hotel staff was one boy whos english was poor we mainly spoke to the security men.
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Jones from Birmingham travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Allocated on arrival to Bravo apts.Slightly miffed that our party was split into two separate blocks so my husband had to sleep with our two 16 year olds as we couldnt see their apartment from ours.The apartments though supposedly all one bedroomed for four people were hugely different.One was fine, nice and roomy good cooking and fridge facilities, nice bathroom good shower only problem was only one inch deep mattress which was a little uncomfortable.Bedding was a little bit minging!!(dirty pillows and sheets too small for double bed)Other apartments were much smaller with very unstable bed settees! Good facilities though with satellite tv's some video players!
On the whole the apartments were OK.Cleaning was minimal though!
Management of the apartment complex was very relaxed but they dealt with any issues in their own time and way!
We however had major concerns with the maintenance of the pool area.Four of our children had ear infections and we noticed other guests around the pool with ear problems!We never actually saw any cleaning chemicals put into the pool in 14 days!
Our main problem was with the lifeguard who we didnt realise was a lifeguard for 10 days! He was never at his post always drinking beer and chatting girls up,playing volleyball with mates. He suddenly became a jobsworth when his mates had gone home and decided to take inflatables off children and burst them!! He told our 12 year olds in the 11th day of our holiday that they were only allowed in the baby pool! and was downright nasty particularly to our 7 year old who he decided he did not want in his pool because he was having too much fun! He complained to my husband that the children were splashing and swimming and having too much fun!!!! My husband took him to the manager who simply laughed at him but I have to say that the lifeguard spoiled an otherwise enjoyable stay at this complex!
Of an evening there were more people swimming in the pool than in the daytime right up until gone midnight with no lighting and no lifeguard which we were a little concerned about.
The only other problem with this complex is that you have to cross an extremely busy road to get to it which was a nightmare! (A woman got run over whike we were there.) The road was a big problem and limited the freedom that we were able to give to our 16 year olds!!!
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skfjop from bristol travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
balkan
on a singles holiday.
There were 1 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Went to Bravo apartments,not bad except one or two small issues.
No one there to meet you - made friends with some of the staff/those speaking english/ they explained how it worked - as these are privately owned apartments/as in all other such complexes/they do not provide hotel services such as reception,porterage etc.,they only maintain the comlex.It is the owners' or tour operator's/the one who took your money/ duty to provide these unless there's a contract between the owner and the developer.
Usually the staff don't even know you were coming to their complex, let alone times,flight numbers,names etc.Their only duty is to ask you is this your apartment or a friend of your's,do you have the permission of the owner to stay there and so on. While we were told just the opposite by the tour op. -they are expecting you,for any issue contact the "reception"...
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donna from southport travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in Bravo Apartments. I have marked cleanliness as a three, this is only because the bins were not emptied on a regular basis and I considered this a health risk, especially as they were directly below us, the inside of the apartment was clean.
We arrived around 2.30a.m and waited around 15 minutes to be greeted, we waited outside and had no idea where to go. I was told by other holiday makers that 15 minutes was quick, some waited for up to an hour. We watched them from our balcony later in the holiday.
A young lady showed us to our room and promptly asked if we'd like to hire the safe and air conditioning. It was late,we were tired and went to bed. We had climbed up three floors of winding stairs with our suitcases, that was hard going!
We had no fire alarm, no fire escape and no idea how we'd get out in the event of a fire. We were on the top floor.
We had a double bedroom which my parents took and a very cramped room for myself and my two children. We had a bunk bed for the kids and I had what can only be described as a mattress which pulled from under the lower bunk. It was awful. The wardrobe space was minimal and I had no draw space at all.
The apartment was ok but not at all what we had expected. It was smaller than described in the brochure and the kitchen was tiny. It would have been awkward to cook a proper meal considering we had booked a self catering holiday.
The pool was nice though, sun loungers were always available and the water was clean. The kids loved it. The resturant food was ok but expensive, I wouldn't eat there if you're on a budget, its cheaper than home but why pay for ok food through the nose when you can get really good food elswhere, cheaper and with a friendlier service.
Locaton was good, close to a decent supermarket, plenty of food places and the beach was within a short walking distance.
The staff at Bravo were good unless we had a problem. Then they could be dismissive and suddenly find english difficult, even if we had just been holding a conversation. Only the maids were friendly and one waiter. The others were rude and unfriendly.
Personally I would not stay at the Bravo apartments again. And I wouldn't recommend them to others.
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bev from llandudno travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
bulkan
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Casa Brava 2 apartments.
arrived early hours walked round for about 5 minutes before noticing security man in office who he had our surname on a piece of paper and gladly showed us to our apartment.
no one officially greeted us or made themselves known to us the whole time we where. there was a manageress there which we found out on our last day, having said that we had no problems that we needed to go to her anyway.
Apartments where spotless maids lovely nothing too much trouble.
Bar staff lovely again nothing to much trouble and made us feel more than welcome.
Food was good which was good as some nights we needed want to go into town
location was brilliant on 5mins away from main drag and beach and orange disco just down road.
Pool brilliant great for young and old.
We will be going back.
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Tony from Derby travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in Bravo 1 and were pleasantly surprised at the standard after reading some horror stories.
Apartment was well furnished, but after a while things started to show up.
Air-con leaked, light in bathroom gave up the ghost after 10 days and we had to use a candle. Hot water only available 4 days out of 14.
Most apartments are private and so the response from Reception is "not our problem" or "it happens".
In contrast the pool bar was great. Good food and the friedliest staff you could imagine, with a guy called Diam being especially good. One note of cution...drink bottled beer as we noticed one of the backroom staff taking sips if the draught glasses were too full.
Location was good, far enough away from SB to be quiet, but only a 5 min walk away.
Pool was nice, clean and checked weekly. Lifeguard was a bit lax, drinking beer, etc. but I never had reason to doubt him as he was always around and watching...but what a job :).
Maid was rubbish, bringing 1 roll of toilet paper a day and emptying bin, but little else.
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Paul from Southampton travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at Bravo 4 last summer.
Was very pleased with the standard of accommodation. A large 2 bedroomed apartment overlooking the pool.
The apartment was nicely furnished and was spotless.
Location is fine and to be honest it was nice to be out of the main hub of sunny beach, but only a few minutes walk in.
We are going back this summer to the newly finished Bravo 5 which looks fantastic.
Would recommend this to anyone looking to stay in Sunny beach.
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ann holt from stockport travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
bulkan
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Stayed in Bravo 4.
Pool area lovely no problems getting sunbeds probably because most apartments unfinished or empty.
We arrived 2am room very clean put sofa bed out to find it was broken wouldn’t attach to rest of sofa. My boys are 12 and they struggled to sleep on it so how 2 adults are meant to I have no idea. Was woken very early next day by dogs fighting looked out of the window to see the biggest tip full of food waste, old beds you name it it was there. Both verandas over looked this dump. Which we saw families of mum and 2 small children eating the left over food. I have taken photos of the tip and everything else.
We did not have a safe and when we asked about it he carried one over and put 4 blobs of silicone on it was no way safe.
The air con was only in the living/kiten area not bedroom and it was above the sofa beds it leaked so we had to put towels over the sofa before going out. As the boys had to sleep on it later. The bathroom was different nowhere to hang towels up and the shower just ran onto the floor and down a hole. The whole floor very wet and slippy. We had a tank of hot water and if 1 person took too long in the shower it soon went cold. Took roughly an hour to heat up again.
Never saw a rep all the time we were there I went to Bravo 1 they didn’t know who or when they came.
Towards the end of the 2 weeks the pump broke in our pool but they never said anything let the children carry on swimming that night our friends daughter was very sick. The next day when we looked at the pool it was that dirty you couldn't see the bottom. When we asked about it they said no don’t swim- I think they should of said something earlier.
If you wanted food at the pool you had to walk over to bravo 1 as the cook didn’t always turn up at Bravo 4.
It was a bit disappointing as they was never anyone to report things to as the is no reception.
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jimmy from gateshead travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
balkin
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Arrived 1am at Bravo no reception. Waited over 1hour finally young lad appeared helped with cases led us through Bravo (3 I think ) across a bit of waste land unlit to bravo 4 which is not in brochure as unfinished supposed to be 4 star more like 2 star cooking facilities microwave small portable electric ring very basic .
Shower was not finished as there was no curtain and no partition from toilet just one wet room no towel rails etc no safety deposit box until 2nd day fitted under sink by silicone no bolts cost 80 Lev child could pull of wall.
Balcony view to pool ok bedroom view to waste tip and pack of 20 plus dogs followed by goats and unfinished hotel
Location terrible, busy road. Longer to beach than brochure says
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t whitehead from stockton on tees travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
bulkan
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in the Bravo apartments. We arrived in our accommodation at 1am in the morning and where shown to our apartment.
As my husband was on crutches he was unable to carry any cases i struggled with the luggage and the children while a staff member walked in front empty handed with the key in her hand.
The room was filthy. It looked as though someone had just moved out of the room and it had not been cleaned. I had booked 4 stars this was no where near 4 stars in my opinion. The ash tray had been used, shelves where broken, sheets had wet marks on them, the toilet continued to flush all night, fridge smelled terrible, no sink in the kitchen. I could not touch anything in the room without getting my hands dirty it was terrible, and the state of the toilet, well I can't begin to describe the dirt in there.
I went to reception to complain and was told the apartment was privately owned and there was nothing they could do I would have to speak to the rep the next day. I was not aware that the apartment was privately owned when I booked through Balkan, most of the apartments are private owned and they are all different.
The complex itself wasn't any better it was old and shabby looking and rubbish lying everywhere we saw stray dogs wondering round the pool and dirty nappies scattered across the lawned area. The next morning we where told that we would be picked up from the apartments at 10 o’clock to be taken to our welcome meeting at the Globus, we decided to take our cases as well as we had no intention of going back to the Bravo apartments. No one came to pick us up so we paid for a taxi to the Balkan office near the hotel Globus.
They were not very helpful, they wanted us to pay another £800.70 to up grade to the Globus when we had already paid over 2000 for our holiday for two adults and two children, I refused to pay this, I agreed to pay another 500 for the difference of self catering to half board. They made us wait until 4oclock in the afternoon before they finally agreed to this saying they where having a meeting in London to decide. It was very stressful but in the end we had a nice holiday but I would not go back after this experience. The Globus hotel is beautiful
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D. lakin from Coventry travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
flight only
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I own an apartment in bravo 4. I am surprised to hear that people stayed there last summer as it was not yet completed.
We do not rent ours out at the moment but when we travelled out there last summer to furnish our apartment we got flight only and booked an apartment privately through www.rentinbulgaria.com that way you get to see photos of the actual apartment you will be getting and can speak to the owner in person before you go to ask questions about the facilities.
A taxi from the airport in around 15-20 pound but you can also arrange this before you go. We have only put a microwave and 2 ring hot plate in our apt too because food is so cheap you will eat out all the time any way. If you have a big family this is usually a far cheaper option depending on flights.
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Nayler from Aberdeen travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was my second time in Sunny Beach, the first time was at a AI hotel and this year we decided to try s/c apartments.
Arrived in Bravo Apartment 1 and was allocated an apartment which was wholly unsuitable. We had booked a 4 star two bedded apartment and what we were given was more like a 1 bedroom apartment divided into a 2 bedded apartment.
You entered the apartment straight into the kids bedroom and there was a tiny space between the two bedroom which housed a two seater soft a small table with only 2 chairs and a kitchen with no microwave or cooking facilities except a hot plate.
The bathroom was a converted cupboard and the toilet was leaking waste on the floor. I immediately refused to unpack and waited until the rep appeared at 5pm to complain.
He was very unhelpful and said the the brochure stated a kitchenette and that is what we had and that there were no more 4* available. In my opinion it was not a kitchenette or a 4* as you could not cook anything and the apartment is meant to hold 5 adults!!
He said the owner would go out and purchase a microwave for us but I refused and said I wanted to see any 3* they had available. At that the owner agreed to move us to another of her 4* apartments the next day(presumable she did not own any 3* and would have lost out).
This new apartment was wonderful, hallway, separate lounge, kitchenette with microwave, fridge freezer, kettle, etc and the two bedrooms were separate and large with balconies at both ends of the building so one view was of Bravo 2 pool and the other was Bravo 1 pool.
The bathroom was also large with a 3/4 shower cubicle. The new tenants of our original apartment had a hard time getting the toilet fixed and they were not impressed with the apartment either and kept complaining. I think the problem lies with the owners trying to pan off substandard apartments as 4* and there is no way of knowing which one you will get.
We heard of 4 German lads in Bravo 2 who had a washing machine, you would think they would allocate these to families first.
The pool area in Bravo 1 was always crowded and some people did not come down until the afternoon even though they had their towels on the loungers.
There was a lifeguard who in my opinion should remove all towels after 9am if there is no-one on them.
Two days before we were due to leave 20 English lads arrived and took over the pool and were noisy getting in early in the morning. Good thing we only had two days of them.
In my opinion I will not be returning to Bulgaria as it is becoming too popular with the lads and ladettes and the prom is too crowded in the evening and they still let motocycles and pushcarts along there when they should have a stop time of 7pm when it should only be pedestrians.
Overall it is becoming too popular with the wrong crowd and will soon be like Ibiza.
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Denise from Scotland travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan/royalties
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well we were in Bravo one just like the book showed and our apartment was lovely. Bedroom with kingsize bed, kids bedroom two single beds and one single pullout in living area. Only thing was we booked and paid for 5 adults because of the kids ages and it only comfortably slept four so our son ended up staying with his girlfriend who booked seperately into a hotel.
Living room had leather sofa and chairs very comfy and nice units just like home from home, kitchen was not very well equipped one ring hob type thing one small pot microwave but no dishes 2 glasses 4 plates one bowl the list could go on...I went and asked for some more things and within a couple of days they were put into apartment except bowls but to be honest it was no big problem. Had a decent size balcony on ground floor.
The location was fine except the very busy main road quite dangerous.
No entertainment but we went out every night.
We had breakfast, lunch or snack at the restaurant in Bravo one which were all lovely no complaints and very cheap.
The staff all work very hard and were great apart from one who I think had something to do with running the place who was not very nice.
Yes I would go back again if we could be guaranteed the same kind of apartment as they are all privately owned they all differ. My brother was there at the same time in the same 4 star and his was nowhere near as nice as ours so this would make me rethink, there are plenty of nice apartments all over Sunny Beach to choose from and plenty more being built.
All in all a great holiday.
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Mark from Benfleet - Essex travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Stayed in Bravo 2 which is a lot quieter than Bravo 1 though the availability of sun beds seems to depend on if the ''owners'' were present or not. Apartment cleaned daily and everything we could have needed was provided. Bar in Bravo 2 only had a limited menu so we used the bar in Bravo 1 which offered food throughout the day and at night had a better atmosphere. There are currently 3 blocks of Bravo apartments all with their own pool and bar there is a mini market nearby (across the main road) though if you can find the local shop its a lot cheaper. Crossing the road out the front needs care at all times, Bravo is 10 minutes from the centre and 6/7 to the beach.
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Dave Bull from Crewe travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I went to the Bravo apts w/c 9.8.04, slightly nervous as single parent with 4 kids aged 16 - 10 to keep happy, however, absolutely delighted with accomodation, effective air con, great shower and two balconies.
The food available from the bar was very good, cheap, and the kids were able to order, and i paid up later!
The staff were first class, and very trustworthy.
The only fault was the fairly busy road seperating us from main area, and no entertainment, although we weren't bothered as we went out every night into the town.
Definitely recommend and go again.
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Gill Williams from Rhondda travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We arrived here at approx 1.30am to be greeted by the most unhelpfull,miserable staff I have ever met.
The room was clean,tidy and furnished to a resonable standard.We had no problems getting sunbeds and we found everywhere to be clean.
The location was away from the main area which meant it was quiet but we were happy with location apart from having to cross the busy road.
We ate in the bar several times and enjoyed the food. The bar staff were lovely and helpfull.The down side was there did never a rep on site and to be honest the staff did'nt give a dam. They were very horrible,unhelpfull and miserable.
Would I stay here again? No because I did not enjoy Bulgaria. But would reccommend these apartments for families even with the horrible staff
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J&J from Peterborough travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
Balkan Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was the first time we had travelled to Bulgaria. The apartments were clean and spacious. The maid did come every day but we did have a bit of a battle with the toilet paper - quite frequently she didn't leave us any when we were running low - I know toilet paper is very much an issue in Bulgaria but I didn't expect it to reflect at our appartment!
Overall we were very pleased and happy with the apartment, the location is nice as it's not too noisy in the evening but you do have to be careful of the busy road.
We didn't eat round the pool but were told that the food was ok. The shops were about a 5/10 min walk away but we always shopped on the way back from our evening out - there was a little shop being fitted out opposite the apartment which opened whilst we stayed there - that made life a lot easier.
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grace gallacher from glasgow travelled to Bravo Apartments and Studios with
balcan holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Bravo Apartments and Studios as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: stayed in Bravo self catering apts'2 bed 4* -apt's have various furnishings depending on specification of private owners! - cooking facilites depending on ownership - (some have built in oven fully fitted kitchen, 3 pc suites these apt can be 3or 4* depending on admin staff [see below])4* we staye in had no cooker or grill, microwave only with no microwave dishes to cook with (apt's for 5 ppl with crockery for 3)- balcony with space for 3 ppl- only difference between 3* & 4* is remote control air conditioning (which all apt's had), but admin staff took remote control thus turning apt's into 3*
spot on for towel change and service of maid did go out her way to leave towels in shell shape on beds, tidied and folded clothes which is not expected
location of apt's - nice 5 min walk from centere, but after 1 week found shortcut that took u out to chakia beach
bar staff very nice and polite - admin staff need more training in allocation of apt's and difference between 4 & 3* accomodation
no entertainment at apt's
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