Arrived back yesterday morning, nearly an hour earlier than expected!
Albena was great, helped by the fact that we only had 3 minutes of cloud for the whole week. The beach is just as I remembered, very safe and the sea was warm. Stayed at the Gergana, have put a review in the hotel section, a good hotel, just that I have gone past the stage of wanting/needing to be entertained and the sunbeds were very close together on certain days. Got very spoilt last year when we went to Northern Cyprus as the hotel had no children, was very quiet and the sunbeds had plenty of room between each other, sorry to be awful but when you teach young children all year round it is nice to escape now and again. If I could have picked up the hotel from last year and put it next to the Gergana in Albena then that would be my perfect holiday. The food throughout the resort was good, and we also had a nice meal in Balchik. The stay was also made more pleasant as we often took my friend's new grandchild out with us to eat in the evening and a great fuss was made of us all, especially the baby, in fact the car park attendant at Balchik almost made off with her, he insisted on pushing the pram out of the car park and down the road for an awfully long way.... The amount of new cars is surprising, well I was told, so I should not have been surprised, there have been a few other changes over the last 2 years but Bulgaria is still great and the majority of people lovely, I just hope they do not become too commercialised, Bingo was being offered as entertainment at the pool! Anyway folks had a marvellous time in spite of a rampant eye infection, imparted with love from my youngest which began on the day we flew out. Cannot fault the chemists in Albena, who I saw when I arrived, friends arranged for blood tests and eye swabs in Varna (they know a doctor at the hospital and this doctor took me to an eye specialist after these. We probably got 'mates rates' but the bood tests were ready within 4 hours, the liver and cholesterol took 2 days along with the swabs for the princely sum of 24 levs. The eye doctor charged 20 levs for a very thorough examination in a modern practice and prescribed drops and cream which cost me 18 levs. The eye doc did get very cross though as we were doing the usual British joking about me looking like Quasimodo or a pirate, and were obviously not aware of how serious the infection was - it had spread to the cornea - her English was good but we did have a friends' daughter along as a translator, just in case, but only had to use her once and when she explained that the mad Brits joke about illness - which always horrifies my Bulgarian friends. My eye is still sore but the swelling has gone down and it is now open, visited Moorfields today who have comfirmed the Bulgarian diagnosis of a viral eye infection and they have toned down the medication as they did not feel that I needed the high strength now it is starting to mend. Still had a good time although did not do all we wanted to and I would not hold the baby in case I passed the infection on. Still will have to go for longer next year. Sorry to ramble on folks but anyone reading this and deliberating about Bulgaria, do go and visit and have a wonderful time.

Here is the hotel report. Good also to hear that medical treatment is good.

My wife is going here in 12 days

We've just read Elaines report (hope the eyes getting better)

One question we have is the Gergana Hotel on the Reviews page it says RIU Gergana

Nowhere on her booking paperwork does it say RIU so is it or isn't it a RIU hotel

Hi Gray

Just done a Google search of Riu hotels and there are none listed for Albena, only Golden Sands, Obzor and Sunny Beach.

Looks as if it isn't.

Patka

This is an interesting one. As Patka says (wouldn't dare disagree!) this is not listed as a Riu hotel on the Riu website HERE. They've nothing in Albena.

Yet a google search brings up all THESE references to it as a Riu hotel.

I conclude that perhaps it was in the past but it no longer is now. Balkan Holidays gets these things right nowadays, and they describe it THUS

We appear to have good reviews for it, whatever it's called. Perhaps Tonyt can throw some light on this, please?

Peter

Patka and Peter

Thanks this is what I'd found too My wife is going with First Choice they say this here info
So it May have BEEN or it's a typo but I don't think it was a typo HT is far too professional for that to happen

Edit
the link just takes you to the first page of First Choice. Links to specific searches often don't work.
Fiona ht mod

Good Morning everybody. To my knowledge I have never known the Gergana as being TUI, It could be confirmed in the 2nd edition of Balkans Brochure due out Sunday, that it is not as they are now offering it as a Balkan Hotel. This is also the fact with Albena Beach Hotel, they still had the TUI sigm up outside when down there in June, Will have another look next week. Cheers Tonyt

Hi Tony,

RIU the hotel group, not TUI the travel company.

Best wishes,

Peter

Sorry, please read my earlier response as Rui not Tui as I stated. Cheers Tonyt

Looks as though it was a RIU hotel, at least in 2003, along with its sister hotels the Mura & Slavuna (or Albena Beach Club, as they are now known) - as Peter concluded previously.

Baldur

One question we have is the Gergana Hotel on the Reviews page it says RIU Gergana

Nowhere on her booking paperwork does it say RIU so is it or isn't it a RIU hotel

Although we haven't named the hotel as a Riu hotel we copy the brochure blurb across and had copied from FC website. I have now removed the reference to Riu

The eye is slowly improving - has spread slightly to the other, but not as bad! It does not help that I have ME/CFS so usually react badly to any infection and travelling takes it out of me, hence have been in bed most of today as also going hot and cold. The weather in Bulgaria does help the ME and what with the good food meant that I did not go down with a bang whilst there, just waited till I got home.

The Gergana is not a RUI hotel and I have noticed that it is the Balkan brochure and not in the First Choice for next year. Just a quick word on the Albena Beach hotel a couple of people we spoke to felt the Gergana was the better of the two hotels and a family from Belgium were not impressed with how young children were allowed to run up and down the corridors at 1a.m. shouting and screaming in the Albena Beach, I don't think it helped that some people were taking advantage of the AI and drinking themselves silly either, but this was told to us and we did not see it as obviously we were in the Gergana.

Just as a matter of interest Tonyt were are you going to stay when you are next in Albena.

Hi, sorry to read of your misfortunes, hope all goes well on the treatment side of things. I am going to be staying at the NONA this time, so not far from all you have mentioned in your mail. Have been in sussed it out seen my room (Just a couple of jars of coffee) spoke with manageress all arranged. Cheers Tonyt

hi..we have just arrived back from the albena beach club..(24th Aug 06) and we thought it was fab. Have to say we did not see alot of mis use of the all-inclusive, (ie drunken people.)

Wehad a ground floor room right next to the lifts, and it was a coridor everyone used, so busy. and the noise levels were awful the first night, we were thinking of asking to change room but as only there for a week it ws hassle. as we would have needed to change 2 rooms as our kids were next door.

So spoke to rep and asked for notices to be put up, asking for noise to be kept down after 11pm. They were put upthat day and the noise was tons better.
On that note, the "noise" culprits were mainly English! One English lady spent 10 mins outside our room on her mobile..at 1.30 am, I was about to go tell her what to do when she finished her call..good job!

Yes First choice dont have a contract next year with Gergena hotel, but rep said they were trying to get something sorted for the season afterwards.
Hope this helps

just read on another website that you have to pay 0.5 lev to use toilets in the bars in albena, even if you are drinking in there? is this true as never have heard of this before in other places? also is this the same for restaurants?!

yes its true but you have to remember that most toilets will be VERY clean and tidy
anyway how much is half a lev?
dont worry,be happy

Hi Claireg,

It depends where you drink - if you go to the Beerhouse Kartel, just past the 'Arabella' (restaurant shaped like a sailing ship) at the Northern end of the resort, the drinks are cheaper than they are in the main resort area AND the toilets are free.

Baldur

I paid for less 'visits' in Albena than anywhere else I've been in Bulgaria.

There are even free public toilets along the prom with little vases of flowers in the toilets.

John

how did they water the flowers to keep them fresh