glad that is sorted - all quiet at the moment and some good reviews coming in . Food is obviously the main problem but on reading about other hotels ( we looked at hundreds when trying to change!!!) it seems like a common complaint, as does this tummy bug, so maybe all blown out of all proportion by the one family and everyone else jumped on the bandwagon . Having to stay positive now and staring to actually get excited !!!! The only positive may be that now so many have changed destination /hotel, it might actually be less busy and sunbeds will be plentiful!

People can believe what they wish, but I have been following the story of this hotel on the Bulgaria Forum and other websites since it was first opened by First Choice for the 2004 season, and it has a poor record with regards to food poisoning which I think people should be aware of, and I am sure Ros will confirm.

Peter

Have read all postings on all sites and agree there are a lot about the food issue's, when i looked at changing holiday to what was available all those other hotel had mixed reviews as well, so it looks like were ever i am going to go is going to have this problem, even holiday village turkey wer i went last year and year before i thought was great food/drink/entertainment couldnt fault anything now most of the reviews are coming back as food terrible or some other complaint.
I think if you are sensible in what you drink and eat instead of "i've paid all inclusive" and try and fill your plate as high as you can and drink a barrell of beer a day you should be alright, Ceeza33 see you there

Peter of York - Thanks for words of caution . I went to this hotel in 2005 and that is why we re booked - it is actually a very nice hotel and we had a fantastic holiday, nowhere near as bad as it was painted at the time. Everyone we met also really enjoyed it and yet it has continuously received bad reports. We had a few little niggles and the food wasn't great (although far better than Tunisia which was the worst food I have ever experienced!!!) but no major concerns, nothing that stopped us enjoying our holiday. The worries over food poisoning do concern me but as we are going it is just a matter of , as you would anywhere abroad, being careful. If we had the chance to move we would as our children are our main concern and we wouldn't knowingly put them at risk, but this all blew up too close to our departure date and we could not change , so we are going and trying to make the best of it. I know my optimistic approach can be seen as naiive but it is just going with a negative attitude will only lead to a negative holiday - think positive and the holiday is what you make it, health willing!!

Hope you have a great time cezza, and incident free.

Dazznuts has a valid point about over indulgence because of the attitude "I've paid all inclusive". I've seen that cause a lot of problems in Bulgaria when alcohol was considerable cheaper than it is even today.

Peter

Yes I too wish you an uneventful holiday and sincerely hope that your children in particular do not fall victim to this BUG.
Despite this there is absolutely no way I would ever consider going to this hotel and expose them to the potential risk. Yes you are optimistic but we will cross everything for you. Do let us know how the holiday went.

Sue

Thanks for good wishes - you make it sound like I am taking them knowingly into a warzone , wish I had the luxury to afford to write off over £2000 so will have to take the chance and hope for the best , will let you know how it goes.

wish I had the luxury to afford to write off over £2000 so will have to take the chance and hope for the best

This is why you have been advised to contact Ros Fernihough, and until you do you have not exhausted every avenue of walking away without writing off the money.

Peter

No we didn't contact Ros but we did have legal advice, took on board the recommendations and made an informed decision.

No matter how careful you are with hygiene etc. if there is a problem in the food preparation then there is not much you can do. If you were self catering it would be a different matter as you could choose where you ate.

If this is a continual problem with this hotel then I would most certainly not put myself let alone any children at risk. Food poisoning can be very serious and the after effects can last many months.

Could you not have found an alternative destination to go instead? I know you are a large party but I'm sure there must have been somewhere.

Pippa

Yes if someone contracts Salmonella it has serious knock on effects. Some years ago the very young child of a friend of mine contracted this on holiday. My friend who was a nurse didn't ever have the infection nor did her other child or husband. She could not work until her child had 3 negative stool specimen results. This took about 3 months!!
I agree with all those of you who say they would not expose their children to this risk.

Sue

The reports on trip advisor are not good - the last one a few days ago suggest that if you are booked at this hotel then you cancel!

I realise that your departure is probably very close but I would urge you to think again about going there. Is it really worth the risk? It would appear that the main problem is that the meat is undercooked - something which the hotel should be able to put right but seem unable to.

Pippa

No-one has comfirmed food poisoning - and I know this hotel has a bad reputation but there are good reviews (on other sites) believe me I am reading them all. You make it sound like I am playing russian roulette with my childrens health , far from it. Hd it been confirmed I would have pulled out and lost money. However there are 1200 guests in this hotel every week and only 12 have sought medical advice for tummy upset - if they had food poisoning 'outbreak' this number would surely have been higher, even those who are ill still talk about having visits here there and everywhere, a food poisoning that goes after a couple of days??? The majority of the people dislike the food as it is not necessarily catering for British and eat out so how do they then say any food related illness comes from food in hotel ? I do thank everyone for tips, health , advice etc but do resent the fact people are implying I am putting money / holiday etc before the health of my children. THIS IS NOT THE CASE . We are 4 families travelling together and we have considered all the options, including other destinations. we are not just going to this hotel because we can't be bothered looking elsewhere and we don't care whether our families are ill , this is far from the truth.

Have you looked at this site?
http://www.holidaywatchdog.com/3049-Elenite-Royal_Park_Hotel-Holiday-Review-Full.html#103933

It looks like more than 12 people to me have had problems!

Seems like above link did not work. It is the Holiday Watchdog site.

I am sure there were more than 12 but as I said , only 12 sought medical advice (according to FC who granted are not proving to be the most reliable of companies!!!!!) The reviews you pointed out - first 2 are not reviews just statements of disgust at FC and these people never went to hotel, next 4 gave it 7/10, 9/10, 5/10 and 10/10. These reviews are most recent so hope they indicate some improvement. Thanks for advice though and will post review on return.

Holiday Watchdog links don't work on HT, but it should be possible to find the story via google.

Two threads on this hotel from a website dedicated to beach holidays in Bulgaria are HERE and HERE

The point about contacting Ros is that she is a specialist dealing in travel law, who I am sure will know a great deal about First Choice and their Royal Park Hotel.

Peter

It is not going to make any difference what any of us say. I do hope for the children's sake that they are the lucky ones and avoid this nasty bug. The problem has obviously not been addressed by this hotel or the Public Heath Authority or it would not be still around. This is not a recent problem with this hotel and FC should really be pulling people out of this hotel. Are they the only Tour company using this hotel?

Sue

I must admit that I would steer clear of an all inclusive hotel catering for 1200 guests in a country like Bulgaria anyway. Catering for such large numbers is always going to be a bit risky.

We have offered advice, particularly in giving Ros a call but at the end of the day it is up to you to whether you take this advice on board.

It may be that the holiday is a success but personally I would not want to take that chance.

Pippa