Who knows, and how can anyone find out for sure?

It is getting increasingly difficult to get the truth from the either the travel companies or travel agents.

The Rui website might give an August 2005 date, but that's very late. The holiday season in Bulgaria is only until the middle of October with bars and restaurants starting to close down from the end of September.

Unfortunately the optimistic claims of travel companies tend to be thwarted by the inefficiencies of Bulgarian building companies, so a good rule of thumb is if it wasn't up and running for 2004, don't book it for 2005!

I wonder if you are aware how isolated Obzor appears to be? I can only find one hotel currently operational - the Helios Beach 3 star.

Sites to look at are - http://www.beachbulgaria.com/obzor/index.shtml, and http://www.bulgariancoast.com/cititown/detail.asp?rid=12

Best of luck,

Peter

thanks peter,
we're aware that obzor looks isolated but we're after somewhere away from everything. We've also only found the 3star hotel you mentioned. The riu website says summer 2005, and thomson will let you book it from june. However Thomson let us book the miramar for aug 2005, only for the riu website to say it opens 2006.
We're currently awaiting Thomson's response to this, and have emailed Riu asking about the opening of helios bay.
Otherwise it looks like it might have to be sunny beach, which sounds a bit busy for our liking.
Will post any developments

Ben

Doesn't have to be Sunny Beach - think about Sozopol,St. Vlas or even Nessebur are all quieter than Sunny Beach.

it better be i have booked for 2 weeks at the beginning of sept and riu are a good chain i here oh well we will see even the trasvel agent had booked for the same week as us lmao

Obzor Beach - We booked the Riu Miramar Hotel for Sept 2005 for our 10th Wedding Anniversary, for Thomson only to call us a few weeks later to say this would not be open to 2006! They have offered the Rui Helios Bay at a slight discount to us including putting us in Sea View Rooms as compensation. After reading this website I am now going to be incontact with Rui to find out what is happening! Hope to have more information soon!

WARNING this hotel opened on 2nd June 2005. Work had not finished at the end of our 2 weeks holiday. It was 8 days before the fire alarm system was switched on and tested. Woken some mornings at 0700hrs by hammering and the sound of drilling. Immediately across the road another building site with construction being carried out, noise, dust and smell, plus a "shanty town" type shopping street as the approach road to this hotel.
We booked with Thomson who assured us the hotel was completed and fully functional. The only facilitys we had for the first 8 days were dinning room, outside pool and entertainment bar.
The resort of Obzor is very remote. Taxi and public transport very difficult. Even so, not a lot to go and look at if you do bus off to Varna or Sunny Beach ! Obzor is an old holiday resort for Bulgarian's themselves. They are not geared up for tourists from abroad. My guess is that 2 years are needed to "come on line".

We've just got back from Obzor.

Having had two previous holidays in Bulgaria (Sunny Beach and Golden Sands) we thought this time we should experience a more typical Bulgarian resort.

Originally we planned to book into the Helios Bay. As it looked unlikely to be ready in time and that we would be transferred to a resort that we had already been to, we decided to book into a Bulgarian owned Obzor hotel that had apartments and book our flights seperately.

We did have a brief look around the Helios Bay Hotel whilst there though. The main restaurant wasn't completed but looks like it will be stunning. The pool was up and running but they were still working on the beach-front side facilties/gardens. The hotel exchange rate wasn't as good as the bank (2.6 versus 2.9 lev per £) but it is convenient for the guests. The receptionists spoke good English to us and were very helpful.

Outside the hotel - the hotel is impressive and very large. The side that does not have sea views does indeed face what looks like a building site and a somewhat off-putting "shanty town" area. The "shanty town" turns out to be a small fair-ground area though and will be up and running very shortly. Your first impression might be to stay put but don't be put off and walk along the beach instead.

The road then leads onto the original resort (walk up the hill past the Helios Beach 3* Hotel to find everything) which will be thriving with restaurants, bars, etc for the Bulgarian holiday season (July & August) and slightly lesser in September. We found several places that had the menus in English and the staff were very friendly. As a guide a large beer is 1.2 lev, a pizza 3.5 lev, a bottle of wine 5 lev, a 100ml shot of vodka 1.6 lev. We struggled to get a bill over 30 lev but it was fun trying! There is also a disco in the village but we never tried it.

The banks were very efficient and even the lady in the post office was very helpful and wrote the phone card prices down. We can't think of one person who was not helpful and friendly. We had a Bulgarian/English dictionary for odd things which was handy. We also followed the customary tipping in Bulgaria (10% is usual) as leaving no tip means the service was terrible and it will take an eternity to get served next time.

The bus station is on the main road but as this is a typical Bulgarian Town you will need to able to read Bulgarian to know what bus to get on and when! The hotel should be able to arrange a driver who will take you to Varna/Sunny Beach/ Nessebur for approx 60-80 leva. He will drop you off and pick you up for this so it's a good option for getting out and about.

If you're looking to mingle with the locals then this resort is perfect. If you want to party, then it isn't.

Hope this helps

p.s. I have heard that the hotel is advertised as a short stroll away from Sunny Beach - it definitely is not.

We travelled out to Riu Helios Bay, Obzor on 8/6/05, to find that although the hotel was open, it was not complete.

The main buildings work/construction had been finished with the decoration and furnishing being to the high standard you would expect from a Riu hotel, however, a large number of the advertised facilities were not available i.e. indoor pool, sauna, jacuzzi, theme restaurant, children's indoor play area, pool bar and gym.

Although, I would expect the above facilities to be complete and available within the next few weeks, there was no sign of the gardens referred to on the Riu website, and the beach still appeared to require a lot of work (NB. the brown strip to the right of the hotel on shown on the up-dated photos on the Riu website).

Building work/construction was being undertaken immediately outside the hotel, the roads and pavements were in very poor condition which caused problems for people with walking difficulties.

We were the lucky ones, after two and a half days of very polite but persistent complaining to the Thomson rep we were transferred to a hotel in the Sunny Beach resort (approx. 1 hour and £20 away one-way by taxi). Others were not so lucky, despite submitting formal complaints to the Thomas rep, they had to endure the lack of facilities, insufficient seating, noise from the power-tools, the digger on the beach and isolated location. People were literally booking trips to get out of the hotel and have a break.

On our return to the UK on 15/6/05, we visited our local Thomson office where we had booked the hotel, we were disappointed to find that they appeared not to have been notified the unfinished work on the hotel itself, the construction work in the immediate vicinity of the hotel and the numerous complaints surrounding the description of the 'resort'.

Had we been advised of the incomplete status of the hotel we simply would not have travelled. I am sure that in a few years time, it will be a fantastic place to visit, however, in its current state it is not somewhere I would recommend.

Arrived 10th June no fire alarm working or gym sauna indoor pool kids club poolbar Speciality restaurant
The Hotel should have not been opened for another month & all the problems would have been sorted
There is building work all around & the Hotel Mirimar is just a shell across the river
The grass seed went down when we were there next to the kids club
Bedrooms had twinbeds together plenty of wardrobe & draw space & toiletres also a fridge it advertises a bath but no rooms have one all have sea view
The beach is lovely sunbeds & parasol cost 4 LEV a day
Walking out it is 1.25 miles to bus station if you can find it no signs (map in Reception hotel) lots of bars on the way & souvenier shops
When we left 17 June everything apart from the Speciality Restaurant was up and running the snacks are only cake rolls fruit & cakes in the afternoon no icecream these were by the pool bar
Entertainment they tried
Summary it was unspoilt rural weather good staff excellent working hard to get it up & running
If youre not looking for someware commercilised

Hi all..Please can anyone tell me if there is still a sickness bug at this hotel ? its just that we have booked this hotel and have now read some reviews that the back end of 2006 there seemed to have been a big problem with a gastric bug.

Also is there much around Ozbor Beach ? I know there isnt any golf worst luck....

Any info would be most apreciated.

Thanks

Hi Susanne,

As the season hasn't yet started it's impossible to say whether the apparent 'bug problem' may still exist or not. The Bulgarian beach resorts effectively close down over the winter period.

There are resort reports on Obzor HERE.

Baldur

Thanks for the prompt reply...Do you personally know about the hotel ? as we always stay with RIU but just have a few concerns about the Helios Bay Hotel.
Do you know where or if there is a golf course nearby as im struggling to find any info...
Having never been to Bulgaria before any good tips that you could pass on would be most apreciated.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Suzanne

As far as I can see, golf courses in Bulgaria are either planned or proposed, usually in the blurb handed out by those who wish to induce you to buy real estate.

I may be wrong, but don't think that any currently exist other than in the world of Bulgarian dreams!

As for general tips, there are these in quantity on this forum, have a look at some of the stickies for starters.

Peter

Hi Suzanne,

No, I don't know the hotel or Obzor personally - I tend to prefer the North East of Bulgaria.

As Peter says, golf courses on the Black Sea coast are allegedly 'under development' - those of which I am aware are located in the Balchik/Kavarna/Topola area but, again as far as I am aware, none of these is yet fully functional - if I'm wrong, no doubt someone will be along soon to correct me.

Baldur

Thanks for all your comments..we are flying to and from Bourgas Airport is it best to purchase ciggies in resort or from the airport ? How much are they in resort (Obzor) and any ideas how much from the airport ? Which is the best currency to use in either resort or airport ? I beleive its 200 per person is this correct ?.

Thanks for your replies

Suzanne

Hi Suzanne,

As Bulgaria is now an EU member state, you won't be able to buy duty free goods, either on the way there or back. The Duty Free shops in Varna Airport were closed when I flew back to the UK last month, as it was an inter-EU flight (Bulgaria to UK).

Any "UK brand" cigarettes that you see in the resorts are almost certainly fakes and, allegedly, taste absolutely horrible. You are far better off buying the local brands, e.g. Gorna Djumaya/Victory/West at around 20 - 25 Leva per carton of 200.

Yes the UK Customs limit is 200 cigarettes from Bulgaria and many of the other recent (2004 to date) EU member states.

Best currency = the Lev.

Baldur

Thanks once again for your prompt and helpfull reply

Hi Suzzane

We`stayed at this hotel last year for 2 weeks ,we arrived on the 4th july and we never experienced any tummy bugs,but there was a few who did fall ill,but i can hounestly say i have never been to a hotel where there has not been someone that has been struck down with some sort of tummy bug.
We arrived the day after a huge storm which flooded the whole 1st floor of the hotel and we couldnt use the main pool for 3 days and the baby pool for 5 days,the miramar next door suffered the most as there pool was not in use for the 2 weeks we were there.

Now the good bits it was one of our most fab holidays the staff were fantastics rooms were spotless maids couldnt do enough for you.Obzor town was a lot bigger than we expected and was just enough for us, they had 2 small fun fairs which the kids loved,lots of little shops and stralls, all fake but my daughter wa son her glory rock&republic jeans for under a tenner they have loads of jeans bags ect,
We also ate out a couple of times as it is so cheap,and had a few drinks in the bedrock bar.
You will love bulgaria and have nothing to worry about,we are going to Crete this year but have booked for bulgaria july 2008...

Hi Gail
Many thanks for the info... no doubt will be shopping by the sounds of it .... hope your holiday this yr is good you never know could bump into you 2008 if all is good.
Many thanks again
Suzanne