The pool was set at 20C, cold water continually flushing through it, dipped my toes in but wasn't brave enough to go right in.

The clothes are OK from the resort and proper shops, bought some, have since washed them and they are all OK. Was warned not to buy clothes from markets and these are wear once and throw away because no good after washing and are gypsy ripoffs.

All designer labels including bags and watches are fakes but they will tell you that themselves. Hubby bought a "Rolex" for £20 and it's still working OK. I bought "Christian Dior and Chanel" handbags for £15 each. Tshirts and shorts under a fiver. There is a stall at the village selling DVD's for about £3 for new titles, they do play OK at home.

The silver is extremely cheap, bought a lovely bangle for £7. The gold was cheaper than back home but don't get too excited, its still not silly prices. Make sure it has a hallmark. Mostly russian so look for a small anchor.

There was Smirnoff but didn't buy it so don't know the price. We didn't have any trouble with the local makes, if you get the chance try Rakia (its the national tipple, brandy usually made from roses, very moreish but 40% so be careful) The hotel staff don't know the meaning of measures, they just grab a glass, tip up the bottle and you end up with 3 parts spirits to one part mixer. Stop them if you are quick enough or do what I did and get an extra mixer and keep diluting it as you drink it. The beer was up and down, sometimes a nice head and other times a bit flat.

If its still very hot drink LOTS of water so you don't get dehydrated.

lastly, whats your tan like????

i have been hearing horror stories about the weather a well, am frightened i will come back looking like a ghost!

Got a nice tan without the use of fake stuff and had to be careful not to burn. It was extremely hot our first week and hot the second. The evenings were still warm enough to be in just tshirts and shorts. Got dark at about 9pm. We had one downpour that lasted about 20 minutes late one evening and a couple of mornings overcast but hot again by the afternoon. If you go on any trips up in the mountains it gets very chilly in the evening.

Since coming home I have read that there was a terrific thunder storm that caused problems at the Park but haven't heard if there were any problems at the Bay.

Question for Belinda. Travelling to Royal Bay on 6th Sept with Dad. He has been in Sunny Beach many times but never in Elenite. This will be his first trip on his own since Mum passed away. I am going with him so I need to know if you reckon it is a suitable choice. Were there a lot of British holidaymakers when you were there?

Big Tam

There'll be 11 of us!!!! We go on the 30th August so we will be there for one week at least!

Sarah

Big Tam

Not knowing your Dad it's hard to say for definate.

There were lots of Brits there the two weeks we stayed. They were made up of little ones up to the elderly and all ages in between although there were fewer children at the Royal Bay than in the village and the Royal Park. It is quieter and more relaxing if that's what you are looking for, if not just go for a walk, it's not far to walk along the whole resort and its flat with few steps (except getting to some of the village bungalows but that won't be a problem for you as you don't need to).

If he likes to swim ITS FREE, if he likes to try new foods ITS FREE, if he likes a drink ITS FREE ... I'm sure he'll enjoy himself ...

If not get out and about and see more of the country. Have a great time.

Belinda

Sarah and Belinda,
Thanks for the replies. My biggest fear was that there would be no other britthe websites in my search engine are of German or Russian descent. At least now i know there will be someone to talk to. Belinda, my dad is a young 66 and a seasoned traveller to Bulgaria but always to Sunny Beach. This will be his first all inclusive so when i show him these postings it will put both our minds at rest.
Thanks again
Tam.

Another good review has been posted for the Royal Bay and this topic has gone quiet, guess all is well.

So, in case I don't get another chance, hope you and your party have a great time Sarah, less than a week to go! Same to Big Tam and his Dad for a week later.

Thank you Belinda.

We are all very excited now. I have decided to only take £750 with us. I cannot be doing with being skint when i get home!

You think that will be enough? We only fancy the waterpark and nessebar for excursions.

Thanks for your invaluable help.

Sarah

BigTam

See you there my dear!

I suppose I am looking forward to the break myself as it draws ever nearer. The 7.00 flight in the morning could be a killer as we have to get to Glasgow on the other side of the country. Anyway, I'm sure there could be worse problems. I'm sure we'll have a great time. Look forward to meeting you and with you being a week in front of us you can fill us in on all the details when we arrive. Thanking you all again for the info.
Tam

We have nice flights actually. 1430 departure from Gatwick about 1/2 hr away.

Looking forward to seeing you too.

Sarah

Sarah

I reckon £750 will be plenty, it's only the excursions that eat into the dosh. Thats the beauty of AI, even if you were to run a bit short (which I doubt) you know your food and drinks are taken care of.

If you bump into Shamilia (the rep) please say Hi from Belinda & Rob (silver wedding will remind her who we are) because we didn't see her on our last day and didn't get the chance to say goodbye or to thank her ... would really appreciate it if you could as it was the only thing about our holiday that we felt bad about.

Have a great one
Belinda

Of course i will, have entered it into my todo list - along with sleep loads - de-stress - drink everything in sight and laugh every five mins!!

Belinda, being all inclusive, can you tell me how they serve the beer. When we were in Mexico it was served in plastic cups (200ml) which meant you had to make frequent trips to the bar. The reason for this was allegedly if you were served any bigger measures, the beer would be warm in no time. Can you tell me what sort of measures to expect at the Royal Bay.
Thanks
Tam

Big Tam

The only thing we were ever served in plastic cups was soft drinks. Beer always came in a pint glass. Nothing is measured, sometimes a full pint, sometimes three quarters. When it comes to spirits they just tip up the bottle so it usually ends up 3/4 spirits to 1/4 mixer. I soon cottoned on to getting an extra coke to dilute the rum as I drank it.

Just as an extra thought ... if you get a drink and don't like it just leave it and get something else ... not as if you have to pay for it

Sarah

I've just read your report and am very sorry to hear that things were not so good as when we were there. Checking back through the reports I've noticed something ... all the good reports are during July and August, the poor reports are before and after. I know its not going to be any consolation but I'm wondering if the hotel makes more of an effort / employs more staff during the peak six week school summer break? If this is the case something should definately be done, there should be a level standard right the way through.

Belinda

Sarah

Sorry to hear your holiday was not up to expectations, as you set this post up, i was interested to hear how you got on. Many of the things you described were similar for us and we too would go self catering next time, it seems a waste of money to pay for your food and drink b4 travel to only get there to find you cannot stomach it. I think it is just sheer luck at this entire village - at least you met good company.

Debbie

Hi Debbie.

We were lucky we met good company, and also we had company with us which was ideal!

The location was so lovely of the Royal Bay that I was just so dissappointed with the little things. The main bone of contention that we had was asking for a room to be kept on. All three rooms in the party received a note under the door from the FC rep saying we could keep the rooms on. No mention of money. On checking out we were told we all had to pay 20Lev. Not a fortune by any standards but, we assumed it was a complimentary thing from FC. The lady at reception got very angry and accused us of thinking we could con her?! We got on to FC and they admitted that money would have only been mentioned verbally (which it wasnt) The reception wouldnt give our passports back. The manager called us ignorant English and said that she would not be conned. It was very stressful. It was not the money but the principal. They could have said 200Lev or no passports. Eventually FC agreed to tell the reception to just charge for one room. But even this was not our arguement. Our arguement was that we had only asked for one room to get showered in. No mention of money was made to us at any time.

This didnt ruin our holiday, but has left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. The food, often mislabelled, was very mediocre. Liver was often portrayed as pork and fish misrepresented as chicken. For the person in our party who was allergic to fish this was a nightmare. We often joked that it was "chicken surprise" as in "SURPRISE!! NO CHICKEN!" lol. I am not stupid enough to think that the food was going to be wonderful as Bulgaria is a very poor country. But I do feel that standards were compromised for no reason. The potatoes were always ok however they were cooked and the veg fine. the meaty things were always so ambiguous that i left well alone!

Speaking to someone who stayed at the Royal Park at the airport, she said the food was wonderful there ?! The chef was English and the food was always piping hot. So we live and learn! The gripes that I had in no way ruined the holiday, just made mealtimes very stressful to the point where the children refused to go into the dinner hall with us.

One tip though, the rolls housing the hotdogs made great air missiles for the copious amount of birds!!!

Did see the dolphins - highlight of the holiday. They were just swimming in the bay right in front of the hotel.

Belinda - thanks for all your tips and advice. We found it invaluable. I am so glad you enjoyed your holiday.

hello all.has any body any info on the royal bay hotel at elenite or about the resort at all? just been told our hotel is not ready and are now going here ,alittle bit anoyed as we fly out on 6th june and have no idea what this place is like. so any info please
alan-jill southampton