Oh dear like a lot of reviews here where do you start.

Yes a holiday and location etc is what you make of it but you've got to be given the chance.

The hotel on entry is wow. Dig deeper and ouch. Not a 4 star hotel and that is the sticking point with many - it was sold as a 4 star and very obviously wasn't.

Having the room you paid for would help, having the room you are given made up at 1.00am when you arrive would help, having doors that shut would help, plugs that fit baths would help etc etc etc etc etc

The location was fine if you didn't want to do anything. just spend money every day on buses or taxis to go in and out of Sunny Beach - we were assured by FC that it was walkable - yeah by the Donkeys maybe.

The cleanliness ! Fine if you didn't mind there not actually being any cleaning done - had to fight to get new towels and bedding. Had to argue that yes ladies do need toilet roll.

Food - cold food days old, hot food cold - one toaster and microwave between hundreds. And yes fine if you liked Pork or Mackrel. Oh and raw chicken. I'm sure the 2 English Chefs that are out there are doing their best but I'll bet anyone who says the food wasn't that bad - if you were served it in Britain you would have a fit and refuse to 1. Eat it and 2. Pay for it.

Make sure you go here if you are on a diet - you'll will definately loose those pounds.

Staff - The only nice staff I came across were the bar staff. The reception staff were obnoxious, the rest even when you smiled at them smirked back if at all.

Security - not there for the holiday makers benefit - to protect the staff from when we all complain. We were threatened by security for taking a photo of the collapsed area around the pool!

Health & Safety - none.

Entertainment - fine for the younger kids and a bit of a disco for the teenagers but nothing if it rains and nothing for anyone else to do.

I would definately Not visit this hotel again. I read the reports on various websites before going and just hoped that it was all exaggerated - my apologies for doubting your reports.

FC should be ashamed of themselves for putting humans in there and to think they leave their poor reps in there for months knowing fine what is coming from the tourists - complaints. They knew at the beginning of the season what the 'teething' problems were they should have realigned us all somewhere else - like Bognor Regis, Southend or something because 4 star would have been 4 star.

After reading reports about this hotel i was dreading going. When we arrived the reception allocated us our room very quickly and gave the 3 of us a snack bag containing sandwhiches, drink and a cake and fruit. The bell boy then took our cases to our room for us. The room was very clean and tidy and we were very impressed. The next day we had breakfast which was fine. bacon, egg etc. The food was a little tepid but thats the norm when food is left sitting in a bain-marie. THe pool area was fine nice and clean. There were alot of maids going around cleaning the pool area, removing glasses etc.

Our room was cleaned daily. clean towels daily, beds made daily.

We would definatley go back again. We have travelled to many places and i think for the price we paid for this holiday ws great value for money.
The First choice team were great the worked really hard to keep the kids entertained day and night. Towards the end of the week we were getting a bit tired of the evening entertainment but it kept out little one happy. It is a great place for families but i wouldnt go alone as a couple.

We arrived on 2 August in the early hours of the morning to a really big 'wow'. The hotel is definitely very grand as you drive round and see it all lit up. We were all most definitely impressed.

We queued for hardly any length of time to get our keys and our snack bags and then made our own way to our room, through choice and not because no bell boys were available.

When we arrived at our rooms (we had 2) on the third floor we were again impressed. We had clean bed linen, enough pillows for all guests, hangers in the wardrobe and a plug.

We found the hotel to be very clean and did not experience any problems whatsoever. Our room were also cleaned and tidied with clean bed linen and towels.

Our experience of the food was that it was absolutely fine, our 3 children managed to always find something they liked and none of our party experienced upset stomachs. Like others have mentioned I did stand behind other guests who felt all the plums in the basket before choosing the ones they actually required and did not use the tongs for the bread etc. The snacks were fine - we mainly had pizza and that went down extremely well with all of us. The icecreams were available by the Sozopol restaurant and the only restriction was that you could only take two ice creams at a time. My sons had many visits up to get them.

The hotel complex is situated quite a way from anything else. Although the complex is big and you can choose different areas to have a drink and a chat in the evening as well as the restaurants to choose from, it would be nice to have a wander and a change of scenery. I have to say that I did think the hotel was nearer to Sunny Beach than it actually is but then again it is easily accessible either by taxi or by bus (an experience in itself!)

I have to say that we were only ever treated very well by all of the hotel staff. Some of them did seem ready to be on the defensive but as soon as you gave them a smile we were only ever treated with kindness and respect. We did not have to deal with reception at all during our stay except for the cashiers who always had a smile and a friendly word. The bar staff worked their guts off and the longest we ever had to wait was in the Irish bar when it was raining when all the people who would usually sit outside came in and even then it was hardly a 'long'time. I do have to say that I did hear rudeness from other guests towards the bar staff and so to be honest they deserve the same treatment back.

The entertainment was okay. The children (13,10,6) throughly enjoyed themselves. Our 13 year old daughter made so many friends, some of whom I am sure she will stay in touch with, and describes the holiday as her best ever. It was very rare that we saw her and she always was smiling - for anybody else who has a 13 year old daughter they will know this can be a rarity! I feel there is a lack of entertainment for slightly younger children. Our 10-year-old son only really had the arcade to entertain him in the evening. This did not stop him having a good time though. If there was a children's club for over-8's then I am sure this would go down very well. Our six-year-old son also had a fabulous time. He attended Swim Kids with Paul who was fantastic and he really enjoyed this. Paul was flexible around our activities and our son is now a much more confident swimmer. He also attended the kids clubs and for a child who we have to drag away from the pool normally to get ready for dinner, was a sign to us that he enjoyed attending.

Overall I have to say that we visited the Royal Park with a very open mind and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

After reading all the other reports we were dreading this holiday, but we arrived with an open mind and I'm glad we did.

The two rooms were clean and tidy and of a good size. We found the food to be of a good standard with plenty of choice. In fact I moaned only once and that was because all three of the main choices were chiken. My wife who is a Vegy was unhappy because she felt she could have been given more choice, but the salad bar was excelent. We suffered only once from a stomach problems and that was on a day out from the hotel.

The staff were great, much better than others I have met in hotels of this type.

Our rooms were always cleaned and beds made, though we always had to ask for more toilet paper. A number of times we were not given any clean towels and had to request them a number of times.

The reps went out of their way to keep every body entertained and the evening shows were quite good.

The pools were quite clean and I saw them cleaning them each morning.

General cleaning was good but the toilets were yuk.

My ony real problem was with the state of the hotel, it had been rushed to open for 2004 and it showed.

Overall we had a good holiday and my children of 16,13,7 enjoyed it as much as we did.

Cleanliness: Don't expect great standards, bedding soiled, damp towels, filthy toilets(we had a leaking one in the room), dirty cutlery, mould everywhere.

Food: Quite a large selection each meal, not a great choice at all for younger children and be cautious with meat. Squash also not diluted down and lack of fresh fruit.

Location: Resort has quite a bit to offer but after a while it is nice to have a change of scenery but you hav to take the bus or taxi to get anywhere. The bus is a nightmare with kids as you have to all squeeze on and majority have to stand, seems to be no max nos. Taxi drivers are great but they drive like ambulances with their sirens on except no one has a clue what they are doing.

Staff: The staff were very friendly and I did have a few dealings with them as one of my children was hospitalised due to illness in a state Bulgarian hospital. The mainland reps, 1 in particular was very helpful but it is quite obvious they are up to their eyeballs in complaints so were very wary when dealing with people.

Entertainment: The team did try to do a great job but weather affected evening entertainment on a few occassions as it is all outside. On less sunnier occassions no events took place during the day and due to problems with the kids club rooms all sessions advertised (which we based our plans around) were then cancelled and outside activities were held. Don't rush to mini disco either as it is due to start at 8pm but most nights we had 2 irritable children still waiting at 8.15 for the disco.

Room: Very spacious but no just 1 room , no bedroom as advertised. We were on the 2nd floor with a view of the air con generator, on top of the delivery bay for the main kitchen and the main bins for the whole of the resort. We did have a lovely maid who made bed daily and replaced towels but these were disgusting.

Overall:: The hotel does have a real wow factor on first impressions but beware. I wouldn't say don't go but maybe if you have younger children I would think seriously about it. The beach, pool and unlimited alcohol did make the whole experience tolerable but we will not go back. We are not sure we will even go back to Bulgaria for a long while until they start accepting credit cards as this situation hindered us as well when needing to settle hospital bills.

Hope this is of some help to others. I appreciate you may feel that some people are never happy. I would like you all to know that we followed this site many months before going and were determined not to be put off but I do wish now we had of considered looking at alternatives as I feel desperately guilty that I took a risk with 2 young children, a risk which for us didn't work out. I took all this as being an experience we will never forget and will be making no further follow ups of the situation with first choice.

We didn't know what to expect from the Royal Park as there were some bad reports about it. We arrived on the 9th August and the wow factor was definately there initially. We were checked in and given the keys for our room on the 7th floor.
It was a HUGE room with what seemed to be not enough furniture to fill it. We had booked the kids suite which was separated by an archway, no door. There was a fold down couch and bunk beds which were tiny and not long enough for our 13 year old, but he sleeps curled up anyway and didn't mind, but they should have been a standard size. Not much storage space at all but I think that'll be remedied given time as they have to put some more furniture in there.

We had our towels changed every day and when we finally met the maid we gave her a tip and she was so nice, said "have a nice day" and told me how to say it in Bulgarian. The only day we didn't get clean towels was on our last night. There was no furniture on the balcony and no rope, although you could by it in the little shop downstairs (I found that out on the last night too!) It would have been handy for drying. Our balcony was open iron work and I don't like heights so I only went out to hang out towels.

We enjoyed the food and on the only occasion we ate out in Sunny Beach (Bulgaria's Blackpool)we said we prefered the hotel's. There was a lack of cutlery and how big the queue is depends on the times you went in.

The entertainment in the dining room was pleasant although a bit echoey with everyone making a noise and the clanking of plates etc. We ate at the Talyana one night, you book it in the morning but we spoke to people who just went there and didn't book. Didn't care much for the food there and the chicken was a bit pink.

I couldn't get over how cold it was in the evening compaired to the Med resorts. It was fine for a good night's sleep though but not for sitting out which you'd expext to do on holiday.

The entertainment was dismal and needs to be sorted out, there's nothing for adults at all. There was nothing for my sons, 10 & 13 to do in the evenings. We went to the Irish bar a couple of nights but I didn't like it, I hated the arcades and the locals hanging about the tatoo parlour. This was the only 'hangout' for kids and I didn't like them going there unless we went down too although I'm sure they would have been quite safe, but that's just a personal thing. Most places you go have a pool table for them to congregate outside but there was nothing like that.

They could have had more seats in the reception area because when it rained everyone went inside and there was no where to sit and it's a HUGE area. There were large queues for the reception bar which I found annoying at times.

The staff are very friendly though especially at the pool bar, they offered drinks if you were waiting for a toastie or hot dog, it must be a very boring job serving drinks all day and not taking money. The toastie's were nice and the pizza's were but there's only the one kind, ham and mushroom so since neither of the kids like that, scraped all the topping off every time! There is icecream and ice lollies but you have to walk up to the Village to get them, which was a pain.

We ate at the Village once but prefered the Hotel.
Our room was kept clean but the public toilets were a mess, no toilet rolls most of the time even though there are women mopping outside the door all the time.

There is only local booze which I didn't much like so when we wanted something different we bought a Bailey's or something stronger for 6 levs. The Irish bar only sold Guinness in bottles.

upon arriving at the resort we where told we were being transfered to the Royal Park (as we had originally booked into the holiday village chalets) upon asking our coach guide why, she just replied that it was better and we should be grateful. (alarm bells started ringing) we where aware that this was a new hotel and it had had some problems, but this being our 3rd year running to bulgaria, we where open minded.

We made our way to reception with our bags and the children and handed in our booking forms. quick and easy gave us a key and pointed to the lift. The reception area was very impressive lots of people sitting around chatting. lots of people to one side in a queue. (complaints desk and reps area). i should have realized then.

Our friends were on the 3rd floor we were on the 8th. I was not too happy about this as i had booked into 2 storey chalets as have a 5 year old and i dont like to be up too high with the kids. never mind, were on holiday!!! upon walking into the room there was a smell and not a nice one. damp, rotten and wet plaster. We were aware that there had been a huge storm the day we arrived, so thought that was it and it was maybe just a damp smell from the forest which surronds the resort. (the smell never went, i presume its still there) but luckily we are not!!

there were two single bed pushed together (fine) and and open out bed made up on the floor, no fourth bed. upon inspecting the open out bed i found it to be nothing more than a piece of wood. the only soft bit was where your feet went. and it was dirty and smelt. I requested another bed or to be moved as the room was for three and we were four. firstly they told me the children could share. no, they are 12 and 5 i told them, i want the bed i paid for. never got this bed or got moved in the hotel and we all shared two single beds for the next three nights. the rest of the room, not enough space for clothes, phone not working, exposed wires, no furniture on balcony, no towel or sheet change.

went to the reception/bar area to meet our friends and have something to eat. they had the same smell and concerns regarding their room. the dining room. awful, in a word. cold, undercooked raw food. dirty plates, cups, glasses and cutlery, dirty tableclothes and no hygine what so ever. tables are being wiped over with filthy rags from bowls of black water (thats if they even bother to wipe the tables.) disgraceful choice for a four star, the british chef that other holidaymakers were talking about, who was supposed to short things out was there apparently, so good only knows what the food was like before, because this was rotten. the few meals we did attempt to eat there had consited of, rancid butter, raw chicken, dried out salad (as they have served it so many times before)all the veg and potatoes served were rock hard and undercooked.

the drinks were either flat or just syrup. getting a cup of coffee was a nightmare as they kept turning off the machine. and anything else you but on your plate was just cold. nothing at a reasonable tempreture.

the pool. dirty, you could not see the bottom. had to lay towels out to get a sunbed, do not like doing this and only did it once. went to the beach the rest of the time. the pool bar/snack bar was a joke, one barman, hundreads of people trying to get served, cold/raw hot dogs and a toaster that only makes four toasties at a time, and they are just stale bread with a lump of cheese. no hygeine here either.

the entertainment was boring and dull at the pool and the animation bar was just for germans and the bar there never had any drink behind it just beer and soft drinks and your queue for 15/20 mins.

the toilet facilities were filthy, water all over the floor in the irish bar and restaurant facilities, dirty mops being used to push the water around, no soap or toilet rolls, exposed wires in walls and ceilings damp and disguting.

the bars were no better, plastic cups filled with extremely low grade alcohol. and a splash of mixer. this in my opinion is dangerous and unhealty, you had to order another 3 cokes per person to be able to make it drinkable. and you were lucky if you got a glass.

Now the best bit. we made use of these facilities in the royal park for 3 nights. we insisted on being moved the place in my opinion is and accident waiting to happen. I had told my husband that when i walked down the corridor on the the 8th floor if felt like i was on a boat, leaning to one side. and the same as we went out of our room. he just gave me a funny look. (as men do). the the kids said the same, he noticed it to on the 3rd day, on the fourth moring in the royal park my husband woke me up and said, were out of here today. he showed me to the bathroom, the door frame was buckled and coming away from the walls, the bath was coming away from the wall, the doorframe had dropped 2 inchs and if you put a can of deodarant on the floor it rolled from one end to the other. there were cracks appering in the ceiling and the walls. the place seemed to be falling down.

our friends had had similar problems and the same worries over the safety of this hotel, so did other guests we spoke to. I found my rep in the holiday village and insisted on being moved. they finally moved us to the holiday village were we had booked and i got my four beds.

I felt safer but thats where it ends in the holiday village. same dirty restaurants and bars, no clean cups,plates etc. unfriendly and unhelpful staff. dirty sheets and towels. the pool area in the holiday village was diry and disgusting and smelt awful. i would not let our kids in the pool. please please think very carefully about your own booking and consider changing !!!! Never once did i see or smell any cleaning fluid in the whole resort royal park hotel or elenite holiday village. every where just felt or smelt dirty. we sat on some covered benches in the holiday village cafe area and four of us got bites from good knows what, all six of us had bad stomachs and diorreha and 3 of us also had vommiting. complaing was a waste of time as they just ignored you.

after five evenings of trying to eat we decided as a group to go out so for the next nine nights we went to sunny beach by taxi or bus and ate out. adding to to cost by about

We were very apprehensive about staying here after reading so many bad reviews. We needn't have worried. It was one of the best holidays we have had. The hotel is really impressive. Staff friendly and work really hard. There are plenty of bars, 3 al-la-carte restaurants to choose from as well as a buffet restaurant. We had two teenage girls with us and they cried cos they made so many friends (53 actually) .They didn't want to go home.We never seen them all fortnight cos they enjoyed hanging about with all the other teenagers. The rooms are really big and very clean. The Irish bar is open after the others close at twelve. It is really cold at night but at least you get a good nights sleep. We never had any trouble with mosquitoes.You are right on the beach with free sunbeds. The pool is freezing, maybe could do with heating it.Boat trip to Nessebur was right outside the hotel.Bulgaria is really cheap, loads of designer copies and in Sunny Beach the beer is only 25p a pint. I can't understand why people complain about this lovely hotel and complex. Go there with an open mind. This is our 5th all inclusive and by far has the most facilities.We are just glad we didn't cancel after all the horrible reviews.We loved it and could have easily stayed for longer.

We were a party of 17 and I can say that we all enjoyed our stay at Royal Park. Our rooms were cleaned every day and the cleaners even lined up our shoes neatly according to size, put large bottles at back and smaller in front. Clean sheets every other day and clean towels, 3 each in various sizes every day. The staff were very friendly and always smiling. They had to put up with quite a lot of rude English people who were always complaining, but this didn't deter them from being friendly. The food was plentlyful and lots of choice, only the desserts let them down. All you wanted in beverages and other drinks and the coffee was lovely. All in all a very good value for money. Only reason I wouldn't go again is that I want to see other countries.

The hotel was really impressive on arrival.The rooms were spacious and nicely decorated.We had two single beds pushed together and two chair beds on the floor for the kids, which was uncomfortable for my 9 year old son as the matress was only around two inches thick.

The hotel as a whole was quite clean you always saw cleaners around doing something. The toilets next to the Irish bar was quite dirty and smelly.

The hotel staff was ok as a whole, but some of the bar staff were quite rude at times,all of the cleaning and entertainment staff were great especially with the kids.

The food could have been better, we found that the meals in the buffet was better during the day than on a evening as their was not a lot of choice. The breakfast is gross. The first couple of days the bacon looked ok,after that it was just spam, eggs were snotty ans scrambled egg was watery.We had ham and tomato samwhiches every day for breakfast. As for the a-la-cart that was a joke the stakes were like old boot leather and the chicken was fried in an egg batter which was vile.

The Talyana resturant was ok but it was the same stuff every other day.The bulgarian resturant was nice but not a lot of choice.During the day you could get hot dogs and toasties at the pool bar,thats if their was buns or hot dogs, in which they ran out every day.

The pop machine was gross their was a collony of wasps living inside the nozzles where the pop came out. As you can imagine this is not hygenic.You could get as many drinks and and slices of pizza as you liked the first few days which was great with their being 15 of us.Then they said you could only get 2 drinks and 2 items each time you went which was a pain, as you had to drag the kids off the beach to eat something and the ques were three times as long.We had a right carry on trying to get diet coke as one of the party was a diebtic, in the end we bought it, not very good for all inclusive. The attitude of the manager was ignorant. If you did not drink beer or the vile vodka which was like paint thiner you were stuck for choice.You had to get two extra cups of coke to dilute them down.The coke and orange was vile as well it tasted just like syrup.

We found the entertainment was watchfull and thats as far as it goes,it was outside round the pool which was freezing on a night if the weather was bad which often was they moved inside to the irish bar which you cuold never get a seat.The entertainment in the annimation hall was very good but most of it was in german, but at leat the kids were entertained and it was warm.

After a week we were very board,as for this hotel being all inclusive their was not a lot free ,we still spent around