I had never been abroad before,so i treated my pensioner mother and pensioner aunt as a treat,they both have walking disabilities(arthritis),it was their first holiday abroad too.I really did not know what AOA meant then,never travelling abroad before.But i know when i origianlly booked,it was on my booking details and the reason i booked,i mentioned their disabilities and that the hotel was 3 star.

Anyroads,we get to Sunny Beach,they are dropping all the other holidaymakers off at their hotels,we are looking at all these hotels and thinking "ooh,that seems like a nice hotel,right on the beach too",they all looked so clean and nice etc.Well,when it stopped outside the KRYSTAL,everyone on the coach just looked at each other,as if to say,"is this our hotel".It was like we were going into some sort of prisoner of war camp.We were allocated 2 rooms on the second or third floor,cannot remember now.But obvioulsy with no lifts there was no way my mom and aunt could go up and down the stairs all the while.We had to spend the first night in those few rooms,but they moved us to the ground floor the next day.The look on my aunts face when she saw the rooms,the total look of abject disappointment was written all over her face,all that was there was the beds and dressing table,that was it,no tv or anything else.The shower room/wet room were dangerous and health hazards.

Luckily,we tried to make the most of our holiday,we went exploring ourselves to Nessabar,Bourgas,Varna and surrounding areas,so was only in the hotel really at night to sleep.But consisdering this was our first taste abroad,it is a wonder it did not put us off going abroad again.The hotel was a disgrace,but fair dues the staff were friendly and tried to help and the cleaners did their best with the rooms.The cleaners worked from 6 in the morning to 7 at night and so we gave them a tip each of equivalent of a weeks wages to them at the end of our stay.

We have not been back and i hope it is demolished by now.

Well After reading so much about this hotel before we went we were a little concerned. We had been to Bulgaria 5 times before the last time in 05 and always found the Hotels clean and friendly with the food OK but not brillent. Im glad to say that the Kristal beat all this and has to be our favourite Hotel that we have been to in Bulgaria. The much dreaded food that we had heard so many negative feedback about was just the normal standard of contintel and everything was fresh ( I have to add that we only had breakfast ).

We have been back nearly a week now and are still missing such a fantastic, relaxing holiday. With having read weeks beforehand other numerous reviews, we were especially very dubious about the quality of the food in the hotel...but to our surprise it was more than acceptable and not as some of the reviews had suggested.
Breakfast had 3 different types of egg - fried, scrambled and boiled with ham fried for the bacon and frankfurters as the sausage.
What was good for the kids (and us adults alike!) was the choice of having freshly cooked pancakes topped with jams, honey & even chocolate!
We only had lunch a couple of times in the week due to the amount of food we had at breakfast, but you usually had the choice of fried chicken fillet with fries.
Dinner included soups and salads to start with a choice of usually 3 seperate dishes including pork, veal, chicken etc complete with the normal vegetables...they even had Brussel Sprouts which were cooked to a treat!
As far as the hotel is concerned, it keeps up to its 4 star accreditation with it being very clean, having really friendly staff and being presentable at all times.
We booked 2 Select rooms on the 5th floor which were very spacious and included the normal air conditioning (which was very handy when it was 40 degrees outside!)
We spent all our days around the pool, with no safety issues to report on. All of our children really enjoyed the pool and there was never a problem in obtaining poolside beds.
The only issues that we had was that the Kids club was only up to the age of 8 (although our 9 & 10 year old were made welcome by the kind reps)
Unfortunatley there is no real evening entertainment except for a rock & roll show and a kids parrot show.

If you choose to make your way down to the beach and you have young children with you with a buggy, I suggest that you walk down the street which finally gets you to the beach and NOT the shortcut way which is down some very steep steps and you have to really watch what you are doing.

Overall we were more than pleased with our visit to Bulgaria, especially with the more than reasonable price we paid for this holiday.
We would consider going back to this hotel again, although First Choice have omitted this Hotel from next years brochure.

In conclusion we would really recommend this hotel to families and couples alike and hope you enjoy your visit as much as we did.

SUPERB, what a difference from 7 years ago at Sunny Beach, great hotel, great staff, great room, poor weather. No problems with the hotel at all, very impressed with everything concerning the hotel, spotlessly clean.

Great room FREE air con if needed, FREE TV, built in bar / fridge (ask at reception for this to be unlocked prices are printed for you if you have anything and items replaced the next day) FREE shower cap, shampoo, sewing kit, soap etc.

Great lifts and fantastic choice for breakfast catering for every nationality (just take your brown sauce) When booking in they will issue you with a swipe card to buy anything and everything at the hotel to which you have to pay the total bill at the end of your break.

I was very concerned at first about this but when used they give you a signed print out receipt for you to check (just keep hold of them if there is any false figures, but we never had a problem).

The only very minor problem was there were only 6 hangers to hang your clothes but plenty of room to flat pack everything, and no brown sauce.

We only booked B&B after reading the previous reports on the hotel, but going by the breakfasts alone I would not have had any problems going half board.

The pools looked clean but were really cold but the weather was not in our favour so never really used.

The worst food I have ever had on holiday could not care less rep. Lousey entertainment. But a first class clean hotel let down by the above.

Have just returned from a very good holiday at the Kristal Hotel. The hotel was very clean, the maid even changed the towels and made shapes out of them on the day we left! My daughter loved trying to guess what shape the towels would be each day, bows, crocodile, swan etc.

The food got boring quite quickly so we ate out quite a bit but as the local restaurants were good quality - and cheap! - it wasn't a problem. I can recommend Sinbad's as they had entertainment on every night too.

The staff were quite friendly and the two lads who waited around the pool were excellent; they worked sooo hard each day.

The Kids Club reps were brilliant and my daughter loved going each day - well done Suzie, Laura & Lynsey. For some reason the hotel management didn't like the entertainment side of things and so we lost two of the three entertainment reps in a week! Having said this, Hannah worked extremely hard and the girls from the Kids Club helped out and we both enjoyed the events put on by them.

We went on a couple of excursions which were great and everyone else we spoke to enjoyed the trips they went on too. If you go on the jeep safari be warned, you will get wet!

The hotel has a beauty parlor and a wellness centre - make sure you try out the massage, it is wonderful (and very cheap!)

The hotel is in an excellent location - close enough to the centre of things in the resort but far enough away that you can shut the noise away - be warned though that if you struggle to walk up steep steps or a fairly steep hill then it would not be for you.

Although the entertainment was just the one rep it suited us a lot more as it was not 'in your face' but I did feel sorry for Hannah as she had to work so hard but she did a fantastic job.

The kids club was fantastic and Lindsey, Ruth and Suzi kept the kids entertained all the time (even when club was not 'open' as they were helping out Hannah).

We were in a select room and it was huge! One word of warning though, if you are on the ground floor and in the corner room you will have things stolen from the balcony as you are very close to a pathway.

The pool bar staff are fantastic as are the vast majority of the staff it is a shame that the reception staff are not as friendly.

The food began ok but it did go downhill and very boring so we ate out for the last 4 nights. I would agree with a lot of reports and suggest that you go to Mama Mias Steakhouse.

I would visit this hotel again as we know that food in Bulgaria hotels is not fantastic and so we were prepared - all in all as this holiday costs so much cheaper than the equivalent in other countries eating out a few times is a small price to pay.

We stayed half board at this hotel,the food was generally good but very repetitive. The resturant is very, very busy in the mornings unless you get there early.

The hotel is very clean, and the rooms are excellent.

In the room is, a hair dryer, tv, dvd player, kettle.

You can hire beach towels for a refundable deposit.

The hotel is close to all ameneties and far enough away for a bit of piece and quiet.

The only entertainment was for the under 8s, my two children are 12 and 15, there was nothing for them and so they found the hotel very boring.

The hotel was lovely and clean and the rooms were spacious with air conditioning, hair dryer, fridge and balcony.

The bathroom was ok but shower used to soak the floor and the carpet outside.

Breakfast was ok plenty of choice pancakes etc but the evening meals were awful. Choice was ok but everything dried up or the same again and again. Ate out all of the second week there. Very cheap and fantastic food and service.

Pool was great and clean staff very helpful and polite.

Short distance from the town and water park which was a good day out, went on other excursions, Bulgarian Fiesta was brilliant with plenty to eat and drink. All in the price of about

Just back from 2 great weeks at hotel Kristal.

Got a massage at the hotel on the last day - regret not getting one before, felt like a new person after and it was so cheap.

Hotel is great, food decent and very clean. tipped the maid everyday and when we came back into room she had designed pillows, towels and other things about the room into fun shapes eg a croc and a swan - which was funny.

We travelled from Belfast, the resort was mostly English and German.