The resort was very clean, no overflowing bins and no litter on the streets.

There was plenty of night life and it was a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere and was made welcome everywhere we went.

The beach was very clean and tidy.

Would visit this resort again.

The resort is totally geared around the tourist, plenty of bars & restaurants, generally very cheap & good quality. Restaurants will tyr to entice you in but will leave you alone when you say no. Most of the market goods on sale are counterfeit & pretty shabby, though there are still bargains to be found, haggle.
Beach is very nice & there are plenty of areas that you do not have to pay for. The beach has a steep shelf & gets deep very quickly.

the location was close to the beach with long walks passing many mini type shops and markets, sea looked fab, we prefered to walk out most days & nights, its a must to go to the casino, we enjoyed it but take your passport with you the first night for identification, everything is a lot cheaper clothes, food, drinks. the weather could have been better but we made the most of it. the resort was fine and we did have a day in varna about 20-30 mins, taxi fare was ok,

The resort of Golden Sands was excellent and definitely one of the best we have ever been to, with miles of lovely golden beach, hundreds of bars and restaurants, and all in a nice green setting of hillside trees. The resort is quite commercialised, so there was plenty to do and see for a fortnight's holiday. There's also plenty for the kids to do alongside the sea front - horse rides, small quad bikes, trampolines, hair braiding, pottery painting, mini-train, go-carting, bowling alley, mini golf, karaoke bars etc.

Initially I was concerned about the weather, as the first two days were showery and cloudy (we went 01/09/2005- 15/09/05). However, the weather did improve, and it was pleasant to be able to lie in the sunshine without baking to death (midday included), and we actually came home with better tans. In the evenings the temperature really cools down, which was pleasant to go for a meal and drinks without melting, and cool enough to get a good nights sleep too (but I would recommend taking long trousers etc for the evenings).

There are hundreds of places to eat and drink around Golden Sands, and they are all relatively cheap. We ate out every night for between £7 and £11 - this was for two main meals, plus a bottle of wine/ or 2 beers.
In the bars, the cocktails were between 4-6 levs (approx £1.50-£2), and local beer was priced between 30p and £1. Bottles of Branded Spirits (Smirnoff, Jack Daniels etc) were expensive at about £18 or more for a bottle, but the local spirits at only £2-£2.50 per bottle are just as good.

All toilets, even when using bars and restaurants charge 50 "stitinkies" (which is about 15-20p) for their use, with an old crone at the doorway to take the money and distribute loo roll and paper towel! A bit cheeky when the majority of toilets leaked all over the floors - please be careful where dropping your trousers!

Speaking of which, pr*stitution is legal in Bulgaria however it's only visible after 9-10pm at night, and even then it's only around the main street by the `aptly named` Bonkers nightclub.
The Ladies Of The Night don't seem to approach men with their partners, and we actually saw it as a bit of a tourist attraction! Don't be put off, as the main street by Bonkers nightclub can be avoided if required.
Despite the amount of people out on an evening we didn't see any rowdiness, street crime or trouble, and we felt very safe in resort.

The entertainment in Golden Sands is mostly ok, and plenty of the bars and restaurants have shows and singers, although the duos are very similar at banging out the same Eurovision style pop songs in their pigeon English.
The resort is also great for gamblers, as there are quite a number of casinos.

There is the usual pestering to buy things/go into restaurants/take taxis/accept leaflets, but a firm no always works. The wide range of shops sell everything a holidaymaker could want, and if you like your labels, fake designer wear is the backbone of the economy in Golden Sands - just leave plenty of spare space in your suitcase for bootleg watches, bags, tops, jackets, dvd's! You name it they copy it - and it's all very cheap!
Diesel, Nike, Dolce & Gabanna, Adidas etc is available in almost every shop, and at really good quality.

For myself, I bought two Diesel hooded fleeces for £10-£12 each, a bracelet style Cartier watch for about £3, a sparkly silver Dior watch for about £4, and a large leather purse/wallet for approx £6.

For the house, we bought a huge "wooden" tortoise for approx £7 (would have cost at least £20 in the UK), a large modern hand painted glass vase for approx £7, two "wooden" ethnic faces/masks for the conservatory at about £3 each, and a gorgeous handmade photo album bound with twigs and leaves for approx £5.
Matt bought a large Diesel sports bag for approx £4, a pair of Oakley sunglasses for approx £3, two Diesel vest tops for approx £6 each, and 4x 1ltr bottles of spirits (vodka, chocolate liquor & 2 x amaretto) for a combined total of approx £10!

By European standards you know you are in a former communist country, so providing your expectations are not too high, then you should have a great time. The Bulgarian people are relatively poor - their standards of living are below those of westerners, so things may seem a bit rough around the edges. However, the Bulgarian tourist industry is still growing with huge new hotels springing up all over, so I think standards and service will improve greatly in the coming years.
It's not the place to go for local culture, or to meet local Bulgarians, but if you're looking for a relaxing beach holiday with cheap food and drink then Golden Sands would be perfect

In the future, we would like to visit Sunny Beach, but would personally never book any hotel below a 4* rating (as all hotels are rated to Bulgarian standards, by Bulgarian people).
And you get what you pay for, so the few extra quid spent on accommodation would be saved by the cheap cost of living, and Bulgaria does have some really nice plush hotels.

A little word of warning for people with mobility problems - all roads and pavements in Golden Sands are very poor, and the whole resort is set on a hillside. Therefore I don't think Golden Sands would be suitable for wheelchairs, people who use a stick, or for anyone with walking difficulties.
The coach ride back to the airport was rather eventful. The plane was delayed by a couple of hours due to a huge thunderstorm - one of the worst we have ever seen, with lightning every second and flood water on the main roads deep enough to submerge car wheels. The coach driver even pulled over on the hard shoulder for a while, due to fear of driving any further! This thunderstorm resulted in the airport springing leaks everywhere and the incoming planes having to divert to another airport. The airports departure boards were not updated at all, so we were left in the dark (literally, due to a power cut). The departure area at Varna airport is small with limited seating, so we ended up sitting on the floor, as even the windowsills were full. When we eventually boarded the plane, we were delayed for another 45 minutes due to the airport staff putting all of our cases on the Manchester flight, and vice versa, so luggage was then unloaded and reloaded.

Summary...
We had a great time in Golden Sands and didn't let the hotel spoil it.
Would we go back to Bulgaria? Yes, without a doubt, but next time we'll go either self-catering, or to a 4* or better hotel. We'll also take an empty suitcase for all the bargains!

I can not really say much about it as we tried not to be outside for too long. The risk of frost-bite was too great.

We stayed at the Helios Spa hotel the only downside is that there was over 120 steps to walk down to get to the resort. Although when you got to the bottom of them you only had to walk 2 mins and you were there in the resort.

There were loads of shops but once you had seen one you had seen them all really. One of jewellery, one perfume one of bags and one of clothes and then they were repeated all the way through.

The resort is very dirty and was disappointed in the beach and sea as they say in all the books its the best you can find but to me it wasnt. It could be due to the weather so this is a word of warning I went from the 15th to the 22nd of September and it rained nearly every day we went. Therefore please think twice about going in September, we may have just been unlucky but it was very disappointing as you save all year for a nice holiday only to go out of rainy Britain into rainy Bulgaria.

We have been told that the weather was late 70s in September but not for us. The resort is 95% Germans and thats all Im gonna say on that matter. Just beware if you want last orders at any bar as you wont get a look in.

The resort night life was quite busy with plenty of choices of bars and clubs and places to eat we ate out more than once and one of the nicer places to eat was mama mias steak house.

A word of warning also to any people taking young children out in the resort at night as there were a few "ladies of the night" out and about.

Overall it was an ok hoilday all I can say is if we had the weather it would have been a lot better as in the day there isnt much to do ....

The beach in golden sands is about a ten minute walk downhill from the hotel and a massage on golden sands beach is a must.
The town was packed with shops and there was always a different bar each night with dancing and entertainment to enjoy.There were a few children begging and prostitutes around the streets which did put us off.

Golden Sands resort is a mix of market stalls, shops and bars and restaurants. There is also the occasional tattooist and hair beader! The manicures and pedicures available are a must! Much better than you would ever get in the UK.

The Ministry of Cocktails is the ONLY cocktail bar worth visiting, it is superb! Many a happy evening was had there. The beaches are good but there is alot of shingle in the Black Sea which can lead to some uncomfortable moments. I stuck to the pool after unintentionally body surfing in the Black Sea and collecting enough rubble to fill a garden in my swimming cossie!

Recommended holiday but NOT if you want another Britain or Spain!

Just can't wait to return to golden sands, brill time had by all.

When we went into Golden Sands the beaches were clean and there are lots of sunbeds available at a cost.

There are plenty of bars and places to eat with a good variety of menus.

On a evening there is lots of live music in the bars to suit most peoples taste. There are discos for children and nightclubs for the adults.