Royal Park Hotel

We arrived over 12 hours late due to flight delays and were given no welcome meeting as the rep stated it was our fault we were late, we were given keys to our rooms and sent on our way.
At first the rooms (we had 2) seemed nice and clean but on closer inspection there was sour milk in the cupboard and cakes and sweets under the bed. There was no toilet roll, no bedding or towels and even though we reported this to both the rep and the reception. We were not given any until 3 days later and believe me it can be chilly on a night with nothing to sleep with or on apart from a mattress.
The sockets were hanging off the walls, the taps off the wall in the bathroom and the shower curtain fell down and landed on your head every time you got a shower.
The food was awful, the scrambled egg on a morning looked like chicken soup and everything was either uncooked or cold, it took about 10 minutes to make a slice of toast that was after you stood in the queue.
The food was repeated daily and was re-served day after day and when it started to go off they added spices to mask the smell. The fruit was mouldy unless you were lucky enough to beat the staff to the fresh bananas, but they are that quick that in the 2 weeks we were there we only managed to get a banana once.
The kids section consisted of chicken nuggets and hotdogs everyday for the 2 weeks we were there (Cold of course) and the only thing available for them to drink was fizzy pop, water or drinking chocolate, no fresh juice of any sort.
The lifts were a joke and if one did manage to stop for you, you were lucky if you got on, as there was no staff elevator and they just pushed you out of the way with their trolleys.
The electricity is constantly cutting out with no emergency lighting in any of the hallways (after 15 mins)or on the stairs at all, people were constantly falling (including myself). Candles on the first floor but on none of the other 7.
The entertainment was minimal and you had to pay for most of it, in fact you had to pay for nearly everything that was available(not the all inclusive that is advertised). Your drinks were served in plastic cups unless you paid for them and the staff expected tipping for everything.
I would not recommend this hotel to my worst enemy and was expecting Jeremy Beadle to jump out to say it was all a joke as it felt like we were on Carry on Columbus.
The only plus side was it was right on the beach which was clean and the sea was warm and the First Choice reps for the kids club were great when the kids club was on as it kept getting cancelled due to them having airport duties.

Hotel was constantly being cleaned cleaners and maids must have OCD they do not stop cleaning, sweeping and do it all with a smile and a hello.
The Bar staff very friendly speak excellent English and do their best to get you drunk, there are small queues during the day but you’re always served within minutes. These generate due to people getting more drinks than they need a family of 4 just don't need 10 drinks.
These queues do get bigger of an evening for same the same reason and the Hotel management could employ more staff for this period to ease it but again only 5 mins wait max.
The Kids club was excellent the 4 Kids in our party ages 4, 5, 7 and 8 all enjoyed going and they received a T-shirt, Hat and drinks bottle as a welcome gift.
Pool cleaned daily, the water not as warm as the Sea but very refreshing not uncomfortably cold. The Breakfast food was not to my taste but the Kids enjoyed the Pancakes and Toast.
Lunch was better and more varied if you knew where to go, there are 3 locations Takeaway Pizza and Kebabs, the main restaurant and also the Sozopol terrace restaurant where Half a chicken and chips are served.
The Evening Meal in the main restaurant is ok at best again though your choice is varied the Sunshine restaurant, the Sozopol and the BBQ restaurant where you get a much better meal and at a small cost even better food still through the pay menu, which with a bottle of Wine 4 bottles of Becks and 2 pay meals came to 28 Lev just over a tenner.
A cab from the Hotel to Sunny Beach cost 25 Lev there and the driver will return for you and take you back at an agreed time for 20 Lev you pay for the fair at return to Hotel.
Sunny Beach is a tourist trap selling all kinds of toot, loads of Restaurants including a McDonalds which is expensive compared to English prices, go to a Restaurant for little bit more and drink Beer.
The water park adjoined to the Hotel is great, the lifeguards seem very cavalier towards safety. I heard the whistle blown once, so keep an eye on your own Kids and don't rely on them as not to English standards but it's not England is it? I mean would you be able to buy Beer at your local swimming pool then dive down the water slide? Beach side massage tent worth a visit, back and neck massage for 30 Lev or full body for 50 Lev.
The Entertainment Staff do a great job and are always around doing something and when on their way to do something else always happy to chat, to advise and do so with a smile.
First Choice are lucky to have such a great bunch, yes they have been trained but how these guys do their job goes beyond any training. They are a dedicated talented team and do deserve this praise.
We had a great time at the Royal Park and would return tomorrow.

Having just returned from what can only be described as a nightmare 2weeks and then having to take another week off work due to a continuation of sickness and chronic diahorrea after staying at the Hotel Royal Park, I feel that it is necessary to warn other people of the false sense of security that this Hotel lulls you into!
On first impressions this Hotel is well worthy of its 4 star rating-extremely grand-clean and a beautiful setting- however once the diahorrea kicks in (on about day 3) cracks begin to show! I don’t want to bore you with all the complaints that my party of 10 had.
Anybody staying at this Hotel needs to make sure they have plenty of games to play at night as the entertainment is dire. There is no where to walk to, no tavernas or restaurants and to go into Sunny Beach by Taxi costs 45lvs return (approx £15) We have just warned some friends of ours to change their holiday as they were due to go out on the 20th, I would rather loose all my money than visit this place again.
The Bulgarian people are extremely rude and ignorant.

Glad to be home! Apart from experiencing a Hurricane in Mexico a few years back this is the only holiday I have ever tried to return home early from. The bad reviews you have read are all very true and there are plenty more of them on other websites.
The bad food, overcrowding, long queues, inattentive staff, rip off non all-inclusiveness, constant noise, too few sun beds, more queues and dreadful food (have I mentioned that already) may all seem minor points on their own but when this is all you have for two weeks it is enough to make you wish you'd have gone somewhere, anywhere else.
Good points - no mosquitoes and I've managed to lose that half a stone I've been trying to shift since Christmas.
If you've already booked and can't change good luck if you can change, switch to a Riu or better still to another destination.

Just returned from this holiday. On first arrival at 3.30 in the morning on an awful flight my first impression was this country is run down and very poor.
The road from the airport was nothing short of a dirt track. The hotel itself looked very impressive when we arrived. Couldn't really fault the hotel , spotless and rooms cleaned every day with clean sheets and towels. The food was not great, it didn't vary the 14 days I was there. Chips, pasta, veal, rabbit, processed chicken, pork and everything was in sauces and I didn't have one hot meal the whole 2 weeks unless I put it in the microwave provided in the restaurant. All the food is recycled so breakfast left over eggs etc appear in the salads at lunch time and the vegetables from lunch appear in the salads at dinner time. Meal times were like feeding time at the zoo, but if you go at the later end of the times its almost civilised.
The kids club was good but the nightly entertainment was very disappointing. Kids aged 8 and over would be bored. The reps provided the entertainment for 1 hour at night so nothing to do after 10pm. If you want entertainment you have to take a taxi to nearby Sunny Beach but the bars there are not suitable for children. Its all very tacky in there. All drinks from reception bar and other bars were served in plastic cups not a glass or cup in sight! To top it all I was sick for 6 days and had to visit the medical centre due to a tummy bug.
The pools were freezing and loud music playing most of the day so very little time to relax and unwind unless you went to the beach for peace and quiet but most of the time you were blown off it. It was very breezy and cold at night. The staff are untrained and spoke very little English and you feel you are bothering them at reception if you want to enquire about anything. Suffice to say I will not be returning and it has put me off going on an all inclusive holiday again. I'll stick to self catering.

The Royal Park hotel was great, we found the rooms lovely, and the hotel very clean, and the food edible, it was a bit repetitive, but was nice and always something for everyone.
The First Choice entertainers were excellent, they kept my other half and my kids occupied all day and all night, with different games all day till 4pm, and then they were back at night from 8 till 10.30 ish, with a disco for the kids, bingo for adults (big cash prizes) and then a show to end the evening. And it wasn’t the same shows over and over they were all different as they ran in 2 weekly timetable as not to be repeated.
The staff in the hotel were excellent as well, very helpful and very polite.
The only bad thing about this holiday was the resort it’s self. I am in a wheelchair and I couldn’t get to any of the bars or restaurants in the resort, as they were all up steps, even people with prams struggled!
I was very disappointed with first choice as they had assured me it was suitable for wheelchairs, when really it isn’t, and I’m not talking about 1 flight of steps there were 3 flights of steps, even the shops were out of bounds to me as they were up steps as well.
And I would stay out of the resort centre after 11pm as that’s where all the teenagers hang out and there is a lot of fighting. So I would say it isn’t a place to take teenagers, as there isn’t anything for them to do on a night.
The hotel was really nice though.
10/10 for hotel
5/10 for resort

Having just returned from this hotel this is not a four star hotel. Main problem is the Food its Buffet, Breakfast is cold and greasy never changed menu in 11 days.
You have to queue to get a sun bed so be up at 6.30 the other restaurants that offer ala carte are rotten a barbecue with grilled uncooked chicken, and a Bulgarian Restaurant serving local veal stew.
The food at night never varies chips, pork, chicken and veal all cooked in grease and a selection of pasta and veg.
Drinks are all local no cocktails included just wine, vodka, gin, rum, whisky and all served with fizzy to top up. No fresh juices for kid’s children’s menu veal burgers and chicken nuggets and salads never change.
Aqua Park pay for sun beds, beach bar you pay for drinks, Irish bar set in a dingy basement with no windows you will be smoked out.
Rooms basic the only thing going for this place is the kids club you will struggle with teenage kids as there is only one arcade and a few pool tables.
It costs 25Levys each way to Sunny Beach as there is only one bus an hour and the queues are horrendous.
Take Money to top up and go out.

Here we go - it is in the back of beyond, nothing else near the hotel except for a little place called Pacos which gives you jacket potatoes without jackets and steak that still moo's!.
The Royal Park Hotel itself is by far the most impressive hotel that I have ever walked into and when we were put into our room my opinion stayed the same - absolutely massive room plenty of space for our whole family.
First impressions of the dining hall - not a la carte but it was ok. However the food was the same for the whole holiday (lunch and dinner)and breakfast was disgusting. The thought of going into the dining room which we nicknamed the dining room of DOOM! turned our stomachs.
The snacks were the same (hotdogs, pizza, and kebabs?). There was nothing to eat after 9pm and nowhere to go to buy something which was a nightmare as my wife is diabetic and needs to eat regularly.
First Choice kids reps and entertainers, especially Luke and Nathan should be on TV as I would pay to see them. The only problem with everything being at the amphitheatre was that there were no toilets nearby and the bar was still in progress but once it is finished it will be fine.
Let’s look at what we have all inclusive! -
mini golf-No
water sports - swimming only!
mountain bikes- No
aqua park- entry free but have to pay for sunbeds and drinks but worth going.
Bars- bars that were all inclusive had 2 barmen per 150 customers, not all inclusive bars by which there were far more of had at least 6 barmen and all looked for tips as if it were their right! And we didn't even get a smile!
Coffee bar- all inclusive (beer, soft drinks, biscuits and ice cream etc) but was about 1/2 mile from main pool and the only place for ice cream.
All in all the hotel was spotless but Bulgarians need a humour transplant, cooking lessons and decent cheese.
Was an ok holiday but we won't be back in Bulgaria.

Overall the holiday was very good; we arrived at Burgas Airport to be met by a very friendly rep, which turned out to be our kid’s club rep. The country looks like a rubbish tip until you get to the holiday resorts. Upon first impressions royal apartment hotel was very impressive, the reception staff spoke enough English to get by, and the bar staff were very helpful and for just a few lev each night you could avoid the queues by tipping the waitresses/waiters to bring your drinks to your table
Food was repetitive, but always hot, the usual drinks were on offer; Pepsi, sprite, lemon and orange fanta, soda water, water, whiskey, vodka, brandy, gin etc.
Pool was quite big, very cold, and there were always life guards around, but they left promptly at 5:30 even if there were still kids in the pool.
Pool bar served hotdogs and sandwiches. Always wasps around the pool area, they weren’t aggressive though and only once did any of our party get stung.
Between the pool terrace and beach was another beach bar, serving drinks and next door, a hut serving pizza, hotdogs and chicken kebabs although these were limited to 2 pieces per person
Room was "lived in" but clean. Bathroom was large and we had 2 balconies.
Maids didn’t really make the beds, they just folded the covers on top.
There wasn’t much for us to do and mostly we ended up going in the nightclub or wandering around reception
Amphitheatre: ok, except there is no bar or toilets nearby and you have to go to reception. The shops underneath are quite cheap but shut at the same time as the entertainment. The amphitheatre seats were very hard, dance floor very small but the entertainment team were very good, Nathan was the best rep by far.
The Irish bar was the best place to go after the entertainment had finished as they served till 1 in the morning.
Overall a very good holiday. I wouldn’t want to go again as in my opinion the hotel was too big and there wasn’t much for us to do.

Great holiday! Get bad things out of way first, food not to bad but could be better and swimming pool to cold and Irish bar not Irish! But great though.
Now good things, were do I start! Hotel like a palace beach superb staff great under paid but very friendly bar staff. Ok rooms lovely aqua park great but you pay for your sun beds and drink pity.
There’s shops in the hotel which are very cheap and the staff are very very friendly. Never saw the reps much, we saw the Bulgarian reps aka the animation team they were superb with the kids and adults and the bingo was very funny.
We got back on the Tuesday and just booked up for next year.