Ralitsa Hotel

I was really anxious about going on this holiday as I had read some really bad reviews about it but I was very surprised at how good it was!
First of all the flights to and from Varna airport were brilliant. We had no delays and arrived at Varna 1 hour early and back into Manchester 25 minutes early. The flight itself was brilliant, the food was good and the staff were excellent and very helpful. When we had got through customs and had our luggage we were greeted by a rep (Matt) and put on a coach we were on this for around 45mins to the Ralitsa hotel. The rep in our hotel was called Andy and he was so helpful. He responded to queries there and then.
When we arrived at the Ralitsa I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got checked in and how clean the hotel was. The room was spotless and quite spacious. The food in the hotel was really nice and there is a good selection at meal times. The staff in and around the hotel were very friendly and didn’t ignore the English (like what other reviews said!) Fair enough the Bulgarians aren’t very good at English but at the end of the day I can’t speak a word of Bulgarian!
It’s really cheap in Bulgaria so if you smoke I would recommend buying cigarettes over there rather than on the plane! It works out at about 85p for 20! Its about 50p for a pint of lager, much cheaper than here! The free drinks at the hotel finish at 11.00pm so we just went into the small town and got 2 and a half litres of lager (roughly 80p) and drank it at the pool bar, the staff don’t mind you doing this!
The hotel itself is in a lovely area and is only about 5 mins from the little town where you can buy lots of cheap but nice souvenirs! The food in the Town was really good and cheap as well.
All in all we had a brilliant time at this hotel and I really didn't want to go home! I would recommend Bulgaria to anyone and First Choice also gets 10/10. Hope this has been helpful!

Having read all the reviews for Albena and the hotel we had chosen we set off in a really pessimistic mood, not helped by a late change to our flight time and being diverted to Manchester. This meant we did not arrive until 3 am local time 1am UK.
Receptionist was very friendly and made everything easy up to rooms absolutely no problem clean and comfortable enough. We had chosen to pay the little extra and went for the 4 star option, this meant we stayed in the Ralitsa superior hotel and used the exclusive restaurant and pool.
Food - salad and fruit were excellent, nice to taste real fruit and veg not the genetically produced stuff we eat, main meals plenty of choice each day but did get a little repetitive on some items at the end of the 2nd week, also enough stuff for kids to eat as well. Breakfast - my favourite loads to choose from and never tired from forcing myself to get up to eat croissants and drink coffee.
Drinks - yes they are local and yes the beer is good, wine drinkable but not much to write home about so on a couple of days brought my own bottle from Lidls which was very nice for a whole £1.50! Soft drinks ok, cocktails worth paying the £1.50 per drink to add some variety. Even after hours paying 74p for a pint is not going to break the bank, however by this time usually had enough.
Hotel - very clean, plenty hot water (expect 18:00 for 30 mins during rush hour) when it’s a dribble, room has nice balcony with great view to relax on, air con excellent although a little noisy but worth it. Staff very friendly always smiling not one bad comment, Ivo + Polly in the bar top people.
Pool - being 4* guests we got access to all pools but the exclusive 4* star one was lovely, well attended and plenty sun-loungers, so happy with pool didn’t try beach although daughter did and she who hates the sand liked it!
Albena resort - very tiny after a couple of days you will have seen all there is to see, go-karts excellent fun, couple of lively bars, didn’t eat out so can’t comment, but talked to people who did and they were quite happy. Did get approached by ladies of the night but said no thanks and walked on not a problem in fact found it quite amusing.
Weather - I am a sun worshipper, we had 1 full cloudy day couple of evening storms but seeing as towards end of summer last 2 weeks August it was still 30+ and drenched in sunshine.
Summary - this is a great place to go for 7-10 days 14 is a little too long, perfect for families as quite quiet, entertainment ok, Rlitsa in my opinion is the best hotel by a long way judging by looks and comment from others, go for the 4* option, so if you want to relax read a book listen to your iPOD then play football, volleyball, table tennis every day to work off the pounds which I did then this is a great place to go and at a great price!

I was extremely wary about this holiday as, after booking a late deal, read some reviews on the internet (websites like this one) where people had said the food was awful, the place was boring, the staff were rude and the resort was quiet but teaming with prostitutes. Therefore, I was extremely pleasantly surprised when my partner and I arrived at the Ralitsa.
The hotel was absolutely spotlessly clean, as was the resort in general. The food was nice, not fantastic but just what I expected from a 3 star all inclusive hotel. The entertainment didn't really appeal but that was personal choice. The pools were lovely and always clean, there were plenty of sun beds and the staff were generally pretty helpful.
I was appalled to hear the moans from the British (mostly Welsh) about the awful food (i.e. not sausage and chips/ham egg and chips - English food?!), the Germans (for goodness sake they are allowed holidays too!), the lack of sports activities (I challenge anyone to name a sport that you couldn't do during a week at the Ralitsa), the boring resort (beautiful and not over commercialised in my view) and in general anything they could think of. I must admit I was ashamed to be put into the same classification as these people!
The holiday cost for both me and my partner £420, inclusive of all transfers etc and I'll bet you could spent a damn sight more than that in a grotty B&B in miserable Britain!
I would recommend this holiday to anyone who is cultured enough not to require 'England abroad' - try the Costas for that!

Just got back from this hell hole!
We paid for Ralitsa but were put in vita park, the whole place is purely for Germans! The food and drink is not fit for human consumption!
The pork and chicken is never cooked and is very poor there is no choice for the English at all, the staff are very rude and are only nice when they want money!
And the Balkan rep was a complete waste of time.

Please don’t go here!

Well were do I begin? We have had a brilliant time. There were 2 adults 2 kids went for 2 week. First all the rooms are cleaned every day, the staff are fabulous. The hotel itself is lovely, they have 3 swimming pools, 1 inside 2 outside, a big one and the rock one that’s the best for kids and you don’t have any problems getting a sun bed at the rock pool.
They have 2 restaurants and 1 snack bar. First the restaurant for breakfast lunch and dinner the meal are ok but it’s great if you like beef which they call veal. The meals are a bit of the same every night, chips, chicken. But there is loads of variety if you're not fussy like me and you get to have 1 visit at the al la carte, which was pretty horrible, but that’s my view.
there is a snack bar which you can get chips, pizza, pasta, sausage which is the same menu every day and you can get that from 10am-11pm. ok if you want to get a tan and you miss dinner. the beer was great, they have lots of choice, if you have the local stuff its all free and its ok, let me tell you, but if you want the imported stuff you will have to pay after 11 but you have to pay for the local stuff anyway.
The town is 5-10 minutes walk if that the local are great tip try the Irish pub its great they have an artist on every night. There is Chinese restaurant that nice as well. there is a free bus that will take you to from hotel to the beach and back again that runs every 30 mins or there is a train that runs from the hotel and it runs every 20 mins its like the Noddy train the kids love it or the horse and carriage which will take you any where for a fee the Noddy train. You have to pay for it but it's 2 levs for adults 1 lev for kids over 3 it cost 5 levs for us which is about 2 pounds or taxi which are everywhere which only cost about 2 pounds it was great for us when we got lost.
Getting back to the hotel it is packed with Germans but it doesn’t say that in the brochure. Its all German run which are a pain in the back side they are so ignorant is unbelievable. Apart from that we had a great time and would go back again. Thanks
Leanne and Wayne greaves.

Had a fabulous time in Bulgaria. Hotel very clean and plenty of choice in the restaurant. Staff friendly and helpful. Lots of Germans, but they seemed friendly too.
Albena beach is gorgeous, plenty of places to stop and have a drink or something to eat. We spent most evenings at La Bomba on the front.
Chris the pizza maker was very charming and eager to learn English. Would definitely go back to Bulgaria, maybe try Sunny Beach next time. Varna airport not very nice.

July 2005 I spent one week in Albena, hotel Ralitsa Superior with my wife and our grand daughter, 10. It was one of the best vacations we ever had.
The employees were very courteous, hotel was extremely clean and food and drinks (all you can eat and drink!) were excellent. Every night, except Sundays, there was a show presented by a group of actors, actresses, dancers and singers. I must say that their professionalism was at the highest level you can expect for vacation. The price we paid for all this is hard to match by any means.
We strongly recommend this hotel for singles, groups, and families with or without children. Do not miss to visit nearby places, like Nessebar, Golden Sands, Balcik, etc.

After reading various reports on this holiday, we were very wary as to what would be in store for us. But thankfully we were pleasantly surprised.
Overall the food was very good and was constantly being renewed, previously we were told that there were alot of upset stomachs and cold or warmed up food being served, hence alot of poorly people. This was not the case, food was always freshly served (just a matter of timing it right). The hotel was very clean and well set out.
Our only bad comment would have to be that the entertainment throughout the holiday was always spoken in German, therefore not many English people were aware of what was going on and did not join in.

This was supposed to be a first family holiday for my little boy.
The hotel itself was set in very beautiful grounds where the grass was swept on a daily basis. The rooms were immaculately clean and the cleaning staff were very friendly.
The rest of the staff particularly reception would always speak to the Germans first, well this is a German run hotel!
The food was bearable, although very limited choices for vegetarians, namely the only protein option being cheese.
Food was hot but very fatty meats at times and children’s options were still unsuitable(the fish fingers had quite a few bones). Long waiting period between lunch and dinner which meant the younger members of our party either ate late or had to make do with the snacks in between meals. A la carte was a disappointment and the meals not dissimilar to those being served in the main restaurant.
The surrounding area and town offered great little bargains and the beach was spacious and beautiful. The beggars and pickpockets were very prevalent in the big towns and cities, you have to be very careful.
The first choice rep fobbed us off when we had anything bad to say and was even less help when one our party broke his leg on the slope leading to the restaurant. It was awful when wet, like a ski slope. Disabled people would not have stood a chance! Our reps comment was they should have used the stairs!
This was a horrible end to one of the worst holidays I have ever spent abroad and would personally never, ever use first choice again. May try another part of Bulgaria though as had the potential to become a very nice destination for beach holidays.

Well where do I start? The hotel was the cleanest we have ever stayed in. Cleaned everyday - Top class. The food was okay, plenty of choice and it was available all day long in various areas of the hotel.
The bars were okay but the staff always served the Germans first. You have to pay after 23.00pm, even for the local stuff. Went on some good day trips to other resorts, well worth it. The beach at Albena is excellent, clean sand and a warm lapping sea to dip your toes in. The local people are nice as long as you take time to talk to them. One thing we didn’t like was having to pay to use the loo's!!!
One thing to remember is to take some Euros with you to spend at the airport. Don’t use the black market!!!!
Overall - We would go back again
All the best.