Helena Sands

You need to be reasonably fit to walk to the resort centre. Takes 30 to 40 minutes. However if you stay close you will experience an excellent hotel that offers high quality accommodation, service and facilities. Together with my wife we stayed for a week in mid September when the resort of Sunny Beach was much quieter than in July and August. The hotel is located at the more reserved end of the resort and offers a range of high quality food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dining staff are very friendly and quick to help in clearing tables. The double room we stayed in was on the 4th floor with an excellent view of the sea. Towels were changed daily,maybe too frequently if you wanted to be more energy saving on washing. Cleaning levels were brilliant. Beach access was straight out from the hotel and free beds were available to guests. It was a superb sandy beach. In September the resort was beginning to close down so not all bars etc.. were open. However there is enough to keep you occupied. Done miss v Nessabar an ancient village/ town about 20 minutes away by bus. It costs six lev return about £3. The nearest bus stop is located on the main road accessed via the connected Hotel Parks. This hotel is classically designed with top notch decor. Five star without a doubt but not stuffy. Very relaxed setting. Our holiday was arranged through Balkan Holidays who were excellent apart from the fact that we did not see a rep all week. Overall this was a superb hotel with first rate facilities but not over priced- well recommended

The hotel was fabulous as were the staff. It certainly deserves its five star rating, it’s also won many awards for the hotel itself and also the catering. The food was exceptional and catered for all tastes, the selections were huge. This coupled with a superb swimming pool and plenty of sun beds around the pool and also on the beach itself which were free to use. The room I had was 516 and had a fantastic sea view and a large balcony. There wasn’t ant entertainment on but that could be because it was end of season, but there’s plenty of entertainment to be had a short walk along the front, but the beauty of this hotel is that it’s in the quiet area of Sunny Beach but the centre is a shortish walk or the little train away but far enough away not to disturb you.

Total rip-off at the beach bar. Charged 30 lev for one cocktail, he charged us for double measures. Then argued and was hostile. Never go there! Lets down a nice hotel. We will never go there again! Utterly disgusted by their horrible attitude.

Arrived at hotel , reception were very rude...just gave us one key card for 3 people and didn't even point us in the direction of any restaurants or the pool area...we had to figure this out by ourselves ...room was small for 3 people...teenager on a camp bed on the sofa.. very uncomfortable...2 single beds pushed together for the adults and were very low to the floor...few black marks on the cream coloured carpets...bath with shower head in it...water goes hot and cold during a shower....the view from our room was a hotel renovation job with builders filling skips every day and making noise...we paid 3500 euro for this hotel and it was Not worth it...breakfast was nice, plenty of fresh fruits, breads, and a hot selection....dinner was horrible most nights with the same type of meats, veg etc...there is a pizza station and the desserts were the worst I've ever tasted in all my years of staying in European hotels...they are mostly made from dates/prunes... not enough sunbeds for all the people staying in the hotel....please take your own hairdryer as you will be drying your hair for hours with the rubbish one in the bathroom! You go out the back of the hotel and you can walk to all the shops in 5 minutes....overall bulgaria is expensive to buy stuff like medication and alcohol...most shops here in sunnybeach offer fake designer handbags and clothes....Will not be back!

The hotel is ok, but not more. The rooms and hotel are clean and the breakfast and dinner are really good and diversified. During the day is only one restaurant which is always full during lunch time, so no chance to eat there between 13:30 - 15:00. Unfortunately the services they offer are not even close to the five stars the hotel have. Starting with the first day on the reception. May be because we are not from Bulgaria as they have their most guests.

Now we had a bit of a shaky start to our holiday. Firstly hugely overly charged in a cab from the airport which left me very nervous. Always please check the price before getting in. But check in was a breeze and we had a room overlooking the road on the 5th floor. Will try to break down what was good and bad, to give you a balanced view. Good 1. Food is nice but a little monotonous - fruit is delicious and bountiful. It never runs out 2. House keeping is great but very noisy first thing in the morning don’t expect any lie ins after 8am 3. Pool is lovely 4. Grounds are gorgeous 5. Location is perfect just off the hustle and bustle of Flower Street but still only a short 15-20 minute very pleasant walk along beach 6. Beach is beautiful and always a sun bed available. 7. Staff were nice and attentive at the pool, reception and restaurant. Not So Good 1. Locked out of our room 8 times in the first 3 days, as the card/key mechanism was faulty. Not ideal but sorted and apology was received along with a later check out 2. It’s very noisy. I think the doors don’t have a cushioning system so when anyone on your floor shuts their door or even their wardrobe, you will hear it. Woke me up most days. 3. Smoking. It’s everywhere. No one seems to care there are children at their own table let alone ours. It put us off eating in the restaurant and we had to move tables on occasion. It might sound picky and this is my personal opinion but I felt there should be a zone just for the smokers and the rest of us can enjoy fresh air. Overall the good did outweigh the bad. And we enjoyed our stay but not entirely sure I would have booked had I known the above. Up to you to decide!! Happy holidays.

We came here from Ireland for our holidays this year and this hotel did not disappoint. It was luxurious, not too overcrowded busy which I loved, always a pool seat free, the food set up for breakfast and dinner was absolutely delicious- so many options to choose from , the chefs right behind the food being prepared. Very happy with this hotel and where it was situated. We didn’t have any clubs or loud pubs around this area. Perfect for a couple. We ate at the restaurant the dolphin one and that was absolutely amazing. Highly recommend this place . Relaxed vibes and the beach area across from it was lovely.

Very nice architecture, spotless clean, pretty luxurious location, not overcrowded, outside little bit from the noisy nightlife but with easy access there, nice gardens, nice swimming pool area,very close to the beach, amazing friendly and attentive staff, delicious food and nice restaurants setup. Highly recommended.