Hotel Gergana Beach — Hotel in Balchik

We arrived early having driven through the night. The hotel is not accessible by car, with a baby this made unloading a little tiresome but not tragic. Would expect more from a 4 star hotel? Though not sure if the hotel itself decided to give itself 4 stars? First room was a disaster. Embarrassingly filthy dirty. Previous guests stuff a comb, lighter, food debris rotting under bed, soiled tissues between mattress and bed and dust and that would have a soldier kicked out of the army! Damp in bathroom probably caused by the water from shower that simply refused to drain down the plug hole. Fridge didn't work, neither did radio or the aircon. Balcony doors didn't open fully onto the balcony with rusting handrail and constant drips from 10 floors of aircons up above. The curtains didn't even provide privacy from the balcony doors out onto the beach. The nets are to short one end and the main curtain to short the other. This was realised when I came out of the shower in my birthday suit and wondered why a woman on the beach was staring at me. This won't do for my wife and baby girl! As we were in room 101 (aptly named UK joke) the balcony door was next to the rear entrance to the hotel as aircon didn't work balcony door was open with mosquito shield closed. The noise from people congregating at this back door finishing their cigarettes before entering was constant and went into the early hours ending with a slam of the hotel door that shook the room. The worse problem though was the bed bugs. I reported to front desk and girl was great she said room could be changed next morning and gave us a bottle of something blue in a window cleaner spray bottle to spray bugs with. Could've been highly toxic pesticide or just glass cleaner, God knows! We stayed one night in this room but my partner was eaten alive. Photos We went to get our new room after breakfast the following morning. Different receptionist and she was uninterested petulant and rude. We were getting very upset with her seemingly uncaring approach to our complaints. I started to video her as I was so shocked by her bad attitude. She said she get the manager. I continued to video. The manager threatened to call the police. Which having been awake most the night I had read in other reviews was a common tactic so told her to call them as the filthy room was criminal. This was getting like an episode of Fawlty Towers. I offered to clean the room myself so asked for a hoover and said I'd remove all the disgusting bed bases and other unecessary furniture and put it all in reception. This furniture was a perfect place for the bed bugs to hide. When the manager realised we were actually guests of The Gergana Hotel and not from another hotel transfer that she thought we were from and we showed her the state of the room she agreed to move us. We were put on 7th floor. This room was a great deal better but still never a 4 star hotel and in honesty we had wasted to much beach time. Aircon worked so that was good for a night's sleep. Lifts are tiny and so so slow. Food was acceptable for feeding the masses. Something nice every day and ignore the huge cockroach trodden onto the floor. The position of the hotel is fabulous right on the beach. Which is well lifeguarded and as safe as can be. The waves breaking is lovely to hear from beach side rooms. We had a great time as we made the most of our stay but hotel is old and needs lots spending to make it work in todays era. That does not excuse the lack of cleanliness, Hospitality, professionalism or the bugs as these are...

A lot to say :)

Location: note it’s the last hotel in Albena, which you can’t reach by car. You can take a free shuttle bus from the hotel and then another straight to Albena city center. But it’s rarely there and it’s often overcrowded, so you will probably end up walking, but it’s around 1,5 km- for us it wasn’t a problem. On the other hand, you have a sea view or a view of a lake. The near park/forest is beautiful, but you shouldn’t explore it, because it’s a protected area. The beach is really close and each room can have a place on the beach. Also, the pool is close. It’s not a huge complex, but it’s big enough. You can also have a paid access to games, such as bilard or table tennis, in case you’re bored

Rooms: def not as good as they could be, air conditioner was very stinky and loud, so we couldn’t turn it off. We had a flood in our bathroom each time, god knows why. And the hairdryer was there only for the sake of being - it wasn’t even trying to work. We haven’t noticed any bedbugs etc, the sheets were clean and towels were replaced every day. As long as we had a place to sleep, I don’t complain.

Elevator: I had to write this - it’s always on a random floor and you wait… and wait,,, and take the stairs anyway. Only new elevator at the reception worked fine enough. But it’s a minor inconvenience.

Beach: always clean, lifeguard worked hard, there were activities on the beach.

Staff & animation team: very very very nice!!!! Both staff in the bar and the animation team were very polite, so were people at the reception. These people work very hard and make this hotel a really nice place. Also, so much love to the people working at the restaurant, collecting all these plates etc - we see you, you do a great job. So do animation team, dancing and playing all the time, and when they aren’t entertaining people, they work very hard to prepare everything and themselves. Thank you!

Drinks and snacks - good! Good ice cream, waffles, good selection of alcohol, at the reception free night meal and good coffee 😇. Good cakes and a lot of fruit on every meal.

Food: I don’t know what to say, because there is again a lot to mention. Overall a good selection, that is something nobody can deny. Yoghurt, deli section, cheeses, fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, cakes for every meal. A Lou of drinks, good juice, tea, soft drinks, wine, coffee, hot chocolate. But I think there may be something on with food safety and there is a room to improve. 3 of our 11 people group got food poisoning, and after that we paid more attention to how the food is prepared. Sometimes the meat or fish was semi raw, and the meat/eggs weren’t handled properly. The cook touched the raw stuff and then the cooked/grilled or haven’t washed hands after handling a raw egg. But the team was young and it’s something that I’m sure they will learn soon. Aside that, I liked the food, the amount of vegetables, the selection of meats, the fresh preparation process.

Also, there were many animations and attractions- such as traditional Bulgarian food and music, several dance shows, a party on the beach , live music, etc, Also - they offer help with renting a car and dine around program - you can eat one full meal at the restaurant, which was btw very good. Overall, a good holiday experience. We were sceptical at first, after reading the reviews,but now we know it was a good choice. Much more calm than booking your vacation in...

I spent a week here with my sister. We had the best time. The staff are all amazing, kind and friendly and always busy doing something. Everywhere is kept clean and tidy. The food was amazing. Something different everyday and something for everyone whether you want to try something new or prefer to stick to pasta and chips. Lots of choice. The restaurant manager was lovely always welcomes us on arrival and clearly keeps everything well under control. We had a photo together! The beach was great we spent all our time here through the day. The bar overlooking the nature reserve was our night time cocktails and game of cards favourite place. The staff were friendly and made us some lovely cocktails.

The pool looked fab but I’m not a fan of swimming so we didn’t go in. I did swim a little in the sea which was amazing!

We watched the entertainment one night which isn’t my thing but the staff all work so hard and are so friendly it’s worth checking out. If you have children then this place is perfect there is lots for them to do and the staff have an area to entertain them too. We didn’t have children with us but didn’t feel like it was too noisy going as just adults. There’s so much for everyone to do whether it’s families or just adults wanting to relax.

Our hotel room was perfect for what we wanted. Reading other reviews I was a little worried but other than the air con that didn’t do anything much (which is not reason for one less star) and I saw one bug in the bathroom which I quickly squished! Everything else was perfect.

The hotel staff always had a smile and were approachable. The little shop sold gifts and snacks and the shop assistants were also friendly.

The transfer from Burgas airport was long and hot but worth it for the scenery. We were dropped off 2 minutes down the road from our hotel and a lovely man then took us on a buggy up to the hotel. The same man brought us back ready to be picked up at the end of our holiday at midnight as this is available 24 hours.

The area is all secured with gates so random cars can’t get in. You feel really safe and comfortable walking around the area.

I would love to go back with my daughter in the future. We’ll down Hotel Gergana .You left us with memories for...