Marina Royal Palace Duni Resort — Hotel in Sozopol

The Resort is made of 4 hotels, surrounded by a large park and a 3 km long pristine sandy beach, most of which is free.|We stayed in the main building from which we had a quite nice sea view and also of the rest of the complex. I have to say that in general I am not a big fan of all inclusive, mainly for the fact that you need to strictly adhere to the meals timings with limited flexibility, but given the circumstances and location, we gave it a try. Food is ok, if you stick to the local specialities especially, but it can get a little repetitive after a few days, despite of the alleged themed evenings.|The real good advantage for children ( and parents...) is the kids mini club where they can play and engage is fun activities with the friendly animation team. Also very good variety of pools, including slides of various length. Another good point was the evening entertainment show, although a bit short as lasting just 45 min, they displayed a professional team with dancers and acrobats. Being an all inclusive you get illimited access to drinks, alcohol too, although in evening time the waiting at the bars can be a little discouraging. Rooms were OK in size and furnishing, same as the bathroom and balcony. The staff was overall across the resort, except at our reception. If you land in Bourgas airport, count an approximate 45 min drive for 110 lev. with a taxi. There are also several tennis courts available but the ones with the astro turf, are sub standard in terms of surface quality. No real tennis instructor are available...well if you ask for 1, you will end up playing with someone who barely able to hit the ball into the court for 30 lev.|Another big no no for me was the extra charge just to access the gym. |All in all, the place is fine for a week long break maximum but beware on the period too, to avoid an overcrowded stay as those hotels are mainly filled with tour groups. Moreover, we feelt that in terms of value for money we ended up paying and given the geographical context, for the same price range, you could go to Spain, Italy,...

Let me start this review by saying everyone has different standards and different expectations when they go on holiday.I had been told by several friends that holidaying in Bulgaria was like Marmite some people love it some hate it. Having worked in travel for years and been lucky enough to travel the world staying in everything from beach shacks to luxury hotels here is my honest review. ||First the plus points:||Super clean hotel.. Cleaner's working throughout the day. ||Fabulous bar staff.. Lovely bar manager and Mira made best cappuccino in resort! ||Lovely staff in kids club. ||Not so positive points:||Rudest female Manager I have ever met in 35yrs as independent traveller.First words to me" why did you request so much.?High floor,rooms near each other and not next to lift... Guess what my family (5people)received.. rooms on different corridors and we were next to lift! Ha ha!fabulous customer service.Complained next day and was offered two rooms nearer but down loads of uneven steps and smelt musty nothanks.||Food:Breakfast was good croissants omelettes eggs etc but lunch and dinner looked OK but tasted boiled/undercooked(fish and chicken were both pink). My family never eat chips in England but they were part of our daily intake here along with pasta, rice and ice cream. ||First choice totally misold this hotel 15-20mins walk(with young children) to waterpark and evening entertainment.||Lots of steps in hotel lifts sometimes didn't work, so this hotel is difficult for anyone who is physically disabled or babies in pushchairs.||Rep was not helpful at all. ||I personally would not return...

Stayed in the Pelican hotel from 13-20 September. Room was ok for somewhere just to sleep, no tea making facilities, bathroom had mould, shower was fantastic was very powerful, had a bath which was useful as travelled with 2 young children, air con was turned off on the 18th which we wasnt aware would be happening must of missed that when reading info on TUI site, the weather was very warm so we had 2 very uncomfortable nights. Lovely views of the gardens from the balcony, if we had been one floor higher we would of had sea views, happy with view of gardens though. Staff helped us take luggage to our rooms the night we arrived but that was as far as the customer service stretched, only a handful of staff had any manners or even a smile. Lots of steps, wouldnt reccomend for any family who need wheel chair access, lots of families with buggies struggled. Ate in the duni main restaurant twice, much preffered eating in the restaurant beside the water park, more variety and alot bigger seating area. Water park was only open for the first two days which we were aware of fantastic fun for adults and children. We ate in the Italian resteraunt one night, food was delicious and staff were very polite and helpful. Entertainment at the ampitheatre was fantastic so much fun for all and the staff really do put alot of effort in to entertain. Beach is beautiful, the sea is shallow so great for children to play and splash in, two small parks on the beach for small children, all inclusive bar on the beach, water sports for a charge. All in all we had a fantastic week away and would...