GRIFID Encanto Beach Hotel — Hotel in Varna

We stayed at Grifid Encanto for 4 nights, it was a lovely trip overall, definitely will be back but also definitely will do things a bit diferently next time. For example, we booked a room with Sea View which for us wasn't that impressive, on the contrary, it was extremely hot in the first part of the day, impossible to drink your morning coffee without sweating like a hog. At night, the sounds/honks of the mini train can be heard until quite late. Next time we'll go with Park View which is cooler and also cheaper. Probably also more silent, as it's a dead end street. Speaking of heat, the fact that the AC completely stops whenever you open the balcony door is very annoying. It is admirable that the hotel is taking measures that are eco-friendly, but this should be specified somewhere so that you don't question your own memory. Other eco friendly measures: no slippers in the room, no paper napkins on the tables by default, towels are changed only if you put them on the floor. The free Wifi is strong and reliable, we had no problem with it. It's not password protected, so I don't know how safe it is to connect to it, don't make payments or share sensitive data while on Wifi! The food was quite good overall, there were plenty of things to choose from - meats, veggies, pasta, soups, pastries, fruit, desserts were quite ok (many bad reviews about desserts but honestly they were ok and plenty to choose from). The only annoying thing about the main restaurant is that the drinks machines get broken quite often, so you go grab yourself a sparkling water or pepsi and you can't because it's got an Out of Order sign on it. Plain water and coffee machines never had this problem, but then again, they are less popular I guess. About the a la carte we had such big expectations, but it turned out to be very slow service, our little one had no patience for this at all, we had to go back to the main restaurant to pick some child friendly foods so hunger wouldn't strike at night. The food was traditional only and not that impressive either. Same type of food as in the main restaurant basically, but takes longer and is less diverse. Maybe it was an exception, but I wouldn't try it again. The hotel is very friendly for kids, they have animators for those older than 4 years old, and they can go basically anywhere except the Spa on the ground an -1 floors. It is also quite far from the center, which is actually a good thing because it's pretty silent and less crowded, so less people to worry about in these Covid times. If you want to go to the center you can go via the mini train (4 leva one way). The private beach is less crowded and the umbrellas are 100% sun-protective. It's clean and wide, definitely nicer than the one at Grifid Vistamar. The indoor pool has also a glass roof that is UV protective, which was nice because sometimes you don't feel like putting sticky sunscreen for half an hour of swimming at noon time. The people are also quite friendly, from the restaurant personnel, the cleaning, to the reception, and the guy at the bar who makes the best cocktails (thank you SAM!) and is a very hard working guy, we literally saw him working from dusk till dawn! In order to call the reception from your room you need to dial 9 on the phone. These instructions aren't found anywhere. We felt quite safe overall because mostly everybody wore their mask indoors, and disinfectant was on every corner. Basically, if you don't have your mask on, you will not be served at the bar, or allowed entrance to the main restaurant. You can't touch the buffet utensils without gloves either. Obviously, when eating at the table, you can take...

Overall, the Grifid concept is well thought out, and I appreciate the quality of services. Originally, I planned to stay at Hotel Noa, but it was fully booked, so I ended up choosing Encanto Beach. Of course, as with any hotel, there are some weak points, and since I travel frequently — including with a two-year-old child — I have a lot of experience to compare with.

Facilities for Families with Young Children - One major issue is the lack of baby changing tables. There are none in the lobby restrooms or near the beach. Am I expected to change my child on the sofas in the lobby? That’s really not ideal.

It’s great that you offer high chairs in the restaurant, but I would strongly recommend adding plastic children’s tableware, so there’s no risk of broken glass or ceramic if something falls.

Kids’ Pool – Location and Temperature One big disappointment for me was the location of the kids’ pool — it is not within the hotel grounds. The website states that it is 50 meters from the entrance, but in reality, the distance is closer to 150 meters, the pool is located in front of the neighboring Sentido Marea Hotel. Had I known this in advance, I likely would have chosen another hotel with a kids’ pool on-site. In addition, the pool water was extremely cold, which was very surprising, especially for a family-friendly hotel. Although many would expect this pool to be heated, it definitely wasn’t. My son unfortunately caught a cold after swimming there. The pool area also has a bar, but it’s not part of the Encanto hotel, so if you want a drink, you need to leave the area, get your child ready, walk back, and then return again. Very impractical.

Restaurant The hostess kept trying to seat the five of us at a table for four during breakfast/lunch/dinner. Each time, I had to explain to her that we need a high chair for our two-year-old son, which simply doesn’t fit at that spot, or it would unnecessarily block the entrance to the neighboring table. Only then, with a slow eye roll, she would move us to a different table. The wait for drinks service was often long and confusing, and we didn’t always get what we ordered. It might be more practical for everyone to have a self-service option.

Other Observations • The beach towel service is available only 2 hours a day, which is not very practical. Given that the spa is staffed throughout the day, this could be improved. • The kids’ club is not very well equipped. While the animators were lovely and engaging, the room itself lacked toys — mainly just a few stuffed animals. On the positive side, I appreciated the option to borrow beach toys like a bucket and shovel. • The playground next to the kids’ club is partially shaded, but the most critical areas — like the metal slide and the entrance area — are exposed to direct sunlight. The ground and the slide get extremely hot, to the point where I consider it a burn hazard. This should be addressed for safety reasons.

One more issue: sunbeds being reserved for hours without being used, especially at the rooftop pool on the 5th floor. I’ve seen other hotels deal with this by having staff clear unused loungers after a certain time — a system that would work well here too.

What Was Good • Food was tasty and varied. • Room cleaning was...

Hotel itself looks ok. I will divide the review in different categories to showcase our experience of 10 days.

Cleanliness: Hotel is kept clean all of the time. The room looked great. The only downside was that sometimes (3 times out of 10) the towels had an unpleasant damp smell (like when something has not entirely dried, and tucked away). The main restaurant was quite spotless, and they employ people to use gloves abd masks (all provided at the entry) as a covid measure. Pools and spa are also well kept.

Food: In this regard we had some issues. Food is plenty, but not the best in my opinion. I had a stomach problem after two days and ended up picking just a couple of things to avoid further problems. Rice and fruits are the best of the buffet. Also soups are quite ok. The main issue with the food is that it either lacks salt or it has too much of it.

The a la carte restaurant experience was a total disaster.. we were only allowed to book it once because the hotel was full. When we got there half of the "restaurant" was empty. Food was not at all what was expected, having a variety of dishes that you would normally find in the buffet, with very little actually cooked as a la carte. Service was dire: i was served tomato juice in a big wine glass, and regarding wine we were offered some house wine, while others were offered an actual wine menu. I don't recommend booking the a la carte, even if it is free. The restaurant itself is a mostly closed off room, annexed to the buffet, with no views whatsoever. Choose the beach restaurant instead. Better views and better food.

Be careful with the underside of the table as it has exposed screws and you can graze your knees underneath!

Staff: Staff is mostly friendly and attentive. Reception, spa, bars and cleaning had adequate staff. The only issue came within the restaurant are, where staff will kind of pressure you to pickup your plates and glasses, even though you might not be finished. In a lot of cases we just had someone come over and take the food away from under our nose.

Spa:

Spa area is quite small but has a good ambiance. You will find 3 dry saunas and a hammam, a relaxing area and also a pool area. They offer massages as well, which i totally recommend (the masseuse knew was highly skilled!)

Beach: The private beach is dived in two areas, one for normal all inclusive and one for "concept rooms". Even if it is one of the largest private beaches around, sunbeds are being constantly reserved by people in the morning (they just pop in, occupy them woth towels and leave). So.. early birds have an advantage.. The beach bar is ok-ish.. beer is not the best.. nor are the sodas (mostly dispenser juices) though the snacks they offer, as well as the coffee, are good. If you have a "concept room" you can get bottled drinks with no extra cost and the sunbeds and umbrellas are better looking.

Infinity pool: This thing is an instagram magnet.. pretty hard to catch a sunbed around there since it has a handful of them.. but all in all it s a plus..

Reception: Reception is open at all times and they offer parking (against cost). The exchange office has fair prices.

Per total.. the hotel was ok.. but definitely not worth for the full season price (250...