Helios Spa Hotel — Hotel in Varna

Well i have taken some time to think about what i should or could write .If you are after a 4 star ultra all-inclusive go to another hotel the so call 5 star Hilton next door has taken the best of what this hotel had and destroyed both in the process you cannot share facilities in which you have to use both hotels reception etc depending on what you want or if you are allowed and if it is allowed at that time of day of if the wind is blowing the other way .the entertainment for the kids and pool day time activity are put on by what i can say a team of creative young people whom are hard working .But the equipment is budget to an extreme level shocking water volleyball they have a ball and a net but to use the net it takes the speaker stand held up by one crew member and an umbrella stand held by another.there speaker all the music is a cheap kareoake unit that people by for there kids to play in bedroom with distorted sounds from 10 till 6 everyday great i don't drink so fruit juice not orange sqaush more like same for rest no tomato juice coke cola if they have it .Bean to cup coffee if you want to wait if the machine working .dont bother at breakfast time .On to the food mite not be to everyones taste rather bland and same stuff most days .be sure to be early as there is a feeding frenzy 4 times a day were people take as much as the can carry but not what they can eat .waste is a big thing here wow .salads are great desserts get them if you can dont last long . washing bowl size tub of bananas last less than a minute.be ready to be push and people cutting in if you see a pizza take it all as you lucky as seen people take 10 12 slices like pirates take everything leave nothing behind . there was no toaster or beans fryed eggs bacon normal sausages . Plenty of other stuff cold meats cheese etc but again get there first .The chef is a fantastic bloke he comes out and has contact with people every sitting but with the limited resources quality of ingredients he dose what he can and plenty of it but the people were so greedy wasteful spending more on stuff and increased quality would involve a big exspensive bill .the waste is a major cause of quality issues here i think .i when out and got baked beans and heated them up in the microwave in restaurant poured over ham scrambled eggs and hotdogs best breakfast i had and few other folk. The pools are great lifeguards are fantastic at there jobs always on the case couldn't fault it .The beach area is miles away as we say and right next to nudist beach not what ya want for a family holiday .and yes the town below is down hill all the way with 50plus steps great if you are fit as a fiddle with lungs if steel .but if not taxi bus .all in all for a last minute absolute bargain cannot complain but if like alot of people paid full price or near quadruple i would be very disappointed .The night time entertainment area is like a shoe box not worth the.effort bar was empty most of time so had to walk through to other bar. No out side bar so be careful as during day floors get slick due to wet people going in and out to get drinks .the room dated old big TV's work not spotless but towel changed daily nice size...

I went to Helios with my three children. It’s advertised as a 4-star resort, but in our experience, that couldn’t be further from the truth. We have stayed in 2 stars and gotten MUCH better service!||We were given what the receptionist proudly called a "luxury apartment." One power socket fell out of the wall when trying to unplug a charger. There was a large brown stain right in the middle of the carpet. A handle above the bathtub was loose, the toilet wouldn’t always flush, and the shower flooded the entire bathroom. Water drained so slowly that we were standing ankle-deep while showering – and the same happened when brushing our teeth, as the sink barely drained at all.||For four days I asked for an extra pillow. Every day the reception staff said "no problem" – but the pillow never came. We eventually gave up.||Housekeeping visited our room only twice in eight days. The first time, they only emptied the trash. The second time, they made the bed, emptied the trash again, and gave us two large towels and one small one – for four people. It took 48 hours to get new towels. The same amount of time it took to get someone to fix the broken shower head – which the maintenance guy replaced in under a minute when he finally arrived.||There were constant queues at the reception, but getting actual help was close to impossible.||We waited an entire day to get an extra bed. Our room was supposed to have one double bed and two sofa beds, but only one sofa was there when we arrived.||Many of the hotel’s facilities were closed: shops, the playground, one of the bars, one of the receptions, and the tennis court – which had been turned into a parking lot.||I asked the reception for tips on what to do in the area, but all I got was a blank stare and a “I don’t know.”||The level of service was shockingly poor. I’ve stayed at 2-star hotels with far better service than this. We expected much more.||And the food… That’s a whole story on its own. There was almost nothing kid-friendly, except for fries and pancakes. No jam or spreads available, and butter didn’t appear until day six. On day three I asked the chef if they had Nutella or something similar for the kids. He sent someone to get it from the other restaurant – which we weren’t even allowed to use. ||The chef was nice and tried to make people happy. To bad that that was an impossible job....||Food labeling was inconsistent or missing altogether – good luck to anyone with allergies.||This is actually a complex of three hotels. Helios is by far the worst. And no, you’re not allowed to switch to the other hotels or even pay extra to eat at their restaurants.||The pools are okay, bur many tiles arounde are loose. Be carefull!||I heard a lot of other people complain in the reception as well...||I would not recommend this hotel to anyone, especially not travelers from...

I'm having a weeks holiday here on an Ultra All Inclusive deal. Whatever that is. The good points: The hotel is a beautiful building with some nice seating areas outside and inside. There is a free shuttle bus to Nirvana beach which is a 10 minute drive. You also get 2 sunbeds and a parasol complimentary for the beach per room. The sand is the best I've been on and the sea is lovely and is warmer than the Med. We get a 1.5litre bottle of water every day in our room too which is such a nice touch and I've never had that in Spain or Europe. The bar areas are small and probably should be larger, but the staff are very friendly and helpful. The local beer isn't as strong compared to the local bars. The pool area is clean and tidy but can be a bit of a squash when people chase the sun as the hotel shades it around noon. The animation staff work very very hard top. Our room is nice and large with a good balcony and cleaned well every day. The local bars and shops are a short walk away and there are some great deals to be had. Sadly here are the Bad points: The dining hall is far too small for the size of hotel and it creates mayhem after 6.30 when evening meals start. It should be twice as big. It is so badly organised and the poor staff seem to be running around like startled deer! They need to be able to cater for the number of guests. Lots of guests were bringing their plates and food into the reception and bar areas which is ridiculous. We didn't get a table until 8.15 last night and by that time some of the food wasn't being replenished which is poor service. There is not a large selection of different foods unfortunately and it's very repetitive and pretty predictable and in a lot of cases not hot either. I give it 4/10 maximum. We've eaten out at a local restaurant and it was fantastic. I've never had to do this on an all inclusive before. Unfortunately, a lot of our fellow hotel guests from eastern europe are not as courteous as we are and their manners are shocking. We have to be on our guard as they are also not too keen on queuing up. They are also very greedy and pick up far more food than they can eat and then just leave it which means less for other people. I counted 10 slices of bread left on 1 table last night and that was not an isolated incident. I know it's hard to police on an all inclusive holiday however. I suppose it's just their nature. All in all, it's a lovely hotel in nice surroundings but its spoilt by the food arrangements. Balkan Hoildays...