Hotel Gladiola Star — Hotel in Varna

Bulgaria was a new experience for me. I went with my 25 year old daughter for "quality time". Our journey from the airport took 35 minutes by taxi. The hotel is separated into three parts in the same building - central is the main reception, bars and restaurant and 4 star accomodation. To the left is "Akatsia", the three star where we stayed and to the right Gladiola Star. Facilities are shared except the 4 star patrons eat evening meals before 3 star. At the front are two swimming pools, one for children and one adult. Not huge but sufficient albeit height of season the 600 rooms would overcrowd them. Across the road is the sandy beach stretching for miles and bordered all the way by tourist attractions (stalls, restaurants, bars, clubs). A land train service runs the length at 4 Lev (£2) each way.||The hotel was true 3 star. Basic bedrooms but clean and good condition only lacking a hairdryer. They were cleaned 6 days out of 7. The food was European (as opposed to Bulgarian) with salad bar and hot food bar that unusually included meat. No complaints except the inevitable repetition which the cooks did their best to avoid.Eating out always an option at very reasonable prices! There was no evening entertainment but the bars were well stocked with non watered down alcohol and large measures - a coke colouring in a glass of Vodka! ||The staff were very efficient and courteous albeit difficult to make eye contact -aloof. The language barrier didn't help as mostly they didn't speak English at all. As it is a German hotel they were better versed in their language.In fact we were the only English among predominantly German patrons with a few Russians.That presented a problem in socialising due to the language barrier.||As a resort,there was plenty to offer including late night shops,nightclubs and an international casino as well as water sports.||The weather was beginning to change - dry and warm (20 deg) in the mornings but after lunch it became comparatively chilly.||Getting to see the real Bulgaria is difficult (not sure if advisable) with only a few trips and the only worthwhile one was a day trip to a Bulgarian folk village with horse and cart ride, visit monuments, lunch and a boat trip - cost £25 each and worth it. Generally, prices are low - cigarettes £2.50, beer £1 and a full meal with drinks £8-£10. 7 days was sufficient unless, in high season, you go for excessive sunbathing and...

A deplorable hotel, at this price I didn't expect luxury but I expected it to be at least decent which it is not. The rooms are small and unfurnished, which gives you the impression of being dirty. The mini fridge was broken and very dirty. The bathroom was quite clean but when you use the shower you make water all over the bathroom. The TV is tiny. The restaurant where the meal is served is spacious but very poorly organized. Don't expect many dishes, in general they have a maximum of 4 dishes plus sweets which are also few. At the restaurant you have to queue for 30 minutes to be able to eat because the self-service place is poorly thought out and set up. Access to non-alcoholic drinks is only with the help of the staff, you as an all-inclusive client do not have direct access to get the non-alcoholic drinks yourself. In the morning you have to queue for coffee for around 15 minutes. The pool is acceptable, clean enough but it closes at 5. The staff is not so welcoming, I opted to pay for parking at the hotel and when I arrived the gentleman at the reception told me without checking that there were no more parking spaces available, I kept asking about parking on other days because I saw that some had become available but the answer was the same "we don't have any spaces available". The so-called "snack bar" is very poor so don't expect anything wow. In addition to all these aspects, I must mention that there are a lot of "fines" and when you check out you wait a long time for them to check the room, which has never happened to me even at a 5-star hotel.The music from nearby clubs is too loud and for some people it will be hard to sleep. Overall a one star hotel experience not...

I've booked a holiday for 2 weeks to stay in the gladiola star Bulgaria Golden Sands I'm very disappointed that they can sell holiday tickets this time of year as it is out of season and everywhere in Golden Sands is closed....so you have restricted to the hotel food Which was very poor. The hotel staff wasn't interested in making any entertainment for the guests not very polite not very helpful but I can say the cleaners were very helpful happy and done a wonderful job of our rooms every day i would like to express this to every anyone who was intending to come to Bulgaria Out of Season because it will be very sad and it's not a very entertaining holiday at all we spent two weeks here the first week was very bad with weather the second week we couldn't stand the people in Bulgaria any longer due to them being very rude and unhelpful. There's no access to the gym due to the gym equipment broken not to mention the outdoor pools were discussing Lee dirty, sauna was shut limited drinks if you're all in all inclusive all watered down I'm sorry to say this we really did not enjoy this holiday I would not come here again wasn't what we thought it would be .just wanted everyone to know just in case you want to come out season... DO NOT come here.... as it is a ghost town and sunny beach the same ...we went there AlSo...Dave and sue... on tour a David and Sue go...