Hotel Shipka — Hotel in Varna

We arrived 3 hours late to the hotel because “Wizzair”. ||Check in was fine. ||The staff of Shipka Hotel were sullen.||Then we spent ½+ hour stuck in the lift, (about 4ftx4ft fits 8!) on the way to the room with 3 other people. Obviously we pressed the alarm button a few times (no answer), but it was our Hungarian co-prisoners banging on the door that started the rescue. Oh yes we were still infront of the reception, we had moved 1inch. The 3 lifts were taking turns to break all week.||The room was adequate. But don't look under the bed, not dust bunnies but dust bears!||The bathroom usually smelt ok but sometimes had the waft of bad drains/defecation for an hour or so. The cistern was constantly running. The shower/bath was slow to drain, but the plug was damaged and didn't work so the choice was a shower with foot bath or bath with constant top up.||The balcony that was overlooking the front of the hotel was ok. We had two garden chairs, one of which snapped as I pushed myself up from it (I'm only 110Kg). Because we were at the front we could hear all the music from the restaurants, even inside when the badly fitted door was shut. The balcony lights are on automatic so keep the curtains shut if you need an early night.||The two beds pushed together are huge but firm.||Varna is Southend on Sea/Brighton on steroids.||The hotel is 2 stars, maybe 3 on a good day. It says it's a four but they must be very small and done by the Bulgarian tourist board. ||We stayed at a 3 star in turkey in June and that would run rings around Shipka Hotel.||Also there is a “gentlemans club” attached, and while sitting on the balcony we could see people (probably their staff) approaching single men and escorting them in that direction.||||We had a couple of good days around the pool very relaxing with a cosmopolitan attendance. ||Then the “Bulgarian group” arrived. (Yes we asked) Typical bullying, loud, obnoxious and that were the “adults”.||About 2 pm a 240w portable JBL Party speaker appeared and the head bully started playing his music extremely loudly. I am sick of macarena. This went on for 2 hours until someone complained.||The next day the same thing happened. My wife asked reception if they were Bulgarians and was asked “why does it matter”. He then got the head receptionist while smirking, she said that IT WAS THEIR SPEAKER, AND “THEY HAD ASKED POLITELY TO BORROW IT. IT WAS A BIG GROUP AND THEY WERE CELEBRATING. AND IT WAS ONLY FOR 10, 20MIN! ALSO IT IS A COMMUNITY AREA.” |||| Errrr exactly!?||||Basically she brushed us off because they were Bulgarians and we are English. This put a real downer on our holiday.||The breakfast was ok but no variety from day to day.||If you get a room opposite the lift door be prepared for the constant ding, ding.||The fire doors were constantly held open by the fire extinguishers.||||They say the tourist trade in Varna is suffering and I can understand why. Everything is pro Bulgaria and fxxk anyone else.||Will I go back… no. ||Would I recommend Bulgaria…. Not on your nelly. ||Go to...

We arrived 3 hours late to the hotel because “Wizzair”. Check in was fine. The staff of Shipka Hotel were sullen. Then we spent ½+ hour stuck in the lift, (about 4ftx4ft fits 8!) on the way to the room with 3 other people. Obviously we pressed the alarm button a few times (no answer), but it was our Hungarian co-prisoners banging on the door that started the rescue. Oh yes we were still infront of the reception, we had moved 1inch. The 3 lifts were taking turns to break all week. The room was adequate. But don't look under the bed, not dust bunnies but dust bears! The bathroom usually smelt ok but sometimes had the waft of bad drains/defecation for an hour or so. The cistern was constantly running. The shower/bath was slow to drain, but the plug was damaged and didn't work so the choice was a shower with foot bath or bath with constant top up. The balcony that was overlooking the front of the hotel was ok. We had two garden chairs, one of which snapped as I pushed myself up from it (I'm only 110Kg). Because we were at the front we could hear all the music from the restaurants, even inside when the badly fitted door was shut. The balcony lights are on automatic so keep the curtains shut if you need an early night. The two beds pushed together are huge but firm. Varna is Southend on Sea/Brighton on steroids. The hotel is 2 stars, maybe 3 on a good day. It says it's a four but they must be very small and done by the Bulgarian tourist board. We stayed at a 3 star in turkey in June and that would run rings around Shipka Hotel. Also there is a “gentlemans club” attached, and while sitting on the balcony we could see people (probably their staff) approaching single men and escorting them in that direction.

We had a couple of good days around the pool very relaxing with a cosmopolitan attendance. Then the “Bulgarian group” arrived. (Yes we asked) Typical bullying, loud, obnoxious and that were the “adults”. About 2 pm a 240w portable JBL Party speaker appeared and the head bully started playing his music extremely loudly. I am sick of macarena. This went on for 2 hours until someone complained. The next day the same thing happened. My wife asked reception if they were Bulgarians and was asked “why does it matter”. He then got the head receptionist while smirking, she said that IT WAS THEIR SPEAKER, AND “THEY HAD ASKED POLITELY TO BORROW IT. IT WAS A BIG GROUP AND THEY WERE CELEBRATING. AND IT WAS ONLY FOR 10, 20MIN! ALSO IT IS A COMMUNITY AREA.”

Errrr exactly!?

Basically she brushed us off because they were Bulgarians and we are English. This put a real downer on our holiday. The breakfast was ok but no variety from day to day. If you get a room opposite the lift door be prepared for the constant ding, ding. The fire doors were constantly held open by the fire extinguishers.

They say the tourist trade in Varna is suffering and I can understand why. Everything is pro Bulgaria and fxxk anyone else. Will I go back… no. Would I recommend Bulgaria…. Not on your nelly. Go to...

Me and my family had a stay booked in August at this hotel. I will be honest from the get go - the hotel claims to be a 4 Star place, but it's really just a high grade 3 star establishment, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it is a bit misleading.||The Hotel lacks in atmosphere and feel, but it's very nice and clean, no issues with hygiene. The staff is really-really nice, not everyone spoke good English, but communication is not impeded, and they were really helpful. I really hope their work is well appreciated and rewarded.||The outside and indoors pools were really nice and clean as well, although the water was a bit cold at first, but still enjoyable. The poolside bar was really clean, and whenever there was a crowd there, the manager/owner would help out so everyone got what they wanted in due time.||The rooms are a bit small, there's not a lot of space for your belongings, but if you plan on spending most of your time on the seaside or touring the city, then it won't bother you, like it didn't bother us. The cleaner ladies are sweet and really helpful, whenever we needed help, they were there for us.||The all-inclusive food options were a bit limited, there were about 12 types each time they served food, including salads, meats, pasta, vegan food, french fries, soups, sometimes they would serve special dishes as well. The limitation on food variety is really acceptable though, so you don't have to worry about not having anything to eat. The only issue I can think of is that the food runs out quickly, so you might have to wait until they replenish the food that ran out.||There are other amenities as well, but sadly I did not try them out, such as a pool table, football table, a sauna, and maybe others that don't come to mind.||We had a little accident with one of the elevators, it got stuck right before it could rise to the second floor; but the engineers got us out quickly, and the staff did an amazing service recovery, so the overall experience was not damaged. Nice job guys.||Overall, a really great experience, the Hotel serves as a great place to stay at if you plan to enjoy the city and...