Albena Beach Club Hotel Reviews

I have to say that on going here in August last year, we went with more than a hint of trepidation having read the reviews. We didn't start well, having booked a two bed apartment we arrived very late only to shut the door and find one bedroom. The First Choice rep was excellent and by the end of the next day we were where we should have been. Our apartment was huge, very clean and comfortable with lovely sea views. Considering we only paid £1800 in the school holidays for 4 of us I think we got brilliant value for money. The food was basic, hot and plentiful, to be honest we can't really understand the complaints, you get what you pay for at the end of the day. Entertainment was hit and miss, but the entertainments team were one of the nicest groups of people we have ever met. They loved the kids and it was reciprocated. OK, the rose seller was a complete pain but it's all part of the experience. We ventured out and about a bit- the jeep safari absolutely not to be missed; probably best to give Varna a miss unless you know exactly where to go as we had a bad experience in the market; horseriding down the beach was fab as was the Bulgarian day. It was a great holiday- we like to get a flavour of the country we are staying in and don't want anything that is too 'english'. If you go here expecting the party scene and english pubs it probably isn't the place for you, but if you are after somewhere quiet with a great beach and friendly welcoming people, go...you will have a great time.

This was the worst holiday we've ever had! The accomodation was ok, the maid was really friendly and our room always felt clean. The flush function on our toilet kept on breaking and had to be fixed several times during our stay. We found the hotel staff friendly, but we experienced racist comments on our trip to Varna. Watch out for the beggars if you go there, they are really persistant. We also found a lot of the Bulgarians rude. The food at the hotel was ok for a few days but became boring and repetative and we resorted to eating out. The evening entertainment, (if you can call it that) consisted of the staff dressing up in costumes and miming to English songs. The beach was COVERED in ciggarette butts and everyone smoked where ever you went. The resort was dull and although it was cheap, everyone was trying to sell you something. There was one man in particular selling roses who became a real pest, asking over and over again if we wanted to buy one every evening! If you just want to get a tan and don't mind smoke, then this would be a good holiday destination, if you are after culture, luxury, exciting things to do, don't go here.

We have just returned from two weeks AI at the Albena Beach Club.During the two weeks my family and I had no problems whatsoever. The food and drink at the hotel are excellent.There was a wide selection to choose from and all tastes were catered for. If anyone can complain about the food selection,quality or choice then they are really being picky. The staff were very friendly. Yes I got served drinks in plastic cups BUT only when I was by the pool. In the bar in reception or during meals it was always glass and I got served more than two drinks. There are two pools at the hotel both are small but sufficient because the hotel is on the beach, literally!! The animations team at the hotel work really hard and there is a full days worth of activities for both children and adults. Albena is a safe resort and this was our second holiday there. Weather in August was hot 35-40. The room was on the small side but you dont spend your holiday in your room do you? I would recommend this hotel without hesitation.

Just back from a week All Inclusive at the Albena Beach Club Hotel.

Weather was fantastic, couple of thunderstorms but cleared up very quickly. Transfer time was 3 hours from Bourgas Airport which wasnt so good since in the brochure it says 45 minutes and Varna airport is only half an hour from the resort. Hotel room was nice, we were on the fourth floor with a sea view. Very clean, maid service every day with fresh towels. Minibar stocked up every day with juice, chocolate and alcohol, very tempting! Beach was lovely and clean. Kids and husband enjoyed the watersports closeby. We generally used the pool at the sister hotel as it was larger and had a kids pool as well. Was a good place to go if looking for a relaxing weeks break but not if your looking for plenty to do. Little or no entertainment at night so made use of the train going into the town most nights which was cheap and regular, train came every ten minutes.

Big problem we found was the food. Lack of variety, strange concoctions, (sausage stuffed with cheese anyone?) luke warm and unappealing. Kids and I lived on chips pasta and rice, even husband who'll normally eat anything struggled to find something edible. Snack bar does pizza, chips and mini burgers every day but even they didnt look very appetising. Found that the majority of the foreigners didnt grasp the queuing system at the buffet! Ate out at the steak house nearby which was nice, staff friendly and attentive, cheap prices. Avoid the chinese in the town, not that the food was bad but the curry was anything but and had raw carrots all through it!

Apart from the food situation we did have a fab weeks break, would definitely go back to bulgaria but probably somewhere a bit livelier and with a shorter tranfer time.

resort itself fantastic beaches great, the sea wonderful. The hotel was ok food left a lot to be desired very much the same night after night. Not alot for a 13 year old boy to do and the nightlife was not brilliant. The entertainment staff did their best but did not seem to be trained very well. People were very friendly and helpful and eating out was very cheap although you dont expect to have to do this on a all inclusive holiday. Would go back again but not to this hotel.

we went to albena beachclub for a week in june 2007, had a great time but have to say the food WASNT GOOD and the bar service was AWFUL, limiting drins to two per person! Yet in the restaurant the foreigners could eat and waste as much as they wanted and were arrogant enough not to queue not like the british.... but failing all that bulgaria is a must if u wanna chill, weather was really hot. met sum loveley people, english, germans, romanians an bulgarians. sue,john an joe.

Hi have read some bad reviews for this hotel,,, if you are booked dont worry we had a fantastic holiday.

Albena is a great resort, the hotel could not be any closer to the beach and the Bulgarian people are very friendly if you are to them.

Bulgaria is also still very cheap to buy anything and everything.

The hotel is imaculatly clean and the food was fantastic. Some of my group found it a bit samey towards the end of the two weeks as with any all inclusive.One of the my children is very picky about what he eats but there was always something he liked.

We did not want to come home...

There is not much entertainment in the hotel and when there is it is such a tiny space that not many people can sit and watch, but we made our own entertaiment being in a big group.

This was an all inclusive holiday. It consisted of 2 sister hotels, S and M. We stayed in the S which was the quieter one of the two, the M had a large reception area, consisting of comfy seats and a bar with several bar staff and the ice hockey table games which you couldnt see but could hear. This was ideal if you wanted to be in a noisy busy atmosphere. The S hotel bar/reception was much calmer, there were some nice comfy softas and a TV screen and a couple of computer games screens set up, a small stage where the entertainment was (on a small fairly intimate scale) - we only stayed for one Mr and Mrs game one night, only because in the evenings we liked to walk into the town (about 20 mins walk - or you can catch a 'noddy' train very cheaply and frequently)and get some fresh air and have a couple of drinks somewhere else etc. So the other evening entertainment we cant comment on. The bar in the S hotel was only manned by one person, so it never got really busy whilst we were there. All the local drinks, ie gin, vodka, rum, wine, beer etc are all free you have to pay for anything imported, ie baileys, and cocktails. The measures were very generous.

The hotel was clean, the rooms were clean, - we did have a faulty lock on the sliding doors to the balcony but we reported it and it was fixed that morning. We had a great view overlooking the beach which was lovely - the sea was safe for kids etc as you could go out quite a way before it got deep. The location of the hotel is brilliant, right on the sea front. two small pools belong to the hotel plus a small indoor pool but the nicer bigger pool area which we used belongs to the Gegano hotel next door. One thing I dont know if it was the time of year we went but at 6.00pm everybody had to dissappear from the pool area so the pool man could put all the beds away.
We were very satisfied with the food in the hotel, plenty to choose from, all varieties from plain meats, ie roast beef, chicken, to local type dishes mainly pork and chicken varieties, vegetables, plenty of salads, bread, sweets and the fact you could just go and pour yourself a glass of white or red bulgarian wine however many you wanted was fantastic. The staff do like to keep tidying up your table and clearing dishes, so if you do have something on your plate and you go off to get another drink or something, eware your plate might have disappeared when you get back!

During the day the animation team set up volley ball games, bowls, darts if you wanted to join in.

All in all we had a great relaxing holiday, we didnt venture out of the resort only to go to the aqua park in Golden Sands, but there are plenty of places around that you could visit, taxis, buses etc are all reasonable prices.

we arrived in albena for our 3rd vist so knew the resort well , we expected from the hotel our usual friendly bulgarian greeting, how wrong were we .

the reception staff cold not get us checked in fast enough no friendly smile at all. the rooms ( we had 2 ) were comfortable i must admit , we were sold this holiday as a 4 * but would struggle to give it 2 * . the bar staff were everyones worst nightmare, the hotel is all inclusive but you are regulated by 1 surly bar lady to 2 drinks even though in our party there were 4 adults.gets to 10.50pm and she goes into overdrive with this as after 11pm you have to pay for your drinks. we got into a group of english people every night and thats when she really went for it , accusing us of getting everyones drinks for them as if that mattered to her we were as i stated all inclusive. several of us complained to the reps and were told the bar was their worst nightmare and they had told them but nothing changed, the food was recycled night after night and was very poor, all the people we made friends with went down with severe tummy bugs and sickness lasting several days.

the resort itself is very clean and cheap.i would not reccomend this particular hotel to anyone.there was no entertainment at the hotel it was all next door and very poor, nothing at all for my 2 year old grandson.

The beach in Albena is beautiful. It's very clean and the sand is so soft. Maybe it was just the time of year but there were a lot of jellyfish in the sea which meant we couldn't really go swimming.

The resort center is again clean, with lots of greenery. A good view is from the panoramic hotel in the center called DOBRUDJA, this also does very nice cakes!
There are some shops runing down one street, and there are 2 small trains to get you round the resort but it can be walked quite easily.

Going out at night in Albena in October is not that exciting, most places are shutting down for the winter. People who are open welcome you in but there is a lack of atmosphere when you are the only 2 people! Anyone going in October should consider this as we didn't expect it. In the height of the season I'm sure it would be much better and there are some nice bars around.

The hotel was poor. We had read some bad reviews on different sites about the hotel but I believe you should judge yourself. I wish we hadn't. The food is quite bad and very repetative. It just feels like being in the school dinner hall. We went out to eat quite often which obviously is not the point of all inclusive. Getting a drink meant waiting for one poor bar man to serve you a weak half pint in a plastic cup- only 2 drinks at a time which was fine for us but a pain for families i'm sure.

Our room had a very damp smell to it, even the bed covers smelt damp which was awful and it was quite cold as the room never got any sun. This room was 212. The hotel was full so we couldn't move sadly.
We also ended up giving a tip to the porter which annoyed me because all we had was large notes as we had just arrived. I have no problem giving tips but I felt this was a little unfair.

I wouldn't stay at this hotel again, really the only positive was that it was right on the beach but so were many other hotels. For couples of our age I would suggest staying in the resort of Golden Sands which has more to offer and the hotels look much nicer.

I would not recommend Albena Beach Club to anyone,

the Hotel was clean and our room was fine and kept clean. The food was terrible, most of the hotel staff unfriendly some even rude. Entertainment was rubbish and at another Hotel ( Gegano) where drinks had to be paid for even though you were on an all inclusive holiday. one day it rained all day and the animators were no where to be seen, so there was nothing to do. Albena Beach club has a lot to learn about all inclusive. I agree with previous comments about this hotel.

Albena is lovely and there are some great places to eat out and very reasonably priced, if we went again it would be on a Bed and Breakfast basis and to another Hotel.

I would not recommend staying at Albena beach club.

On the plus side the rooms are nice and they are clean, the hotel situation is on a lovely beach and the reception staff are nice and friendly.

On the down side the food is terrible and is usually cold the food in the snack bar is worse. The bar staff are ignorant, drinks are served in paper cups day and night whether drinking inside or out. The entertainment is diabolical, daytime entertainment is gymnastics, step arobics and darts. Evening entertainment is 9 till 10 pm at the next hotel carried out by the animation team which is rubbish and you have to carry your drink in the paper cup over with you which the bar staff seem quite relucant to serve you. There was a ice cream spilt on the stairs leading to the room it was there for 3 days.

Luckly we had good weather otherwise we would of come home earlier.There was families with young kids who were stuck at the hotel every night as there was nothing for them to do. We ate and drank out every night. Caribi was ok owner Zak was very nice as well as bar staff. The next bar along was good with entertainment and really good food. Recommend fiesta bulgaria trip with first choice.

Our advice is to take plenty of money, although the hotel is allinclusive you will probably not want to spend your evenings there.

Reading other reviews I have to agree that this hotel is not up to scratch. It is a shame because the position is wonderful and the beach is lovely. The rooms were cleaned very well but I too saw the ice cream cone and wondered how long it would be before someone picked it up. When we arrived our toilet was leaking,making the room smell. We reported it several times but it was not sorted out for a week, when the First Choice Rep.had us moved us to another room. We noticed that someone else was soon in the room, presumably without the toilet being mended. The Rep (I think her name was Maya) was excellent, the best we have ever had.

The food was the worst thing, it was never hot. Three of our party were ill. I had a stomach bug for a week and my husband and I developed terrible colds, which seemed to be going around. We saw people sneezing over the food and also people tasting something from the buffet and putting the spoon back! The wine in the restaurant was OK but the wines and beers at the bars were terrible. The barstaff in reception were very surly and seemed as if they didn't want to serve you. I reported my stomach upset to the Rep and she said that other people had it as well.
The balconies had wire on them, presumably to stop children getting through the bars but the bottom of the wire was razor sharp and I cut my foot on it.

We did like Bulgaria and would like to go back but not to this hotel. We went to Golden Sands twice which we liked very much, lots of shops and nice hotels. Go on the big wheel, it's great.
The town of Albena was very nice, with shops, stalls where they take your photos dressed in old clothes and a lovely park with crazy golf. We did a trip to Varna, visited the cathedral and shops and also went to a wine tasting (dosed up with Imodium!!)and watched the football at the Caribi bar which is next to the hotel. We ate there one night and also at a Chinese which was nice but still not HOT!
The bar after the Caribi bar (I think it was called 'the old oak' served good food and there was some good entertainment there (don't miss the human 'slinky' he's very good)

My husband always said he would never go All Inclusive, but my daughter persuaded him. I know he will never go A.I. again and quite honestly it has put me off.
I hope these reviews will prompt the owners to improve things and make it a decent hotel.

this is the 2nd time we have visited albena, the resort itself is superb, very clean, very friendly and safe for children. it is very cheap to eat out at night, the food at peter's place is superb value for money, they do great steaks and the staff very friendly.

This time when we went, we stayed at the albena beach club, big mistake! it was all inclusive, but the service for this was rubbish, although breakfast was very good, the staff that clean the tables were not very friendly, they had a job to smile let alone say good morning! the pool that we shared with the next hotel was lovely, watch out for the deep step into the water, especialy if you have young ones, as this step is not sign posted, it would give a little one quite a fright. as for the all inlcusive, we checked out the area for day time snacks, and felt we were back in the school dinner hall, and the food being worse than I can remember at school! we never went back there again! we never went into the dining room for our ening meals, it was just too hectic, people running all over the place andkids screaming, I spoke to one lady and she told me twice her chicken was pink in the middle, that was enough for us not to eat there!

our room although very big for 2 people had so much wrong with it, our shower broke 3 times and it got embarrassing to keep asking them to fix it, which they did each time by just hanging it back on the wall! our balcony door did not lock, not good when you are on the first floor! the maid servce was every day, but when they changed our sheets, they replaced them, with sheets with stains on them, also our air con leaked.

the all inclusive drinks part?, you could only have local beer in paper cups, if you wanted spirits you were limited to which ones, vodka was ok, no local brand whiskey or white rum, so you had to pay for those. you were limited to only having 2 drinks at a time, not good when you are in a party of 6! breakfast was served from 730am. for those early risers, there is no where to get a cuppa before this time, once the resturaunt closes at 1030am the pool side bar will serve you tea and coffee, but not a minute before! they stick to times, like being in the army!

if you smoke? buy your cigs before you go to bulgaria, in the some of the shops they will tell you they can get english cigs but they are fake, and complete waste of money! one day we walked along the beach to the right of the hotel,past the nudist beach and there are a few bars and cafes up there, we ate there twice and it was even cheaper than in the resort, I never thought it could get any cheaper! just along from our hotel, heading toward the market is a bar called caribi, it is owned by zack, we met him when he was a waiter in a hotel we stayed in before, and now he has his own bar! he is very nice and will ask you what you want from your holiday and will guide you on where to go, he also changes money at a good rate, the hotels change money too, but no as good as the rates in the bars.

A lot of the toilets are not too clean and you normaly are expected to leave some small change after, make sure you carry tissues with you!

to sum our holiday up, while not in the hotel, we had a fantastic time, albena is superb, the beach is the nicest I have seen in europe, the weather was great, people friendly, and the food scrummy.I would not advice anyone to stay at the albena beach club, but would say go to albena, the whole resort is wonderful.