Hotel Magnolia Gardens Reviews

just got back from a week in the bulgarian sun and would love to go back now!!
it's true that the entertainment is not up to much but if you love a laugh you should watch!! flip flop kicking was the funniest!!

pool was lovely, food not up much as repetative and the taste ain't too great!!
rooms are spacious and the maids clean well daily, lady behind the reception desk was very helpfull!!!
poco loco did a wonderful english steak as i found out 4 days out of the 7 and the atmosphere was great!!
watch out for the ladies of the night as there is a very wide range of them near restaurant!!
don't go to varna as they acoste you, beg, don't wanna help or just plain pick pocket ya!!! oh and the beach is awful!!
met some wicked people out there and would go again anytime!!

on arrival to magnolia we thought the hotel was excellent how wrong we were, we found the hotel full of german holiday makers,nothing against them but we felt pushed out.

our first evening meal was not good, the resturant opens at 6pm we got there at opprox 6.40pm , i had chips fish and peas of witch the fish was luke warm and the chips were stone cold needless to say we were not impressed as we were allinclusive.my wife complained to the rep who was her self bulgarian but she seemed hardly interrested.no entertainment at the hotel just one man singing every night.

the hotel is on a hill side to get to the town we had to either catch the little mini train down or walk down some in our view some very dangerous steps.the resort is quit nice but on looking around the shops we felt pestered in to buying something and forever being asked if we wanted a taxi.as the food was not up to sratch at the hotel we had to eat out and found the poco loco restuorant to be ok.we did not find it as cheap as we had been told only on certain item such as name clothes but watch out for the cheap fakes.

aswell as the hotel we felt as the local people did not raelly want the british people there.the hotel was clean and the rooms were cleand every day, but my wife thought the sheets on the beds felt damp as if they had not been dryed properly,teh pool was good witch had a midday snack bar but found the food to be cold or at best luke warm.we also found most of the local people to be very ignorent unless you were buying something.

all in all not a very good holiday and we will not be going back.just one last thing it may sound like we are moaning but on our departure on picking up people from a nother hotel 200yards up from ours they all said the same thing.

just come back from 2 weeks at Magnolia. The hotel was fantastic, couldn't fault it. Always something to eat for everybody including my fussy 3 year old!! The weather was hot, the place very clean. Lacked on entertainment for the kids but apart from that would recomend it to anyone.

well we booked this holiday a year before we went only to of had the worst holiday of our lives all 3 of us ended up with food poisoning from the bad food that was served in the resturant

the weather was mostly rain thunder storms and when it rained it rained the staff were most unhelpfull there was never any soft drinks each time we went to the bar we ran out was the reply but the best time was my husband went to the bar and asked for a cappachino WHY the barman replied because i would like one my husband repplied NO said the barman u english u dont drink cappachino any way this was the final straw so i went to ask for one and i got one made with gone off milk that was another one of the excuses we got was no milk when he had just put a whole jug full in the fridge

a good place to eat though was poco loco where u were entertained while u were eating but at the end of the day u dont expect to go allinclusive only to eat out each night do u i would never go back to bulgaria or recommend it to anyone

We stayed in the Hotel Magnolia Gardens despite the fact we had paid and have an invoice to prove we should have been staying in the HOTEL MAGNOLIA.
The rep was not helpful we asked to be moved but no luck.

we moved rooms 3 times, the rooms in the Magnolia Gardens are in desperate need of repair, they smell damp, the showers flood in to our bedroom, the electrical wires are visible, wall paper hanging of walls, dirty carpets in main corridors it is an absoloute health and safety nightmare. there is open sewerage by the childrens play area the list is extensive.
I have photographic evidence and anyone planning to visit this hotel, I will be only too happy to share the info, because I would hate for anyone else to endure staying in such conditons as we did.

Thankfully we had the use of the Hotel Magnolia complex which was a godsend, I am just so angry that is where we should have stayed.

Albena itself is lovely plenty of bars and restaurants, we found a great place POCO LOCO, fab food and live music and dancing it is a must. Most bars we went to were great.
the beach is spotless u do hav to pay for sunbeds and parasols it cost us for 4 beds and 2 parasols 37Levs about £16 for the day.
Taxis are cheap but do agree a price before getting in, the people are friendly there are lots of germans on this resort though, and if you want a sunbed by the pool be prepared to be up at 7am to put ur towels out.

The weather was also great but it can rain at times.

If you are planning to go to Bulgaria, go at least 4* and whatever you do avoid HOTEL MAGNOLIA GARDENS!

Please note that the HOTEL MAGNOLIA is really lovely we were lucky enough to see their accomodation and I would reccomend that hotel without a doubt, just a shame we did not get to stay there as planned.

Regards
Sharon - Lincs- England

Arrived 22nd July and was broken hearted(:

I had thought that i would be staying in the Hotel Magnolia yet was took to the Hotel Magnolia Gardens... I can only say that it was the worst hotel i have ever stayed in. It was dirty and had a dreadful smell. My daughter who is only 6 cryed as it was so bad.

After checking in from a late flight we met others feeling exactly the same. It seemed that the Hotel Magnolia was full of German people and the English were put in the Magnolia Gardens, but we were allowed to use the same facillities which was ok yet nothing to write home about, the food was the same day in day out so with the accommodation been really poor we went out in a morning and didnt come back till late even though we were all inclusive, yet the pool was great, if u could get up at 5am for a sunbed before the residents of the Hotel Magnolia!! Our curtains were hanging off, the shower water didnt run away, we had no light in the bathroom for 4 days and the tiger beetles were in our beds.

Can i just say that we really liked Albena and will go again but never in a million years to this hotel and hopefully not just after they have had their crops cut as i have never seen so many ";Tiger Beetles"; they are everywhere.

Taxis anywhere within the resort 5 lev (£1.50) and drivers were always friendly and helpful. Taxi to Golden Sands 40 lev return, just grab a taxi they will return for you at any time and will not accept payment till you come back :)

Was warned about pick pockets yet never heard any problems the whole fortnight. Meals at Poco loco were beautiful and very cheap. Breakfast at Tropical Cafe were great too aswell as the staff.

We really liked Albena but please dont even think about booking Hotel Magnolia unless u know for sure you will not be put in Magnolia Gardens, all my paper work and invoice said Hotel Magnolia yet i didnt stay there very very misleading.

We have just come back from 2 weeks all inclusive in the Magnollia.
I was a bit wary because of what I had read on this site and others, but here's my review!!
Hotel was very nice, very clean, staff very pleasant and very helpful.
Food was of good quality and we never had a problem although the food is geared towards the germans I think. Great choice though, we always managed to find something to eat, and were never ill!! They decided to put on a childs buffet in the second week, which wasn't too bad, but kids tended to stick with what they already knew, chips,pizza and spaghetti!!!
Great salad bar, good choice of hot foods, fresh bread,soup,cold meats and cheese, pastries, cakes, fruit, breakfast a bit repetative though, beware the very undercooked scrambled egg, ask to have it cooked a little longer, they really don't mind.
Pool area is fantastic with loads of space for loungers and with all those trees, lovely and shady too. My kids loved it!!
Snack bar is chips, pizza, pasta and sausage, everyday, so make the effort to go to the restaraunt for lunch.
Reception bar area a bit small, considering this is where everyone gathers at night.

Entertainment non existent in this hotel, you have to go over the road to sister hotel, where they did not cater for the small amount of british children, my kids could not understand them at all, but have to say the animation staff do try hard, with shows too.

Set above the town of Albena, there is basically nothing to do in the immediate vacinity of the hotel you have to walk down the 175 steps to get to the town or get the noddy train.
I thought Albena was quite fascinating as most of the shops are just stalls on a long street!!! But you can pick up almost anything here. You can get a retro photo done of yourselves dressed up in victorian clothes, or a charcoal sketch copied off a photo, for next to nothing.
Taxis will take you anywhere and wait and are very cheap, but double in price after 10.00pm so remember this.Also you agree a price before you get in.

The beach is lovely, very wide, very white sand, with shallow water for the kids to play in. You can get a meal or drink right along the front and it is seperated by a path which cars do not drive down so kids are safe. Watersports are mega cheap with jet ski's working out about £15, banana boat inflatable about £3 each and pedalos £3 for 1 hour!!!
There are 2 small fairs for the kids (or you), with go karting, bronco, bungee trampolines and more.
Poco Loco serve great food and the staff perform dances while they are serving which is good to watch and very reasonable with meal for 5 with drinks about £15!!!Beer costs about 70p and soft drinks about £1 in most bars. Kebab from a stall abot £1.30.Beware most public toilets, even some in restaraunts, charge for the toilet!!
Make sure that when you say no, you mean no because they will pester you until you become nasty, we had a couple of incidents like this.

Albena is quite a small purpose built resort and I found that my kids got bored very quickly, and we were constantly spending money trying to entertain them, which defeats the object of going all inclusive. The hotel let itself down on the lack of entertainment for kids and adults, but we heard that the Ralista hotel is great for entertainment.

On the whole we enjoyed our holiday but the bulgarians to cater little bit more for english, and we would definatley go back in a couple of years to probably Sunny beach where there is more going on. Bulgaria is a very beautiful country and we would like to see more of it.

we have just returned home from hotel magnolia and we are very disappointed the food was disgusting it was cold and not agreat choice if you like pork then you would be ok and everythihg else just looked like slop probably left overs from the day before.you couldnt get a drink after 11. all coffee machines were turned off so you had no chance of getting a warm drink if you needed one throughout the night. the entertainment well if you wanted to play darts round the pool in the day you would be sorted but come evening there was nothing whatsoever. the beds felt very damp everynight i thought it was with being on the ground floor where the room never saw daylight because of the trees but guest on the top floor also mentioned it.there is only a handful of shops which sells the same things to get to the shops you could get a little noddy train no sign of a courtesy bus like the broucher says or you could go down the very dangerous steps very steep uneven and cracked. we know it was getting to the end of the season in albena but come night time it was like a ghost town even the bars stopped serving at midnight but when you go all inclusive you shouldnt need to leave the hotel it should be all laid on for you there. i will definatly not be returning to bulgaria especially albena and the hotel magnolia is a real no go in my eyes,it doesnt deserve to be rated.

Hi all. Don't really know where to start with this hve so much to say. just come back from 2 weeks all inc at magnolia and i will firstly say how the food was terrible. My boyfriend is not a fussy eater and he really struggled. it was all for the germans!! Don't eat the so called 'baked beans' they are like bullets in chutney, they make us all sick! we made it our mission to find really beans( located across from the playboy club) it was just the smell off the dinning room that put us all off. the food was just mass produced crap!! you would not give it a dog. speaking of dogs they freely roam round the dining room begging for food. if you are not an animal lover like myself then it will put you off the awful food straight away. i found myself living off red cabbage and my boyf and his cousins living off melba toast and cheese spread we bought from a shop, needless to say the 2 of the men fell ill. my boyf had really bad runs and stomach ache. he said he just felt really weak. the other came home with it and again had really bad runs and was also really sick. the hotel staff were really rude! the amount of times we got told to shut up was unbeliverable. even families with young kids were getting told to shut up. the wors night was when a member of my party slipped on some glass out side his room, he was barefoot and the glas went through and artery in his foot resulting in stitches. all in all it cost 400levs for medical treatment. we used a hand towel to wipe up the blood as well as 3 rooms worth of loo roll and instead of asking how he was they charged him for the towel. the entertainment in the hotel was non existant, they sent you to an amphi theatre where you couldnt get a drink and had to sit on a wooden bench. the drinks were rubbish not even all the local sp[irits were free, no local whisky tequila or no diet coke one of our members is insulin dependant and needed a suger free drink surely there are rules and regs about this. the best place for a bit of life was ganvie bar. enveny and plamen were the best barmen ever and made us feel so welcome. they made our holiday.