Elenite Village Reviews

Do not take any notice of the negative comments from others. Remember where you are going, Bulgaria is only fairly recently out of communism and fairly new to tourism. Remember the price you are paying - cheaper than most other holiday resorts. If you go with realsitic expectations you will have a good time - we did.

First choice changed our resort,then changed our flight times,and our first time at this resort and the last.
When we arrived in june there was no music, kids club was for under 8 year olds
food was just ok.atfer 4 days we had enough and asked to be moved to some where a bit more lively.told we could move to sunny beach for £168.00(cash) and we had too make our own way their.

had a better holiday in sunny beach for the last 10 days in a brand new hotel.a much better place if you have children,the food and clothes are cheap and weather was fantastic.we have made a complaint to first choice holidays about this resort (elenite holiday village)as we think after 5 years travelling with them,that this was the worst start too a holiday you could imagine.

We will go back too bulgaria as the people were nice and the stories about pro`s and the mafia were unfounded.

Back this afternoon from Elenite.
Stayed in the village and seemed to come across quite a few people who have been reading these same few sites,as the questions i was being asked were near enough the exact same as here and elsewhere,
Eg,is there really any snakes?? And no there isn`t.

Is it as bad as everyone makes out?? Well the village isn`t by a long chalk.Allocated two twin rooms by FC in between the reception and hotel called Royal Park about 1/4 of the way up the hill.Your standard euro room if you ask me.Either fully tiled floor or 3/4 tiled and then laminate to the door the the balcony.(balconies crazy paved,smaller on the upper rooms but big enough sit 4/5 on the lowers)Maid in every day,towels every other day.
The thunderstorms we had though did manage to leak in once which did do some damage to the laminate,but hey it wasn`t my house so after 10 mins of drying out we were off and running again.

The food in the main buffet hall did lack a bit of imagination,but we ate plenty of what we liked and so did the kids.
We then mixed and matched where we ate on the resort to have a change.Forget the Sunshine restaurant,that was below par,though on the other hand it was nice and quiet up there away from the din of the buffet room.
Two recommends are the Sozopal and Talyana.both you have to book in the morning between 9-12,though take my advice and get in just after 9.
Sozopal is Bulgarian with just 3 different main meals built into a 4 course menu,but all were tasty and like i said if you ate there 3 times,Talyana a couple and the main hall, it broke it up nicely.
And bear in mind people were complaining of getting dicky tummies in the Royal Park which is supposed to be 4*

Now there is a slight scam going on out there which can be enjoyed by the First Choice customers,which i won`t directly put up here,as i know the reps do trawl these sites and look out for what people are reporting back on,but needless to say some common sense with regards to the colour of your wristband and how you wear it, will get into the hotel, and you can then also avail yourself of their facilities as well!!

I would say don`t panic,i know people seem to be complaining alot, but i get the impression that whilst sites like this are good for infomation,i think they can also go badly the other way and if people are getting nervous the holiday can be ruined before you have even got there.

Btw,the transfer time from Varna to Elenite is 2hrs,not what FC still say.

Getting about is pretty much what has gone before,agree taxi price beforehand,15 lev to Sunny Beach,bus is 1.5lev from out the front of the Royal Park.Trip to Nessebar a necessity,again bus from centre of sunny beach,2lev for four of us,yes i did say for the four of us,basically £2 return.

There are 3 pools,but they are quite cold really,but when you have the Black sea over your shoulder which is far warmer,why bother.What i will say about the sea though is it can change daily as to what you will find in it.
Seaweed one day,crystal clear the next,then what looks like the the remains of a shipwreck the next,not to be out done by two days of what seemed like a small eco disaster as there were zillions of dead flies floating around,but in all instances if you got about 30/40 ft away from the shore it was fine.I actually saw only 1 jellyfish in there in the whole 2 weeks,and i only miseed 2 days of swimming,yet other would have you believe there were swarms of them in there.

A little tip about the water parks we came across,there is a bus out to the big park free from the centre of sunny beach,but it`s then 24lev to get in,now if you don`t use the facilities it`s a bit of a waste of time and money,much better is walk down the centre towards the beach,and on the right hand side behind the casino is a smaller version where you can hire a sunbed for the day, 4lev,pay 15levs for kids to ride/swim all day,and then pay 1lev for each ride you go on if you`re bothered.
Waitress service all day,doctor on site as well.

As far as i`m concerned about FC,they know there are problems,but they are doing their best, and the reps couldn`t be better,always trying to do something,and do something different with regards the entertainment team.
All the kids seemed to get on,and i think if they are enjoying themselves and not moaning at you then it makes things alot easier in my experience.

My opinion for what it`s worth........ we decided to go and as long as the rooms were semi ok,we could at least eat out every night knowing it wouldn`t cost us a fortune and worry about the rest when we got home, definitely go and do what we did,set your expetations low and then you can only be pleasantly surprised as we were.

7 of us went 5 adults 2 children we all found the place really good, there is lots to do for the kids, the place is clean the food is alright the kids ate it so thats alright for me ,book for one of the restraunts they are lovely.yes the food isnt what you would get in your local restraunt but why go to Bulgaria and eat english food,while i was there i heard someone complain about the breakfast that there kids wouldnt eat anything all i could say is they must have poached solmon every day as they had tried to cater for everyone no there wasnt danish bacon but then we hadnt paid for a 6star hotel.

it is the ideal place to go and relax with the family ,sunny beach is only 15 mins away if you want something a bit more lively,elinite isnt for young ravers. When there is is best not to tip till the end of the week if you feel you want to .

would love to go again .enjoy and look for the good not the bad .

We stayed All inclusive as this Holiday village offers, Apart from the rabble in the Restuarant @ breakfast and Dinner we enjoyed the food. A big choice and something for everyone, salads meats hot and cold (although usually not very hot) Ice ceam and lollies all day lager chilled all day, spirits after 5.00 p.m I thinkk and wine most of the day (help yourself from the taps Red and White both Okay)If you wanted a quiter table go to the Bulgarian Restuarant ( need to book a time , although no extra charges, this is self service starters and waiter service for the rest. Very good indeed.

We stayed one week and in the main enjoyed it and great value for money !!!! Taxi into Sunny Beach for a bit more life only 15 leva and £6) each way but bus only 1.5 leava (60p) from entrance to hotel very good indeed. Many trips within easy reach, we enjoyed boat to Nesebar from Sunny beach (only 8 leava each although bus 0.5 leva , we got the boat there and the bus back, great, something for everyone.

Although all inclusive kept us happy for most of the week it is that cheap you can go trips and eat and drink very very little money. On the beach @ the all inclusive the have a beach bar with pizza and hot dogs lager and soft drinks untill 5.30 p.m. We found it worth moving from one location to the nextbut were never bored. Rooms Okay, clean with fresh towels most days, we had a good sea view but some dont althogh we never sat out always outside hotel or on the beach. It rained once and the hotel is then packed and noisey as everone has the same idea , drink and eating. The reception staff ere unfriendly but the rset of the staff Okay and appreciate the wee tips of 2 or 3 leva if you feel well lokked after. The kids entertainment wasgood but nothing really for adults free bar clses at midnight but that is late enough if you have had your first drink at 8.00 a.m. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lastly watch out where you change your money there is a vast difference, remember it is the low rate shown on the boards at the Money Excahanges not the high figure, best to change small amounts at a time as there is no Commission , but banks and hotels are the best way. Make sure you get your change even in the hotel, they seam to round things up to the nearest lev, small pont but it is your change. All the best

Summary

Food Okay, plenty choice

Drink Great, lager not too strong though

Resort, Quite but accessible to others (Sunny Beach fotr nightlife and bars.

entertainment Okay for kids, adults music 10 to Midnight only

Cheers

Well my family thought it was absoulutely excellent.
Food was great except for one piece of chicken not cooked properly.
Steps were a bit of a pain 149 each way to the beach. it was hard everyday carrying the kids inflatables and stuff though.
i would recommend this resort. this was our third year and we are going for our forth on august the 3rd 2007 and have already booked next years.
the snack bars are fine and we survived absoulutely fine without leaving the resort.
the water is ok to drink but i would only recommend you use it for cups of hot drinks and brushing teeth.

overall a fantastic holiday but watch out for bugs and creepy crawlies.
(2nd year there was peacocks and a bambi deer which was really annoying tried to pop inflateables and chased at least two people into the sea one fully clothed at 11 at night don't think it will return though because last year there were no animals like peacocks which was weird)

We were worried sick about this trip. Put off by some very poor reviews.
We had a great time!
If you accept the place for what it is cheap and cheerful with a super beach, pools and eccentric evening entertainmemt then you'll have a wonderful time.The kids simply loved it!

If you get fed up get out and about.Bus travel is so simple, very reliable and so cheap. If you get stranded anywhere barter with a taxi driver! Theres some wonderful places to investigate. Get a good travel book!
We're going to Corsica next year for bi-annual summer chill out trip. It will cost 4 or 5 times more.I'm still sctatching my head why we're not coming back to Bulgaria? Great Value, and Bulgarians are so friendly with a very dry english like sense of humour.

Its not perfect. The food is so bad its funny and dinner in was like an 1/2hour situation comedy. Away from the buffet the other resturants were much better but not half as much fun. However if food is important to you eating in Sunny Beach was great and ever so cheap!