Riu Bolero Reviews

Flew with Thomson on time, small plane which had no television on board however we were kean to get our holiday started so we didn't mind this. On arrival at Varna airport, which is very small and basic the reps were fantastic and our transfer time to the hotel was 30 minutes and ran smoothly.

Once we had arrived at the hotel Riu Bolero we were very impressed particularly with the service with staff unloading our baggage from the coach and transferring them to our rooms. The rooms were very clean and smart with a hairdryer in the bathroom. The rooms were cleaned everyday with clean towels every day. They would make things such as a teddy bears and swans out of our beach towels which my daughter was amazed by.

The hotel facilities included two outdoor pools, 1 indoor pool, 2 jacuzzi's (1 indoor, 1 outdoor) nail bar, hairdressers, The complex was spotlessly clean and the staff were very friendly. They worked very hard and always had time to be pleasant to guests.

Bottled water is available to guests at reception for free and there is a fridge in the keep it cool. Pool towels are available for a refundable deposit which can be exchanged as often as you like for clean ones.

There are three restaurants, Asian (bookings taken)which we found was very poor and most guests would leave and go into the buffet restaurant, Argentinian Grill (Bookings taken)which was a bit hit and miss and tends to serve the same food as it does during the day once it serves lunch/ snacks 10-3pm and the Buffet restaurants which we ate at most evenings and on the occasional lunch time. The food was good, a bit repetative on times but no different from our experiences abroad. The kids however had a prolem with the food as they didn't like what was on offer most of the time, not through not trying different things as they did and they tended to spend the whole holiday eating pancakes for breakfast, chips for lunch and chips for supper. They did snack on fruit as there was a wide choice and widely available. Once the restaurants closed at 9.30pm there was no snacks/ food available until breakfast which was a pain paricularly if we had dined early in the evening they became hungry later on.

The hotel entertainment was boring to say the least and the only negative aspect of the holiday. In all fairness to the entertainment team they work incredibly hard, but the evening entertainment bores the children and begins at 9.30pm only lasts 45 minutes!!! On compaining to the rep hoping that she would accept constructive criticism her answer was ";the entertainment needs to wind down in time for the bar closing";. The entertainment finished at 10.15pm and the bar closes at 12 midnight!!!!

Golden sands was great with lots of stalls/shops that come alive at night and interesting to haggle with the locals, however tourists are hounded by people trying to entice you into there bars/restaurants.

All in all we had a fantastic time at Golden sands and the hotel Riu Bolero and would definately return again The only downside of the holiday was they rubbish entertainment but having met three fantastic families we all made our holiday fun. Hope this helps you :)

I felt I had to write a review about this location and hotel, after reading bad reviews of Golden Sands.

EVERYTHING ran smoothly, no airport delays, Airport, .. fine , clean, even though alot smaller than ours.

Golden Sands, was lovely, clean beach, excellent lay out, lots of stall like shops along the front, and a fab big wheel in the centre, which we all went on for 4 levs (approx 1.60) for 5 mins but the view was great. We went into the centre twice, Poco Loco disco bar was a good night, reasonable prices, and fantastic dancers.
Also to the left of the hotel is a bar called Lucky Eye, lovely views, but the night we were there was had four gogo dancers on the bar for ages, and we felt we had to watch them or appear to be rude!!

Varna, was lovely too, not AT ALL as many of the reviews said. We had lunch in a cafe in centre called Red Fox. We had two pizzas, one bowl feta salad and two gorgous coffees for 15 levs (approx £6.00)
Varna was much cheaper than Golden Sands. Yes we did see beggars in the subways, (like in most cities) but do we really object to giving a lev or 2 to an old person with no legs?.. personally we didnt mind.

Riu Bolero was beautiful.. no other word to describe it. Lovely friendly staff, especially the bar staff and animation team that work their socks off. Lovely lovely people. My friends and I bought some chocolate one day, which we offered to them (as it was melting rapidly!!) they loved it, very happy... (which goes to show whatever nationality... we`re all chocoholics.!! All food and selection was fantastic too.

Lots and lots to do for the children too, their little mini club, their own section with pool, and swings and they put on a show at the end of the week.

All entertainment finishes strictly at 12, but that wasnt a big problem for our group.
Two bar staff Dakah and Christian behind the nighttime bar all very very nice !!
Christian loves his football.

Would highly recommend Riu Bolero and Golden Sands, highly FANTASTIC value for money. The location is perfect too, 1 minute walk to the beach. Two minutes walk to the left to a nice prom and probably about 15 mins into Party Street to the right, up a hill. We didnt go there at night though.. we didnt need too, there was enough going on nearer to base.

Taxi rank and little train, stops outside hotel. Have a wonderful time in Golden Sands... as we did.

Just come back from the Riu Bolero and have to say we had a fantastic time, the staff especially the entertainment team bent over backwards at all times to make sure we had a great holiday, just the week before we went the E. Team were trying out new shows at night and these were a big hit, it was only on for an hour each night but when you see how hard these guys work you know why, most people quite content to sit outside and enjoy the free bar until 12.00, never saw anybody abuse the bar or restaurants and when we were leaving they were bringing over some english sausages for breakfast as they noticed the frankfurters were not going down too well with the british contingent this is how well looked after you are.

Whilst we were there the E. Team also started doing a trip to the Botanical Gardens, which we went on and it was really beautiful, it cost us 12 lev each for about a 5 hour trip, the same trip with Thompson but with some ruins thrown in to view cost 62 lev so choose your trips with care. Enjoy your holiday we certainly did and will be going back there.

The Riu Bolero is in the quiet end of Golden Sands which is lovely as it is quiet and if you want night life it is just a half hour stroll along the sea front.

Just got back from a fantastic holiday, Riu Bolero in Bulgaria,missing it already.

Hotel fantastic,weather fantastic,Local people friendly,this hotel is lovely,rooms spacious,we had a family room which is 2 rooms with door adjorning each room having its own bathroom and tv.maid service everyday.staff always making sure every where is clean.food execellent,choice of everything,there are 3 resturants but for 2 of them you need to make a reservation for your evening meal.3 pools all great lower pool is more like a fun pool.animation team working all day doing some sort of game.only not so good thing was evening entertainment at hotel was just disco for about an hour 9-10.Beach just 2 min walk away and lovely golden sand, sea water nice 2,water sports on beach great fun,jet ski 50 lev for 2 people on 1 jet ski which is about 22 quid,parasailing 60 lev for 2 people.we also went horse riding which was about 5 minute drive from the hotel,aqua park also 5 minutes away.taxi through hotel into Varna is 40lev return we went but was too hot so came back to hotel and went in the pool so didnt really see much.

the resort along the beach is good lots of stalls,bars,resturants each 1 of them trying to get you to go in so just say maybe tomorrow and they are fine.there is also a mcdonalds along this stretch.I would recommend this hotel and

resort and will definatly be going back.

Just returned from Riu Bolero Had a lovely time and ate and drank far to much. Most of the staff very friendly and helpfull with the exception of one of the female bar staff.

The Asian restraunt is lovely but is a slow process so be prepared to spend a couple of hours over your meal. The Argentine Grill is a bit hit and miss we had a couple of very good serve your self meals and one absolutely awful which we left walked out and went over to the main resteraunt which I think must be the french one that the previuos comment talks about. There is nothing French about it. The main restraunt food in the evening is very good and you can usually find something for every taste. However the breakfast can be a bit unorganised, eg no cups not enough eggs especially if everyone goes at once. Generall it is best not to expect proper English brekkie.

If you are fortunate enough to get room 564 you have the most enormous L shaped balconey which is about 30 feet in length over looking the pools. Our only gripes at the time was that the pool bar closed at 6 pm and the general saloon bar didnt open until 7 pm. There are no snacks available after the main dining room closes and they turn of all the lights outside the bar at 11-30pm which it is quite dangerous with all the steps We had a forum of guests with the management and reps and they are working to rectify these points. Oh and not enough Parasols as it gets real hot around the pool. The entertainment team work very hard but the evening entertainment is naff. If you do have mobility problems there are a lot of steps on the site and the getting in and out of the over bath shower is hazardous.

Another tip would be to get pool towels which you change everyday for 20 lev per person per week which is refundable at the end of your holiday save space in the cases and the towels are lovely.We did the luxury pamper your self yacht trip and were disapointed it was hyped up to be a yacht (not what I thought a yacht should be like)only saving grace of this was that the dolphins with their baby swam right next to boat. It certainly wasnt worth £50 each. The pools at the riu are lovely but you need to get up early to nab your sun beds! Overall a good relaxing do nothing holiday with all the facilities you need.

I hope this was usefull and that you have a good time