Hotel Riu Helios Bay Reviews

Anyway, first impressions were that the pictures of this hotel do not do it any justice - it is really beautiful inside and out. This has to be the cleanest hotel we have ever been to. We arrived in the middle of the night to be greeted by very friendly hotel staff with a champagne cocktail, and snacks in the restaurant. We were given our FREE bottled water and headed off to the room for some sleep. The room was carpeted and the bathroom was lovely with a huge shower, but no bath which didn't bother us anyway.

The weather on our first day was slightly cloudy, but it soon improved throughout our stay. We attended the welcome meeting and met both Hotel Managers which we thought was really down to earth as they were so friendly. My partner and I soon got into the swing of being All Inclusive, trying all of the cocktails on offer. PLEASE - Try the Bulgarian Blue, but don't have too many like I did!

The food was amazing. Breakfast had choices of cereals, fruit, pancakes, salad, yoghurts and of course the good old English Fry Ups. I loved the Bulgarian Yoghurt.

There was a choice of the Snack Bar beside the pool or Lunch in the restaurant (which you needed to be dressed for). Both had choices of pizza, chips, salad, different meats, pasta, fruit and ice cream.

For dinner there were theme nights such as Spanish Night, Turkish Night etc. One night we even had Yorkshire Puddings and Beef with gravy which tasted really nice. With so much to choose from we just tried everything, I wouldn't be able to list it all, we needed bigger plates! There was also the Bulgarian Restaurant on Saturdays, Mondays and I think it was Wednesdays too, they do awesome goulash type dishes you have to try them. You do have to book for this though.

Gents must wear trousers for dinner or three quarter trousers. Also, you book your table and choose which sitting you have when you 1st arrive and keep the table forall of your stay, we switched sittings a couple of times but the staff were more then helpful about it. Not once did we have a bad meal or have complaint about the food.

Entertainment we found was more for the children, but we walked around the nearby shops and did our own thing anyway as we're not really showtime people. In the daytime there were beach games and darts, table tennis which seemed popular. We also tried out the Spa which was 10 levs for an hour for the Jacuzzi or Sauna/Steam Room. The gym was free, so was the indoor pool. We played a few pool gam

First of all it was absolutely fantastic and would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this hotel. We are going back in September, food was absolutely gorgeous you are allocated your table for the whole of your stay in the dining room so no hunting around for tables, food always hot and excellent choice. Our 10 year old is hard to please but she was well happy with the food.

The rooms are brilliant and carpeted and the biggest we have ever stayed in, only problem although not an actual problem was there were no baths in rooms just showers, but hey it's not that important. Went for massage on site it was brilliant and relaxing, sea lovely and warm, beach brilliant, town nce shps and lovey and relaxing. Fantastic handbag shop!!! Can't thank Tony and Ivan enough for the night time and day time entertainment, wonderful, brilliant entertainers.

ONCE AGAIN WONDERFUL, BRILLIANT, FANTASTIC, WOULD NOT HESITATE TO GO AGAIN, AS I SAID CAN'T WAIT FOR SEPTEMBER.

I think reading the below reviews gives you the wrong impression of Obzor, after reading these we went thinking there was only going to be about 2 shops - there isn't! There are plenty of shops and plenty of bargain souvenirs to get a hold of, there are bars, restaurants, even a chinese. The beach is always busy.

As for the hotel, as with all Riu hotels it was excellent. Absolutely spotless and beautiful. Pools are cold water but once you are in its great as it was in the mid 30's when we were there so the cold water was a welcome cool down. We never made the kids entertainment as by the time we had dinner at 6.30 then went upstairs to get changed it was usually about 8.30pm before we got down. No entertainment started till 9.30pm and it usually only lasted an hour. It was alright but nothing spectacular, though as usual our show off daughter was the star of the show as she gets up and dances to anything! Food was lovely, loads of salads and cooked meat every night, though if you like your steaks you wont get one here. I would suggest if you don't like trying aything new and only like British food then Bulgaria isn't for you.

Bulgaria is still very cheap with a bottle of beer and a bottle of coke being about 35 pence each. All in all obzor is a lovely wee place, would definitely go back. If your idea of a good holiday is something in between blackpool and benidorm you might not like this (saying that I like both these places) however after travelling the world we like to go to places that still have abit of their own culture instead of being the typical european holiday destination. Especially loved the beach bars, great for a wee cocktail, really feel like your on holiday.

Hotel was one of the best we have stayed in.Food was excellent the resort is up and coming so maybe a year or so down the road there will be more to do.Trips they do not have many,we hired a taxi into Varna with another couple where the driver gives you about 5 hours to have a wander and some lunch.Khans Tent is an excellent evening out highly recommend to go.The sea was very changeable from calm to rolling waves but always a lifeguard on hand,and the flags changed accordingly.

Overall highly recommend this holiday and this hotel

Not having been to Bulgaria it was with some hesitation that we booked this holiday after reading some reviews on this hotel with regards to illness that occured last year, However there was no problems at all this year and all in all it was a very good hotel as most Riu hotels are.

We have always travelled to Riu hotels all over the world and found them to be excellant. I would rate this hotel as very good not quite up to the standard of other hotels we have been to. There was nothing major wrong here just a few things that let it down some what I.E restaurant staff so miserable.. they just didnt want to be there. Some of the bar staff were the same but others we very good. The reception staff always said good morning or hello maybe they should give the others a few lessons !!!.

The rooms were very spacious probally the largest we have stayed in and the air con was very good just aswell as the temps when we were there was 40 plus.. The food generally was very good some nights wasnt much to my likeing but you would never go hungry and kids the ice cream was great.

The grounds well kept and the so called life guards were just glorified towel boys and picking up the glasses etc around the day by the pool. Towels can be changed by the pool 9 - 11am and 5-6pm if you need any more towels as they are quite small a few levs to the guy will work as he was extremly freindly.

The pool was always well kept and even the local frogs liked it.. but these we soon removed...

The drinks at the bar were some what limited in comparison to other Riu Hotels we have stayed at but genrally it was ok. The beer was good and cold so that was the main thing.

There is a Thematic restarent were the snack bar is during the day but we never ate there as other people had said it wasnt much diffrent to the main buffet restaurent. They have two sittings for dinner 6.30 pm and 8.30pm in the buffet and the closer you get to opening the better and hotter the food. Breakfast and lunch you can turn up any time.

The resort of Obzor is very quiet just a few shops and bars but these are very cheap. As for eating outside we didnt like the look of the restaurents so we didnt eat out at all...

The second week was intresting when one of our party of eight was ill which was totally unrelated to the hotel or the country but meant a 3hr return taxi trip for 5 days before a air ambulance took him home. Please please make sure you have adaquate travel insurance as i beleive the medical bill was around 40k with evertthing included.. The hospital to be fair was new and clean.. the care was okish... food in there was appaling always cold and unispired.. The staff were not that great apart from one doctor that spoke english the rest just wernt up to it i thought. However i have to mention SAGA insurance who were fantastic and nothing was to much trouble for them. They sorted everything out and could not be faulted unlike the Thomson rep who ok did ask if everthing was ok but not much more. I stayed two days at the hospital and one other of our party the full five days and he didnt even visit it was me that asked if a rep from sunny beach could go and take them out for a meal.. he took 3 days to arange this.. then the day arrived and the air ambulance turned up.. We could have starved as the hospital would not give us any food and we lived on fruit, crisps,cakes,water from a shop near the hotel so be aware of this if you need hospital care.
The hotel manager was very concerned and had no problems with us taking food and water from the hotel and on our last day gave us a complimentry late check out room as all of our money had gone on taxis
as our flight wasnt untill late in the evening. So she deserves a special mention and our thanks.

Not much else to say really but taxis were cheap and the driver would wait for four hours while we were at the hospital and a nearly 3hr round trip for about £36.. but depending which driver you get it could be the RAC rally of Bulgaria...

I always think of a hotel if they were good if i would want to return... im sat on the fence to be honest but there are better Riu hotels in better locations.. and the entertainment in other hotels is better but just the normal grease etc.. my wife said she would return so i guess i cant say i would never go back would have to give it some thought.

If you go there the animation guys of Toni and Ivan are good but really there is only the two of them with one other that seams to do the kids club. They try hard but there isnt enough of them to be honest when in other hotels there are sometimes 10 or 12 so there is a alot more going on in the day and shows are better.. but a few beers normally makes the time go quicker..

We spent two weeks at this hotel and after the second day we asked our rep to transfer us to Sunny Beach not because of the hotel, that was fine (apart from the amount of Germans) But the entertainment was absolutely rubbish and there was nothing in the village of Obzor. So instead of paying extra money to be transferred we went to Sunny Beach quite a few times by taxi just to relieve the boredom!!!!! The hotel was excellent and thank god we didn't get any stomach bugs but we were so bored. One week would have been ample, there is nothing to do in Obzor. Go there if all you want to do is lie on the beach or by the pool but dont expect much more.

Impressive looking hotel( when we eventually got there after waiting over one hour for luggage to start appearing) as you would expect from Riu.

Room good, appeared clean, although I suspect bleach and other strong cleaning solutions aren`t used. Hotel staff very helpful and friendly. Food in the restaurant appeared to be good with excellent choice.(I wasn`t able to eat much of it) Entertainment was extremely poor I expected more from a 4 * Riu the girl going around the pool saying ping pong got on our nerves and that was about the best they could come up with. Entertainment in the evening was diabolical.

The hotel position on the beach was good the resort had little to offer shops were non existant trading was done from huts/shacks/caravans!!! Most people were totally bored and many said they couldn`t wait to get home especially those of us who had been ill and believe me there were a lot of us -I would estimate 70% guests had a Gastro Enteritis type illness I was in bed ill on my 3rd day and a week after returning home still don`t feel well. Many guests were on drips and treated with antibiotics by the two resident doctors at the hotel, the hotel also had it`s own nurses.

We were told by the Thomson rep at the welcome meeting that there was illness in the hotel !! I asked why when Thomson are aware that people have been ill since this hotel opened last year are they still taking people out there. It is totally disgusting. People were vomitting around and in the pool(I know someone whose nephew vomitted in the pool, it wasn`t closed to be cleaned the vomit was simply scooped off the water) ,it was on landings just everywhere. I have never seen so mamy ill people on holiday. Thomson are putting the health of people at risk especially babies, the preganant and those with pre existing health problems.

This was a Holiday from Hell and I wish I had been aware of the problem so I could have changed it. The airport was unbelievable, on the return home we had to queue on pavements it was mayhem. We had looked forward to our holiday but it proved to be a nightmare and we will never set foot in Bulgaria again, the tickets should come with a health warning !!!

The hotel was very clean and staff are very helpful.The rooms are very comfortable although tea making facilities would have been useful.The entertainment staff work really hard especially for the children,our granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed the day time activities and the kids disco.The evening entertainment for the adults was not of a great standard but when all the alcohol is free you dont really care.

The food was fine, there was always a decent choice and no danger of starvation even if you are a vegetarian.
We didn't have a real problem with sun beds,we always managed to find at least 2 when we wanted them.
We didn't find the pools that cold and by the amount of people using them neither did anyone else.
The beach is very good, even though it was quite busy when we went there was plenty of room.There are areas of course sand but a short walk along the beach and the sand is quite fine.

My only concern is that I was quite ill with a bad stomach and we talked to quite a few other people who also had the same problem,not something you want when you are all-inclusive.
We would recomend this hotel but take some diarrhoea remedies

There haven't been many reviews on this hotel so I was a little nervous. Booked it online with Portland Travel several months before and got really good rate, including free child place.

HOTEL itself is lovely. There were plenty about 100 Brits there and hotel staff spoke really good English so this must have changed a bit since it first opened. The accommodation (we had Superior family room which included a separate bedroom) is really spacious and its a really good standard hotel overall - clean and modern with good facilities.

WEATHER was decent, not burning hot but we got tanned.

The resort (OBZOR) itself is small but there are penty of small shopping stalls and bars but if you go all inclusive then there's no real need to go anywhere else, we walked into the village once otherwise stayed onsite.

The evening ENTERTAINMENT is typical holiday fun; mini club disco followed by either a singer or a fun show by the entertainment team. Nothing great, but passes the time.

The BEACH was nice, not like the Caribbean but decent enough! We tended to stay by the pool and found it easy enough to reserve sunbeds as long as we did it on the way to breakfast.

The SICKNESS virus I had read about on the web beforehand still seems to be there (or is it just typical holiday tummy?!) as we know lots of other families who had at least one member of their family ill whilst they were there - thankfully we were ok. We were obsessed with cleanliness and not swallowing too much water when in pool - maybe that did the trick, who knows!

If you want good quality, reasonable weather and good value - then Riu Helios Bay is an excellent choice!

Just returned from a week at this hotel on an all inclusive basis, this hotel is superb.

Bedrooms are spacious, loads of storage space, carpeted, air conditioned and very comfortable. Rooms are spotless, as is everywhere in the hotel, no problems with cleanliness here. We found the food excellent with a good varied choices daily and all well presented and cooked. On arrival you are allocated first or second sitting for the evening meal, but you can change to the other sitting if you wish.

Pool area clean and plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas, but be warned you do have to be up early to play the Germans at their own game and get your towels on the sunbeds. Water in all the pools ( even the indoor one) we found cold ( sea is warmer ), but it is the start of the season so has got time to warm up.
There is daytime and evening entertainment run by the hotel animation team. Kids disco starts at 8pm for 30 mins, followed by a show run by the animation team which starts at 9.30, we found these shows a bit naff to be honest though the team work very hard and do their best. For a 4 star hotel we thought there should be more professional acts brought in, but thats just our opinion.

Obzor itself is still developing and is fairly quiet, there is a lot of building work going on in and around the village. The village square is pretty, go to the Bedrock bar it's very very cheap, and great for the younger ones.

We would recommend a visit to Nessebar which is about an hour away, loads of shops and places to buy your souvenirs, and it's very pretty there. We also went to Sunny Beach, if you like Blackpool on a Bank Hol, you'll like Sunny Beach.... enough said!.

Overall we had a great time, and would definetly go this hotel again in the future.

Couldn't find may reviews on the hotel or resort before we travelled as it only opened this year, and it's in a very small and quiet place.

Hotel accomodation was excellent, very spacious rooms, plenty cupboards, and a fridge.
Rooms had cable TV but only 3 english speaking channels (2 news and MTV) and the rest in German! The rep said that the hotel was increasing the cable package next year so there will be more English speaking channels, which will come in handy if you go at the end of September as the weather can be very changeable and everything is closing down for the winter!!

Food in the Hotel was excellent, plenty to choose from. There's a snack bar that's open throughout the day so you don't have to be down in time for breakfast.

There is 2 bars, 2 resturaunts, indoor pool, jaquzzi, sauna and steam bath.

Plenty sunbeds round the outdoor pool. Best spot is the far side of the pool, near the beach, as after lunchtime the hotel puts the other side in the shade. But get up early as the Germans will beat you to them!!

Was cloudy the first day we arrived, and 1 other day it rained but otherwise the weather was lovely, blue skies and warm. Would not go as late in September, as most shops and bars in the place were closed. Water parks on the Black Sea close in early September as well.

Would deffinatly recommend this resort if your looking for a quiet relaxing beach holiday, and there seemed to be plenty of activities and entertainment to keep young kids occupied.

The hotel was excellent, the staff could'nt do enough to help, especially the children's club rep.The hotel was very clean and there was a good selection of food in the restaurant. The only fault with the hotel was the swimming pools were very cold even the indoor pool.
The village outside the hotel unfortunately was closed for the winter, so there was no where else to go.I think during the season it would have been quite nice, a few shops and bars to visit.

We were very apprehensive when we booked this resort and hotel as there were no previous write ups due to it being a new resort and the hotel only opened in May this year. However we were not at all disappointed.

The hotel is brand new and very clean. The rooms very spacious and carpeted. Only 6 floors so no problems with lifts etc. Hotel is situated on the beach but it is man made so slightly shingly. Animation team were excellent and really made an effort to make sure we were entertained all day-even when it rained for a day and half!

The village of Obzor is still yet to catch up with this century! - however it is not to be missed-especially on a Saturday night. The shops (more like car boot stands!) are very very cheap so you don't need a lot of spending money - pint of beer approx 40p-bottle of Chardonnay 10levs (approx £3.00)-some of the locals however can hassle you too much to buy things but further into the centre of the village they are ok.

Food in hotel wasn't too great as a lot of it wasn't labelled so wasn't too sure what we were eating sometimes - had a bout of tummy upset but the Bulgarian national drink of Mastika soon sorted it out. Thomsons rep John was very helpful and knowleagable and the hotel staff were friendly although they sometimes struggled with English.

Would definitely stay at this hotel again and wish we had booked for 2 weeks instead of 1.