Latest Reviews for Sozopol

fantastic place, wonderful location very romantic and relaxed just on the beach, nice restaurant,best place i have ever been so far

Sozopol is divided into two parts, the old and new towns. There's not much in the new town apart from shops selling mostly clothes, and a couple of supermarkets. If you stick to the coast part you will come across a couple of tavernas, but apart from that, head into the old town for a much nicer view! Money - do not take traveller's cheques. We had immense trouble finding somewhere to change them and that was a hassle like you wouldnt beleive. Just take money or even english money and get it changed in the banks -not one of the change kiosks. It would seem this is the only monetary arrangment Bulgaria is capable of making at the moment - and this include credit cards. Money talks here, no credit cards, i'm afraid! In the old town you'll find souvenir stalls and some lovely examples of Bulgarian houses and streets. The streets are perfect for taking a stroll in after eating, and there are plenty of tavernas or cafes to stop in. As for eating, the best restaurants line the very edge of the peninsula, on each side. We expecialy liked: Rusalka - great fish. El Greco - greek food as well as traditional Bulgarian. The Windmill (on the other side) is seemingly Sozopol's most "famous" place and is certainly nice enough although we found the food and service at Neptune (on the same road, just further on) to be much nicer. The wine is good too, and decent value. The Chardonnay's and Traminer's from nearby Pomorie are great. We took some excursions to Nessebar (much like Sozopol but bigger), Varna , Ropotamo reserve and Burgas and the latter three are worth seeing but it was always nice to get back to Sozopol; Its a nice, moderately quiet place with some lovely places to eat.

Hotel Selena is an excellent little hotel. It's in the new part of Sozopol, five minutes walk from the old part. The hotel is immaculately clean, with friendly staff who, although English is not their first or even second language (German is- as with most of Bulgaria), do their best to help and do so with a smile. The hotel overlooks the beach at the back, so is an excellent location if you want the beach/Sea. The gym is free to residents, and the sauna and massage is apprently excellent but you have to pay. Internet access is 1 lev an hour (about 50p). Selena does not exchange money but there is a BulBank opposite that will (see below for more on money). We stayed B&B, and the breakfast was large and well made. Drinks, cured meats, preserves, cereal, bread, toast, fruit, salads, yogurts - plus a selection of hot sausages and pastries. The food in the restaurant is good too, although we only ate there once as we like to eat out. The rooms are big enough, and cleaned each day, although at random times. the bathroom is large with a good, hot shower. The bar is fine, serving loads of drinks, and the staff are friendly and soon know what you like! The sun-deck is small but perfectly nice, and the pool is more for cooling off in rather than swimming lengths. All in all - we would happily stay at the Selena again. And looking around, I think it's one of the best in the area, easily.

An area which is becoming a jewel in the crown. Overall the area is a nice place to enjoy and relax. As the town develops it is becoming more attractive to vistors and continual work is being carried out to develop the area and make it one of the best areas to stay or visit on the black sea coast. Kids enjoyed there stay. The people are friendly & welcoming. The season could start earlier in May as the weather was great but the town was just preparing to open for the start of the season.

A very nice small complex located at the southern end of the New Town. Great place to relax and is a short walk into the town. Overall a very pleasant stay.

Sozopol itself is lovely with a nice harbour to walk around and plenty bars, places to eat, shops and small market area. We really liked the old town and only really went into the new town to let my Son have some fun at the shows there. I would recommend the Jeep Safari Trip organised by Balkan, it is a good day out and quite exciting, its nice to see a bit of the countryside too. My Son enjoyed the river boat trip too.

We stayed at the Hotel Selena last summer and are returning again in 2 weeks time. We found the hotel to be in a great location, with clean modern rooms (always book a sea view) and helpful staff. The food was good too and we noticed that a lot of local people celebrated birthdays etc at the hotel, so best to book if you want a late evening meal. The pool is very small but well maintained and never too busy. The hotel provides a good waitress service to the pool area so a cold drink is always to hand. The lunches are good too and not expensive. There is a great view of the beach from the pool terrace.

If you want to experience the real Bulgaria then visit Sozopol. Avoid Sunny Beach unless you want Blackpool in the sun. Sozopol is like an old fashioned seaside resort with traditional bars, shops, market stalls and small fairground rides etc. Eating out is so cheap and there is plenty of choice. The ice-cream is fantastic too. Beach was clean and not too busy for August. Watch out for jelly fish though. You can catch a local bus to Bourgas which is worth a visit, nice park, shops etc. You can also catch buses to other popular beach resorts. Visist Sozopol we had a fantastic holiday and would definitely return.

I would highly recommend the Hotel Selena to anyone going to Bulgaria. It is in a fantastic location with stunning views. Ask for a room with a seaview when you book, definitely worth it. The hotel is so clean and tidy. It is certainly 4* standard in my opinion. Air conditioning was a great bonus. Rooms spacious and modern. Maid service excellent. No complaints about the room at all. Reception and bar staff were fantastic as was the Balkan rep. who organised a taxi both ways to Bourgas so my husband and son could go to see Wales v Bulgaria play football. Great experience. Breakfast was the same every morning, buffet style but plenty of hot and cold choice. Pool was a bit on the small side but never too busy. If you are going to Sozopol PLEASE stay at the Selena. You will not be disappointed.

Flight

Flew with Balkan Holidays. We were slightly delayed but that was problems with traffic at Newcastle Airport and NOT Balkan's fault!! We have flown twice with them and although they are a no frills airline, ie no entertainment, we had no complaints. First time we had a roll, ham andd cheese for a meal, second time it was hot food. The Rep at our accommodation was pleasant and she answered all the questions we had.

Accommodation

Arrived at Santa Marina at 4am. Location is 2km outside of the resort of Sozopol. We checked in and were met by a member of staff who carried our bags to our room, a god send as quite a steep hill and then stairs into the apartment block. We were lucky to have a pool and sea view. Apartments have only just been built so were perfect, honestly 10 out of 10. Lovely and clean. Iron and ironing board, bliss no creased clothes for the week! Kitchen well equipped with fridge, microwave, coffee machine, hob, extractor and plenty of utensils. Best part was a welcome pack in the fridge of bread, butter, jam, juice, tea, coffee, milk and sugar, great at 4am when you are seriously peckish! Think that was a nice touch. Lovely big bathroom with power shower, very swish. We tend to choose cheaper accommodation on holidays as we only ever wash and sleep in it, we are never in, so this was not the usual shower which dribbles a little bit of luke warm water on you, very powerful or the bed with the matress and pillows that are an inch thick!! Clean towels every day. Beds were comfortable and bedding spotlessly clean. Lovely big wardrobe. TV with various channels on. Balcony large with patio furniture in place.

Pool area lovely. It appears small at first sight bit there are 2 extra levels build on one side, so plenty of sunbeds. Gardens well maintained and plants although new are well established. Pool bar on the other, serves reasonably priced snacks and drinks. There was a massage table under a lovely cool area set out in a gazebo with cushions.

The supermarket is not yet complet but you can pick your provisions up on your first visit into town.

There is alot of building work still going on on the complex as it expands to the planned 29 blocks of apartments, but the area right around the pool is finishes, so we were not bothered at all by noise from the builders.

Grounds are lovely. The complex is built on a hill of pine forrest. It is nice as they have built around the trees so everywhere you walk there is greenery, rather than a concrete jungle.

Beach

Beach is walking distance but there is no path along the road so be very careful. The beach right next to the accommodation is not all that good and there is a big camp site hidden in the trees. If you walk a bit further along, the sand is much better and you can hire beds, umbrellas, basic water sports, etc. Also, there are 2 beaches in the main town which are nice and clean, with plenty of beds and ummbrellas.

Transport to Sozopol

There is a shuttle bus from the hotel 4 times a day there and back / charge of 1 LEV. Be sharp for it though as only a small minibus and people do use it. If not, there are taxis outside or the hotel will call you one. Do not pay more than 5 LEV, about £1.65, very reasonable and the cars are clean and well maintained. Drivers speak reasonable Enghlish and were all polite.

There are 2 other Balkan Hotels, The Villa List and Hotel Selena in the resort. Both look nice and the sea view balconies look great but the other side of the hotel faces the road and all the shops in the new town. At least at Santa Marina, you are away from any hustle and bustle and even if no pool view, you will look onto other blocks of apartments which are really pleasant on the eye and as said, in the forrest. Actually this is the cheapest of the 3 accommodations.

Sozopol

There is an old town, with cobbled streets, an arena where the local children perform singing and dancing at night (free to watch), craft markets and alot of the restaurants look over the sea, so great for a meal when the sun comes down. We were able to get a large beer for about 40p, smashing! Food is very good quality and reasonable, around £10 to £15 for a big 3 course for 2 people plus a good bottle of wine. There is nowhere that we ate that I would not recommend. Clothes, shoes and jewellery very cheap so enjoy bargain hunting and do make sure you barter!

There is also a new town the other direction where there are shops, bars, restaurants and it is livlier as the night goes on. There were a few noisy bars, enought if you want music and a late night, but nothing major like the chasos of Sunny Beach. Went there in 2006 and it is too big, too busy and full of Brits. Saw loads of prostitutes and drug dealers there, none of that in Sozopol. If you go there for a week of scorching in the sun and drinking beer all day and night, great, but there is no culture whereas Sozopol has something for everyone. By the way, I don't think we spoke to any Brits all week, bliss, really feel like away from the UK!

Trips

We did Istanbul for the day. You can do a 2 day trip and stay overnight but we only had a weeks holiday so dicided to do the day trip only. We left the resort at 1030pm and arrived about 0500am, by coach, tiring and the people we went with were all Easter European and very ignorant indeed, no queueing or respect for fellow passengers ar all! We had breakfast and lunch in a hotel and tour of the mosques and some free time in the city. You can do a boat trip which is worth it as you see all the sights from the river. The toilet stops at the border and at a motorway cafe were not so good, hole in the ground, no loo roll and really smelly so be prepared ladies! Apart from that, worth doing as great place to see, got some great photos but not a place I would go for a holiday.

We also did the Rapatamo River trip and then a meal at the Windmill Restaurant. It was great for the people from Sunny Beach who kind of had a day out in another resort and free time, whereas we were already staying in the area so not as good value for money. Try and get the first boat in your party as by the time we passed in the second boat, the birds had flown off and the turtles had gone back in the water!!

Loved Santa Marina and Sozopol and are already researching 2008. Apparently the introduction of the Euro has been delayed so the prices should stay cheap for a bit longer. Remember guys, 40p a pint ha ha!!

Enjoy, Sozopol is a great place to see the real Bulgaria.

Andrea and Mick xxxx

Just returned from the Hotel Selena in Sozopol. I can not praise this hotel enough. The hotel is rated 3 star but, in my opinion, should definitely be a 4 star. The hotel opened last year and is situated in the new town, directly on Central Beach, overlooking the old part of town. The location could not be better.

On arrival we were greeted by friendly and efficient receptionists and a porter. The porter took us up to our room, which was a family room on the 4th (top) floor. The room was spacious with hairdryer, telephone, mini bar (which doubled up as a fridge) TV (some English channels: Sky News, Euronews, Cartoon Network and some film channels). The room was immaculate and had a massive balcony with sea view.

The swimming pool is very small but never busy and is always cold. There are plenty of sun beds around it. The waiters serve food and drinks there. They were all pleasant and friendly. The lobby bar showed British live football if you asked them to. There is a small kids club for little kids but nothing organised for older ones. The hotel has a well equipped gym with sauna, solarium and masseuse. Room service is good and very reasonably priced.

The rooms are cleaned every day to a high standard and towels changed if you leave them in the shower tray. Bed linen was changed several times over the fortnight we were there.

The hotel restaurant is exceptional. I can not fault it at all. Breakfast was buffet style and self service. You could have a cooked breakfast, consisting of various types of egg and sausages. There was the full continental range too. At lunch time and in the evening it is waiter service with an a la carte menu, which is fantastic. I you want one of the tables nearest to the sea, I suggest you book your table early in the day. The restaurant is very popular with Bulgarians who are not staying at the hotel. We saw lots of large parties of locals celebrating birthdays there. That is always a good sign.

The old town of Sozopol is very picturesque. It has narrow cobbled streets with old wooden buildings. There are lots of little churches and museums scattered around. The best restaurant there is called the Windmill. It is in the old town overlooking the harbour and has great food and a traditional show on every night. Central beach is in the old town. It is very nice but very crowded. There is another restaurant adjacent to central beach which is also called the Windmill. It is a Chinese restaurant and the food there is also great.

The new town is being expanded and there is quite a lot of building work going on there. There are pubs, clubs and a small fun fair. Harmani beach is in the new town. It is bigger than central beach but on the one day we went there we saw a lot of raw sewage in the sea. One of the life guards told us that this is common after a storm.

All in all, we had a lovely holiday. The Hotel Selena is a great hotel which we will definitely return to. I did not see any hotel in a better location in the resort. Sozopol is a laid back resort with a traditional feel. Lots of Bulgarians holiday there.

This was our 4th trip to Bulgaria and our worst, the photo of this hotel in the brochure must have been taken years ago and does not reflect it accurately!

Having previously stayed in hotels that were 4 star according to the brochure we were very disappointed on our arrival at this hotel, which was awarded a 3 star plus. On arrival the lift did not work the family room had a very damp, musty smell which they had tried to mask with an air-freshener. The bathroom was very small and in need of refrubishment as was the enire hotel. The staff did not go out of their way to be helpful and in fact it felt like we were a nuisance to them. They played music very loudly (dance club music)for us to enjoy whilst trying to eat our breakfast. Most of the guests were families or elderly people who I think would have enjoyed something a little bit more relaxing. The breakfast was no more than adequate and we had payed for half board but on the first night we arrived about 30 minutes after the dining room opened to find that there was no hot food left, we never went back and decided instead to eat out at the numerous restuarants around the resort all of which we found to be excellent quality and value.

The pool was in a very bad state of repair, lots of uneven slabs and broken plastic edging, an accident waiting to happen and the water was always cloudy, this did not seem to put of the staff who seemed to spend all their free time lounging by the pool.

The resort itself was lovely, with interesting little shops and bars lots of lovely fresh fruit and cakes! Everthing was really cheap. The beach was nice but busy with lots of fun stuff for small children. There was also a small fairground to keep them amused. Not much for older children though.

We decided to go on the jeep safari trip organised by Balkan and this saved the holiday as it was excellent. We shared our jeep with one other couple and had our own personal driver and tour guide for the entire day. We were taken to the Strandja Mountains and National Park which was quite beautiful. We visited an old village where the youngest resident was well past retirement age! We stopped for lunch at a small village which was lovely and picturesque.

We would definitely consider Sozopol again but would never stay at the Flagman again instead we would consider the Selena which we visited and is the same star rating as the Flagman but miles better.

We hope this paints an accurate picture for anyone considering booking the Flagman or should I say Faulty Towers!

we arrived at Bourgas airport in a hurricane.we got soaked to the skin just getting from the aircraft to the coach at the bottom of the steps. when we got our cases everything in them was saturated.Met the Balkan rep who gave us a taxi to take us to Sozopol.the taxi driver was terrifide and very frightened of the storm. took him just over an hour to get from Bourgas to Selena hotel. time was now 3am. whole town was in darkness due to power cut. outside Selena hotel was a fire engine pumping out the hotel that was flooded out. we got out the taxi onto the pavement that was covered in 12"; of water the pavement kerb is 10"; so the depth of the water on the street was 22";.

the bell boys from the hotel were great and took our bags and held onto our hands to guide us through the flood into the reception area that was covered with about 4"; of water.the bell boys got our key and a candle and led us up three flights of stairs ( lift out of order due to power cut.) next morning there seemed to be dozens of staff all with buckets and mops clearing up every where. the fire engine finished pumping out at 10am and the power was restored by then.

we then found out that there was another 2 floors below the reception ground floor containing offices,toilets, conference hall, fitness gym, sauna,Main restaurant, and bedrooms. all of these had been flooded out.the rest of Sunday/monday the storm raged, but by late monday afternoon it started to ease and by Tuesday 4th.July the weather was up in the 28/30s and stayed that way right upto the time we left on 15th. July.

The Selena is a in our oppinion a good hotel. all the staff are very helpfull to your needs.we requested to be moved from the front streetview room to a seaview room as it was our 42 wedding year and my 67 birthday, no problem and sent bellboy Bobbi up to help us move to room 203. the view was over the swimming pool, leading down throgh the lawns to sea, and a panoramic view of whole of Sozopol.the restaurant for breakfast is good with plenty of selection of hot and cold foods and fruit, selection of coffee's, teas,fruit juices from 7.30am to 10am. it's open all day with a very good menu.we ate there a couple of times in the evening and the food was very exceptable with waiter service. you can spend the evening in there as they have entertain'ment on some nights with a small group. and a nice bar for drinks.

the Lobby bar is a very comfortable bar that is open from 8am till 1am but will carry on after 1am so long as there are a few in there. late'st we came out of there was 2.30am. great cocktails, my wife was hooked on the Pina-colads seved in a Coconut with all the trimmings.there are two small swimming pools which are kept very clean.The maids are some of the best that we have come across, and keep the rooms very clean and tidy, leaving your pjamas in nice shapes. Well worth a tip at end of hol.Out of the hotel the beaches are good with plenty of lifeguards patroling and watching all the time. thier whistles do get on your nerves a bit but they are only doing thier job.from the hotel you can walk all alone the beach path way, right up to the far point of old Sozopol which is a great walk with plenty of great views land, sea, and the other???

old Sozopol is very quaint with endless places to eat and drink. they are all as good as each other and you wont get bad service or a meal anywhere, we liked the little bar next to the bus stop for that pint and a snack mid-day.In the harbour you can have a sail all around coast of Sozopol for 6 Leva (£2.10p.)takes a good hour and very good. the captain quite a laugh and points out all the land marks, and you can have drinks on board too.By the hotel the three bars/restaurants we used the most was one local one Called Alecs that was a period 1920s furnished place that had a very good menu, you come out of the hotel walk up to the crossroads go straight up the road pasted Telphone Exchange take second left and its there on the right.We found a english cafe/bar called Nicks and Chrissy's they only have a small menu. but it's all homecooked by Chrissy.

Try the Beef and Guinness Cassarole but be hungry as it's a very large meal and the only place you will get beef. everywhere else they say steak but it's either pork or veal. also you get a real good pot of tea here and Chrissy gives you spare teabag and jug of hot water for a topup.

The other bar/cafe is right next to the hotel and it's called TPUMOHUNYM if you come out of hotel turn left walk along passed the kiosk and it's on the corner there. once again only a small menu. it's all in Bulgarian but the young waiter called Plaumen sounds like (ploughman)speaks very good english and can't do enough for you. just say John and Barbara sent you.on our last night there we had the best bt. Wine 12Lv. mixed omelet (very big) fillet of pork and mushrooms in a cream sauce, tomato salad, and a plate of saute potatoes. coffee and 6 pints of beer. whole bill came to 28leva. (£ 10.20p.) we gave him 5leva tip and he could not be more gratefull.this was our 18th. visit to Bulgaria and have stayed at all the resorts Albena,Golden Sands Sunnybeach, Nessibar, Pomorie, Primorsko,Sozopol.the best are, in order Sozopol,Pomorie,Primorsko. the rest are Blackpools.

hope that this has been of good help to any of you. go and enjoy, it wont break the bank. treat them with regard and they will make your stay a great one to remeber.

This was our 2nd year in a row holidaying to bulgaria. Last year we stayed in Sunny Beach and decided to go for something a little bit more relaxing! We were not disappointed. Sozopol is only about an hour and a half from Sunny Beach but the 2 resorts are worlds apart.

We had originally booked to stay in Hotel Martines but were informed 3 weeks before our departure that most of the facilities in the hotel would not be open so we decided to move to the Hotel Flagman which was next door although we were not aware of this at the time. Although not as modern as the Martines, the Flagman was an excellent hotel. The staff were so helpful and friendly from the receptionists to the cleaners - in fact we did not see one miserable face during our stay. The whole place was kept extremely clean and our room was tidied every day.

The breakfast was good and provided a good choice so there was something for everyone to have unless you are really fussy. The only down side was that there wasn't a bar open in the hotel in the evening as the pool bar shut at about 7 but there were 2 bars next door which stayed open till late. The food in general in Sozopol was ok but quite repetitive - chicken and pork on most menus but hardly any beef or lamb although we did find 2 restaurants in the old town that did both. On the whole the restaurants and shops in the old town offer more choice but are slightly more expensive. Sozopol is very much cheaper than Sunny Beach. We went back there for a day and were paying as much as 3 times for a beer! On average a 2 course evening meal for the 3 of us with a bottle of wine and several beers cost us between £12-15. On our last day we had 1/2 a chicken, chips and small beer for £1.50 each. We only met about 10 other english people there and no english children but my little girl made friends with several russian and norwegian children and all the other people we met were very friendly.

Sozopol is a popular holiday resort for bulgarians from inland, russians and scandinavians and a few germans.English is not spoken by a lot of people although they do try to practice if they can speak some so ordering food and drink can be a little frustrating but you get there in the end. They also appreciate it if you try to speak some bulgarian - my little girl learnt to say hello, goodbye and thankyou and they were over the moon. We spoke to some people staying in the martines and they were really disappointed as a lot of building works were still being carried out so we were glad that we switched. There is not an abundance of things for children to do in the evenings but there are 2 small fairgrounds (but not very safe looking) and a bouncy castle. There are also horse and carriage rides to be had from the old town but agree the price before hand. Also be prepared for some rain - we had a thunderstorm the day we arrived and about 3 other cloudy days but when the sun did come out it is very strong.

In all we had a fantastic time and would recommend it if you want to see the 'real' bulgaria.