Review Helios Hotel - Golden Sands

By: Gunilla & Family (Summer 2004)
Hotel name: Helios ****
Hotel location: Golden sands resort
Comment: Now we are back from our holiday in Golden Sands. We had really a great time. Hotel Helios was GREAT!!! The rooms are very clean, large and nice furnished. The staff in the hotel are very, very friendly. When we told them how nice they are, a waiter came to our room ten minutes later with a bottle of champagne. The breakfast was lovely, the best breakfast we ever eaten. The hotel has two pools you can use and the sun chairs and umbrellas are free. Helios is situated on a hill with a wonderful view over the Black Sea. The hotel has their own little train which can take you to the beach and back. The spa activities were very nice and cheap. We can really recommended this hotel!!!
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By: September 2004
Hotel name: Helios ****
Hotel location: Golden sands resort
Comment: Just having returned from Golden sands and are thankful to be in one piece the aircrafts are very poor over head lockers opening on take off etc etc strong smell of urine in back seats from the nearby toilets. The hotel was lovely very spacious room with seperate sitting room and two bathrooms, however we had originally boked into a five star so we think that is why we got a bigger room. the mini bar was very cheap and fairy well stocked, replenished every day. The staff in the lobby & pool bar are also very helpful. Half board does not work out good value as the evening meal may not suit all tastes, I dont like buffet style food that is only hot when just brought out. Breakfast was good value if you only want a continetal breakfast. Eating out is very cheap and there are many dfferent choices. The resort is clean and the people are very friendly, everything very cheap a meal for two with drinks less than £15. The trip to the danube provided by Balkan sounds better than it is with on 45 mins on the boat out of a 12 hour coach trip. The hotel staff were more than helpful and the services offered were good value for money ( hairdressers and massage etc). We would return to this hotel but not with balkan as an operator I dont think I could risk the flight again!
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By: The Barlow Family - Nottingham (August 2004)
Hotel name: Helios ****
Hotel location: Golden sands resort
Comment: This was our first time in Bulgaria, and we didn't know quite what to expect, especially after reading some of the reviews on this site. The first pleasant surprise was the aircraft, which was a seemingly new Airbus A310 and was much more comfortable than the Britannia 757 we flew on last year to Corfu.
We chose Golden Sands as it is only about a 40 minute transfer from the airport, and we booked initially to stay in the Crown Plaza 3* which is the sister hotel to the Helios Spa and situated right next door. The second pleasant surprise was the Crown Plaza reception area which was very clean and modern, and we thought we had chosen wisely. However, once we got out of the lift on our floor there was an unpleasant smell, and once we opened the door to our room it smelt even worse of stale drains.
The room was reasonably clean but absolutely tiny, and we said there and then that there was no way on earth we could stay there for 2 weeks, the 3 of us just could not move. It was now about 1am and we went straight to reception to ask for a bigger room but all they could suggest was that we stayed there that night and spoke to the Balken Rep in the morning. We spent a very uncomfortable night, and made sure we were first in line to collar the Rep the next morning. He was a very nice chap and explained that a 3* twin room in Bulgaria was not very spacious, and he gave us the option of transferring to a family room in the Crown Plaza or moving to the 4* Helios Spa next door. As the difference to pay would only be £100 all in, we chose to upgrade to the 4*. The room in the Helios was spacious and bright, very clean and best of all, air conditioned. There is satellite TV in the rooms and a mini-bar containing drinks and snacks at corner shop prices, (not the rip off prices you will find in an English hotel mini-bar).
The hotel facilities were very good, with both indoor and outdoor pools, a beauty salon and hairdresser and you could also get a massage. The food in the dining room was a bit bland, but then again it normally is where ever you go, and I don't like eating off a buffet service anyway. Thats why we went bed & breakfast and then you can choose where to eat each night. We tried a few places but I can honestly say the best peppered steak I have ever tasted (after my wife's) was to be had at the Irish Pub just down the road. We ate there 3 or 4 times, and for the 3 of us with dessert and drinks it would cost about £20 to £25. You could eat much cheaper if you wanted but we never once suffered any upset tummies after eating at the Irish Bar so we thought it was a price worth paying.
The resort itself is very nicely laid out, with a walk through the market along the sea front an ideal way to walk off your evening meal.
As I had read on this site previously, there are some pr*stitutes hanging around on the street near to the Bonkers nightclub, but its also a busy family street and to be honest you don't really notice them after a while.
At the end of the first week there was an influx of 'fully inclusive' guests that had booked to go to the new Luna Park complex, (I think in Sunny Beach) that had not been finished. I may be wrong, but I don't think the Helios normally offers fully inclusive and they were just acting as substitute accommodation. We got friendly with a couple of lads who said they had been offered the option to cancel their holiday or transfer, and they were making the most of it and having a decent time. On the other hand, loads of the 'all inclusive brigade' were moaning non stop about the hotel, and seemed intent on not enjoying themselves at all costs. Some idiots actually carved grafity in the brand new (2 week old) lifts. It made me feel ashamed to be British.
I have stayed in good quality British hotels like the Marriott chain, and I can assure any of you out there that the Helios Spa is not a long way behind in terms of the rooms and facilities, just a bit lacking in the food department.
Just beware! Don't be tricked by the way that the Balkan brochure describes the Helios Spa and the Crown Plaza on the same page and in the same write-up. They are separate hotels, and I would definately not recommend the Crown Plaza!
To sum up our first trip to Bulgaria I would say that it has a very similar feel to Greece but is much cheaper (at least for the moment) and best of all, you can flush your paper down the toilet.
If you go, definately book to go on the Jeep Safari because you get to see some beautiful country side and it's brilliant fun.
We will definately consider going back next year! ould risk the flight again!
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