Viva Maria(Suhum)

The grounds are pleasant, with a pool and loungers, a large trampoline, and swings. The hostess is welcoming, responsive, and ready to help with questions. The room was small but cozy, and all rooms have balconies. It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk to the sea and roughly the same to the central market. It wasn't perfectly clean. There were stains and streaks on the carpet and walls, and dust was noticeable everywhere. Still, for a fairly budget hotel where we mainly slept, it was livable. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available for an extra fee. We only asked about breakfast, which was 150 rubles for a choice of porridge, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, tea, or coffee. Our bad luck was probably the check-in timing. People talked loudly and splashed in the pool, with wild screaming that continued late into the night. We really wanted to sleep peacefully.

Be very careful about the room size here. We booked a standard room through a tour, but were placed in what seemed to be the cheaper mini category. The listing said 19 square meters, yet ours was only 15. We worked this out from the 1.6-meter standard bed, the 1.5-meter duvet visible in the photo, and the fact that we were crawling around the bed like crabs. After a couple of days we asked reception why this had happened and whether we could get the normal room paid for in the voucher. They insisted that ours was standard, but refused to show us another mini room for comparison. The agent was no help either. Apparently Biblio Globus no longer offers mini rooms at this hotel. Check the square footage when you arrive. I wouldn't recommend the hotel. The rooms are carpeted, and the carpet was vacuumed only once during our 10 days. Anyone with allergies should look elsewhere. The linens were changed twice, but the bathroom floor wasn't wiped. Clean bed linen was the one positive, although it couldn't compensate for the sagging mattress. Its springs stuck out into our ribs and other parts of the body. The pillows were small, the duvet was narrower than the bed, and even the duvet cover was small, so we took turns covering ourselves. It was hot, thankfully. The rooms were stuffy too. Three buildings form a U around the courtyard, blocking the breeze. Outside the gate the air immediately felt fresh. There was no exhaust ventilation, just a window, and opening the door created at least some airflow. The air conditioners worked, although I doubt they were cleaned. The pool was open all night, so there was splashing outside the windows until late, sometimes until 3 a.m. The staff did nothing about the noise. It was also rarely cleaned. After one heavy rain during our 10 days, they drained some water and refilled it, but did not clean the walls or bottom. Meals were served in the dining room. For the first two days breakfast included chocolate balls with watered-down milk, then they disappeared. Each day there were two kinds of porridge, sometimes thick, sweet, and good, sometimes watery and tasteless. The second item varied between cottage cheese with egg, donuts with egg, scrambled eggs with sausage, sausage, and once fried croutons. Donuts and croutons were rather greasy for breakfast, but that's personal taste. Tea was supposed to be black or green, though sometimes only black was available. There was bread and plenty of butter, but sugar kept running out and no one replenished it. Jam appeared occasionally and was delicious. Coffee, even poor 3 in 1, was never available. The sausages and salami were the cheapest kind and not tasty. The counter staff were inefficient. Cups or plates were sometimes missing, and bread and sugar sometimes ran out. We had to call someone over to cut things, sprinkle them, refill boiling water, or bring dishes. Beer at the bar cost 130 rubles, compared with 60 rubles in the shop. Set lunches and dinners were offered. On arrival we received noodles, which made a decent snack after the journey, but a basic cafeteria in town was cheaper and had more choice, such as Elbrus near the market or the "sat down and eat" place on the same street as Elbrus, closer to the sea. They also had homemade wine and chacha, but we didn't try them. If you order everything from the hotel, you become their favorite guest and they treat you extremely well. If you don't want their drinks or excursions, they treat you like nobody.

The pool is a plus, as are the cute bunny, adorable dog, and parrots. The hotel owner was helpful too. Unfortunately, the sea is about 15 minutes away, there were bed bugs in the rooms, and the power went out twice. The staff were unfriendly, breakfast wasn't worth the price, and cleaning was only every four days, even then requiring reminders.

We stayed here in July 2019, and the reality was very different from the photos. Breakfast was just porridge, without butter, tea, or coffee. Dinner was much the same, with no salt or napkins on the tables. We saw no fruit, meat, salads, or pastries, and there wasn't even ketchup. Portions were small, and dirty dishes were left where food was served. The towels were stained, while cleaning was supposedly done every four days. No blankets were provided. When we requested chairs for the balcony, we were told they might be available if there were any, although other guests had chairs. We asked for a kettle and were told all of them had burned out, so we bought one at a store. The cooler was broken and didn't work. The hair dryer in the room was also useless, and we ended up eating in the room. The beds were impossible to sleep on. My back hurt every morning, and the pillows were tiny and flat, almost nonexistent. The only positives were the pool and the air conditioner in the room. The beach took 20 minutes to reach, crossing four roads with traffic. The hotel grounds are 3 Palms.