St. Anastasia Hotel

I came back after a year, and the hotel has changed owners in the meantime, just like Utopia Forest and Utopia beach. I gave it three stars for the view, the location, and a couple of good interactions, though the stay felt like one star. The staff rotate between those other locations and their performance is average at best. They seemed short on basic hospitality skills, like welcoming guests, helping, and assisting. There was also a late celebration on the terrace near the hotel, and I had to ask them to keep it down at 23:00. Breakfast fell short and needs serious improvement. The a la carte menu is only available after 15:00 because of the chef’s schedule. If you’re hungry before then, you need to go to one of the other mentioned locations, while staff can have cooked food for lunch. The grounds are generously green and the panorama is nice, but there isn’t much proper seating. The three hammocks are worn out, the sunbeds are scattered around, and the mattresses get soaked by the watering system and aren’t taken in by staff in the evening. There’s no shower available to rinse off beach sand when you get back. The only two bicycles are in bad shape, fit for scraping rather than riding.

This used to be our favourite hotel on the Bulgarian seaside after a visit last year, but our August 2024 stay changed that. The rooms were dirty, and the spare pillows had makeup on them. It didn’t seem like anyone cared. During the whole stay, cleaners only changed the towels; the floor was never cleaned, and there were all kinds of bugs and spiders in the rooms. Dinner on 19/08/2024 was another problem. We ordered at 9pm, then half an hour later were told the kitchen was closing and could only make salad and french fries. Serving staff kept disappearing at random, and we couldn’t find anyone to pay the bill for 30 minutes. The staircase to the beach is in a sorry state, with corroded metal bars hanging off it. It’s a safety hazard. The hotel has such an amazing base, but the lack of professionalism and management has made it somewhere we won’t visit again.

It’s a lovely little hotel with a private beach and an amazing view. Rooms are clean and cozy, each with its own design, and the staff are genuinely nice and happy to suggest places to visit or things to do. The food is fine, nothing special, but good enough that you don’t need to eat elsewhere. The main drawback is getting around: without a car, you can’t go anywhere. If you want somewhere quiet and peaceful, though, this is the place.

We rented a villa overlooking the garden and really liked it. The greenery is picturesque, the views are breathtaking, and the restaurant has a relaxed, cozy feel. It’s a nice place to get away from work and the hustle and bustle. I’d definitely come back.