AluaSoul Sunny Beach (Adults Only)

The room was great and the hotel was nice, though I wasn’t impressed with the food. It’s right beside Sunny Beach’s main strip, which is handy if that’s where you want to go. There are two pools, one quieter than the other, and no children. There’s no private beach, but a two-minute walk gets you to a stretch where you can pay for loungers and umbrellas.

We visited at the end of September, when the area was fairly quiet. There’s a good choice of drinks at the main bar, and the bar staff are friendly. The main restaurant’s food was mediocre and seemed more suited to a Balkan menu, while the Asian-themed restaurant was a better experience, with food cooked to order, table service and bottled wine. There’s also a second restaurant and a separate one for special food evenings. The hotel is large, with two big pools and plenty of sunbeds. Our room was a reasonable size with a large shower, but the balcony was quite small, though some rooms have bigger ones. Rooms face either the pool or the front, across a street of shops. Room service wasn’t great. I had to keep asking for fresh towels, and the beds weren’t changed often.

We came for my 50th birthday, and the staff left a nice bottle of champagne with two flute glasses, a thoughtful touch. The rooms were spacious and very clean, the staff were helpful, and the food was excellent with plenty of choices. We’ll definitely be back next year.

The rooms themselves were okay, but the way staff treated us, especially at reception, was awful. We came with our dog because the hotel presents itself online as very dog friendly, saying pets are treated as well as guests. That wasn’t our experience at all. On arrival, staff hurried over as if we were criminals and made us sign a paper about the pet fee. Paying wasn’t the issue. The paper listed strict rules: dogs could go almost nowhere, couldn’t be left alone in the room even briefly while we went to breakfast or the pool, and couldn’t come along to either place. So where was our dog meant to be? The rules made no sense and ruined our holiday. We didn’t even get a basic welcome bowl, dog bed or small treat, things other hotels provide for free. We also had to sign a threatening statement saying we’d be kicked out without a refund if the dog broke any rule. The hotel’s online dog-friendly image felt like false advertising. The cleaning lady also kept knocking or coming into our room despite the “Do not disturb” sign. One day she removed it and left it on the table after cleaning, though we hadn’t asked for that. On later days she kept knocking to ask whether she should clean, again ignoring the sign. Please teach the cleaning staff enough English to understand what it means. We were offered this paper bowl as a dog-friendly amenity. 🤮