Hotel Riviera Blue

The room was cozy, the pool was great, and the whole atmosphere was lovely. The food was just right for me, and I hadn't expected so much for the price. The owners kept checking that everything was in order and people were having a good time, while the staff were amazing. I'd definitely come back.

The air conditioning, mini fridge, and balcony were the real pluses, and the pool was okay, though there weren't enough seats. The twin room had a dirty carpet and very thin, worn sheets and pillowcases. Food was so-so, but eventually you could find something edible. We had no hot water for three of our six nights. Almost horrible.

The room itself was nice, and the hotel is in a really good location. But the Wi-Fi was awful, the food below average, and cleanliness left a lot to be desired. We stayed six days and our towels weren't changed once.

We had no TV in our room, and TVs in two other rooms I visited weren't working either. The sheets were a bit stained, which didn't bother me much, though I can see it being a deal breaker for someone. There were two little single-use shampoo packets when we arrived; after a couple of days we had to ask for more because none was brought to the room. The elevator was painfully slow. We were on the fourth floor, and I usually took the stairs down, but going up was tiring. The hotel isn't extremely far from the beach, but it's among the farther ones, and could be a long walk for older guests or anyone with a disability. The food was bad. At every meal something was VERY VERY SALTY, as if on purpose, and there was hair on the food more than once. The good dishes ran out early, so you had to rush for them. There weren't enough plates, leaving the girls working there to serve food and collect used plates at the same time. The bar was awful too. The alcohol was the worst, and I felt sick after the first glass. Bulgaria has nice local drinks that are already cheap, so I can't believe they serve these disgusting ones. To get a beer you had to ask over and over, and it came in a tiny plastic cup. I felt embarrassed asking repeatedly because nobody seemed to be assigned to the bar, and whoever you asked had to walk all the way over. There were only three people working at a time, running around doing everything. The Wi-Fi was extremely slow and kept dropping. It was a little better by the pool but still really bad, and there was no connection in the rooms. I planned to work remotely, but couldn't. My employer got angry and scolded me, which upset me a lot. We arrived a bit early and hungry, before our booking began, just after lunch. A nice receptionist said we could eat during the last 15 minutes, but another woman scolded her and said we shouldn't eat even though the leftover food would be thrown out anyway. Bizarre. I feel for the employees. They never smiled, but I understand why: they worked overtime and ran around on every errand. I saw one sleeping in the reception lounge at night. I'm very sure management is cruel to them and pays them very little. I wanted to thank the staff before leaving, but we were in a hurry and I forgot. This isn't cheap, and it doesn't deserve the money, even if it's one of the cheapest places. Sunny Beach feels like everyone is trying to get your money, and this hotel is no exception. Possibly the worst.