Sunset Sunny Beach

The only real bright spot at this so-called 4* hotel was the bar team. They were pleasant and gave great service, and deserve a medal for working there. We also met some lovely people out in sunny beach who made us feel welcome and showed us a good time. The rest was a mess. My towels were stained and dirty, despite being described as clean, and the room wasn't cleaned during the week. The food was cold or barely warm even when we got into the restaurant as it opened. I saw staff put half-eaten food from plates back out to be served. There was little choice, and after upset stomachs we ate out, even though we'd paid for A.I. We were lucky not to get food poisoning. The drinks were limited: wine, beer, and soft drinks from 10.30am to 6.30pm, then vodka and whiskey were added until 10.30pm. There was no entertainment, hair salon, or massage service as advertised. Staff were miserable and sometimes rude. We booked through Balkan Holidays, which apparently gets constant complaints about this hotel but still sells it. Just got back from a week here, and I wouldn't recommend it.

The one pleasant person was the cleaner, who smiled a lot. The rest of the staff were miserable and not helpful. We arrived in the early hours and the porter had to wake the receptionist, who was asleep at the desk. We were B&B, but the food was awful, the plates, cups, and cutlery weren't very clean, and the coffee setup was a letdown. My husband went down one morning just for coffee before we went out for breakfast, but there was no hot water or cups, and there aren't any facilities for making hot drinks in the room. I'm glad we didn't book All Inclusive, we'd have starved for two weeks. I'm not sure who cooked the food, but kids could have done better.

The beach is about 200m from the hotel, and the bars along the front are good. The main strip, though, is around 1 1/2-2 miles away. Our holiday was good apart from the hotel, which was a huge disappointment. It calls itself 4 star but barely deserves 2, and I’d choose self catering over All Inclusive here because you won't get your money's worth. The room was spacious, which was the only good thing about it. We only got clean towels every three days, and when we asked for the room to be cleaned, the sheets we were given were dirty. They said Wi-Fi was free, but it turned out we had to pay. We were supposed to meet our rep the next morning, but never saw one the whole time. The food was disgusting, including burnt pasta and chips that were still frozen solid. Plates and cutlery were dirty with food left on them. Staff were rude and obnoxious. We'd also been told there'd be daytime activities such as volleyball and water polo, but the pool is so small only a few people can fit in it.

A quiet spot away from the noise of the main strip, though still easy to get to. There are lots of restaurants nearby, all at good prices. We fed seven people, with drinks, at a Chinese restaurant for £70 total. The hotel itself is a good little choice for families. It was clean and tidy, the staff were friendly, and the pool was clean with plenty of sunbeds. The beach is about a five-minute walk away.