TUI SUNEO Serenity Bay

We came with our 23-month-old baby, and I really don’t think this place deserves four stars. The location is peaceful, but there isn’t much nearby, and Tsarevo isn’t a major tourist town. There aren’t many trips leaving from town, so keep that in mind if you want to explore more. The hotel also gets loud, with music playing late, and it didn’t feel especially suitable for kids. Our room was spacious, with a large bathroom and a comfortable bed. The furniture is old and peeling, though, and sitting on the sofa left little bits all over our backs. The cleaners were friendly and did the basic cleaning daily, but overlooked places you don’t notice right away, such as the tops of pictures and the shower, and under the wheeled bed. We told reception on the first day that the safe was locked. They said someone would come, but nobody did during our stay. There was a good choice of food and desserts, and most of it tasted nice, though some dishes weren’t cooked properly. The drinks were horrible, so I stuck to water and coffee all holiday. The coffee machine was hit and miss, sometimes making a good coffee and sometimes a disgusting one. The staff taking plates away had the most miserable faces I’ve ever seen. The women outside didn’t smile, were rude, and pushed through with trolleys full of plates, which made us uncomfortable. I expected better from a hotel restaurant like this. Ali was the opposite, helpful and smiling, got us a high chair, and said hello to us and our son. There was another friendly guy whose name I didn’t catch. The rest of the staff were very disappointing. The pool area was cleaned daily, although people left cups lying around during the day. There’s one lifeguard for all three pools. Most of the time he was nowhere to be seen, on his phone, or just facing the big pool. I never saw him watch the children’s pool. The biggest issue for us was people smoking everywhere. There were designated smoking areas, but people smoked on the sunbeds and vaped outside the restaurant. One man sat at the edge of the children’s pool smoking, and nobody said anything. Rules weren’t followed or enforced. It’s apparently all-inclusive, but drinks in the room fridge cost extra.