Poseidon Beach Resort

The broken sockets, shower doors, and flickering lights quickly made the rooms feel far from the luxury our guests expected from a hotel that calls itself 5 star. At check-in, a confused receptionist didn't know about our clearly communicated guest list and couldn't speak enough English or Bulgarian to handle it. On our wedding day, staff turned away our friends and elderly family members when they came for lunch. My wife and I had chosen this hotel for our wedding and were very happy with how they treated and accommodated us, right up until we signed the contract. For months, whenever we asked to meet, we were told it was too soon and that we only needed to talk a month beforehand. When wedding week came, we were scolded and called terrible planners. The manager told us to "remember this for your next wedding," which was an awful thing to say to a couple about to get married. I won't go into the wedding itself, since some guests have already described their concerns about rude staff and cold food. I want to address the management at Poseidon. Friendly greetings and smiles seem to cover a greedy, disrespectful attitude. When faced with its own failures, management doesn't take responsibility and instead blames guests. Its repeated claim that critics are tied to an organization using extortion to pressure the hotel is a copy-paste response to honest, valid complaints. Rather than asking us to make bad reviews disappear, it should focus on the team's poor performance and improving service. The hotel's staff felt like the building itself, a mask of smiles and attempted luxury hiding broken plugs, damaged bathrooms, and a lack of basic decency. I respect Ilyan, who recognized his team's shortcomings and tried to find solutions. Margerita seemed more interested in "winning" and enjoying moments when she could use her authority over us. To be clear, I'm not trying to extort the hotel. We only want to warn others about its awful management.

I expected a relaxing, pleasant 5 star stay, but the experience was stressful enough that I wouldn't return. The service was unhelpful and disorganized. The receptionist stayed absorbed in his personal phone, possibly watching a film at one point, and couldn't answer questions about events taking place in the hotel. He seemed to know little beyond room numbers. We were told we could have lunch instead of dinner on one day. When we arrived at the restaurant for lunch, staff said that was wrong and sent us away without even hearing us out. That lack of coordination was appalling. The chef was extremely friendly, but our dinner there was awful, cold and tasteless. We also heard that a friend of our grandson, who was staying at the hotel, got food poisoning soon after eating there. I don't know whether the hotel was responsible, but after tasting our meal and dealing with the staff, hearing that made me uncomfortable.

The food was delicious, and the room was clean and spacious. Our cleaner did a very good job, and the staff were nice, though we did find information was missing here and there. The new hotel is beautiful, and its beach is lovely, but access isn't included with every room category, so check when booking. The elevator advertising made it sound as if there was a rooftop bar. There isn't one: you get a drink from the lobby and carry it upstairs yourself.

The hotel even tried to charge the couple for "overtime" until 4 AM, although the hall had been empty since 2:15. They weren't charged in the end, but after everything else, even the attempt was too much. The ballroom was unbearably hot, and my daughter had to ask staff 4-5 times to lower the temperature. Terrace doors that were supposed to stay open for ventilation and easier access before 10.30PM never opened, leaving guests to walk all the way around the lobby to get out. The rooms fell well below 5 star standards, with loose electrical sockets, broken bathroom controls, and other maintenance problems. There were photos of these issues. The event hall leaked, service was chaotic, waiters bumped into chairs, and the food arrived hours late, cold, and tasteless. They never served the prepaid lemonade. Staff said they were "understaffed, forgot and unable to respond." Guests, including the couple's grandparents, were rudely refused the lunch they'd been promised. From the moment I walked in, there was an overpowering chemical smell, like chlorine. I'm allergic to those products, and my face started swelling, so I needed medication during the stay. I told the hotel and asked them not to use those products on the wedding day. They promised they wouldn't, but that day the smell was worse than on any of the others. The manager, Margarita, was unwelcoming from the start and made no effort to make us feel valued. Staff were clearly not coordinating with each other. Worse, the manager contacted outside vendors working on the event to complain about us behind the couple's backs. Several vendors contacted us, shocked and upset about her behavior. On the third day of my stay, the day before the wedding, reception refused to open the garage for my registered vehicle, saying I wasn't on the list. The receptionist couldn't speak Bulgarian, despite this being a Bulgarian 5 star hotel, and his English was so poor he needed Google Translate. I had also booked two massages and specifically requested a female masseuse by phone. They reassured me they had one, but when I arrived they said they'd never had female therapists. I couldn't simply cancel both appointments, so I sent my partner instead. This should have been a joyful, memorable wedding, but the experience was a nightmare. The hotel has a polished exterior that conceals chaos, rudeness, disorganization, broken promises, and bad food. If you care about your event, your guests, or your peace of mind, I wouldn't host anything here. It doesn't deserve even one star.