Royal Spa Hotel

We paid 700 BGN for three nights, and I regret not spending 1000 for two nights at hotel Kashmir, just 10 minutes away, which seems much better and is adults only. After this visit, we won’t be coming back. We’d stayed every year for the past 3 years, and the spa used to offer plenty of choice. This time, though, the place felt badly run down, and it no longer seemed as nice or as exclusive. It looks like the owners or management haven’t put a single cent back into it, and it may just run itself into the ground. There’s nothing royal about it, so they should consider changing the name. We checked into a Deluxe Double room that was warm and stuffy. With the air conditioning on full blast at the lowest temperature for two hours, it went from 24 to 26.5 🙃. The balcony door was stuck. Reception sent two handymen after I complained. One was clearly drunk, with red eyes and a strong brewery smell. When I raised the air conditioning issue, they said it worked on water, like a radiator. I don’t know whether they were delusional or thought I was, but that was ridiculous. They did nothing about the air conditioning, though they fixed the door so we could get some air in. The hotel shows its age everywhere. The carpet was filthy, breakfast and dinner were mid at best, the TVs were old and small with no smart TV, and both our robes had quite significant holes.

We stayed for 10 days, and it was a disappointment. The manager said the hotel was only for 2-3 days, because you wouldn’t notice all the problems in such a short stay. It’s sad, because just one year ago the hotel was quite different. This was our second visit, but there was no special treatment for returning guests. The rooms need renovation, with broken facilities, and in the spa the pool handrails were unstable and the bubbles didn’t work properly. The restaurant was awful: food was cold at breakfast and dinner, the lunch menu wasn’t tasty, and the service was unpleasant. You could wait ages for a waiter and end up sitting with dirty plates. Reception staff tried to help, but couldn’t.

We visited the spa as outside guests, without staying at the hotel. The heated rooms, like the saunas, were nice, and the spa area itself was relatively good. But the service and changing rooms were poor. The tiny changing room had no toilet paper or hair dryer. When I asked at the spa reception, they said there wasn’t one and sent me in my towel to the main reception while guests were checking in. It was cold and uncomfortable to stand there nearly naked, and the receptionist had to call management just to find a hair dryer. There was only one power outlet in the changing room, and the dryer overheated and stopped after two minutes. Toilet paper arrived only as I was leaving. The changing room shower was dirty, and the spa hot tub had layers of green mold. For most of our visit there was no lifeguard at the pool, while lots of kids jumped in and their parents were just as loud.

The service and food were bad, the rooms were dirty and poorly maintained, and the pools were beyond criticism. The prices are high for what you get. I won't come back.