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Tuesday, September 04, 2007
My Take on Bulgarian Seaside Resorts
Much advertised and apparently highly appreciated, Bulgarian Seaside Resorts attract more and more tourists each summer. The use extremely low prices, all inclusive packages, clean beaches and of course, advertising. So I booked a 3 days stay at the Detelina Hotel, somewhere near the Golden Sands resort.
First of all, I have to tell you that it is not quite clear for me where Golden Sands starts and where it ends. If it's 16 km north from Varna or just about 8, if it is in the Chaika region or not or if the Bulgarians will ever learn how to help tourists with directions on their complicated roads.
Yes, the three stars hotel was cheap: 40 Euros per night for two persons. Yes, it has a great pool. Yes, the food is cheap and pretty good (lunch for two persons - about 10 Euros). Yes the photos of the rooms look great on the Booking.com site. However, as far as I know, a 3 stars room should have a bath tub, or at least a shower cabin, not water dropping directly on the bathroom floor! Also, apparently they clean your room daily. All cool, except that they don't really change towels. For us at least they did not replace them for 3 days. Moreover, the restaurant was closed at 9 pm. Although a clear schedule is never displayed. But what I liked more has to be the Internet facilities. And I quote from Booking.com:
Wireless internet is available in public areas only and costs EUR 1.00 per hour .
Really? When I asked, they showed me one computer only that guests could use. One at a time of course...Also, they don't say that if you stay on the side facing the seaside, you also have a nice light ball on your balcony that goes on and on the whole night. I guess how the hotel looks like is more important than the guests' need to sleep. On the plus side, the beach is pretty clean, there are lots of restaurants with quite varied menus, the food and local beer are really tasty and they make tasty cocktails. Also, services are quite cheap. And better at other restaurants I've been to in the resort, when compared to the Detelina restaurant. On our last day, we actually had to wait to pay our check as the nice waitress was busy photographing another guest and then speaking to her friends.
Do not look for banks to withdraw money from. You can go to local exchange offices and withdraw Leva (local currency). Their commission is 7%. Huge! And do not expect to be able to pay by card! That too much for them. Luckily for us, we paid for the hotel through a Booking.com agent. He was very nice and we could pay by card!
My two cents? Better than Romania but way behind Turkey and Greece!
Any Easter Offer is Better than the Romanian Offers
According to an article published by Eventimentul Zilei, most Easter offers in foreign countries are cheaper than similar offers in Romania. Bulgaria is the leader of small prices, as all-inclusive packages in four star hotels start at 20 euros per day.
A four day trip would amount to 122 euros (with the tour operator fee), even cheaper than the same period at a Romanian mountain villa. If one would choose to go to a hotel in local mountain resort Sinaia, one would pay about 360 euros for four nights of bed and breakfast. The same conditions four 5 nights plus a plane ticket you would get in Antalya (Turkey) for 370 euros. Or one could spend 7 nights in a three star hotel in Tunisia, ticket included, 2 meals a day, for 400 euros. Or go to Malta for a lot less.
Every time I see such comparatives I am amazed of the lack of perspective in tourism-related management. But what leaves me in deep awe is the fact that Romanian tourists still fill up the Romanian hotels and buy all these lame packages. Why? There are arguments, still none can convince me it’s a smart choice.
The Amazing Adventures of Kayla in Istanbul - Epilogue
On January 2 we got our bags into the car and prepared for the long way back to Bucharest. We were kind of quiet during breakfast. We all realized our little adventure around Istanbul was pretty much over.
I don't know how others feel in these situations. I always feel melancholy and sadness when a trip ends. It is because, like my friend Mark said once, you simply leave all your worries and daily nonsense at home when you embark on such an adventure. Yes, I see every little trip and getaway as an adventure. Childish? Maybe, but it allows me to have the best of every experience, domestic or foreign.
So we left Istanbul to get on the highway that initially got us there. It got cloudy and looked like it was about to rain before getting to the border. I guess the weather looked like what I felt. We also drove by the last Mosque we were going to see for a while, the one just outside the border.
We drove to Bulgaria, it's lightless tunnels and bumpy roads.
As I was getting closer, I wished there was a way to stay more, one extra day maybe...Yes, childish. For some reason I felt like driving the whole way back. Around 750 km, 12 hours with all the pit stops. I got home tired, too tired to think of anything, so I just slept for 12 hours or so. That was it! It was over. I downloaded the photos and chose those to be published on the blogs. While telling the story of how it all was, I kind of re-lived it.
Name: Alina Home: Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania About Me: "This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts". It's also where I feel free and my preferred means of expression. See my complete profile
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