Hotel RIU Helios Bay
Hotel review Hotel RIU Helios Bay
Age: 61-65
Travel time: in June 10
I travelled as: Couple
Children: none
Duration: 1 week
Type of trip: Beach Holiday
Recommendation: Yes
Average rating of this review: 4
Hotel - rep - entertainment
Enlarge letters A A Downsize letters A AHotel was clean, spacious and food excellent - something for everyone. Reception staff were efficient. Hotel manager was excellent and very helpful. However on days out - no packed lunch was offered. (bearing in mind that this is an all inclusive hotel)
Entertainment was bad - not catered for the English at all. Out of 7 nights, only 2 were acceptable. No bulgarian dancers. Entertainment team disappeared after showtime - did not mingle with english guests. Felt the English were ignored.
Most of the guests are German,bulgarian or romanian. Some russians. Mostly catered for the Germans. Their english was not good.
The rep was not very helpful and his english was moderate,but he thought it was excellent. He was not at the hotel all the time and very difficult to get in touch.
Excursions were expensive.
Obzor is a small town, very few shops and very quiet. Shops were mainly clothes, shoes and bulgarian silver. Everything looked tired and tatty. Nothing very pretty about the little town. But the beach was excellent and the lifeguards very vigilant.
Location
A long way from the airport. No really nice shops in area.
Excursions expensive.
Shops that were open seemed quite expensive - can get same goods in UK much cheaper and better.
Everything looked tired and like leftovers from last year.
Hotel staff were friendly
No - one spoke any English in the resort. If they did they kept it to themselves.
Very difficult to make ourselves understood.
Rooms cleaned each day and maids were very good.
Hotel Manager excellent in manner and helpfulness.
Gastronomy
Food was excellent something for everyone.
Dining room was clean and tables cleared immediately.
Waiting staff were polite and on the whole cheerful.
Sport & Entertainment
No kids but entertainment team seemed to be with children in the day.
Evening entertainment - very bad. Catered for mostly the Germans - so English and other nations felt rather left out.
Outdoor pool very nice.
Indoor pool was very cold. Although temperature was shown in reception, this was not the actual temperature in the pool. We couldn't use it at all.
Room
large room with balcony overlooking the sea.
Cost of safe seemed rather a lot (40 lev) per week - this should be a free usage.
Very clean.
Tips and recommendations
We went on 14 June for one week. A lot of shops were still closed so maybe the season is late in starting in Obzor. On our last day a few more shops had opened.
Weather was good but Obzor seems quite breezy all the time.
Very quiet place with nothing to do in the evening. No nice walks and lots of overgrown land derelict buildings.
Additional info concerning your hotel review Hotel RIU Helios Bay
| What type of room did you review? | Double room Standard with view Sea/lake |
| Did the hotel meet the standards of its official catalogue description? | Yes |
| Does the hotel deserve its official star rating? | Yes |
| How would you describe the value for money? | Generally good |
| Which tour operator did you travel with? | No details |
