| | Golden Sands, Golden Sands, 9007, Bulgaria
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Overall Community Rating: |   7.2 (based on 3 user reviews) |
 Lilia: My advice don't go. by Jean Ives |
| Posted 03 October 2008 about a visit in September 2008 | Overall rating: 3.6 |
Lilia maybe classed as a 4 star hotel but fails miserably, Only a handful of staff were friendly and have smiles on their faces, the rest were rude, ignorant and couldn't in all honesty be bothered.
The food was horrible, minced beef sausages, mince beef burgers, mince beef with sauce, minced beef without sauce, chips more often than not were cold, when I mentioned to the chef they were cold he argued over them. plenty of cold meats and salad, desserts were tiny little cakes you could have blamange with them or their was ice cream and fruit, we both lost weight over the two weeks.
Breakfast was always scrambled eggs frankfurter type sausages the usual cold meats and fruit, they even cut the bananas into three so you didn't have a whole one, I won't bore you with the rest of the restaurant only to say, staff were surly and alot of the time you had to search or help yourself to cutlery and serviettes, they preferred to talk to each other, but there were some staff that was friendly unfortunately you could count them on one hand. The maids were good and nice and always smiling.
I put on the hotels questionaire which we were asked to fill in that the hotel building was 4 star, service 2 star and food 2 star. We will never go back if they cannot be bothered why should we.
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 Lilia Reservations |
| Lilia: Hotel Lilia (Golden Sands) Pleasant Surprise by Gareth Amphlett |
| Posted 14 July 2008 about a visit in June 2008 | Overall rating: 8.7 |
Firstly, do not confuse this with Lilia in Sunny Beach which I've heard is appalling.
I'll keep it simple.
There were only two bad points i can remember to this holiday. The reception staff being the first (the second will be mentioned later). That's not to say they were incapable but they were grumpy and a few were bordering on rude.
Onto the positives: We arrived very late (or early depending on your point of view), approx 3:30am. The porters were waiting outside to take our cases. Checking in took no longer than 5 minutes. We were shown to our room and after a brief demonstration of rooms lighting etc we were left to our own devices. We were happy to find two plates of cold continental style food and fruit, cling film wrapped on our table - basic but exactly what we needed after a long journey/just before bed.
The room/bathroom/balcony were all spotless... and this standard remained throughout the week. The air conditioning was powerful and welcome. TV had limited channels... 2 english speaking (BBC World News and Discovery Channel) but that doesn't matter. The fully tiled bathroom consisted of large corner shower, toilet, large sink and mirror. There was always plenty of toilet paper. and towels were changed daily. There was also a small hair dryer. Though smoking was permitted in the rooms, there was no smell in our room and no signs of smoking.
I'd heard a lot of bad things about the dining at all inclusive hotels in Bulgaria. Mainly to avoid it as you can eat cheaply enough elsewhere. By the end of the holiday we were glad we'd been fed by the hotel. For breakfast there were always 4 or 5 different types of bread available (and a large toaster), sliced meats, cheeses, preserves, yoghurts, pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs (boiled and scrambled), french toast(eggy bread), juices, tea, coffee and loads of other stuff. For dinner there were a choice of 5 or 6 mains (pastas/fish/chicken and very nice meats in sauces), 2 soups, plenty of vegetables, lots of clean salad, chips and much much more. Desserts were also varied with fresh fruit always available (mostly bananas, melons or cherries) and also a large selection of miniture desserts, which were great as you could hae three or four different things. All food was self service and drinks with dinner had to be paid for.
The waitresses and waiters were brilliant. As we sat in the same area every night, we were served by the same waitress. I forget her name but she was always smiling, always polite, prompt to clear our plates away from us. When we thanked her at the end of the holiday she was beaming. In fact all of the staff apart from reception were great.
There are two pools. One at the front of the hotel (free) and one on the sky bar on the roof (10 lev per person charge). We used the sky bar/pool three times and the free pool once. The Sky bar pool was in need of very very minor repairs (a few of the small tiles on the bottom were missing) but the water was clean and all the poolside was spotless. Also, we were the only ones using the sky bar/pool so we were treated to exclusive service by the (again wonderful) waitress/barmaid. She also played english music regularly which was a nice touch. I think she was maybe the nicest of all staff, despite a lack of English she was always willing to help and checked up on us regularly (whilst not dancing/washing windows/tables). The free pool was also very clean and well attended.
Now for the second bad point: Avoid eating at the restaurant by the free pool. My partner ordered chicken breast. When it arrived she was treated to a long sausage shaped piece of chicken. Which was not cooked. A clearly raw piece protruded from the middle. We did not eat there. That is the only other negative thing and I must reitterate that the food in the dining hall was of top quality.
There was a table tennis table on the top floor near pool bar and there was a pool table in the basement level. Though we did not use these they seemed to be in good condition. There were also on site massage and fitness services but we did not use these either so would not like to comment. The basement floor also had a bar/nightclub, but at no point were we disturbed by this. In fact at no point did we hear a sound from this (now I wonder if it was open, but there were signs up stating it was open so I guess it was).
Finally, the location of the hotel was perfect. We had to walk a whopping 10 metres from the hotel foors to the beachfront. Restaurants, bars and shops were on the doorstep and plentiful. Despite this great location, we were not disturbed at any time by noise or anything else.
All in all I'd say this is the one of the best hotels I've been to abroad and I think my partner would agree. If we return to Golden Sands then we WILL stay here.
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| Lilia Reservations |
| Lilia: Lilia - Great hotel by Tonyeff |
| Posted 23 June 2007 about a visit in May 2007 | Overall rating: 9.4 |
Hotel Lilia is a very good four star hotel placed nicely in the quiter north end of Golden Sands. We have nothing but praise for the Hotel which was an excellent base for us to enjoy two weeks in Bulgaria. We travelled with Balkan Holidays.
Rooms were clean and the daily maid service was excellent. Facilities in the room were very good with plenty of storage space. Only minor gripe would be a slightly hard bed and only one English speaking channel (BBC World) on the TV. Air conditioning was excellent and programmable. It was not governed by the Hotel keycard so we always returned to a chilled room. If we forgot the maid turned it on while cleaning.
Service was excellent. We appreciated the cold buffet supplied to us on arrival at 1:00 am, and the dining staff were happy to oblige. Their command of the many languages spoken by hotel visitors was excellent. Particular praise goes to Violeta (Restaurant Manager) and Georgi the chef (pancake maker supreme) for putting our 7 year old daughter (and her parents) at ease and well fed.
Half board was buffet selection with evening drinks chargeable. They are reasoanably priced and comparable with the resort prices. Breakfast was a wide selection including wide choice of breads including toaster, tomatoes, feta and yellow cheese (we prefer the feta), cold meats, and hot buffet which varied between eggs (scrambled, fried, boiled), fried bread, with mainly sausage and occasionally bacon. Bulgarian bacon was too fatty for my tastes. Also pancakes were cooked to order (excellent), and plenty of options of jams and other preserves and the always tasty local honey.
Evening buffet was a good choice from Soup of the Day (I never saw it repeated in the 10 nights we ate in), salad and cold meats/cheeses, and a wide selection of main courses from bakes (moussaka), pastas, grilled meats and stew/casseroles which are a regional speciality. All well cooked with plenty of meat. The buffets were regularly topped up with fresh cooking even late into the opening times.
Desserts were a treat with delicious rice puddings, trifles, gateaux, fresh fruits and preserves, and my favourite - baklava.
The hotel has many facilities; on site Doctor, massage/health, pool (1.2m to 1.5m) with childrens pool (0.7m) and a rooftop pool (1.4m) and skybar. There is a small charge, 10 lev from June to Early Sept, but the views are excellent and it's quite a sun trap.
There are plenty of bars; restaurant, lobby, reception, night bar (with nightclub), bierkeller, and skybar. And of course there's also the room minibar. Plenty of opportunity to imbibe! Like all the Bulgarian bars/restaurants we visited they are the best stocked I have ever seen in my travels. Local Beer and Wine are excellent, and not to be missed.
I also noticed a pool table and a table tennis table in the hotel, and there was probably some other stuff we never noticed or found.
The Hotel does not provide any other entertainment. We didn't find this an issue. There's plenty of entertainment in the immediate vicinity or beyond in the resort, and it probably made the Hotel quieter at night by not offering any.
We chose to pay the sea view supplement and I think we would not have enjoyed the holiday as much without this. Definitely recommended. Many hotels in Golden Sands have rooms without Sea Views and the view of the hill side is not attractive. Even the massive 5 star Kempinski has views over the car park.
The hotel is located in the quiter North end of the resort. This suited us as it was easier to sleep at night - not that it was noisy, and we never heard the nightclub based in the cellar. Those looking for the more raucous entertainment the resort has to offer may find it quite a walk back (1.5 km).
The beach is much nicer than the more crowded South end, and you are much less likely to be pestered for the massage services. We ended up using the beach area by the Aldo supermarket about 50 yards north, where we had drinks, fruit and ices brought to our sunbeds by the local beach staff (v.nice).
Next door in the Palm Beach hotel there's an excellent 10 pin bowling alley (useful on those rainy days a Bulgarian holiday in May/June brings).
Value - excellent. We didn't expect much from the Half Board having paid just £30 a head extra, so to get meals where we ate in at the hotel was great. We had previously checked the web and found nothing but excellent reviews for the Lilia and we can only agree with other reviewers.
We notice the price offered by Balkan for 2008 is £70 more for the equivalent week so we 'lucked in' for 2007. However, even at this price it would still be great value.
Would we go back - probably to the Lilia if we chose Golden Sands again. But we won't be visiting the resort in the near future. There's plenty of places to visit and life is short. Bulgaria is worth at least one visit in your life, and if you do the Lilia will make a great base.
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| Lilia Reservations |
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Lilia Questions | Have you got a question about Lilia that you want answered before you book online? If our reviews do not contain the information that you need, ask a question and let other visitors tell you the real story!
 Lilia: Lilia reviews |
| 07 Feb 2007 by Tonyeff |
Never been to Bulgaria, Golden Sands nor this Hotel. Anybody have a review or could tell me anything about the Hotel please
>> Answer this question | |
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