AluaSoul Sunny Beach

"We went to Aluasoul on 17 September for one week. We arrived at the hotel around midnight. After checking in we were directed to an area for food and drink. Unfortunately there was very little on offer. However hotel is very good . Very clean, lovely inside. Our room wasn’t cleaned every day nor sheets changed. This wasn’t a problem for me but others may feel differently. Bars are very good and no queues. Food is good and the tables are cleared quickly. Food not always to my taste but I did always manage to find something. We managed to book the Asian restaurant one evening which was lovely. Unfortunately the other à la carte was fully booked. I would recommend if you wish to book either à la carte to book on day of arrival otherwise you won’t get in. The hotel is right on the beach. You just go out of the back gates and you are on the beach. The beach is beautiful. Very long and sandy. The sea was very shallow and warm for the end of September. The pools at the hotel were icy cold. I do like to swim but found I just couldn’t get in as the water so was cold unlike the sea. Also lots of seagulls in the pool which is slightly off putting. There were always free sunbeds and the hotel provide towels which you collect from the spa and can change daily. The spa is good. I didn’t have any treatments but used the area a couple of times. The nightspot was ok. Again the bar was very good service. The hotel is a very short walk to many bars and restaurants along the sea front and Flower street. We used the Fat Cat many evenings and had a great time there. We also travelled by bus to Nessebar which is a lovely place to visit. It’s not far by bus or you can get the boat across for 10 euros each. Although we mostly had good weather I would recommend staying earlier in the year. Halfway through our holiday the sunbeds and water sports disappeared from the beach and it felt like the resort was closing down."

"The hotel was very nice couldn’t fault it really. The food was great staff friendly. The only criticism was when eating in the restaurant in the evening there is a sign clearly stating that no shorts or flip flops to be worn. So most people including myself made a bit of an effort dressing up. Yet some people were still allowed in the restaurant wearing shorts and flip flops. It just lowered the tone. Such a shame. The area outside the hotel was a bit of a …. hole. Sunny beach what a dump. So if you’re thinking about going to sunny beach think again."

"I would recommend this hotel (but not the resort which is run down, dirty and half closed). However the hotel itself is lovely. Rooms: clean, spacious rooms with amazingly comfortable beds but very poor, lumpy pillows. Not sure the air con would have been adequate in the height of summer. Food : plenty of it and good variety (sometimes the hot food was a little tepid). On day 2 we asked to book the à la carte (I only saw 1 when 2 are advertised). We were offered a first available slot for day 7 when we would be going home so couldn’t use that facility. Pools / beach: pools huge and loads of sunbeds, however these are extremely low down and uncomfortable - we had to keep getting up to walk around and relieve the numbness. The biggest disappointment was the lack of private beach. When we booked (with Tui) its shows photos of the hotel with beach in front with sunbeds and the write up says it’s right on the beach. That’s true, but it’s not a private beach owned by the hotel and there were no sunbeds on the stretch in front of us. From the photos, we had wrongly assumed it was offered by the hotel but lesson learned… look for the words ‘private beach’ next time. Entertainment: very subtle, i.e. you really had to seek this out rather than it being pushed in your face, which I did prefer."