Sol Nessebar Palace Hotel, Bulgaria

My partner and I opted for a stay in the hotel on the coast of the Black Sea. It is on a quiet, stylish beach resort, 20 minutes from Bourgas Airport. The service was good and the food tasty and well-cooked. We had a complimentary breakfast and dinner was buffet-style grilled chicken, fresh fish, pork and other meats. The hotel is well-equipped with a main restaurant, pool bar, lobby bar, entertainment bar and a disco club. it also has shops, beauty services and a security guard.

The room was spacious and had a sea-view. It was in warm, soothing colours with dark brown mahogany furnishings. There was a safe, refrigerator and TV in the room and the bathroom was quite plush. We also had a balcony which was a treat and we sat out there most evenings.

The weather was mostly sunny and we visited the ancient city of Nessebar. We travelled by bus as we had been warned that the taxi drivers have a habit of ripping tourists off. Nessebar is quite a touristy place now and we visited the many clothes markets for lots of bargains. We ate out in Nessebar in a Bulgarian restaurant, the food seems to be a mixture of east and west and their most famous dish seems to be joghurt which is believed to aid longevity if you eat it regularly.

All in all it was a great holiday. The hotel is supposed to be 5 star but didn't seem to make it by UK standards. However, the Bulgarians are just coming to grips with the influx of tourists in recent years so maybe the staff will learn to be more friendly.

We would recommend it and hope to return again one day.