Sozopol, Hotel Selena

Just returned from the Hotel Selena in Sozopol. I can not praise this hotel enough. The hotel is rated 3 star, but in my opinion, it should definitely be a 4 star. The hotel opened last year and it is situated in the new town, directly on Central Beach, overlooking the old part of town. The location could not be better.

On arrival we were greeted by friendly and efficient receptionists and a porter. The porter took us up to our room, which was a family room on the 4th (top) floor. The room was spacious with a hairdryer, telephone, mini bar (which doubled up as a fridge) and TV (some English channels: Sky News, Euronews, Cartoon Network and some film channels). The room was immaculate and had a massive balcony with sea view.

The swimming pool is very small, but never busy and it was always cold. There are plenty of sun beds around it. The waiters serve food and drinks there. They were all pleasant and friendly. The lobby bar showed British live football if you asked them to. There is a small kids club for little kids, but nothing organised for older ones. The hotel has a well equipped gym with sauna, solarium and masseuse. Room service is good and very reasonably priced.

The rooms are cleaned every day to a high standard, and towels are changed if you leave them in the shower tray. Bed linen was changed several times over the fortnight we were there.

The hotel restaurant is exceptional. I can not fault it at all. Breakfast was buffet style and self service. You could have a cooked breakfast, consisting of various types of egg and sausages. There was the full continental range too. At lunch time and in the evening it is waiter service with an a la carte menu, which is fantastic. If you want one of the tables nearest to the sea, I suggest you book your table early in the day. The restaurant is very popular with Bulgarians who are not staying at the hotel. We saw lots of large parties of locals celebrating birthdays there. That is always a good sign.

The old town of Sozopol is very picturesque. It has narrow cobbled streets with old wooden buildings. There are lots of little churches and museums scattered around. The best restaurant there is called the Windmill. It is in the old town overlooking the harbour, and it has great food and a traditional show on every night. Central beach is in the old town. It is very nice, but it's very crowded. There is another restaurant adjacent to central beach which is also called the Windmill. It is a Chinese restaurant, and the food there is also great.

The new town is being expanded, and there is quite a lot of building work going on there. There are pubs, clubs and a small fun fair. Harmani beach is in the new town. It is bigger than central beach, but on the one day we went there we saw a lot of raw sewage in the sea. One of the lifeguards told us that this is common after a storm.

All in all, we had a lovely holiday. The Hotel Selena is a great hotel which we will definitely return to. I did not see any hotel in a better location in the resort. Sozopol is a laid back resort with a traditional feel. Lots of Bulgarians holiday there.