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3.5
#52 of 115 hotels in Golden Sands
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otel Imperial 5* is picturesquely surrounded by greenery and gardens, and bears the atmosphere of a traditional classic luxury. The hotel offers accommodation in 72 air-conditioned rooms, apartments and maisonettes on a Breakfast basis, lobby bar, "Coffee garden" and a sophisticated restaurant on the sea shore itself. Hotel Imperial has an indoor swimming pool with semi-Olympic size and mineral water, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center with Technogym appliances. The guests can enjoy exclusive therapies in Imperial Vital Source SPA Center, designed in a mediterranean style. In addition to the mineral water from its own thermal spring, in the SPA you can indulge yourself by using our luxurious and professional cosmetics, to start your day with an extra touch of beauty. Solarium, sauna and steam bath are also at your disposal.
Golden Sands, Riviera Holiday Club Riviera Holiday Club, Golden Sands 9007 Bulgaria
Hotel Imperial
29 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This hotel has all the potential to be a real 5 star hotel. From the space to the staff, it is just a little outdated. The people working there were the nicest! They were always happy to help with a smile. Have 0 complaints! Good prices, good food, good service, the beach was perfect. We had a very calm and relaxing time there. Thank you for such wonderful holidays:)
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Date of stay: July 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Hotel Imperial is situated at one end of Golden Sands resort and is part of the Riviera Beach complex which is one of five hotels. The location is probably one of the hotels only major drawbacks as the walk was around 10-15 minutes to the resort centre, this drawback was only made worse by the fact that this distance could have been halved if there was a gate in the large fence surrounding the front of the hotel, as you had to walk in the opposite direction to exit the hotel before effectively walking past the entrance.
The only other negative comment was that our air conditioning unit was not fully operational, and although we pointed out this to reception and they claimed somebody would fix it, they never did.
Despite these small problems, the hotel itself was excellent, it was very quiet, clean and the staff were relatively friendly and helpful. The room was of a good size, although I would say that it's more of a western European four star in terms of size and decor, although the balcony did have a great sea view.
Breakfast was superb with plenty of choice of cold cuts, meats, cheese as well as cooked food and fresh fruit and the staff did a good job of refilling everything. We ate at the restaurant for lunch a few times and the food here was also reasonably priced and tasty, however I would encourage people to explore the restaurants in the resort as there is a lot more to offer.
Probably the greatest selling point of this hotel is use of the private beach, with guests provided with beach towels, two sunbeds and a parasol. There were plenty to go around and the facilities were only half full at their busiest times (although we were perhaps not visiting in high season) This feature alone saves you a fortune on paying for sunbeds on the crowded main beach resort, there were also water sports taking place on this private beach and a beach bar so you didn't feel that you were missing out compared to the main beaches further down the coast. The pool was also good; although it is shared with other hotels in the resort, it has plenty of sun beds and was never more than half full when we visited.
The resort itself was a good mix of tacky bars and nicer ones (you could tell the difference as the cocktails were usually twice as expensive in the nicer bars!) and I was glad there were some restaurants that served more traditional food. We deliberately picked Golden Sands as fewer British people go there due to the major tour operators favouring Sunny Beach. As a result we didn’t see many British people at all and there were no pubs or places serving full English breakfasts which was excellent. Most of the people we encountered spoke English, the menus were all in English and I particularly liked the fact that many menus had pictures of the meal and cocktails which helped a lot in the decision process!
Overall we were very pleased with our hotel choice and the resort itself was inexpensive and thankfully did not include a lot of the things that ruin other cheap beach resorts in countries such as Spain and Portugal.
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Date of stay: July 2009
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great location. The beach is unbelievably beautiful. The hotel is nice, though it needs upgrading. Breakfast was decent but lacked variety. The staff was polite.Overall I had a nice stay and I would go back again.
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Date of stay: August 2019Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Its a very old and posh hotel. Looks great on the otside and inside, although some more refreshment might be needed in the near future. Nevertheless, averall it was a great family experience. We stayed in a massive two bedroom maisonette with our two kids, which was very well refurbished and had amazing sea views. Breakfast was great, truly five star. Very large and very well maintained private beach. All premises and gardens perfectly maintained.
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Date of stay: July 2015
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Service
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:All rooms are facing the sea. Some rooms dont have balconies.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Positive:The best location in golden sands: private beach,free chairs and sunshades, secured area, quiet,relax and very close to the sea (you can hear the sea waves from the room) excellent breakfast, private and free of charge parking area.
Negative: The stuff of the reception is completely useless!! We asked for map of Varna since we wanted to go to visit the city sites: the receptionist told us they don't have it- we asked where we can get it and the answer was "google maps maybe".. On the way out of the hotel ( about 50 meters from the hotel we saw a tourist information office (on the territory of the resort!!!) and of course they had a map of Varna. When we booked the hotel we clearly asked for double bed we even wrote it on the booking request but when we've arrived we got a room with 2 separated beds: we asked for another room (as we booked) :the reception guy told us he can't help us and called for manager (again useless!!) the manager told us that double room is more expensive then the one we've ordered (we booked and payed for advance 3 months before, they had enough time to tell us about it so we could choose another hotel) she told us that in their computer not written our request for double bed even when we show her the booking voucher (not the answer expected from 5 stars hotel manager!!)finally she gave us a double bed room that was much smaller then the first one we got and had a strong smell of grandmother house!! On the check out we were surprised to get a bill for 111 leva, the receptionist guy couldn't explain us for what and had to call the manager (again useless!!!) finally after 30 minutes of waiting for him to understand for what we should pay (since we didn't use any hotel facilities) he let us go because we were hurry to airport. On the way out we understood that they tried to charge us for upgrading to double room (despite the fact that this is exactly what we booked for)
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Date of stay: June 2014
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:the smell in the lobby and at the room was like at grandmother house
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Riviera H, Manager at Hotel Imperial
Responded 10 Jul 2014
Dear Guest, Thank you for being our guest at Imperial hotel at Riviera Holiday club. We cearfully checked the situation regarding your reservation. Tourist office at Riviera holiday club is situated at the main entrance of the resort. Our colleagues working at the Tourist office are always ready to provide our guests with all needed information about maps, rent-a-car, excursions. Reception asked the manager of the hotel about upgrade of you room. Looking forward to meeting you with us at Riviera Holiday club, Best regards Valia Valcheva
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Enjoyed the hotel and the beautiful view. We stayed in a two bedroom maisonette which was offering all confort you might want, lots of space and a kitchenette. Great breakfast.
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Date of stay: July 2011
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you like to find a quiet, peaceful, elegant place to stay in Golden Sands, this hotel could be the choice. Nearby the beach, in a green private area, we loved the location. The room was large enough and the beds were very confortable. They have cleaned the room twice per day in a very discreet maner. Nice! Hard to say this is a 5 stars hotel, but it deserve 4 stars at least for the services. The private beach is in front of the hotel and it is very clean and not so crowdy. Ok, esspecialy if you have children and you like to have space around the umbrella. I had only one major problem there: the hotel smell. They use a parfume all over and this parfume, maybe nice for other people, drive me nuts...
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Date of stay: August 2011
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am rating this based in Imperial's 5* status. If Imperial was a lower star hotel, I would increase my rating. The Imperial is rated as a 5* and it definitely was two decades ago but time has moved on and the hotel hasn't. In the past 6 months I have visited 14 countries and stayed at various levels of accommodation. Imperial is at best a 3* by international standards but needs some simple things to just upgrade and modernise it a bit. I stayed here for two weeks and the hotel was quite empty which is surprising during their busy season.
Things I liked: quiet beach, spacious room, mistly good breakfast, good location away from the craziness, cleaning staff did a good job daily, pool and beach option plus indoor pool for rainy days.
Things I had issues with: -- check in: at check in I wasn't told where anything was in the hotel or complex - I had to ask but it is hard to ask about things you aren't aware of. There is no resort map. A simple fix: a resort map and guide which includes all restaurants and their opening times as some restaurants are only open for some meals. The hotel book in the room isn't sufficient for a 5*. -- room: very dark room and bathroom, wallpaper peeling off walls, decor from 1990s, only one available outlet to charge your electronics. Room was spacious but furniture was all gathered at one end - could use reorg plus adding lighting so you can read at night without eye strain. Bed was supposed to be a dou le but was two twins stuck together - not comfortable if you sleep in the middle and defeats the purpose of a doubpe bed. -- wifi: free in the room but didn't always work. Also, if your phone was on standby, wifi turned off and would require you to re-login. A bit frustrating and causes missed messages. Never had to re-login at any hotel with wifi, ever. Separate wifi code for lobby which you have to ask reception for as they won't tell you at check in. -- breakfast: hot food was always cold and bread was usually stale. Some fruit and cheese also looked iffy at times. It is an extensive buffet but could use a bit of TLC and check by staff before putting it out there for customers. -- beach and pool: supposed to be private for resort guests but paying public can also use facilities which means this is not private. A drawback as that was the feature that sold me on staying at the hotel. -- spa: only open 9-5 so never used it. Most 5* hotels with a spa have extended hours as guests are usually busy during the day. -- restaurants: only used at breakfast as I couldn't figure out which ones were open when. I got frustrated at dinner trying to find one open and went to restaurants outside the property. I gave up early on my first days and didn't try again. -- tourist office: there is one but no one tells you about it! It is on the resort property but in a different building. Shame. If I had known about it - I would have used their services. Found out at the end of my trip.
I think this could be a 5* again with just a little investment.
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Date of stay: July 2014Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Riviera H, Manager at Hotel Imperial
Responded 9 Aug 2014
Dear Guest, We would like to thank you for choosing Riviera Holiday club and hotel Imperial for your summer vacation, for being our guests and for taking the time to give us a feed back from your stay with us. Imperial hotel has being built on 1972 with remarkable architecture and design. We would like to keep and maintain the design from that time as we believe that the facade, the marble and concrete won't fit with new modern design. We have many repeaters at hotel Imperial looking for quite and calm vacation. They always request special number of room or special services. Therfore the maximum occupancy of the hotel is no more then 80%. As you mentionned , the carpets are very thick, walls between the rooms are 80sm so the hotel in general is very quite. Famillities with children usualy stay at hotel Riviera Beach meanning we do not have many famillies at hotel Imperial. We have four a-la-cart restaurant within Riviera Holiday club. They are advertised at the elevators of hotel Imperial even. Information book at your room provides detailes about all services and needed phone numbers within the resort. TV publicity channel with detailled information about Riviera Holiday club runs 24/7 at all TV's in all rooms at all hotels at the resort. All the swimming pools at Riviera Holiday club are with thermal mineral water. They are requested for people from Varna city comming mainly during the weekend. As the resort benefits of 15 000 sq.m. green areas and parks and we have maximum 1 500 guests in high season, we believe that our guests are not feeling overcrawded during their summer vacation at Riviera Holiday club. Please feel free to be our guest again if your travel plans should include Riviera Holiday club. Best regards, Valia Valcheva
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Spent 4 days end of July. The first impression was not positive as the lobby of the hotel was kind of old and smelled old. The room, however, was nice and clean and smelled ok. The breakfast was nice, but the best part was the beach. Very large and not crowded, no loud music and quiet. Free chezlongs and towels, changing cabins, shower and toilet. A bar on the beach for beverages and icecream. The hotel is good for those who want to have a quiet time and relax. Customers were older couples or families with young children. As mentioned before, though, it was not crowded and at all times the beach was mostly empty. I do not recommend going out to Golden Sands unless you want to hear very loud music and see lots of drunk people. But if you go, don't drive. Just walk. It is not far. It is impossible to drive and/or park during evenings. We enjoyed very much eating at the fish restaurant, which is on the territory of the club . Good food and reasonable prices. Another good place to eat is hotel Oasis, which is also on the territory of the club. It is very chic but somewhat pricier.
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Date of stay: July 2013
Value
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Riviera H, Manager at Hotel Imperial
Responded 14 Dec 2013
Dear Radupa, We would like to thank you for you opinion as it is important to us. Looking forward to meeting you in Riviera Holiday club for summer season 2014 Wishing you Merry Christmass and happy New Years Sales team of Riviera Holiday club
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Great location on the beach. Very clean hotel with good amenities in the heart of Golden Sands. Great choice for breakfast. Service is was throughout the stay and I would certainly stay here again. Would definitely recommend this hotel to all.
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Date of stay: August 2012
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Riviera H, Manager at Hotel Imperial
Responded 14 Dec 2013
Dear Andy, We would like to thank you for you opinion as it is important to us. Looking forward to meeting you in Riviera Holiday club for summer season 2014 Wishing you Merry Christmass and happy New Years Sales team of Riviera Holiday club
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
There are more places to choose from in the Golden Sands area.
PRICE RANGE
S$305 - S$315 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
BulgariaVarna ProvinceGolden Sands
NUMBER OF ROOMS
72
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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