Thanks Nicky, I will cope with that.

Has anyone travelled from Gatwick to Bulgaria for this holiday? Do you know what airline you used. I've been told it is Brittania, who apparently only allow 15-kilos baggage allowance & 5-kilos hand luggage. Is this true?

Just looked up my thompson book and the airline does seem to be Britannia, who I have travelled with before. We had 20kg allowance then and 1 item each, hand luggage weighing no more than 5kg., but this may have changed. The allowance will be on your ticket. Note Britannia is owned by Thompson and it says in the book that flights NOT owned by Thompson may have 15kg baggage allowance.
See reviews on Britannia below:

Quote:
Britannia Airways are one of the biggest package holiday airlines in Britain and ... Britannia Airways are owned by the Thomson group and serve three main ...

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Britannia_Airways_BAL__94590/TabId/2

Thanks for that jcosstick. It is 20-kilos for "hold" luggage & 5-kilos for hand. Didn't realise it was owned by Thomsons. The missus can fill up the cases big time now! Just under a month to go & we will be out there.

I was moved also from miramar to helious hotel.
I have been to a riu hotel in the dom republic and it was brillant thats why we booked another riu!!!
We are going in 3 weeks and i suddenly got worried! so i went on the web!

Its nice to see some honest reviews

But the beach sounds a bit rough with young boys who love not wearing any shoes i think i stick with the pools!!!

As for the Germans we had them in the dom republic and we did win a few times and loved it!!!!!

Anyone going the beginning of August and the second week of August i see you there

Littlelou, We will be arriving on August 12/13th, probably as you are about to leave. May bump into you at the airport Have a good time & make sure you beat the Germans at everything (including getting to the sunbeds first!).

Sorry i will still be there!!! We leave on the 19th August.

We always got the sun bed first as the youngest likes early mornings!!!!

Hi lovejoy .... for info on Britannia (and any other airlines) please check out this forum:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=38

David

Thanks for that tip David.

Hi there! We are going to this hotel on the 26th July till the 10th August from Manchester. Does anyone know is the kids club run by Thompson or by the Hotel? Also, how far is the hotel from Varna? Is there anywhere close to go for tHe odd night out away from the hotel? As Bulgaria is so cheap we thought a couple of nights away from the hotel might be nice for a change. What aboiut the water? Is it safe for cleaning your teeth etc, and did anyone suffer from "holiday tummy"? Also fancy doing some shopping as I have heard you can get some great Gucci, Dior, LV copies and kiddies football kits etc, anyone know where is the best place to shop for this kind if stuff? Sorry for all the questions, getting excited now and don't want any surprises!!!

hello the kids club is run by the hotel the staff where really nice and helpfull i am sure by now there will be much more happening there then when we where there. varna is a hour away by bus we did the varna trip from the hotel which also did the dolphin show a church and museum and a couple of hours shopping in varna's town center which had some great shops. there is a couple of night clubs in obzor which i did not go to but my brothers did they said it was a good night out and drink was very cheap also eating out is cheap as well if you fancy a change in menu. we where told that the water was ok for cleaning teeth and washing but not to drink. there was 12 of us and we did not get a bad tummy while we where there.
i hope this helps have a good holiday

Hiya,

We have just returned from the riu helios bay hotel a week early as we was going for two weeks but couldn't take no more and had to pay extra to come back home. We totally understand that everyone has different expectations from a holiday but for us it was the holiday from hell. we arrived at bourgas airport had to wait an hour and half to get through passport control then and hour and 20mins transfer into the mountains to the hotel was raining on the way up. when we arrived at the hotel it looked lovely from then on the holiday got worse. went down to the beach sand very sharp shelley and hard to walk on the sea was very rough and lots of sharp shells in the water could not go in the sea for most of the holiday because red flag was almost permanently up not that we wanted to because the beach was very dissapointing. the pool was nice and very big but only went in twice as it rained nearly every day. the first couple of days the food seemed ok but after the second day the food became repetitive and greasy we also went to a bulgarian theme night we waited about 40mins before getting to eat and when we did finally eat we wished we hadnt waited, as for upset stomachs was ill for two and a half days with suspected food poisoning. Room was fine very clean the cleaners was lovely. Went into obzor centre but was all sectioned off we thought it was a car crash but found out later from our holiday rep that it was infact a car bomb planted by the bulgarian mafia so for us it was the final straw as it was a family holiday and didnt feel safe after hearing this especially as it was just outside the hotel. kids club was ok didn't really do much apart from colouring in and painting. Entertainment was dreadfull but the germans seemed to like it which summed up the holiday as it was geared to the germans and dont forget to get down to the pool early to put your towels on the loungers thats if it's not raining still as it was still raining when we left and the weather report didn't read well when we left. The majority of the staff are friendly but found the staff in the shop very rude often shut the shop early and if we didn't have the right change she wouldn't serve you sometimes. To us it was a place you would go if you was of retirement age they was all sat round playing cards the hotel itself just had no atmosphere. As you guessed from what we have written we would never return to this hotel ever ever ever again

I'm booked for next June, just going to check Thomsons cancellation policy! I have heard that the weather has been awful in bulgaria of late, wonder if I can go back to sunny Turkey!LOL!
Sorry you had a lousy experience, nothing worse when you have saved up, look forward to a holiday and it all goes wrong.Only happened to me once in Zante, hope you all recovered from your tummy problems,.!

Alistair

Oh My God! That sounds absoulutely terrible. Is there any chance that Thompson would transfer us to a different hotel if we asked? We go on the 26th July, would they be able to change it for us before we fly out? I am really upset about this now, after paying £2300 for this holiday for the three of us (2 adults, 1 kiddie)I was really looking forward to good food, good weather and good entertainment, and a happy 6 year old. If we are not going to get this I want to change it.

Hi Jackyuk,

If you do decide to change your holiday they will almost certainly charge you, given the closeness of your holiday they also might say no? If you have the time please let me know how you get on as given what I have read Iam seriously considering changing my destination for next yearr.

Alistair

hello, me and my family are booked to go to the hotel riu helios bay, this friday, i really am hoping that we do have a better time than what we have heard somepeople say.
If i could ask a quick copule of questions to maybe get me on track for a great holiday.
Me and my family (2 adults and 1 16 year old son) would like to know if there is a few good places for a night out, such as bars etc?, in the hotel are there many people at the same age group of my sun, as i don't want him to not be able to socialise with people his own age, or he will become very bored? as we are on a all inclusive basis, are the drinks all local such as dark rum etc, and most of all, is it fully built?
if you could please answer my questions, i would be most grateful as at the moment our holiday that we have been spending ages saving up for isn't looking to good. many thanks, and if there is anybody here, that will be there as of the 22nd, have a good time.

Hi there, I will be going on the 26th so we will see you there! I know, it is not sounding very positive at all is it, although some of the earlier reviews were more favourable. A holiday is what you make it though, I am sure it will be fine. I'm hoping the wine will be good, as that is all I drink! My hubby is also hoping that the lager is OK as that is all he drinks! As my 6 year old son is a little fussy I am hoping that the food is Ok for the kids, or he will probably end up living off chips and ice cream for 2 weeks! Hope to see some more positive reviews on here before we depart. Was just wondering one thing though; if the hotel is half german, half english, how does the kids club and the entertainment work (language etc????).

The Safe and Sound brochure available via my signature is written by Travel Law Lawyer Ros Fernihough. I would suggest you print this off and take it with you on holiday as it will explain what your rights are in law, and what to do should you experience any problems in resort.

Print it and Pack it - Be Safe not Sorry

Hi all dont be put off by one or two reviews Tim and Nicky seemed to have enjoyed it. The weather can change no matter where you are, and as for Mafia, well look at the recent events in London, Turkey, Spain, USA!!!
You are more likely to get run over than be killed by bombs etc if you are going to worry all the time you would prob. be better off staying in bed than going on holiday.
Im going in august and I will wait and see what happens.
Either we have a great time or We film the next holidays from Hell we will have fun
Ps as for kids eating ( I have boys 14 and 10 ) let them choose there own meal, when they are there dont just get them meals what you think they will eat (chips!) you will be surprised what they choose when given the chance, without a parent fussing. Try it, it works mine eat lots of things now. They tend to copy their parents.