Imperial Hotel      

We have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Imperial hotel, and whilst the hotel is beautifully decorated (Egyptian theme), and the rooms and bathrooms are large and very clean, we were not at all impressed by the food and total lack of entertainment. The bar is very small.. only one person serving, very few seats, and long queues at the bar all the time and the drinks are served in soft plastic glasses. Not something you would expect from a 4 star hotel. There was absolutly NO entertainment (when we asked at reception we were informed that it has stopped for the year now) despite the hotel being packed to the brim. The meal times are really early (breakfast till 9am, Lunch 11.30-1pm, Dinner 6.30-8pm), which doesn't give you time to go out as you are always rushing back for meals. We gave up in the end as the food was mainly catered for Europeans and not English, tea and coffee, when available was tasteless and cold. The heating in the rooms did not work and we were very unfortuante to have had 3 very cold, wet days whilst we were there, and that didn't help. We ended up eating and drinking out most of the time(highly recommeded John Smith's pub next door.. live music and karoke nightly till the early hours of the morning,happy hour from 6pm-3am or later, inexpensive food,extremly friendly staff and great atmosphere). We were there every night till 2-3am and the pub was still buzzing when we left. The restaurant across the road is very good (BULGARI) but the staff are very unfriendly, which was a bit of a put off, considering the food tastes great there. Lots of supermarkets, food stalls (pancakes, kebabs etc) across the road from hotel and shops selling souvenirs and beach stuff. A "tourist train" from outside the hotel, takes you to the center of Sunny beach and Old Nessebar every half hour and there are also Horse and Carts, and buses that run every 12 mins and all are very cheap to use. The buses do get very packed, but worth it for less than 50p travel. The pools in the hotel were not heated so no-one was using them. The spa center (beautifully themed in Egyptian style) is very expensive for treatments but the pool (not heated) is FREE. The rooms are very clean and big, so are the bathrooms with very large shower cubicles. Mini-bar is not part of All Inclusive. In the lobby there are a few seats but no where near enough for the number of guests the hotel holds, so in the evening there is no-where to sit and benefit from the All Inclusive Bar. There is a Piano bar attached to the hotel, but it is also, NOT part of the All inclusive and very expensive.. you have to pay for the music as well there, which the hotel don't tell you when you check in. We had a great time there, as we chose not to let the food at the hotel put us off and ate out most of the time. The hotel is very beautiful, and worth the visit as it is central for everywhere. There are endless eateries in Sunny beach, so you will never go hungry and eating out is very cheap. Just be prepared for that when you budget for your holiday and you will have a great time. Sunny Beach and Nessebar are buzzing places to visit and you will find that you end up going there most days as there is so much to see. There are also endless shops/stalls selling silver and gold jewellery, fake designer bags/clothes/shoes, souviners, sunglasses, belts, perfumes etc very cheaply. Just go out there with an open mind and you will have a great time. The staff at the hotel do speak English (apart from the maids) so that wasn't a problem, and if you have any problems the staff at reception are quick to put it right or speak to your holiday rep. This is the first year of All Inclusive and they have a lot to learn. No tea/coffee making facilities in the rooms either. All in All, a great holiday at the Imperial.

upon arrival the hotel looked very impressive. but all is not what it seems.if you want to use the fridge in your room you have to pay,if you want to use the piano bar you have to pay to listen too the entertainment,incase you put a request in for a tune to be played, which i did and the local mob came in and took over the place and they would not play my tune.(no reinbursement), there was no entertainment at all, you had to pay for tea and coffee. as i do not drink alcohol very much i think this was disgraceful.drinking out of flimsy plastic cups was unacceptable. tables outside near a dangerous hut with panes of glass rattling about in the doors because the beading was missing and they could not be bothered to repair it as requested,and they expected us to drink in there,diabolicle.the volley ball court had broken glass in the sand and doesnt look like it as been cleaned up in months.now some europeans commented on english and germans complaining all the time, but if they are used to that sort of holiday in a 4 star hotel, well they are easily pleased,but myself and the german people i spoken to are not,and it was more like a 2 or 3 star to what myself and my family are used to.overall i think the imperial hotel is the worst hotel i have ever stayed in my 25 years of travelling abroad.in fact i saw 3 star hotels in the area of sunny beach what provided entertainment and facilities for children. thankyou for spoiling what should of been an exciting first time holiday for me and my family to bulgaria.

i and my family stopped at this hotel in sept 08. the hotel& room was very nice. the food was crap. the bar staff where rude but 1 who served in the hotel he was brill. the hotel where more intresed in the germans than the british bedding never got changed all the time we where there. it says it is a 4 star i have stopped in better 2 star than this. the waiter,s in the resturant just stood about talking in stead of clearing tables. entertamint rubbish. snaks crap.hotel say in sunny beach more like near nessabar. would never go back. not recommended. the stoker and cooper family

We stayed in this lovely hotel in June this year. When we arrived we were upgraded to a suite and it was great. The food at breakfast was smashing a good range of choices too. We also ate in the restaraunt at night and the service and food were wonderful. We will definately be back.

We have just returned (our stay from 31.05.08 - 07.06.08) from our holiday. The first time to Bulgaria. We really enjoyed our trip. The people were very friendly both in resort and hotel. The hotel was very comfortable, leisure facilities and food all excellent. Our only disappointment was that there was no entertainment in the evenings. Although we do enjoy going out and about both day and night, which we did, there was evenings when we just wanted to stay at the hotel and relax. As the hotel got busier it was harder to get anywhere to sit and the bar was much too small for the volume of people. The piano bar next door was good and George the piano player was great. I think this last comment might stop people returning to this hotel. Never the less we did have a good holiday and overall the hotel was very good.

Please send me the prise list. I can not find on your web page.

We"ve just got home six days ago, from a lovely holiday in the Riviera hotel Golden sands,and my mum husband and i,were really impressed with the staff and the cleanliness of the hotel.and of course their hospitality. we had lovely massages,and some nice jaccuzies to really tone us up. the rooms were comfortable and spacious.the food was first class.We would like to come again in 2006.From Mr&Mrs D.Byrne and Mrs J.Matthews,we had rooms 109 & 110. I would like to thank the staff,for giving my husband a lovely Birthday card and a bottle of champagne on 26th Sept.

The hotel was very nice, we stayed in an air conditioned refurbished room. However the first night the air conditioning was not working and it was very hot and noisy as we had to leave the window open. The staff were very helpful and freindly and the laundry service good Kind Regards Dave

As my first hotel experience in Plovdiv I was very unimpressed with the standard of service in the Imperial Hotel. One waiter at the hotel overcharged us on many occassions. The location was undesirable. The public toilet in the hotel consisted of a hole in the floor, with no flush facility. There were private security guards (Mafia) with large guns acting inappropriately, in an intimidating manner. We also had a British friend residing in the hotel on this occasion- his room was infested with cockroaches (he tried to explain this fact to the hotel staff but unfortunately they did not understand the fact and seemed unwilling to help). Craig Carroll