I chose this accommodation specifically because the number of bedrooms and high standard of finish suited the makeup of my group of 16 people which included men and women meaning everyone would have their own bed and some would have their own room. It also included 2 bathrooms and a separate WC which was also important. The photographs on the listing show an apartment with a high level of finish and furnishing and the floor plan showed the right number and size of the bedrooms that we required. Perfect!
Unfortunately the accommodation we were given bore no resemblance to that advertised. We were shown into a single storey, ground floor building in the courtyard of the main property. It consisted of fewer bedrooms with more beds in each room including some made up as doubles and only one bathroom - with 3 shower cubicles and 3 toilets with 2 sinks for 16 people and no lockable door to the block. Not what I wanted for my mixed group. Each bedroom had just beds in it - no chairs, night stands or even a lamp. The only lighting was from the ceiling light.
The living room had soft seating for only 8 people and there were not enough dining chairs or a big enough table for all of the group to sit together at the same time.
I pre-ordered breakfast for 2 days and it sounded very good. The reality was disappointing to say the least. Day 1 our host arrived at 7.50am to cook for our 9am breakfast. Breakfast consisted of one fried egg per person and one rasher of bacon (being generous) which was cooked outside on a grill an hour before we were due to eat. There were also plates of raw peppers, radish, brown apple and oranges and some cherry tomatoes and only enough bread for one piece per person and some cereals. The second day was similar apart from we had one hard boiled egg and one weaner-sausage each - again cold. I would not recommend the breakfast.
The showers were luke-warm the first morning and stone cold on the second day. They also flooded the entire room which did not enhance the already poor experience.
The door to one of the bedrooms, typically the one which the ladies chose was already broken. The entire centre panel was loose and would fall out when the door was either closed or opened.
On our final morning we were rudely awoken by builders literally throwing scaffolding poles onto the concrete floor in front of the bedroom windows at 7.30am. Following this the only thing we had to look forward to was a poor, cold breakfast and cold showers.
When I complained to Sofiya just before leaving she became defensive and made excuses. The cold showers must have been because someone showered too long - no one had a hot shower on day 2 so there just wasn’t any hot water. The noisy builders had a job to do and it was after all a week day!
She told me that the original apartment was not available and that the alternative apartment details were forwarded to me. A written description had indeed been forwarded to me but it was not made clear that this was a separate building or that it was of a significantly lower standard. Only one photo of the building we occupied exists on the website - that is of the sinks in the shower room! The reason for this is plain - it is so poor by comparison to the rooms advertised no one would want to stay there if you were expecting the better apartment.
Honest, unambiguous descriptions and photos/plans of the actual rooms/ apartments you will stay in is vital when making choices about where to stay. I felt embarrassed because i arranged this trip for my friends and they did not get the standard of accommodation I had promised - that YOU had promised.
This was no better than a below average hostel and if I’d wanted to stay in a hostel I would have just booked one. £909 is a lot of money for 2 nights accommodation and did not represent value for money in any way.
What I can say in a positive way is that the accommodation, bedding and towels were clean and the beds were comfortable. The communication was prompt and Sofiya was helpful in arranging things like the breakfast, keg of beer and booking a very nice restaurant. It is a shame that the accommodation was just not up to standard.