Alua Sunny Beach

We have just returned from our second stay at Dreams, now known as Alua, and unfortunately our experience this year was very mixed. Firstly, the positives. The facilities, pool areas and beach are absolutely fantastic and remain the standout features of this hotel. The grounds are beautiful, well maintained, and provide a great holiday environment. However, there has been a noticeable drop in service since our visit in 2024, particularly considering we paid for Preferred Club again this year. Meal times were often pure chaos. Tables were not being cleared quickly enough for incoming guests, resulting in seagulls flying into the restaurant and making an already messy situation worse. We regularly noticed ants on tables, and overall the cleanliness standards were disappointing. What was most frustrating was seeing several members of staff standing together on their phones while tables remained uncleared and guests struggled to find clean seating. We raised our concerns with the restaurant manager, but unfortunately nothing seemed to change. The only solution offered was a reserved table, which completely missed the point. On our first visit here in 2024, staff members such as Yasmin were exceptional and always on top of things. Sadly, that level of service was missing this year. The food quality was okay and did the job, but it wasn’t particularly memorable or a highlight of the holiday. We also experienced issues with room service. As part of the Preferred Club package, the mini fridge should be replenished daily based on what has been consumed. This didn’t happen for the first five days of our stay. On several occasions, the room wasn’t properly serviced either, and we had to contact reception ourselves to request fresh towels and essentials. To be fair, during the final three days of our holiday, standards improved considerably and housekeeping ensured everything was maintained as expected. On our last day, we requested a courtesy room due to our late-night flight. The hotel was fully booked, so this wasn’t possible, which we completely understood. Instead, we booked access to Secrets next door for the day, and honestly, it felt like a holiday from our holiday. The atmosphere was calmer, the food was better, and the service was on another level. Staff were attentive, professional and genuinely seemed to care about guest experience. We stayed at Secrets last year and were already disappointed that we hadn’t rebooked there; after this visit, we are even more convinced that it would have made for a much better holiday. Alua/Dreams has the foundations of a very good hotel, but it is being let down by inconsistent service and a lack of staff engagement. The hotel appears to have become more expensive since our last visit, yet the service level no longer reflects what you would expect from a 4 or 5-star resort. Staff are the face of your hotel and create the first impression for guests. Investment in training, supervision and customer service standards would make a huge difference. Would I recommend the hotel? Yes, if you’re primarily looking for great facilities, a lovely beach and pool areas, and can overlook some chaos and occasionally dismissive service. However, if high-quality customer service is important to you, there are definitely areas that need improvement.

I had a wonderful stay at this hotel and would highly recommend it. The highlight of my experience was definitely the staff, who were always friendly, professional, and incredibly helpful. They went out of their way to make sure everything was comfortable and enjoyable throughout my stay. I would especially like to thank Andrey and Zhoro for their exceptional service. Their kindness, positive attitude, and willingness to help made a real difference and contributed greatly to my overall experience. Thank you for the excellent hospitality – I would be happy to stay here again.

We retuned from Dreams last night after a week of absolute bliss. The rooms where spotless and as preferred customers we had deluxe rooms with sea views which where beautiful . My Son and Grandsons spent everyday in the various pools they where very child friendly and life lifeguards were present and visable. The entertainment staff kept things lively everyday and also during evening , The grounds are beautiful and we did numerous walks looking at the birds etc and also along the beach which is spotless . Some of the restaurants where closed as it was low season but the Asian restaurant was lovely the food was a fusion of different Asian foods it was self service but the main course cooked freshly was brought to the table . On the day we left the traditional Bulgarian restaurant opened and it looks good. The world cuisine restaurant has tasty food to cater for most people. Salads are fresh , fruit is plenty the cooked food is fresh and cooked in front of you . We had most of our meals there and tried most things and enjoyed them. We enjoyed a trip to Nesbar the old town. ( 50 euros there and back taxi booked by hotel reception) It was amazing the museum is well worth a visit and you can buy a multi ticket there to get entrance to the numerous places of historic interest. The cobbled streets are full of shops and traders selling loads of different things ice cream shops are dotted around as are many restaurants and cafes. We walked all day and didn’t see all we wanted definitely would go back. The Dream resort Spa is beautiful they offer loads of treatments I just had a sauna and dip in pool but had I gone with friends it would have been a great thing to do . The staff in Dreams hotel are amazing they can’t do enough to make your holiday special I definitely would recommend even the Seagulls where entertainment they can be a nuisance to some but they gave us a laugh. We had a great time first time in Bulgaria we would definitely go back ,

Good staff food average facillaties average

We had an amazing stay at this hotel! The food was absolutely excellent — fresh, delicious, and with plenty of variety every day. The room was luxurious, spotless, and very comfortable, with beautiful decor and everything we needed for a perfect holiday. The staff were friendly and professional, and the overall atmosphere was relaxing and elegant. We truly enjoyed every moment and would definitely come back. Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐