SPA Resort St. Ivan Rilski – All Inclusive

Very Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : Clean VillaLeisure facilities a great ad on.Hotel-Great food. Team very helpful:MustafaMahmedLemansSalih
  : Some distance from Gondola cable car meant using the shuttle or walking. Not a major problem. More shuttles. The hot milk from the coffee machine was Luke warm throughout the stay despite reporting it to staff. Information sheet referring to:Getting to Gondola.E mail transfer time prior to the day, to confirm transfer has been arranged.

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : We loved the hotel, it was above our expectations. I shared a studio room with 13 yr old twins and it had a kitchenette which was useful to come back from skiing and make a hot drink. My girls were amazed to have daily room service (made them be tidier as they were embarrassed to let anyone see how messy they are!). My son and his father had a separate studio (studios were outside the main hotel building). The hotel staff were friendly and helpful and sorted out any issues very quickly. The food was great and really suited my family - plentiful, varied and lots of choice (could do with a few more vegetarian main courses) and tasty food, just what you need after skiing, with a good breakfast beforehand. Apart for the selection of main courses there was always a huge salad and fruit selection. The spa is fantastic, so lovely to come back to a pool (indoor and out) with massage jets, hot tub and a choice of saunas, steam rooms and hot beds. There is a great gym too that my son enjoyed. If you are all inclusive then the spa and gym is included. The hotel communal areas are very attractive and spacious and great to relax in after dinner. There was often a musician or singer at dinner or in the bar afterwards. The hotel runs a complementary shuttle bus to the the gondola but we walked most days as wanted to get to gondola early and its only about 15 mins walk. You can keep skis in hotel ski store but we left ours at the ski hire shop so we were free to walk back if we wanted. All in all we had a fantastic holiday and would definitely stay at the St Ivan Rilski again!
  : Sofa bed was very uncomfortable. The communal lounge areas were a bit too warm for us in the evening. Can't think of anything else - it was great!

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple

Disappointing
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : The food was excellent - a variety of meat, garnishes, vegetables, fruits, desserts. The room was a decent one, clean and comfortable. The lobby bar was also nice. Good location, very nice staff.
  : The disappointment was the SPA: 1) there was no separation between pools for adults only and pools for children and their parents (the kids were screaming, playing inside the pool, running - simply destroying the relaxation of the adults) and even they were throwing the plastic drinking cups into the pool and some of the parents were throwing balls inside the pool and they were splashing water on our faces and the lifeguards DID nothing about this. I had the feeling that I was in some kindergarten hotel and this was not acceptable for me. I have been to this hotel three years ago and it was nothing like this!!!2) the saunas and the steam baths didn't have any wooden buckets for water to pour over the hot stones (some of the heaters were not covered with stones, as they had to be, which was an extreme hazard of burning), there were no refreshments next to the saunas (they were upstairs instead, imagine to climb 30 steps with accelerated heart beat after 30-minute session in the sauna to take a cup of water), there was no ice-cold fountain or simply a bucket with crushed ice at all, there was no soap in the showers (in order to wash yourself from the chlorinated pool water or the sweat after the usage of the saunas); 3) the lifeguards were not next to the pool paying attention to the guests inside it (instead they used to be bar tenders, receptionists, and any missing staff simultaneously); 4) there had to be a warning sign in place forbiding leaving belongings on top of the sun bath just to occupy them when the persons were not there but in the pool or elsewhere. The management ought to think about how to improve the quality and the overall experience for their guests (not to argue with the guests when they were giving their constructive feedback upon the negatives).