lti Dolce Vita Sunshine Resort

I was here for a week in a group with small kids, parents and grandparents. Beach: 15 min walk to their own beach where they provide beer and soft drinks and sunbeds. This beach is in the main center of the resort. Snacks are not included but there is a beach bar with cheap pub food if you want to skip lunch. There is a shuttle every 20-30mins up until 1730. The beach closes at 18 so you have to clear the sunbeds. Food: There is a buffet food. There is always something decent but never great. Its also very crowded and feels like a cafeteria. For 4 stars it doesnt even try to pretend to have any class/elegance. There is grilled meat and fish, some local stews, pizza and pasta, fish fingers or breaded cheese, cold meats, cheses, 2 types of soup, ice cream, cakes, pickles, etc. Bulgarian restaurant is also buffet, slightly better quality. Drinks: Tap beer is drinkable but it feels very light, probably around 2% alcohol. Other cocktails also feel very light and watered down but drinkable. Wine is very bad. Coffee from the bar is ok, breakfast coffee machine sucks but there is filter coffee near the door. Room: I loved the rooms, nice with plenty of space and furniture to fit your luggage. The showers were always hot. Pool: see the pictures. Only issue is that the kids area closes at 17 and main pool at 18. Entertainment: During the day we were mostly away. There is a kids show every night from 8 to 10 or so. Toddlers enjoy it.

This hotel is in a good location for anyone who is visiting Golden Sands, less than a five minute walk to the shops, bars and restaurants. The hotel itself is very clean, rooms are modern and spacious and the beds are very comfortable. The staff were a bit of a mixture - the reception staff I found to be quite rude sometimes, but the entertainment and bar staff were always pleasant. This is not a hotel for couples in my opinion, it is very family orientated and when we visited (baring in mind it was before the schools broke up for the summer holidays) the hotel was full of kids and big families. The pool isn't big enough for the amount of people the hotel holds unfortunately, during the summer you will tend to find that you'll struggle to find a sunbed after 9:30am. The food I found was always of a good quality, although it was quite repetitive but only after around 5 days of being there did we notice that. The all inclusive unlimited cocktails are lovely and you can have wine and beer with your meals. The breakfast was just your usual continental options plus with the normal eggs, bacon, beans etc. I never had any issues with the food. I spent the last few days of my holiday quite poorly with acute gastroenteritis, so unfortunately we didn't get to go out on any of the excursions we had planned which was a shame. Overall I would give the hotel a 3* plus rating in my opinion - I've stayed in 3* hotels nicer than this one a few times before. I personally wouldn't go back to this hotel but I also wouldn't say I had an awful holiday - the hotel does have lots of good features. One other thing I would add is that the entertainment is very much for kids, if any couples are looking at this hotel I would stay away and go for a adult only hotel inside!

Firstly I would like to say I have written a few reviews on here both good and bad and feel I'm fair in my views. The hotel itself is very clean and welcoming with a very chic reception area and bar. Check in was super quick and the room was very nice. Very spacious and mattresses super comfortable. We requested extra pillows that were with us immediately. Bathroom was big with a big shower and bath, plenty of clean towels and complimentary toiletries. Hot water was very hit and miss and only managed to have a hot shower twice in the week and the remainder it was luke warm at best BUT due to hot weather a cool shower wasnt too much of an issue. Pools: The pools and outside areas were really clean and well maintained. Plenty of big loungers, fresh towels and parasol and despite it being peak season we always found sunbeds without having to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve a bed as I feel many of the customers did. There are 3 pool areas including a waterpark/slide area for the children. The slides were really well maintained and no signs of rust or mould/mildew at all and I felt all the pools were of the same standard. I've read some reviews here that say bottom of pools were dirty but I would dispute that totally as I myself would not want to swim somewhere like that and I felt the pools were very clean even in peak season. The only comment I would make is they are very cold but I've found this in almost all European hotels when weve visited. The sea here is much warmer and more pleasant than the temperature of the water in the pools. The bars are well stocked and offer a good choice of beverages and drinks. There was hardly ever any queues and bar staff are very friendly and polite. The Beach: This hotel is not beachside and is a 10 min ride away on a free shuttle bus. There is a private part of the beach for hotel guests with free loungers and parasol and the restaurant there will provide free drinks for hotel guests. There is nothing above that would prevent me returning but sadly the only thing remaining to review is the food and I'm sorry to say and in comparison to many other 4* hotels I have visited the food is very low standard. It is very much geared for the German and Bulgarian guests. The cold buffet area is the same every night with big bowls of pickled vegetables, olives, cheeses and meats. The main courses are either a meat stew of some sort, rice and vegetables all cooked the same way. The food is rarely hot at all and sometimes I would say even cold! My husband and I are not fussy at all but tonight for instance there was pork skewers that were cooked partially on the griddle and then deep fried which meant chewy tough meat sadly. We always found something to eat but I'm sorry to say not one meal did we feel was great or up to standard of a 4* Platinum hotel. I have read comments from some people who have responded to complaints about the food and implying that the reviewer is either fussy or expecting too much. I have been to many many 4* AI hotels all over Europe and the Caribbean and the Dolce Vita is by far the worst food. Breakfast is terrible. I prefer continental which is usually lovely pastries and jams but unfortunately the Dolce Vita does not provide this. The pastries are very plain and almost stale and the jam is almost a jelly that's been minced up and has no taste and no fruit at all. I even purchased a jar of jam to have as I already eat very little for breakfast so to pass on jam would mean dry toast!! I chose to not even bother with breakfast a few mornings and instead walked to a local shop as it was much fresher and tastier sadly. Staff: I have read lots of reviews which are mostly negative about the staff. I would like to say that the reception staff, bar staff and life guards are all very happy, warm and polite staff and felt this needed saying as to generalise about all the staff would be most unfair. Now to the restaurant staff. They are rude, surly, rushed and rarely even acknowledge or smile at a guest. It's a case of feed us and get us out quickly! I did have to make a complaint unfortunately about a situation that I wont go into here as the restaurant manager was most apologetic and had called a staff meeting as we were leaving and I could hear him addressing our complaint. I'm aware it's a hot and tedious job clearing up after guests all the time but our custom pays their wages and perhaps they need to be aware of that. Overall the hotel, grounds and facilities are really nice with no complaints at all but if food is part of your holiday or rather nice food served well in ambient surroundings then you will be very very disappointed with Dolce Vita as it does not make the mark of a hotel of this grading nor the price we paid for a week peak season.