My husband booked an apartment for 3 nights at this hotel 10 days ago, because of event of photovacation – an event very popular among the photographers . Three days before the expected date, he receive a cancelation via email. There was no explication. We called at hotel to check if it was an error, but nobody could answer. There was no reservation. All the hotels at this price range in this resort were fool at this time. That’s why he couldn’t visit this event. We suppose they did that because of someone who wanted an apartment for a longer time. Everything is money – this is a policy of the hotel!

If you are looking for a nice, cozy, romantic, relaxing or kid-friendly hotel, this place is not for you.

If you are a little wild and will use the hotel mostly for sleeping, then this is the hotel for you. Three things are great about this hotel: (1) the price: so small compared to anything else; (2) the indoor swimming pool: as far as I know it is the only hotel around to offer a free serious indoor swimming pool, which is great if like us you come out of the season; (3) the communist experience: the hotel was clearly designed as an impressive monster in the communist time, nothing is cozy or soft about it, everything has an icy soviet atmosphere. You feel like you are traveling back in time to the cold war era, every time you go down to the lobby you almost feel like Krushov or Breznev can come round the corner every time.

Point number three made it for me a very unforgetable hotel. Hotel Dobrudja is not just the place where I spent my holidays but I will always remember it. I even bought a small statue of the hotel in a souvenir shop and this is something I have never done before.

The only good thing about this hotel was the view from the room and the location in downtown Albena. Otherwise really nothing positive!
The staff could barely speak any other language then Bulgarian and they weren't particularly nice. The hotel looked ok on the outside, but inside the rooms were miserable...old furniture, old stench, the toilet wasn't working and there was a hole in the sink...
The breakfast was relatively rich, but the products were of poor quality, the dishes were full of cracks...We were very disappointed! That was no 4 stars hotel or restaurant..it didn't even come close to 3 stars, if you ask me.
In the night it was very loud because of the surrounding bars and discos, very difficult to fall asleep...and we had to open the window to get some fresh air since there was no air conditioning in the room.
My recommendation: Keep away from this hotel! There are much nicer, cheaper hotels in Albena!

The Dobrudja Hotel is famous for many reasons. When opened, it was the tallest building in Bulgaria and is still the highest building in Albena. It was an elegant and spacious upper-class hotel for uptown guests (definately not for the working class in communist Bulgaria) and there are still traces left from these golden days. But the pride of Albena has seen better days.

POSITIVE ASPECTS
The rooms on the upper floors offer a stunning view over the town, the hills and the black sea (depending on which side your room is at). If you're given a room on the lower floors, you will still be able to enjoy the view from the top floor bar and restaurant. Arriving by car is not a problem, as the hotel offers plenty of parking space. The location is also worth mentioning, in the heart of Albena, at easy walking distance to the beach and the restuarant neighbourhood.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS
As mentioned before, the hotel has seen better days. Everything is run down, from the lobby to the rooms to the dining halls to the pool area. Cracks are common in the walls, the furniture, the bath sink and even on the dining hall plates and cups. Some receptionists speak a few words of either german, english or even romanian, but most of them are limited to bulgarian only. When entering the guest rooms, one is greeted by a mouldy smell, a stained carpet and very basic furniture. The pool area is not sanitated, the grass around the pool is not cut and as a result, no guest dears to venture into it. These are not characteristics of a supposed 4 star hotel. There are plenty of cheaper hotels in Albena with the same standard - and hotels with the same price and a much higher standard!

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Albena has a small bus station, well hidden behind the town's football field. From there, buses run several times daily to Varna and Balchik.

IN CONCLUSION
This hotel is definately not worth the rate. The only advantage is the view, which can be enjoyed anyway from the top floor bar and restaurant.