we stayed at the riu helios in may 2011 for 2 weeks all the staff were fantastic... we tried the special restaurants on resort and they were fantastic. the bar was great...recommend the cocktails :) trying too book again this year but not able to find it threw the travel agent, i dont hav kids but if you do the kids club is also fantastic, the familys i met there couldnt say any bad things about it, also the animation team were also great, but if you are going to go on days out ie khans tent book threw the hotel and save yourselfs some pennies as the reps lie saying that you dont get the same service and you do, the family that booked with the hotel shop(attraction shop on way to main eating area) got better seats!!! plus the food at the hotel was great

have fun when you do go :)

We booked a last minute holiday and stayed in the riu helios in sunny beach. It was one of the best holidays we have had. We were right on the beach and also a 5min walk to local bars and restaurants. The weather in July was boiling hot. For a fully inclusive holiday for a week we paid £500.00 per adult, money well spent. If your looking for a lazy holiday then look no further. The rooms were comfortable and clean and the food amazing. So much choice and very fresh. We had such a good time.
This would also be perfect for families as there was lots of daily entertainment by the pool and organised quizzes and sporting events.

We stayed at the rui helios and what a brill time we had rooms very good and clean not dated at all the hotel was well clean and up to standard air con good towels clean every day beach just outside the gates food excellent diff every day plenty of drinks even imported spirits happy hubby entertainment a bit cheesy but hey what do you expect i dont know why people moan we had a very good time and will deffo go back we had a high floor which got the sun all day so we could sit on the balcony and chill before dinner, cleaners and bar staff work very hard nothing was to much trouble for them so dont take any notice of the people that moan try it for yourselves it was good looking forward to going back we have stayed in a five star before and not much different

Well we had an eleven night stay here and although they were preparing to close, it didn't stop the hotel from still looking after us very well.
The rooms were spacious, quiet and had a great view of the pool and the sea (well a bit of it).
The food was all buffet style, but was always hot with a great selection of food, which did largely cater for the Germans (with Pork, Chicken and Fish) but always had plenty of veg and a great salad bar. Also the cheese board allowed you to try different cheeses you probably wouldn't at home. If you get fed up with the buffet you could book into the Asian on a Mon- Weds and the Bulgarian from the Thurs to Sat. I have to say...the food in both was fantastic even though it was a set menu.
The 3 bars were well staffed and the measures were very generous =o) and it helped that you could get soft drinks, water, tea and coffee on tap to save queueing.
The Thomson rep was always there to help if needed, which gives piece of mind, but to be honest wasn't needed.
The hotel is only a couple of minutes from the main Sunny Beach strip so just far enough away to miss any of the nightclub noise but near enough to make the most of the great shopping.
Nessebar is only a 10 minute bus ride and well worth visiting.