the hotel was stared with 4 stars but it was under a lot...the shower was leeking, the shower cabin didnt exist...i had to waite for 3 days for them to give me a functional tv remote controller...the food was old and re-used every day...everything tasted like instant food..dr oetker like...the caffe and drinks were from draft...ver bad and as well instant coffee...
i wouldnt reccomend going there

The Sofia is a nice hotel very clean, food could be boring but plenty of it , most of the staff are friendly even if hardly any of them can speak or understand English. Nice pool but you have to pay for loungers and umberellas at a daily rate . the biggest problem is the noise ,the hotel has piped music which is on24 hours a day even in the loo,s the music from the Irish bar blares out for about 18 hours a day and then the sky bar pumps music out until about 12.30 am and last but not least there is a disco right across the road from the front of the hotel which is open until 6 in the morning which has a speaker outside !!!the front door so if you plan on having a sleep TAKE EAR PLUGS and one last thing you very rarely fly into Varna airport 90% of flights land and take off from Bougar airport which is about 2 hours and 30 mins from Golden sands even if your ticket shows Varna you could still end up at Bougar we did both ways and so did most of the people we talked to it was the second thing after the noise which annoyed most people

My wife and i recently stayed in Hotel Sofia in Golden sands, the hotel entrance and reception area gives you a 1st impression that hotel is fabulous. Communal areas are kept spotlessly clean but rooms though cleaned daily are a bit dated. The shower had hot water 24/7 but was a hole in floor of bathroom.
Majority of staff were friendly however a few of the staff could do with some lessons in friendliness. A week before we were due to depart we requested to keep room on and were told this was fine for 40 euro until 6pm but the morning we were due to leave were told we had to be out for 12 noon. No shower facilities were made avail. Location of hotel is great for beach and nightlife. There is a 2.5 euro charge for a sunbed at the pool, which at 1st seems bad but actually ok as you were guaranteed a bed for the day. However if you didnt go to pool until 4:30pm you were still charged for use of sunbed. Food in hotel is pretty bland, breakfast is good but dinner not great, Bulgaria v.cheap to eat out so this wasn't an issue for us. We both had massage which was ok but not value for money-advertised as 20 euro for 40 mins when you only get in fact 20 mins. In summary we wouldn't go back to hotel .

Went to Golden Sands for a two week holiday in July 2003 with Hubby and two daughters aged 4 and 7 in tow, not really knowing what to expect, although was prepared for it to be fairly basic. We were more than pleasantly surprised - the hotel was absolutely lovely, our room in particular well exceeded expectations with lovely decor and the bathroom was great with a huge walk-in shower, which was ideal for showering the children every evening. I guess we were very lucky however, as we met another family when we were there and their room, which was on the other side of the hotel wasn't half as nice as ours. The common parts were clean, bright and modern, the reception staff helpful. The food in the hotel was what we now know to be typical of Bulgarian hotels and sadly it's not good, which is a shame because outside the hotels the food in the restaurants is excellent, so why the hotels can't get their act together I don't know (on a more positive note, it's so cheap to go to Bulgaria on a half board basis with prices equal to self catering in other destinations that you just eat out anyway!). The pool was nice but we thought it could have been cleaned more often and be prepared to pay for sun loungers and umbrellas! The Resort of Golden Sands itself is fabulous and there's lots and lots to do in the evening especially for the children with bouncy castles, pleasure boats etc. Theres also loads and loads of stalls selling cheap, if not genuine (if you get my drift) T'shirts, bags, trainers, watches - well you name it! If you get the chance go onto the galleon boat (now a restaurant) where we had the best steak we've had in years for next to nothing. Beware, if you're a bit prudish there are some ladies of the night knocking about later in the evening. You just need to remember that Bulgaria is a pretty new destination, and they're trying so hard - the people are very helpful and friendly, it's just some things are still a bit rough around the edges - but hey it must be great because we're going back again this year to Sunny Beach this time. Just go with an open mind and a healthy sense of humour and you'll have a great time.