OBZOR | The best beach in Bulgaria (Guest Series: 05)

 My first time visiting Obzor.

(Spoiler: I’m going back for the pasta!)

Last year, my family and I visited the town of Obzor, located in Nessebar, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. With the help of a travel agency, which presented usseveral accommodation options in different resorts in Bulgaria, we decided to organize our vacation there.
For the trip, we chose to go by bus, with several people who were also going to spend their holiday in Bulgaria, in different resorts. Although the bus was an advantageous choice, as it was the first time we went to Obzor and we did not know how to get there. If we had gone by car, we would have benefited of some advantages that I will clarify a bit later in this article. We left Bucharest, Romania in the morning and we were on the road for about 6 hours with a stop in between.

The bus dropped us off at the entrance of the city and from there we took a taxi to get to the hotel. The travel agency contacted the taxi driver for us which, from what I understood, was the hotel’s driver. I was however disappointed to see that he did not know how to speak English, therefore we couldn’t communicate with him. He knew a few words in German (which I found hilarious), but it still didn't help.

After about 20 minutes we arrived at the hotel in order to check in. We stayed at the Cliff Beach & Spa Resorts.

The receptionist was very friendly and I was happy to see that we were able to speak with her in English. Our room was spacious and nicely arranged, but it also had some problems (some serious ones from my point of view), which were finally solved after we had a serious discussion with the hotel employees. The front door did not close very well, it had a key lock system. The room did not appear to have been sanitized before we arrived, it was sand on the floor and we had to ask them to change the bed sheets. We also had problems with the sofa bed, where the third person had to sleep. The moment you laid down to sleep, you literally sank into the mattress and came to touch the floor and feel the springs of the sofa. I have to mention that we are quite small and physically active people, so it's not like we were too heavy for the couch.

Breakfast was tasty, in the Swedish buffet style. But if you are a vegetarian as my family is, I can't say that you have a lot of options to choose from, as in the case of a person who eats meat. There was plenty of fresh fruits (which I liked) and vegetables, grains, milk and yogurt, eggs and cheese, lots of types of sausages and ham and a few options to drink. I noticed that you basically had to "wait and hunt" the best dishes (such as pancakes), because when they ran out, employees did not replenish the containers, as in other hotels. Which is not only not okay, but it sounds weird to have to do that.
A plus of the hotel, I must say, is the way it was arranged outside. Comparing now the quality-price ratio, I realize that it is the kind of hotel where you pay more for the way it looks on the outside and the view you have from the balcony of the room.

The several pools located on different floors, the comfortable sunbeds and the beautiful flowers and palm trees create an exotic and soothing atmosphere.

At noon,the hotel bar was open near the pool. There you could order pizza, burgers and sandwiches. One day we decided to make a movie night, so we ordered pizza from the bar and we microwaved it in our room.

Warning for all the cinephiles! The TV was not ok, there were only a few channels in Bulgarian (even American movies were dubbed in Bulgarian… something I don’t understand, when you could just add subtitles). So I advise you to take a laptop with you, if you want to watch some movies or TV series in the evening. We ended up eating on the balcony, playing board games and talking about all sorts of things, so in the end it turned out to be a fun night. Communication is the key in all relationships.

Another minus point was the gym. It was very small and unventilated. It kind of inspired a sad vibe, if I may say so. It was actually empty and the two or three machines available, weren’t working. For a person who exercises almost every day, it was a disappointment.
Now let's talk about my favorite part (apart from food, of course). The hotel’s beach wasunexploited andpleasantly quiet. There were only a few people there, so there was plenty of space (in the context of theongoing pandemic, this would be a big advantage for this summer vacation). To get to the beach, we had to go down quite a biton a rather unstable wooden ladder, behind the hotel.

Walking the same path many times a day was quite tiring. But if you are a sporty person, you can look at this experience as a wonderful workout that burns extra calories accumulated during the holiday. The waves were extremely tall and the sand on the shore was full of tiny and sharp shells, which was painful for our feet. There were no taverns or small bars around, where we could get some snacks or drinks from, but we were well prepared with goodies anyway.

The hotel was quite far from the city center, a few kilometers away, and the alternative of getting there by taxi was not a good option, because the driver was a bit of a fraud and was overcharging the tourists. Anyway, we wanted to explore around. But the problem was not that the road was too long. The problem was that, by the time we got to the city center to explore, we were already tired of a rather deserted road, which had pretty much nothing interesting to see.

The first night we went out, by the time we came back to the hotel it was very dark. Honestly,I was very scared on the road. There were no lanterns, we were practically surrounded by an open field, the road was full of gravel and if you didn't have some light from the phone, you could get injured or lost. There were no houses around, and the GPS guided us to anon-existent path. We had to go back and walk a few more kilometers, finally finding some houses. Apparently, no one knew how to get to our hotel. I thank God that no one attacked us, because I’m telling you, I wasn’t going to be responsible for my actions. I was so nervous and tired, that I would have left someone with a few broken teeth (not too many–after all, I'm still a lady:D).

The second night we went out, the brilliant idea came to us to try to walk from the hotel beach, straight forward, until we found something. And in the end,we arrived at the city center, on a slightly friendlier, shorter and even safer way.

There were plenty of restaurants around to choose from. I'm a big fan of pasta and seafood and I'm happy to say those were everywhere. The prices were a bit higher than those in Romania, but certainly lower than in other cities and countries we visited. We found places where you could eat very well, even if you have certain dietary restrictions or if you are a vegetarian.

Our favorite restaurant there was Sea Breeze,but you can only find it on the map under its Bulgarian name (Ресторант Морски бриз). I highly recommend you to stop by and eat something there. My favorite dish was pasta with shrimps, tomatoes and white sauce. I ordered that several times during our stay in Obzor. The prices were affordable and the food portions were bigger than the rest of the restaurants, not to mention they keep high hygiene standards. I tried other dishes, such as the basic french fries with their traditional cheese, chicken fillet, salads and pasta with seafood and red sauce. If you want something sweet, you can find ice cream stands everywhere that sell ice cream by weight, not by scoop. There were a multitude of flavors to choose from. I tried Raffaello & Milky Way and it was delicious.

There weren’t many things to visit around. There was a beautiful Orthodox church in the center of the city, named Храм "Св. Йоан Предтеча" - Church of “St. John the Forerunner” and many souvenir stands.

For food, fruits and water there are several Sunny Markets also located in the center. I had a good laugh watching people get their pedicure done by doctor fishes. What a spa delight!

For cocktails and for a really fine atmosphere, I suggest the Cocktail Bar Bedrock. The place was arranged and inspired by the famous cartoons

starring Fred and Barney. The benches and tables are made of stone, there are colorful lights everywhere, music and good cheer, even statues with the beloved characters. One of the attractions was the car of the Flinstone family, which I couldn't help but take a picture with😊. They didn't have a food menu, but the drinks menu was huge.

To sum things up, this journey was filled with both good and not so good experiences.

Certainly, if we return to Obzor we will drive there in our personal car. This way we will be able to get to the city center much faster and safer, and wander as much as we want by feet, where we actually have something to see. Regarding thesafety of the car in Bulgaria, I don't know much about it. I have heard many unhappy stories, but I have not yet had a personal experience.I can say with all my heart that I would return there even just for the Sea Breeze shrimp pasta. I just loved it so much!

The quiet beach, that was "untouched by people", so to speak, would be a great blessing these days due to the ongoing pandemic.Social distancing is extremely important, as well as following the health and hygiene rules. Also,speaking of hygiene I would choose a different hotel. The stay at Cliff Hotel was not totally disastrous, but it is not worth returning to the same hotel just for the beautiful surroundings it offers. Here comes the old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." It also matters what’s inside, as well as how it is packed.

I hope that my experience in Obzor will be useful for you,should you decide to visit this city. Thanks to the readers who stayed until the end of the story, you’re all cool! Let me know your thoughts about it. Also, I want to know your opinion: do you prefer your personal car or bus/plane when you travel to Bulgaria? What experiences have you had regarding this subject?

                         A Story By: Theodora Mihăescu

          Country: Romania | Medical Student

                   @theeamc

 

 

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