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Grifid Marea Hotel Golden Sands, Bulgaria

 

This summer we finally managed to tick a destination that we wanted to visit for so long but somehow we always left it at the bottom of the list. Yes, we are talking about Bulgaria and its Golden Sands. It's a location loved by most Romanians and we wanted to see what is with this hype created around it.

We've been to Bulgaria a few times, we even have a blog post about Durankulak and Tyulenovo we visited some lavender fields, deserted beaches, caves and also one of their cities: Veliko Tarnovo, but we wanted to see how it's at the seaside, at an all inclusive hotel and why so many people choose to spend their holiday here.

We always prefer active vacations, we don't really like to sit on the sunbed all day and eat. Actually we didn't like it... because the experience at Grifid Marea was sensational and in the future we want to repeat it.

anotherside of me sisters grifid encato pool


About Grifid

Marea is one of the 7 hotels of the Grifid chain (it is the first chain of hotels in Bulgaria, founded in 2001), all of them are located in Golden Sands Resort, relatively close to each other. Even before we stayed at the Marea, we had heard of Grifid Vistamar, which is absolutely gorgeous, is one of the most beautiful hotels in Golden Sands and now we had the opportunity to also see Encanto and Bolero, where we tested certain services about which we will tell you below.

Grifid Marea has 298 rooms and was completely renovated in 2018, offering accommodation for both young people and families with children- the Grifid also have only adults hotels. Anyway, we have to tell you that we didn't find it noisy at all either at the pool or in the hotel, only at the table sometimes a baby was crying, maybe because he couldn't taste the dozens of goodies that he had in front :) Leaving the joke aside, the children have their pool, separate from the adults, so you don't have to worry if you don't like kids :)

grifid marea


Premium sea view room

Grifid Marea (before it was called Sentido Marea, that's why you will find it called so in some places) has available several types of rooms. We stayed in a premium room, which is slightly larger than the others, has capacity for 3 adults or two adults and a child because it has a sofa and two beds, it's located on an upper floor with sea view and many other small "pamperings" – espresso machine, tea, bathrobes, slippers, Rituals products a free dinner with a la carte menu, which you can book in any night you want.

We arrived at the hotel a little before midnight and we were glad that they had non-stop check in (if you can believe it, even at that time were some people in front of us so we had to wait a few minutes) and the fact that in the room we found some plates with snacks (both food and fruit and cakes). Another thing we liked enormously was the view we had from the 7th floor, even at night it was gorgeous!

In the bathroom we had ambient music in the background and Rituals cosmetics, it seemed to us a detail that, along with others, really makes the difference.

In the rooms is cleaned daily, drinks are added to the mini bar if the existing ones have been consumed, the beach towels are changed, everything is arranged. In addition, all the staff in the hotel is incredibly nice and attentive.

grifid sentido marea room


grifid sentido marea hotel golden sands
Parking

Regardless of the type of room you have, parking is paid, it's 20 leva per day. We advise you not to risk parking yourself in places that you consider ok because cars are picked up every day. We read in a travel group these days about several cases in which Romanian tourists wrote desperately that their cars were stolen and called the police, but the cars had been picked up because they did not park where they should. After you pay for the parking lot you get a ticket that you put in the windshield, so they can see that the parking fee has been paid.

Food

V-am povestit despre camera si parcare, acum sa trecem la mancare 🙂 E prima oara cand avem o cazare de tip ultra all inclusive si ce va putem zice e ca acum intelegem de ce romanii sunt fani ai acestor experiente. Pur si simplu sunt de toate pentru toti. Chiar si Dorina care e vegana nu stia ce sa aleaga dintre atatea tentatii. Au inclusiv mancare potrivita pentru copii, dar si opiuni gluten free inclusiv paine.
Partea mai putin placuta e ca esti tentat sa iti pui cate putin din toate si sa mananci mai mult decat in mod obisnuit 🙂

Restaurantul era incredibil de mare, impartit in mai multe incaperi -in prima puteau sta persoanele fara copii, in a doua cele cu copii si puteai servi masa si afara, pe terasa.
Aveau atat preparate traditionale, care se aseamana foarte bine cu ale noastre, nu degeaba suntem vecini, dar si preparate cu specific italienesc (paste, pizza, branza cu pesto etc.), cat si multe feluri de carne, peste, legume, fructe si deserturi. Mancarea era diferita pentru mic dejun, pranz si cina, chiar si fructele difereau, insa se repeta de la o zi la alta. Spre deosebire de mancarea adusa in camera care nu putem spune ca a fost grozava, cea de la all inclusive era delicioasa. Si fructele erau mereu proaspete, de exemplu pepenele galben a fost genial, nu mai mancasem de mult timp unul atat de bun. Nu cred ca am incercat ceva care sa nu ne placa, inclusiv legumele erau gatite excelent.

grifid marea all inclusive restaurant our plates

On the day we made the reservation for a la carte dinner they were celebrating 100 years since the declaration of Varna as a resort, practically 100 years of tourism in the area, so the menu was exclusively based on traditional dishes. We enjoyed a premium restaurant experience, we served an incredibly good local wine, one of the best we have tasted so far. The menu was, of course, a more select one than at the all-inclusive restaurant. We had an appetizer called Snow White that is quite similar to the famous tzatziki, but it also has nuts, it's absolutely delicious. Then we served a Varna salad, some potato and mushroom balls, we refused the fish soup because it was already too much, then pork steak with caramelized carrots, respectively grilled vegetables and for dessert we served a kind of apple tart, extremely good.

grifid sentido marea restaurant a la carte menu

Pool

We were surprised the first day when we went down to the pool that it was just us and the lifeguard of the hotel. Later we found out that it opened at 9:00 AM and we arrived a little earlier but nobody told us anything and after an exchange of kindness with the lifeguard, we occupied the sunbeds. Later a few more people came, but anyway, overall it was very free, not even half of the sunbeds were occupied in the morning.

Near the pool is a bar that opens at 10:00 AM, where you have free access to all the drinks on the menu. We can't say that the cocktails or juices here are extraordinary, most of them are with syrups, and the juices are diluted, but you always have still or mineral water, which is essential at the beach. There is room for improvement here, but at least they look great! :)

grifid marea cocktails by the pool


The beach

Marea has a private beach, located just a few meters in front of the hotel and near the children's pool. Here was our big surprise - the beach was incredibly clean, without algae, without shells, the sand quite fine (we can't say that it was the finest sand we have seen, but really ok). It was a big difference from our Romanian beaches in terms of cleanliness, both the sea water and the beach being very clean.

The entrance to the sea is not very smooth, but also steep and there are stones in the water, but in some areas are bigger, in others smaller because that's the sea in this area, it's not the hotel fault. Anyway, even for some swimming beginners like us, the water was quite ok, you could go in without problems, you don't enter directly to the neck from the shore, even for the children.

What pleasantly surprised us was the fact that here were a lot of free sunbeds. One day we came at 15:00 and we still found places on the sunbeds because every time someone leave they take the towel with them, we have to learn this in Romania, too :)

If you weren't civilized enough to take your glass to the bar alone, someone would come and pick them up and clean the table near the sunbed. The bar on the beach also opened at 10.00 AM and you have free access to the same drinks as the one at the pool. Near the beach there is also a food truck with hot dogs and free sandwiches for hotel customers, in case you get hungry between meals.


Encanto pool and beach

We had the opportunity to test the services of Grifid Encanto Hotel. First of all, they have an infinity pool with sea view, absolutely wonderful! Really, the view (from the 5th floor where it is) over the sea is great! The only minus is that it's a bit deep, has an average of 1.60 cm and it was quite difficult to get from one end to the other if you don't know how to swim and you are short :)
Oricum, nu avem cuvinte sa va spunem cat de mult ne-a placut!

grifid encanto hotel infinity pool anotherside of me

The pool fascinated us, but at the beach we didn't expected to be surprised, we thought it was similar to the one at Marea. Well, the Encanto beach it's also a premium one, from umbrellas to sunbeds that had a much thicker and more comfortable mattress, to the tables next to the sunbeds, to the bar that has a wider variety of drinks and also ice cream and a wider variety of sandwiches, including burgers, pastry and so on, everything is better here :)

What we liked a lot was the fact that in the morning on Encanto beach came a fitness instructor with whom we did aqua gym in the sea, it was a unique experience, we had a great time! If you have a pink bracelet, that is a premium room you have free access to Encanto beach, which is much freer and more beautiful, so we advise you to choose it. If at the Sea there were many Romanians and you felt at home, here you do not really understand what the neighbors say of the sunbed because most of them were Germans and a small part and British \ud83d\ude42 The beaches are practically glued together, but there are supervisors who check, the color of the bracelet so you can not sit if you are not accommodated at Encanto or at premium at the Sea.

encanto hotel private beach

encanto hotel beach

One day we went to another Grifid hotel, Bolero, to test the aqua park, but unfortunately, the one for adults was closed, it opened at 15:00. We can't say it's wow, but it's fun if you haven't been to bigger ones and you want to try the slides on the water. And the one for the children was very cute, with cartoon characters like Nemo, seemed the little ones were having a lot of fun there.

What else to visit in Golden Sands

If you are bored sitting at the beach and swimming in the pool, Grifid have a series of activities for you: beach volleyball, access to the relaxation center where you have sauna, Turkish baths, access to Encanto Medi Spa where you have facial treatments, relaxing massage - free only for one of the people in the room, but also fitness classes, yoga or swimming available for a fee.
On the beach there are Grifid employees who walk among the sunbeds proposing you to take part in different games- Dorina won one (guessing the cards) and received a delicious cocktail as prize :)

In the evening, they have an entertainment program. One of the evenings we stayed at the pool, at a concert of a local artist, we liked it very much, both vocally and in terms of the chosen covers. They also have various activities for the little ones, both during the day at their pool and also in the evening.

Golden Sands Resort

In the evening we visited the resort which is quite large, beautiful and quite... diverse. If we take it to the right of the hotel we reached the quiet part of the resort, where there were some Roman ruins, everything looks more neat and beautiful, if we take it to the left, it was more crowded, noisy and a little dirtier as you approached the end of the Resort. The area where the Marea is seemed to us the most ok in the Resort, the area where the souvenir shops are seemed to us very crowded, and it was very big noise even at night, we don't know how tourists can sleep there. In the resort there are also trains that you can travel with if you don't want to walk. For some you have to pay a ticket, and others are free.

Overall, although we wouldn't have imagined that we would like a vacation at an all inclusive hotel, it really was a great experience, which we would repeat any time because no one forces you to sit in the sun all day, if you don't like this. We always sat under the umbrella and read, we walked ont the beach, we stayed in the water a lot, learning to swim better (Paris 2024 here we come!), and even we did some exercises as we told you above.

Probably no longer need to tell you that we recommend Grifid Marea, we were pleasantly surprised and if you want a relaxing holiday, at the seaside, here is the place where you have to come.

grifid marea golden sands

grifid sentido marea hotel golden sands bulgaria
grifid marea hotel golden sands
grifid sentido marea kids pool

breakfast by the pool grifid marea
grifid marea all inclusive restaurant dessert
grifid marea all inclusive restaurant food
grifid marea all inclusive restaurant food
grifid marea all inclusive restaurant sweets
grifid marea all inclusive restaurant
grifid marea restaurant all inclusive
grifid marea restaurant bulgarian traditional food
grifid marea bulgarian traditional food
grifid marea restaurant

grifid marea beach bulgaria

grifid marea beach
grifid marea pool
grifid marea private beach
grifid sentido marea kids pool grifid sentido marea private Black Sea beach
grifid sentido marea restaurant golden sands bulgaria
grifid sentido marea restaurant a la carte traditional menu

grifid restaurant a la carte menu

grifid hotel a la carte menu

grifid marea restaurant a la carte traditional menu
anotherside of me sisters grifid encato pool

plaja hotel grifid marea

reading on the beach anotherside of me

reading on the beach

piscina hotel encanto

hotel encanto piscina bulgaria

grifid encanto pool
grifid encanto hotel pool
grifid encanto hotel piscina


encanto hotel golden sands

anotherside of me grifid encanto
seagull

cocktails by the pool

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