DIT Majestic Beach Resort

Amid the many massive resorts up and down Sunny Beach's slice of Black Sea coast, the DIT Majestic Beach Resort is one of the larger in the area. Despite that fact -- and despite the hotel's popularity with the budget beach-resort crowd -- this is still a bit quieter than the hotels right in the city center. Like most hotels in the region, interiors are nothing to write home about. The look throughout is rendered in a bland beige and brown palette, but the Bulgarian restaurant, with its blue walls and red-plaid tablecloths is striking, and the lobby bar has big aquariums with exotic fish. 

The resort makes good use of its seafront location, and several restaurants and bars have open-air terraces. There's plenty of buzz all through the day, and the resort has a requisite animation team to keep everyone happy. There are also a wide range of activities and places to unwind, ranging from mini-golf and the beach to the pools. Grounds include large lawns that face the sea, banana trees, and more than 200 palm trees. The resort draws activity-loving couples and families with children, who find plenty of options to keep themselves busy.

DIT Majestic Beach Resort sits just across a pedestrian promenade on the Black Sea, at the quieter north end of Sunny Beach. The promenade has shopping stalls, restaurants, and bars, and several supermarkets are within easy walking distance of the resort. Action Acquapark water park is about a five-minute drive, and Sunny Beach Karting Track is about a seven-minute car trip from the resort. It's a bit too far to walk to Flower Street, which is home to Luna Park Sunny Beach amusement park, a street market, food stalls, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs can all be found along Flower Street. As an alternative, a drive to Flower Street will take about five to 10 minutes and there's a tourist train that runs through town making the trip. The ancient Thracian settlement of Nessebar is a 15-minute drive from the DIT, or boat ride from the Victoria Palace hotel next door. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Nessebar features the sixth-century Hagia Sophia Church and 14th-century Church of Christ Pantokrator and Church of St. John Aliturgetos. Burgas Airport is a 30-minute drive away, while Burgas city will take 35 minutes to reach.

Housed in two 12-floor buildings, the 734 rooms at DIT Majestic Beach Resort come in a range of styles, though like an astonishing number of hotel rooms in Sunny Beach, the palette is almost universally beige and brown. Some rooms are more modern, while others are dated. Standard Rooms are the most old school of them all, and while furniture has clean lines, the light oak veneer surfaces, peach accent walls, and cheap marine-life wall art don't do much to make them look up-to-date. More modern rooms have a combination of light tile floors and light carpets plus furniture with dark and light veneer surfaces. Sharper textiles -- like dark curtains and throw pillows -- look a bit more fresh from a style perspective, though the look is still bland. Some rooms, like the Junior Suite that we visited, do have sleek low-rise furniture plus accents like bamboo in vases, that work together to give them a bit more personality.

Rooms range from 269 to 753 square feet (25 to 70 square meters), and Studios and apartments have kitchenettes with two-burner stovetops, sinks, mini-fridges, toasters, and microwaves. One-bedroom apartments have separate living rooms. All come with desks, safes, minibars, and flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, including few English-language channels. Unfortunately in-room Wi-Fi is not free. All rooms have balconies and terraces with plastic or wicker furniture, some of which include sea views. Bathrooms are large and well-lit, with ample counter space around the sink and shower tub combos. The look is retro, with tan tile borders in some rooms or pink-and-beige marble in others, though certain rooms do have contemporary fixtures. Basic toiletries are provided.

DIT Majestic Beach Resort is situated on the Black Sea, with a beach that offers volleyball, and has sunbeds and umbrellas that are available for a fee. The beach bar serves a wide range of cocktails and hosts afternoon house parties and evening "chillout" parties. The pool complex is impressive, with two huge free-form swimming pools, a children's pool, a large deck with lounge chairs, and a poolside bar. A fitness center includes a range of cardio and weight-training equipment. There's also a beauty salon and a full-service spa with a Turkish steam room and treatments such as thalassotherapy, Asian and hot-stone massages, and Black Sea salt scrubs and Chianti wine scrubs. 

Like many of the other massive resorts along this stretch of coast, there are a number of ways to stay entertained at the Majestic. The large outdoor sports complex has two tennis courts, two basketball courts, and two soccer fields, and there's also a mini-golf course on-site. There are two outdoor playgrounds for children, and two indoor kids' clubs with toys and games. The game room offers snooker and billiards, foosball, air hockey, darts, chess, and backgammon. An animation team leads water aerobics, games, and yoga during the day, and performs music, dance, and variety shows at night. 

The resort offers a wide array of dining and drinking venues, and meal and drink packages are available. Food across the board gets solid marks for both quality and variety. The breakfast buffet includes made-to-order eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, beans, cheeses, breads, cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and juice. The main restaurant serves European and traditional Bulgarian dishes, while the second restaurant also serves traditional Bulgarian fare such as barbecue and veal kebabs. Both have open-air terraces. Another restaurant serves traditional Mediterranean fare on an open-air terrace with sea views. The resort also has a snack bar, lobby bar with outdoor terrace, and terrace bar with sea views. 

The resort also has meeting rooms, a business center, medical center, gift shop/convenience store, clothing boutique, and free parking. Wi-Fi is available for a fee.