Iberostar Sunny Beach Resort

The Iberostar is in central Sunny Beach, a short walk to the beach and Black Sea. Situated on grounds with palm trees, shrubs, and flowers, the massive resort has two L-shaped buildings surrounding a courtyard with two outdoor pools plus an adjacent kids' pools. Guests gather here to swim, sunbathe on the spacious deck, and sip drinks and snack on light fare at the poolside snack bar. The pool area has a busy and energetic atmosphere, but is refreshingly uncrowded -- guests don't have to fight for lounge chairs or space to swim and splash around in the pools. Despite renovations in 2013, things still look a bit unintentionally retro inside -- expect to see lots of brown and black marble and granite on the floors plus plenty of wood paneling and colors like maroon and mauve in many public areas. The resort has tons of kid-friendly features, making it a big draw for families, but couples and friends traveling together also frequently pass through.

Iberostar Sunny Beach Resort is located a five-minute walk Black Sea and beach and is surrounded by all manner of hotels and nightlife. The resort is less than a five-minute walk to Flower Street, which is home to a street market, food stalls, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, the Casino Kuban, and Luna Park Sunny Beach amusement park. The E87/9 road and Sunny Beach Karting Track are a five-minute drive from the resort, and Action Acquapark water park is seven minutes away by car. The ancient Thracian settlement of Nessebar is about a 10-minute drive from the resort. A bus also runs to Nessebar from Flower Street. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Nessebar features the sixth-century Hagia Sophia Church and the 14th-century Church of Christ Pantokrator and Church of St. John Aliturgetos. Burgas Airport and the Burgas city center are a 25-minute drive.

Iberostar Sunny Beach Resort has 630 rooms, including Junior Suites and Family Rooms. Rooms, which range from 398 to 587 square feet (37 to 55 square meters). All rooms are clean and relatively modern, with a warm beige, tan, and brown color palette. Dark wood-veneer furniture has simple, clean lines, and light berber carpeting lines the floors. Decor is somewhat underwhelming, though, and some details do make them look more dated than they are -- for instance, the flesh-tone bedspreads in the unit that we saw didn't look exactly contemporary. Also, rooms feel slightly underdecorated, and we only saw one abstract painting and a striped upholstered headboard in the room that we visited. . 

All rooms come with desks, safes, mini-fridges, sofa beds, free Wi-Fi, and 32-inch flat-screen TVs with satellite and English-language channels. Rooms also have balconies, and some offer views of the outdoor pools. Bathrooms are spacious and well-lighted and all have shower/tub combos, hairdryers, and magnifying mirrors. Some of the bathrooms -- with their abundance of brown and tan tiling -- do look a bit dated. Keep in mind that some rooms -- especially the ones that face the direction of Flower Street -- can pick up noise from outside of the hotel until late at night.

The Iberostar offers a sprawling freshwater outdoor pool complex, centered on two identical rectangular lap pools. Each has an adjacent smaller pool and a children's pool, one with a water slide. There's also a third children's pool with water slide in another part of the resort. The spacious deck has lounge chairs, umbrellas, and a big snack bar serving drinks and light fare. The indoor swimming pool is heated in the colder months. 

There are a wide range of sports and activities, including water polo, tennis, sand volleyball, trampolines, a climbing wall, air guns, billiards, table tennis, darts, and miniature golf. The resort also has kids' clubs (for ages 4 through 12) and teen clubs, plus a colorful playground. A fitness center, small spa with massages (for a fee), beauty salon, tanning beds, wood sauna, and Turkish steam room are also on- site. The animation team leads activities and excursions during the day and performs music, dance, and variety shows in the evening. 

While the food at the Iberostar is not gourmet, guests report it's plentiful and tasty, and all-inclusive rates area available. The breakfast buffet offers a cooked-to-order eggs, bacon, sausages, cold cuts, cheeses, cereal, bread, fruit, coffee, and juice. The main restaurant serves Spanish and international cuisine, and features live cooking demonstrations. The buffet restaurant offers Bulgarian and international fare, and includes theme nights. In addition to the poolside bar, the resort has a lobby bar. The all-inclusive premium plan also comes with private express check-in, a welcome gift, daily free mini-bar refills, premium beverages, an exclusive bar and restaurant, and an exclusive cafe with free snacks, coffee, and tea. The resort also has meeting rooms, public computers, a gift shop/convenience store, and free parking. Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort.