Harmony Suites - Monte Carlo

Always hard to write a review because mostly it's relative to your expectations, and I have to bear in mind this was our visit to Bulgaria, having previously had family (young kids) beach holidays in Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and Spain. On that wider point, I'd say Bulgaria has some catching up to do and only has the fact it's marginally cheaper in its favour e.g. Harmony Suites we paid a similar price to what we paid for quite a bit bigger two bedroom apartment in Portugal last year. In terms of that comparison, the pools were probably nicer at Harmony Suites and you did have the option to use other complexes that are part of the same company e.g. there's a gym in Harmony suites 1 just a few minutes walk along the road. On this theme, I wasn't too impressed that the football activity that was available for kids - my son went once - was about 10 dollars for an hour, reflective of the fact there wasn't much that was "included" in your stay. I asked the coach if the pitch (standard 5 a-side astroturf area) was open when nothing booked there e.g. for activities, and he said, no, it's locked! Most places I've stayed before, you can book or use areas like that without additional charge. Our 2-bed apartment was a bit cramped - living room small and kitchenette part of that same room, very small. I was disappointed to find there was zero left for us e.g. no tea, coffee, sugar, oil, salt etc. Zero. Also, no pots or utensils so had to ask the cleaners to bring those (I don't think that was a hassle for them but it's a bit weird in my experience to have to ask for them). Pool areas good. Usually enough lounger space (though there is quite a weird (from Western European perspective) VIP area near one of the pools that you have to pay extra to lounge at and no one in the 2 weeks we were there ever sat/lay there. Pools nice, and ideal for our 6 and 10 year olds. We ate at the restaurant one night and the staff were friendly and the food was good for decent price (on a par with some of the touristy places near the beach; decent value; tasty food). Most of the guests were Russian speaking (a few Ukrainians and a few Russians, which surprised us with the war and everything and us expecting it to be difficult for Russians to travel to the EU). Some Bulgarian families also. A handful of Western European (us, a Danish family, another family we think may have been Swedish -guessing with the languages here!). I've read some reviews suggesting the staff weren't too friendly. Honestly didn't have an issue with that. Different nationalities have slightly different manners and mannerisms. I definitely think English language could be a bit stronger in this complex but they made an effort and I wouldn't fault them. I'd say if you're a family looking for somewhere you'll get a decent sleep, not far from all the action but far enough to escape, this is a decent shout. Having said that, I think for our family situation, it'll be back to Portugal next year.