Planning your summer vacation with a baby? If so, this article will help you choose between two popular hotels for the 2024 season: HVD Reina del Mar in Obzor and Casa di Fiore in Kranevo. We’re sharing our impressions—from arrival to amenities for the smallest guests.
Arrival
HVD Reina del Mar Located at the beginning of Obzor (if you’re coming from Varna), the hotel is accessible via a narrow local road where two cars can barely pass. Upon arrival, you’ll find both parking lots full. Cars are left outside, but at least security ensures order.
Casa di Fiore Situated in Kranevo, the hotel is right on the beach. Reaching it during the season is also challenging as the town’s narrow streets are crowded with parked or maneuvering beachgoers. The parking lot in front of the hotel is small and almost always full, but across the street, there’s a spacious gravel area. If you’re lucky, you might even find shade under a tree.
Check-In
HVD Reina del Mar Despite the parking being full, the reception area is spacious, and check-in happens quickly. A great feature is the mandatory assistance of bellboys—guests are picked up from reception with a golf cart, taken to their car to collect luggage, and then transported to their building, where the bellboy unloads everything. This service is incredibly convenient, especially when traveling with a baby. During the ride, the bellboy gave us a mini-tour of the complex, showing us the pools, restaurants, patisserie, and beach.
The hotel has several wings to stay in—we recommend Block C as it’s closest to the pools and beach yet far enough from the stage to enjoy a quiet evening.
Casa di Fiore Check-in here is also quick, but a bellboy doesn’t come by default—you have to request one. If you don’t, you’ll have to carry your luggage yourself, from beach hats to baby floaties. Pro tip: Park your car in front of the entrance to unload before finding a spot in the gravel lot.
Regarding rooms, some face the sea but also overlook the outdoor pools and restaurant (both indoor and outdoor areas), making these rooms a bit noisier. Others face the parking lot, bushes, and old socialist-style holiday bases.
Rooms
HVD Reina del Mar Our room was spacious and very clean, with the same applying to the bathroom. The soundproofing of the windows was impressive, though conversations in the hallway could still be heard. The minibar is stocked, with consumption included in the UAI package, and is restocked daily. Although our reservation was for two adults with a baby, the room lacked a crib, baby towels, or the advertised baby cosmetics. Everything—from baby cosmetics to a crib, potty, or stroller—is provided only upon request. Tip: Don’t rely on the “baby cosmetics”; we requested some out of curiosity and received an unknown brand’s baby shampoo and shower gel.
As expected in hotels, the pillows were uncomfortable, but a plus is that the air conditioning is not centralized, so you can control it yourself.
HVD Reina del Mar also offers villa accommodations—several two-story buildings close to one another, some with a shared private pool. If you’re traveling with friends, we believe these villas are worth considering, especially for the pool access and the quieter atmosphere.
Casa di Fiore The room was smaller but still spacious enough, with a baby crib already set up, complete with baby sheets and a cute baby robe—a lovely touch! The room and bathroom were spotless. Additional baby extras beyond the mentioned items are not provided. If you dislike the pillows, you have options—pay for a “pillow menu” or indulge in cocktails at the bar for a similar effect. The air conditioning is individually controlled, which is always a plus. As noted earlier, “sea-view” rooms are slightly noisier, and hallway conversations near the elevators are audible at all hours.
Restaurants
HVD Reina del Mar The hotel offers Ultra All-Inclusive, meaning everything you consume anywhere on the premises is included in the price. Main meals are served at the large buffet restaurant in the hotel’s main building. The food is good and quite diverse. While you won’t find extraordinary gourmet offerings, everything is fresh, tasty, and varied. They’ve also catered well for the youngest guests—there’s a decent selection of baby foods, including meat, vegetable, and fruit purees (Gerber and Bebivita), porridge, baby water, baby biscuits, and at every meal, soup, rice, steamed vegetables, chicken, or fish—all without salt or spices.
The complex also has two à la carte restaurants. For dinner, reservations are required, while lunch operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Tip: If you’re hungry or have a child, avoid the à la carte restaurants for lunch—it takes at least 40 minutes for your food to arrive!
Additionally, there’s a snack bar, patisserie, and several bars serving only drinks—just choose which queue to wait in (the bar near the restaurant is faster than the one by the pools).
Casa di Fiore The buffet restaurant at Casa di Fiore is impressive—a true feast for food lovers! We haven’t seen such a variety of dishes, unique recipes, and special attention to meat preparation in a Bulgarian hotel’s main restaurant. If food quality is a top priority for your vacation, Casa di Fiore is a must-visit. Lunch offerings may not be as captivating as dinner, but this could be due to the high standard set by the evening meals.
For the little ones, however, options are limited—breakfast, lunch, and dinner feature a small shelf with a few Gerber purees (fish, meat, or vegetable) and fruit juices (Tedi). While adults will likely be thrilled by the extensive menu, the same cannot be said for babies.
Pools
HVD Reina del Mar The complex features several pools—those near the bar are crowded with people sipping cocktails and avoiding animation activities. There’s a small “relax” pool further inside, warm and usually with available loungers. The baby pool is shallow, warm, wide, and equipped with fun features like mushroom fountains and a small slide. Next to it is the kids’ pool, slightly deeper, with a taller slide and activities for older children. Both pools are spacious, but finding a spot nearby is almost impossible unless you’re an early riser who skips breakfast.
The hotel also has an indoor pool in the spa center.
Casa di Fiore The hotel has one outdoor pool divided into two sections by a bar in the middle. One part is shallower and “child-friendly,” but both sections have cold water. Next to it is an outdoor jacuzzi, often used by kids as it’s warm, and the jets aren’t constantly on. The outdoor pools cannot accommodate even a third of the hotel’s guests if it’s fully booked.
The indoor mineral pool is warm and spacious, though summer temperatures inside can feel overwhelming.
Spa
HVD Reina del Mar The spa center isn’t large, especially considering the hotel’s capacity, but this is a summer hotel where the spa isn’t the main attraction. It’s well-maintained and rarely used. Facilities include a swimming pool, relaxation pool with underwater jets, kids’ pool, hammam, steam bath, Finnish sauna, herbal sauna, a Himalayan salt room, and a relaxation area. Everything works perfectly, and there’s hardly anyone there.
Casa di Fiore The hotel’s spa facilities have won several awards over the years. While not large, the amenities are well-maintained. Learn more here: Casa di Fiore @ Spa Detector.
For Children
HVD Reina del Mar is highly focused on families with children. The complex features a large playground with soft flooring and equipment for both younger and older kids, separated by a fence for safety. There’s a baby club with toys, a changing area, and even babysitting services (we noticed Romanian guests using this service, leaving their baby in the cribs at the baby club). There’s also a kids’ club with animators and a play area. Ramps are available wherever there are stairs, making it stroller-friendly. Restaurants provide plenty of high chairs for kids. We add the children’s pools and the dining options mentioned earlier, and you can clearly see that they have genuinely thought about how to improve their service and tailor it specifically to parents with children.
Casa di Fiore
Here, we mentioned the limited food options for babies, as well as the small outdoor children’s pool. There is also an indoor pool with a depth of 50 cm and a temperature of 34 degrees. On the restaurant level, there is a kids’ room; the space is not large, but unfortunately, the toys and furniture were already quite worn out at the beginning of the season. Updating them is definitely something to consider. On level -1, there is a game room for older kids and a play area with a ball pool, slide, and maze designed for children aged 3 and up.
Beach
HVD Reina del Mar is located right next to the beach and provides its own umbrellas and sun loungers free for hotel guests. However, most of the guests are by the pools and bars, so the beach is almost empty. The shoreline is clean and pleasant, with plenty of space.
Casa di Fiore
You can reach the beach by crossing two small streets—it’s very close. The hotel has its own umbrellas and sun loungers for its guests, as well as a beach bar. The beach is clean and spacious, with shallow and pleasant waters!
HVD Reina del Mar or Casa di Fiore? The answer is both! Each hotel has its own advantages, but whichever you choose, you won’t be disappointed!
Do you have other suggestions? Share them with us and with others!
This post is not sponsored. The article is based on the personal experiences of the authors.