Grand Hotel Velingrad

We have come back for a second year and unfortunately there’s been an overwhelming deterioration in the service this hotel offers. It boasts 5 stars but actually corresponds more to 3. Below is just a short explanation of the significant issues, which a 5 star hotel should not have. Before I start, I’m just going to mention how wonderful their spa service and facilities are - they made our stay worth it despite all the below issues. - [ ] Staff members at reception are just not present at their desk - they all sit in a room just behind reception and peek through if you happen to be around and shout “Hello”. Not a good first impression. Check in was quick but we were not offered to be taken to our room or asked if we need help with our luggage. Not a smile in sight when we were checking out. - housekeeping is inconsistent - room cleaning is just basic sheets being fixed and towels changed, the bathroom is not wiped, sink not cleaned, no replenishment of body wash throughout our 4 day stay. We were not offered complimentary bottles of water as we should have been. - issues in the room e.g soap dispenser not working (and cleaners warning us that it doesn’t work rather than asking somebody to fix it), no tissues (when we asked for some they told us they’re only reserved for guests on floor 4?), tv remote does not work and no one came to fix it until we wrote an email to management (more on this later). - Staff members by the pool (including lifeguard) are very much preoccupied with their phones rather than paying attention to customers - us and another family had to wave for 10mins+ at them to come and take our orders; when ordering drinks they just seem totally uninterested and partially annoyed at having to serve drinks. To a point where I felt like apologising for having ordered a coffee. Drinks are overpriced. - The buffet for dinner doesn’t have enough labels on foods - especially the dessert section. It just says “desserts” with about 7 options to eat. When we asked a waiter for more information on the food he said he doesn’t know and “even if I wanted I can’t learn them because they’re so many”. Ridiculous answer. He seemed inclined to argue with us rather than apologise for the lack of appropriate labelling. If you happen to have an intolerance or worse, a severe allergy - forget about informed food choices at this hotel. - The lobby bar has a very limited selection of drinks (which is fine) but when we asked for Ouzo we were told only the restaurant serves it, and they can make an exception only on this occasion for us to go and get it ourselves from the restaurant - totally unacceptable for a 5 star hotel. After sending an email with our comments to the management during our stay, management was helpful, met with us, and responded to most of our comments. Nevertheless we are really not going to go back - it’s a shocking service. This is unfortunate as the hotel really does offer wonderful facilities (even though they are slightly unkept).