Grand Hotel Therme  rating by the 5D Sensograph of placescases.com: 4,8 out of 5.

February  2023

Seen             

Felt               

Heard             

Smelled             

Tasted             

Reading time: 7 min

You don’t have 7 min to read? Then try the fast mode, go only through bold and colored text: 5 мин.

You don’t feel like reading? See the short movie further below: 7:17 min.

I was able to book almost immediately after the opening for over a month ahead. Yes, Grand Hotel Terme is a hot destination right now in Bulgaria and everyone wants to go and snap a selfie at the backdrop of the steaming pools outside, in front of the shiny gorilla in the lobby or just relax in its spa areas.

The options are BB or all inclusive. We took BB, but actually on the spot we realized that all inclusive is very worth it because their variety is of the best type, the one we are used to seeing only in 5 star hotels in Turkey. And this is not by chance, because the restaurant has a Turkish staff who masterfully coped with their task and left us all with exceptional memories of our stay. So, we bought dinner packages on the spot, which are EUR 25 per person and include food and soft drinks, and alcohol is paid extra. But the wonderful impressions don’t stop there, just read on to find out what impressed me the most about the hotel.

 See ….

…. As soon as you enter, the hotel makes a huge impression with its high ceilings and generous spaces – a huge hall that houses the reception, the lobby bar, the ceiling of which is at the maximum height of the building;

…. A very interesting solution with the rough beam arrangement under the ceiling- everything is very carefully designed, thought out, creates an exceptional feeling of coziness and style.

Feel ….

…. The service is very good – the staff greets their guests wherever they meet them.

The best way to test the quality of service in a hotel or restaurant is observe how the staff reacts to a problem. We had this rare chance at Therme and his staff passed the test with honors.

The following happened:

The house keeping ladies had broken a glass bottle of jojoba hair oil in my daughters’ room. From the department they called the children to report the incident and asked them if they wanted the product to be purchased or paid for. Since this oil was bought from a store with organic cosmetics, which is quite rare to find, I simply told the reception that they should find, an adequate way to compensate us, according to their abilities and that the solution should not be too complicated and burdensome for themselves. The lady at the front desk immediately proposed a solution, “the kids will have dinner for free tonight, do you agree?” I had nothing more to say – an absolutely adequate reaction. There were no ramblings, phrases like “but first I’ll ask the boss” or anything like that.

…. The availability of spacious public spaces is another very big plus of the hotel – on cold evenings, when you just need something to do, you have the option of going out to the outdoor hot pool and staying there until midnight. It is for adults only, i.e. 16+. But you can also go down with the kids to the games and socializing room at -1 level. There is also a children’s club there – quite big and nice.

….. Otherwise, the spa area and pools are open until 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

…. Extremely professional behavior from the kitchen staff, adapted to the modern lifestyle.

Read about the following two occasions.

While they were setting up the dinner displays in the restaurant, which is all glass walls and from the outside you can see everything inside, I went to take a video with my phone camera. Meanwhile a member of staff was arranging the delicacies on the displays. When he saw me, instead of being embarrassed and hiding, as hotel employees in Bulgaria do most of the time, he smiled and waved to me. I was very happy with this reaction! Super adequate, shows the attitude towards customers – people are grateful to be able to show them their skills!

The second case: I opened the bain-marie to photograph the feasts in them. The head of the Turkish crew saw this clearly and when I looked up from the camera to head for the next subject to shoot I saw that all the bain-maries had their shutters open ready to be shot for my convenience and the man looked for conformation, if that was okay.

In order not to sound like a hotel PR, because I hurry to explain that I get no dividends from this article, I will also mention a few things that are for correction.

The phone in the room did not work at all, and we use these phones to contact the children, who are always in a separate room. But that wasn’t such a problem for us, we have cell phones after all.

At first there was a problem with the cistern in the toilet, but the moment I told reception about it, 30 min later it was fixed, so that’s a positive review again.

However, I have a more significant remark about the service at the spa.

At its reception, one of the employees dared to address me with unpleasant familiarity. When you leave your spa card to get a towel, you have to tell your room number. But instead of prompting me to say it, she asked me the question “Do you have anything else to tell me?” I was a little embarrassed because there was something like an accusation in her voice. This was unacceptabl. She should’ve politely ask me for the room number and thank me, not test me if I’d learned her procedure by heart.

I had ordered a Balinese massage. Frankly it was vey unpleasant. The masseus pulled my hair in a very unpleasant way, I felt very uptight all the time and the massage was painful in general. I tried to say that I more accent on my shoulders and neck because they were very tight, but the masseuse pretended not to understand me (she is of Ukrainian origin and only speaks Russian). At the end of the massage she told me, again in Russian, that what I wanted was a deep tissue massage, and I had paid a Balinese one, and she can’t make such an exception to massage me a little more in that area. For the first time it happens to me, when I tell the masseuse to pay attention to a certain area, to be refused. It made me uncomfortable.

Now, to separate the negative from the positive, I want to say that the massages are separate from the hotel i.e. the activity was outsourced  to another company, because only with them we could not put the bill on the room, but we paid on the spot.

There are definitely some serious flaws at the SPA procedures and they contrast with the quality of all the other services in the hotel.

Due to the behavior of the employees in the spa treatments, one heart is lost.

Hear ….

…. Nice relaxing music in the spa area, just as expected. Jazz in the restaurants and the games and socializing room.

Movie watching time: 7:17min.

Smell ….

…. It smells wonderful in the aromatic steam room of the spa area;

…. The food at breakfast and dinner smells really good.

Taste ….

…. Just 2 words – great cuisine. The food not only looks extraordinary, but also tastes great. A cornucopia has poured into the restaurant. The list of recommendations of what to try is long, but I will still mention from breakfast and dinner what impressed me the most:

For breakfast, you must try the pie and the sandwich with poached egg, cream cheese and pesto.

At dinner, try their cabbage sarma (stuffed sour cabbage leaves) from the main menu – it’s the first time I eat such – sarma. It is a little longer and thinner, like cigar, with a special spice inside that makes it exotic. Otherwise, beef meatballs and lamb also made it to the list of favorites.

I would gladly go to the Grand Hotel Terme again, mainly because of the hot pools and the restaurant’s cuisine!

How to get to Grand Hotel Therme?

Just use the Google map here by clicking on the red pin of its location and then select directions:

1902, 2778 Banya

A: 1902, 2778 Banya

T: +35980020201

Check-in: 14 Check-out: 11

How to book your stay?

You can book your stay right here. For your convenience, I have added a booking.com box, which refers directly to their site. I guarantee you’re going to use all your genius discounts and privileges they would offer to you and I will get a modest commission. Just enter the dates of your trip, the place, then hit the Search button and voila.

Booking.com

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Do you ever wonder how some places differ so much from others in service, environment, as an overall experience? This means you are also interested like me in the topic of The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore. I constantly add to my collection reviews about those of them, which practice its principles, regardless of intentionally or accidentally. If you are curious to understand which they are, explore category The Experience Economy.