site.btaHotel Rodina Marks Beginning of Golden Sands Resort Development

On June 30, 1957, the first hotel in the Golden Sands resort complex near Varna Hotel Rodina (on whose site the present-day Hotel Admiral now stands) was officially opened. On the very same day, the hotel welcomed its first guests.

The idea of establishing a resort in the area was first proposed by brothers Hermann and Karel Skorpil in 1915. It was Karel Skorpil who gave the future complex its name and advocated for its creation before the Varna municipality in 1924.

The development of Golden Sands was formally planned in 1955, when the state decided to build two seaside resort complexes, Druzhba and Golden Sands, near Varna over the following two years. In 1956, ground was broken on the project.

The location of the future resort had a reputation as a “snake pit”, marshy and overgrown with shrubs, yet offering a pristine forest and a vast beach. The construction of the first hotels took place under tough conditions, with workers regularly encountering snakes. To tackle the issue, between 200 and 300 hedgehogs were imported from Albania and released in the area, which proved effective.

By 1957, the complex featured eight hotels, five restaurants, a cafe-pastry shop, and five areas with wooden cottages. The final stage of construction was completed in 1966.

In 2003–2004, Hotel Admiral was built on the former site of Hotel Rodina.