Imeretinskaya Bay is the most civilized place in Sochi and its environs. There is a long and beautiful promenade, well-groomed beaches, stylish hotels and cafes. I can't even believe that this is our south! However, the bay also has disadvantages. In this review, I detail the pros and cons of the resort, prices in 2021, and give advice.
What the resort looks like
Ten years ago there was a wasteland here. And today it is the most developed and prestigious area of Greater Sochi. It is here that the famous Olympic Park, huge hotels, the main amusement park of our south, the long embankment, the most crowded beaches are located. Since 2020, all this wealth has become the village of Sirius, but it continues to be called the Imereti Bay, and even more often - Adler. However, the real Adler is located across the Mzymta River.
The resort looks excellent compared to other southern resorts. This is the center of civilization, no kidding. If Dzhubga is a smoker's resort, then Imeretinskaya Bay is a health resort. I think the whole point is in the Olympics: firstly, they tried to build beautifully and wisely so that they did not hit their faces in the mud in front of overseas guests, and secondly, they built from scratch, so there was no need to correct mistakes of the past. Everything turned out neatly, stylishly and modernly, without mutated boathouses and cafes from the 2000s, without red-painted signs "Beer and chebureks", without rusty fittings and dilapidated breakwaters on the beaches.
But the coolest thing in Imeretinka is the long and uninterrupted embankment, which is associated with rest by the sea and what our southern resorts lack so much. They also tried to make it beautiful and comfortable - all 6 kilometers are illuminated by lanterns and decorated with palm trees, flowers and shrubs. Half of it is tiled and the other half is rubberized for cyclists. I am glad that there are no railway tracks along the promenade, and instead of them there is a series of stylish hotels and cafes. The only thing I didn’t like was the ugly concrete breaker on the embankment, because of which the sea and sunset are not visible. However, if you are taller than 160 cm, it will not hurt.
Despite the fact that Imeretinskaya Bay gives the impression of a rich resort and almost the entire territory is built up with large hotels, there is a small private sector with guest houses, inexpensive canteens and cafes. However, all this is rather an atavism of the old Adler.
Raquel: "If you still decide to spend your vacation in Sochi, then it is better to choose your habitat not in Adler and Khosta, and even more so not in the city center, but in the Nizhneimeretinskaya Bay, the same one where 10 years ago there was a swamp with frogs, but then the Olympics happened. "
Is it expensive to rest
According to tourists, a vacation in the Imereti Bay turns out to be more expensive than an all-inclusive tour to Turkey, but the conditions and service do not hold out. We agree with that.
Worth the most lodgingespecially if you are used to comfortable chain hotels. In summer, double rooms in 4 * and 5 * hotels cost from 15,000 rubles, in 3 * - from 4000 rubles to 12,000 rubles. The cheapest way is to live in guest houses, where a room costs 1500-4000 ₽. Look for hotels on Hotelluk, and accommodation in the private sector on Sutochno.ru.
Food prices in 2021, in many cafes and restaurants of the Imeretinskaya Bay, above average, a check from about 1000 rubles per person. You can have a tasty meal for this money in the restaurants "Pkhali-Khinkali", "LaVash", "Boho". There are beautiful restaurants with a sea view and a check from 1500 ₽: "Height 5642", Novikovsky "Cool", Mare d'Amore, "Magellan". If you want to have a quick, tasty and inexpensive meal, visit the "Happiness Is", "Yuzhnaya" or "Vermicelli" canteens - there you will spend only 150-350 ₽ per person.
Products, according to reviews, it is better to buy in "Magnet" and "Pyaterochka" - there is more choice, and prices are not as much overpriced as in small stores.
Since the distances in the Imereti Bay are enormous, we used taxis and buses... A bus ride costs about 30-35 rubles, and a trip with Yandex.Taxi around the city will cost 100-200 rubles. They walked along the embankment, although it is more convenient to ride a bicycle and an electric scooter along it. With the help of an application on a smartphone, tourists rent them in one place, and rent them in another.
Entertainment there are not many in the Imeretinskaya Bay: a free Olympic stadium and singing fountains, an arboretum for 300 rubles, attractions in Sochi Park (1900 rubles for an adult and 1600 rubles for a child), an oceanarium and several museums for children. Mostly tourists take excursions. If you want something unusual, I advise you to watch the author's excursions on the Tripster.
On the beach a sunbed costs 300-400 ₽ per day, and a tent - 2500 ₽. You can rent a sup-board for 700 ₽ per hour - sup-boards are very popular here.
Which hotel to choose
It is coolest to live in coastal hotels and 4 * -5 * hotels, for example, in Radisson and "Bridge Resort", but in summer the rooms there are expensive - 15-20 thousand rubles. I liked the stylish villas of the park-hotel "Arfa" overlooking the sea - in summer they cost from 15,000 to 40,000 rubles.
In 3 * hotels in Imeretinskaya Bay, the price in 2021 depends on the status and conditions - from 4000 to 12,000 rubles. A lot of good reviews and a high rating from MODART, Omega Sirius, Sayany hotels. Look for hotels on Hotelluk and book a few months in advance, because the best options quickly disappear.
I think it is more convenient to live in a resort in an apartment or an apartment with a kitchen - this is maximum privacy and home comfort. For example, the studios in the Imeretinsky apart-hotel have excellent reviews. They can be booked in the summer from 6800 rubles, and renting an apartment in a residential complex near the sea - from 5000 rubles to infinity.
Imeretinskaya Bay is also full of inexpensive guest houses and mini-hotels, where rooms cost from 1500-4000 rubles. Good reviews from mini-hotels "Reed", "Elena", "Sails". Remember that the further from the sea the hotel is, the cheaper it is. I advise you to look for housing in the private sector on Sutochno.ru or Hotelluk.
If you want to save money, but live in comfort, come at the end of the season, when house prices are dropping. For example, at the beginning of October we lived in the Sochi Park Hotel for only 1500 rubles per day, while in the summer the same room costs from 11,500 rubles.
Even in the low season, it is very profitable to buy tours to large hotels - for example, to the "Bridge Resort", "Sochi Park Hotel", "Bogatyr". Look for tours on Travelata. Read our article on how to buy tickets cheaper.
Vlabimir K: "Sigma Sirius Park is a hotel for super-economical living! 500 rubles a day for two with breakfast, you won't find this in Sochi for sure. The hotel itself, of course, is a C grade, but it has everything you need." ...
What sea and beaches
In the Imeretinskaya Bay, the beaches do not differ much from other beaches of Greater Sochi - these are pebbles from very small, similar to coarse sand, to decent pebbles. The only sandy beach belongs to the Radisson 5 * hotel, but since the sand is imported, the entrance to the sea is still rocky. It hurts many people to walk on large pebbles, so coral slippers are sold at every corner for 200-300 rubles per pair.
The beaches are wide almost everywhere, and although there are a lot of people, there is no feeling of overcrowding. All the infrastructure necessary for a tourist is there: flooring, toilets, showers, changing rooms, sun loungers, awnings, lifeguards, entertainment. I am glad that not everything has been made with sun loungers and you can easily spread your towel.
The entry into the sea is shallow, but the depth begins quickly, literally 3-5 meters from the coast. Due to the pebbles, getting in and out of the sea is uncomfortable even for adults, not to mention children.
The water is clean, but after the excitement, it takes out garbage ashore. However, the coast is monitored and cleaned in time.
Panorama of the beach in the Imereti Bay
Things to do
The main entertainment of tourists is evening promenade... Just imagine: a wide, long (6 km!) And continuous straight road along the sea. It is not cluttered with living statues and sellers of photos with animals, as in Crimea, and there are no unexpected steps or obstacles, as in Loo or Sochi. Do not be confused by the stalls with souvenirs and beachwear. Ideal promenade for walking hand-in-hand, jogging in the morning or cycling. I think every resort should have such a promenade.
Go to Olympic parkto watch and ride racing cars and see the Singing Fountain Show at 6:30 pm. The reviews of vacationers about the park are polar - from enthusiastic to disappointed. We didn’t like it, because now it’s a huge empty area without navigation, and it’s difficult to navigate. There is no shade, and even in October it is hard to walk during the day, so come in the evening.
However, the Olympic Park is great ride an electric scooter or a bicycle, because pedestrians do not interfere. By the way, there are many rental points in Imeretinskaya Bay. And since the distances here are huge, tourists go for a drive. I have not seen so many skiers in any resort in the south of Russia!
For shelter from the midday heat, go to arboretum "Southern Cultures". There you will see sequoias, palms, bamboo groves, plane tree alleys. Planes are also landing over the park. Some vacationers write in their reviews that the park is even more interesting than the Sochi arboretum. Entrance costs RUB 300 during the day and RUB 600 after 18:30, when the revived park multimedia show starts.
Take boat trip on a yacht, take a boat trip to the dolphins or learn how to operate a sup-board.
IN oceanarium Sochi Discovery World Aquarium is not recommended by tourists: the fish are boring, and the price for an adult 800 ₽ is clearly too high. Better take a guided tour! Look for unusual author's excursions on the Tripster. I will tell you about excursions and prices for them below.
VladRyshkus: "The Imeretinskaya embankment, which stretches for several kilometers, is an excellent walking place with the opportunity to breathe in the iodine aromas of the Black Sea, ride an electric scooter, an electric tarantula for 4 seats and an ordinary bicycle."
