On 24th of August the Bulgarian resort will turn 47 years. The idea of building the sea complex originated from 1967. Only two years later, the communist leader that ruled Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov opened the first part of the newly built resort – with 9 hotels, 4 restaurants and two bars. The place quickly became a favorite of the ruling elite.
Among the most famous foreign guests who have visited Albena is the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. He came to enjoy the Bulgarian complex during his visit in 1972. His reaction to the newly build hotels and the service at the resort was very important for the communists in charge of the country since the concept of Albena is “stolen” from the Cuban resorts.
All the famous guests of communist regime were taken to see the sea pride of Bulgaria. So Albena hosted the leader of North Korea Kim Il-sung, the Indian socialist Romesh Chandra in his role as president of the World organization for peace, the Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Rukavishnikov and his Bulgarian colleague Georgi Ivanov, the director Nikita Mikhalkov and a whole constellation of leaders from the former Soviet bloc.
Although it was founded long ago, Albena is still the most preferred resort in Bulgaria for family travelers. The hotels have been renovated, but the buildings are on the same places that they occupied in 1969. Therefore, Albena offers greenery, tranquility and security. At the same time the complex was the first in Bulgaria to implement a new trends in the tourism sector such as the system “all inclusive”, the hosting of sport events and a library on the beach.
