Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WHERE TO STAY
Sofia's hotel scene has come a long way recently with an improved selection across all
price categories. Anyone expecting Western standards of service and decor will, how-
ever, have to pay more. Of the few five-star hotels, the best are featured below—given
that the city center sights are great to see as a walking tour, it makes sense to stay
strolling distance from the center, and to this end all the options featured below are
exactly that. It's worth bearing in mind that with most hotels aimed at servicing the
business community weekend rates are often significantly cheaper than Monday
through Thursday.
Note:
Ensure that rates quoted include 20% VAT; the city tax is negligible.
EXPENSIVE
Grand Hotel Sofia
This relative newcomer to Sofia's five-star hotels is
my top choice, with the best location, neighboring the pretty National Theatre and
overlooking the City Park—not only a green lung but the perfect place to watch the
full gamut of Bulgarians at play from a number of open-air cafes. It's also extremely
luxurious, inspired by the cliché of the grand English gentleman's club, with dark
wood-paneled walls throughout, some 400 works of original Bulgarian art, plenty of
reproduction leather furniture, and incredibly generous bedrooms (over 50 sq. m/538
sq. ft.). There are three types of rooms all featuring, like the Sheraton, a general sense
of opulence; book the entry-level Superior from the third floor up with garden view,
or a room on the eighth and ninth floor for great city and Vitosha mountain views.
Superior rooms offer good value, particularly over the weekends (165
Value
/$210 double);
deluxe and executive rooms are so big one struggles to understand why they bother
with suites. The Grand Hotel doesn't exude the sense of gracious history of the Sher-
aton, but then it doesn't come with the price tag either.
Note that if the Grand is full, a good alternative, opposite leafy Doctor's Gardens,
is
Crystal Palace;
room nos. 503 and 504 are a good deal—the only standard-cate-
gory rooms with a balcony (and views of the gardens) thrown into the 180
€
€
($229)
price tag (
&
02/948 9489;
www.crystalpalace-sofia.com).
1 Gurko St., Sofia, 1000.
&
02/811-0800.
Fax 02/811-0801. www.grandhotelsofia.bg. 122 units. Weekend:
165
/$235-$273. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
3 restaurants; cafe; 3 bars; 24-hr. room service; executive lounge; business center; conference center;
health center; salon; concierge; indoor parking; laundry; dry cleaning. In room:A/C, TV, minibar, Internet connection,
hair dryer, safe.
Radisson SAS Grand Hotel
This hotel is certainly not grand, but when it
comes to personal, sincere service, the Radisson is a hands-down winner—from the
chap who opens the door to the mother figure who presides over breakfast (inciden-
tally the biggest and best in Bulgaria), to the wonderful snacks they offer you in the
top-floor business center, you'll feel well and truly cosseted. It's an ugly, unprepossess-
ing building—a semicircular embrace on Narodno Sabranie square, but ideally
placed—right opposite are the pretty Parliament buildings, which are lit up at night,
and a stone's throw farther lies the iconic Alexander Nefski Cathedral. The vibe is both
more urban than the Crystal Palace and the Grand, with their leafy surroundings, and
more down-home sociable. The reception area spills over into Flannagans, a hugely
popular pub that attracts a raucous crowd of expats and Bulgarians on the weekends.
The hotel was due to undergo extensive renovations at the end of 2006, with an addi-
tional floor being added and decor throughout being overhauled; design proposals
€
-195
€
/$210-$248 double; 225
€
-505
€
/$286-$641 suite. Weekdays: 185
€
-215
€
