Visitor comments on Grand Hotel Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria

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Submitted By: Magnur from Vienna
Date: 2009 November 12, 08:26

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: Great rooms, quiet ambiance, wonderful restaurant, friendly and polite staff, charming park just backdoors, all that in the heart of down town of Sofia. Further no need of taxi as being in walking distance to almost everything in the central part of Sofia. Every time I discover something new which makes me like this place more.
Grand Hotel Sofia has been my choice for my last seven visitas in capital of Bulgaria.

Submitted By: Margarita from Cyprus
Date: 2009 November 11, 03:32

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: This is a FIVE star hotel with extremely spacious rooms, tasteful decoration, large bathroom, excellent service. Centrally located, safe. professional friendly staff

Submitted By: Eldon Show from Nashville, USA
Date: 2009 June 23, 04:23

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		5/5

Comment: The Sofia Grand is an excellent hotel. It is centrally located in Sofia. Fortunately my meetings were all within a short walking distance to the hotel, so I didn't have to use public transportation.
The staff is excellent and courteous.
The breakfasts are exceptional. Take advantage of them.
Rooms are exceptionally roomy - by a mid-west American standard, New York standard, or European standard.
Be wary of the lower level rooms though. They have a nightclub which will be very loud.

If you have a room next to the stairwell, it may keep you up. The stairwell acts as a conduit for noise. I asked to switch rooms and the staff did so.

One hint: I traveled to Sofia twice on business. I found the atm in the airport that is right before you exit to catch taxi's offers the best exchange rate. When you are in the airport, you will know what I mean.

Submitted By: Kalina Chekova from Chicago, USA
Date: 2009 March 13, 05:54

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		5/5

Comment: WOW what an awesome hotel. This is truely a 5 star hotel. Everything about our stay was wonderful. The staff was also very nice and helpful. I left my pocket at lobby by chance and they sent a message to my room that it has been found. No negatives to report. Actually I am a Bulgarian but for more than 10 years living in USA.Even I saw among the long list of celebrities /it's very impressive...see the web site/ my favourite actress Scarlett Johansson. I highly recommend this hotel.

I visited again Bulgaria due to my job activities with colleagues of mine... and I was really surprised to came upon such ''hotel jewery".

Submitted By: Overseas Chris from Hobart, Australia
Date: 2008 July 15, 01:00

Hotel rating

Overall		4/5
Staff		3/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: Had a very pleasant stay, being a frequent traveller to Bulgaria I suppose a lot of what irritated other travellers barely rated... rooms are really large, and the non-smoking room was smoke free (which makes a change in this country!).
Great location, good parking availability, which is a big plus, and very clean. One of the better hotels in Sofia, good english skills which makes things much less stressful, though for the price I was expecting more.

Staff were disinterested, but once you got their attention they did deal with the issue. Room service was okay, and prompt. Bathrooms were decadent, but as with some other reviews, water temperature fluctuated.

Submitted By: Roman from USA (submitted from BULGARIA)
Date: 2008 March 11, 12:07

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		4/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		3/5

Comment: spacious room, quit, clean, location, friendly staff

payment for using facilities such as gym and sauna (of course there is an option to book much more expensive package

Submitted By: Ioannis from Greece (submitted from BULGARIA)
Date: 2007 September 11, 00:08

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		3/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		3/5

Comment: Nice rooms

The night concierge service was not adequate

Submitted By: Antonio from Italy
Date: 2007 June 22, 13:38

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		4/5
Rooms		4/5
Food		4/5
Fun		3/5

Comment: I would like to say that this hotel is one of the best in Sofia

Submitted By: Meriam Sue from California, USA
Date: 2007 June 19, 13:37

Hotel rating

Overall		4/5
Staff		4/5
Rooms		4/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: My husband & I stayed at this hotel as part of our Bulgaria & Romania package tour last May 2007. The hotel is centrally located and is walking distance to several major sights of the city. Reception staff service was acceptable; porters/bellboys' service prompt and excellent. We were given an executive room facing the Vitosha Mountains (I think that's what it is) and a busy main street down below, which did not bother us at all, since it was so quiet and peaceful inside our room.

I believe the rooms across our room are better rooms to book because they face the City garden & the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, which for me, is a nicer view from one's room. Our room is humongous and very clean although I'll say it's time for the carpets to be replaced. The room also came with complimentary bottle of water daily during the duration of your stay, a small bottle of red Bulgarian wine on day of check-in, room safe, breakfast daily and internet access. What we like most about the room is the huge and tastefully designed bathroom. One can just have a relaxing bubble bath in there after a long day of sightseeing.
Breakfast was more than adequate. They have cereals, juices, various kinds of breads & pastries, fruits & some other food items I personally do not recognize. One can also order omelette which will be prepared in front of you. However, the numerous times we were there, nobody was stationed to cook the omellettes.We are not demanding Americans, but most of the time it took forever for anybody to approach us to ask if we want coffee or tea.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay in this hotel. We would not hesitate to recommend this place to our friends & family.

Submitted By: Oto Bobic from Munich, Germany
Date: 2007 March 10, 01:55

Hotel rating

Overall		4/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		4/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: Stayed business-wise at the Grand Hotel at the end of February 2007. Rooms are above average spacious and if you have a room not to the street side, you will have a nice view on one of the main squares of Sofia. Breakfast rooms are a bit lacking of atmosphere. The biggest asset in my opinion is the location in the heart of Sofia.If I return to Sofia, I would definitely come back there again.

Submitted By: Jude Hull from London UK
Date: 2006 December 22, 12:55

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		4/5
Rooms		4/5
Food		4/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: The hotel is nice with massive rooms but my room had air conditioning problems so i made them change my room in the middle of the night to a less nice room. food is good and there is a terrace to sit outside. location is fine.

Submitted By: Terry Flowers from London UK
Date: 2006 November 16, 04:41

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		4/5
Food		5/5
Fun		5/5

Comment: An absolute delight. I had a suite that was atleast 80m2. The rate was only 200 Euros. The bathroom was huge. Service is A1. I am a regular traveller to Sofia. Only the Sheraton is better, but then the rooms are more expensive.

The only drawback is the lobby which is quite small and not appropriate for business meetings.

Submitted By: Barrow from UK
Date: 2006 September 22, 03:23

Comment: Great location, beautiful room. Screwed us on the rate - wouldn't give us what showed on our reservation, cuting some fine print about it being 'subject to change'. If you don't care how much you spend (or get charged rather), it's a nice hotel.

Submitted By: Martin Smith from London UK
Date: 2006 August 27, 03:31

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		4/5

Comment: The service is excellent, the price incredibly reasonable, the rooms are huge and the bathrooms large and very luxurious! Sofia is a strange place, but it's lovely to stay in a hotel like this as it's truly top notch.

The staff are wonderful and very helpful, the rooms superb, it's very reasonably price, the restaurant is OK (probably what I liked least, that and the bar in the lobby which has a bit of an impersonal feel) but the piano bar downstairs was incredibly cheap and an awful lot of fun. The spa in the hotel is also very reasonable and the range of treatments impressive and staff again wonderful.

Submitted By: Mr Mrs Sawson from San Francisco
Date: 2005 November 17, 07:25

Hotel rating

Overall		4/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		5/5

The shuttle service from and to the airport is very reliable (not always the case with some of the other hotels in Sofia).
Internet connection is a bit pricey, but at least is available, fast and working.
My wife had a great massage there and in fact these type of services are a great value for Westerners.
Gym is of small size, but really well equiped with a good range of equipment.

Submitted By: Michael J from San Francisco
Date: 2005 November 15, 20:52

Comment: I have been going to Sofia for many year and this is definitely the best hotel I have been to.
The hotel is brand new (I believed it opened in May 2004). I have since stayed there 4 times and I always been extremely pleased.
The rooms are very spacious and comfortable.
Breakfast buffet is above average.
Very central location, in a very safe part of town.
Staff was consistently friendly and helpful. The shuttle service from and to the airport is very reliable (not always the case with some of the other hotels in Sofia).
Internet connection is a bit pricey, but at least is available, fast and working.
Gym is of small size, but really well equiped with a good range of equipment.
My wife had a great massage there and in fact these type of services are a great value for Westerners.

Submitted By: Tim N from Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Date: 2005 June 15, 20:52

Hotel rating

Overall		5/5
Staff		5/5
Rooms		5/5
Food		5/5
Fun		5/5

Comment: This hotel has the most efficient, effective, friendly and responsive staff of any that I have stayed in... and I have frequently traveled all over the world for both business and entertainment over the last 40 years. There was always a virtually instant and friendly response to every request... from arranging for and picking up opera tickets to the same for tours, to ensuring that I received a FED-EX package from the US virtually immediately upon its arrival in the hotel.

Almost two months later I am still marveling at the staff's performance. ...Almost forgot, they are virtually all fluent in English...many are capable in several languages.

The property is situated in a busy section of Sofia... adjacent to the cultural center and the Ministry of defense. At the back of the hotel is a beautiful park with fountains, benches, pathways for strolling (or jogging) and ever present and intense chess games. It is within one block of a shopping district that extends for at least a mile in one direction and near theatre and "the sights" of Sofia in the other direction.

Despite the hotel being in a busy and bustling area, the rooms are very quiet. They are particularly spacious. They are elegantly finished in what I would call a classic Eastern European style with liberal use of reds and oranges in the carpet, drapes and bedding. The bathrooms are done in green marble and there is a full complement of fixtures, including separate shower and tub in the European fashion. The internet service worked exceptionally well and the "business center" and staff were very useful and efficient.

The complimentary breakfast is served in a separate room on the 1st floor. There is such an array of foods that it would take a full review just to discuss them. It is buffet style but there is an omelet chef standing by to take your order for special requests... also at no additional charge. The main restaurant is incredible. They have Bulgarian and international dishes that are astounding... and relatively inexpensive. The wine list is extensive. The lobby coffee bar, dessert cafe, etc. again are very tastefully done... if you sit in a certain area of the lobby a server will ask if there is anything that you would like... in other areas you can sit in complete quiet. There is also a limited exercise room, although I did not use it, one of my colleagues did and found it adequate.

There is much more to tell and it is all positive. Perhaps the most intriguing and fascinating aspect of the hotel is its clientele...they seem to come from all parts of the world and include business people, entertainers and film personnel, politicians and world travelers. I enjoyed just sitting in the lobby for a while and watching the unfolding minor dramas, interactions and discussions.

I will love going back to Sofia, if only to stay at the Grand, once again.