Hilton Sofia {BGR}
 

Not only does this Hilton have the most friendly, accomodating staff we have ever seen in a hotel, it is the favorite of the prime minister (king - he made a comeback). We actually saw him there. The front desk agents were so happy to see us, you would have thought we were long lost relatives. We were immediately escorted to the lounge for check-in and had incredible service there for a 4 night stay. Not a grouchy person anywhere (not even me!). It was a true pleasure to stay in this hotel. Smiles everywhere. This attitude was so contagious that those of us in the lounge caught it and became new best friends as well. One man there was from Belgrade and called us Sept 11 to offer sympathy (we were by then in the Hyatt Belgrade).

It is new, done in spiffy modern style, overlooks the convention center/cultural palace. It is a short and cheap ride into town to see the historical buildings. Bulgaria still needs help in getting up and running economically but it is a friendly and interesting place to visit. There are many old monasteries in the countryside as well.

Any recent stay at Hilton Sofia?
 

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at this hotel in the past year and could comment on how close it is to the center of Sofia and some of the cultural activities that exist - ie can walk or take subway/bus. Also any general impression of the hotel would be appreciated. I'm thinking of spending a long weekend there.

Thanks

Anyone been to Hilton Sofia?
 

We are going there for the weekend and don't know much about what to expect of Bulgaria or Sofia.

Anyone got suggestions?

???
 

I'm curious about the Hilton in Sofia too.
Did you stay there? If so can you please give some feedback about it.

Thanks,

Just got back.

Very nice hotel, one of the best in Sofia ... so you get to see the odd personality (at least in Bulgarian terms). The wife of some Russian politician was there yesterday at breakfast so the place was full of scary looking security guards. Tomorrow the president of Bulgaria is there for something or other, they're planning to roll out red carpet and all.

The staff at the hotel are just about as good as I've seen at any hilton. Up to the standard of the Cavalieri. Very attentive and very polite.

Got a room on the Exec Floor, so that entitles you to a free hotel pick-up (it's about 20 minutes to the hotel, normal cost is about 15 leva - about £6). Exec floors are 8th/9th, the lounge though is on the 1st floor. Room was kept well stocked with bottles of water, towels etc, while the lounge was also well stocked - especially with desserts in the evening.

The restaurant is good for breakfast (it's also available in the lounge), although not so good in the evening. This and the other facilities let the place down a little - they claim 5 star rating, which might be true relative to other hotels in Sofia, but not generally. More like a 4 star. Gym is small, pool is plunge pool size, steam room and sauna small but work well. Good massage in the health spa.

Sofia itself is small for a capital city, nice churches (including a gold domed cathedral and a small Russian church) and also mosques and synagogues, which hi-light the cosmopolitan feel to the place. There's a tram system, but to be honest everything is within walking distance. (Taxi's are to be avoided - says the guide books!)

Good places to eat are Captain Cooks and Tambuktu fish restaurants, and also the many street vendors selling slices of pizza for about 1 lev (40p). Drinks are cheap, but also freely available in the club lounge ;)

Very much enjoyed my stay there, and if I ever had to go back to Sofia, I'd stay at the Hilton ... although it's not the kind of place you need to spend much time in, or visit more than once.

I can recomend Bulgaria, Sofia and laso Hilton Sofia.

For me Hilton Sofia is the best in town - not directly in center but you have good connection with public transport (driving by bulgarian tram/streetcar is a must!!) to all the town. Executive floor and the lounge are good for relaxing.Room are very comfortable and worth the money.
For eating in the evening go out - there a re many small restaurants - no risk go tehre, dont go the big once. Check if there are local people inside, if yes then you can go in. Kitchen is good - but never forget bulgarians eat food not realy hot. So we other "europeans" always ahve a little the feeling the cook keep food till its cold.

Sofia and Bulgaria has many ancient monuments especially monastries - go there you will enjoy.

Have a god trip

Just was there last week
 

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My room was quite nice and comfortable...I did have trouble with the window shades being able to block out all the light the first night I was there....otherwise everything was good. Breakfast was in the first floor lounge and it was pretty good...the staff there was very nice. I also got the shuttle from the airport and the gentleman waited for my flight when we were late so that was good also. Its a bit of a walk from the hotel into the city center, but if your there just to see the city it won't be a big deal...the culture building is right across the way and there is a big park there behind the building. From there you'll walk into the city center and the main shopping and sites. If you don't want to walk back take "OK" taxis...unbelievably cheap - first time I've ever taken a cab ride and the fare was 1.68!!!

If you are meeting local people though, there seems to be some trouble (perhaps in the past) in terms of the way the hotel treats "non-guests". My friend had had bad experiences in the past and wouldn't drive into the parking lot nor agree to even have a coffee for breakfast at the hotel.

There are lots of small restaurants in Sofia and I enjoyed every meal I had...they seem big on cheese and lots of different salads with yogurt. The only difficulty about Sofia for myself is that everything is in the cyrillic alphabet which can be tough to follow.

There are more central hotels, SAS Radisson, Grand Hotel Sofia, and Sheraton are more centrally located but I didn't mind the walking at all.

Sofia was very nice and next time I'm going to visit I will stay at the Hilton.

And it still is a wonderful hotel, with a very helpful and friendly staff (the business center folks helped us out of a real jam!). Also apparently still a favorite with the politicians, even though the government has changed a couple of times since Karen2 was there.

Question though: When I checked in recently, I was given a (corner) room on an intermediate floor instead of one on the executive level even though there was available space on the executive floors. When I inquired, they told me that Hilton had agreed that Golds need not be accommodated on the executive floor at their property. I really can't complain; the corner room was nice, and I did have access to the club room (which is not on the executive level but rather on the first [European; second U.S.] floor) with complementary breakfast, newspaper, and evening snacks and adult beverages. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the "we don't do that here" response.

We were just in the Barcelona Hilton last week. We could have gotten a room on the executive floor (4th) but wanted a king bed which was only available on the top floor (11th). We were more than delighted since it was such a quiet room. Had lounge privileges, such as they were. Nice breakfast, really marginal snacks. What's the deal with Hilton and egg rolls?

We have been denied the exec floor but can't remember when. Doesn't bother me as long as I get the lounge access!

Oh, and we just spent 4 days in Albania with our friend from Belgrade we met in the Sofia lounge. Must recruit him for Flyertalk!

Stayed twice last month. Excellent staff and service! Superb!
I will strongly recommend it to everyone

We were not upgraded to club floor, as we were only Gold, we were told though
drumbo

Hilton Sofia
 

Please find my brief summary of the stay in Hilton Sofia. I’d like to start with a statement that Hilton Sofia is an excellent hotel! ^

They treat Diamonds very well. I asked in an e-mail how to get from the airport to the hotel and the reply was that it is complimentary for Diamonds. They just asked for my flight numbers and departure times and arranged transfers. ^

Landing in Sofia is sort of going back for a while. It is a very rapidly developing city. Lot of construction works are going on there. It was like landing in a reconstruction area surrounded by multi-storey buildings built in soviet times. No gates, elderly bus. Immigration didn’t know whether they need to stamp my passport. Customs control looks on the passengers with a great suspicion. Some locals were asked to show passports (why?) to customs. It went very smooth for me although the bag was carefully searched either in FRA or SOF. Maybe that’s because of the big fat tripod and the camera remote control in the checked baggage :D

Transfer was done by very nice guy. He spoke fluent English. I was offered coke, fanta and water during the drive. It’s only 10-15 minutes ride :-O ^ No need to worry about bags, they are taken care of automatically and with smile. They don’t beg for tips like on the other side of the Atlantic. Check-in was a breeze, they greeted me warmly, introduced to the hotel facilities. I was granted exec floor and access to the lounge. Room was ok sized, A/C, TV, Radio, bath and shower. Welcome package included full bottle of Bulgarian wine, cheese, olives and some more. There was a big bottle of water and Dirol chewing gum as well. This is particularly nice and Hilton Sofia might be the first Hilton offering that to me :)

Lounge by far exceeds expectations. They make coffee to your taste. They have 3 different beers, several wines and most importantly fresh and tasty food. During the day they served ham and salmon sandwiches, shrimp cocktails, dozens of different tiny sweets I didn’t care about. During the night selection was extended to hot items and also more than 10 different alcoholic drinks were added. Fruit and finger-food were also available. One of the surprises was 3 different vodkas available :) The staff is very attentive throughout the hotel. I was on the mobile phone and glass was empty. The guy noticed that and wine refill was done immediately. It is one of the luxurious hotels in Sofia and I noticed the contrast with outside world. That explains why they always asked for my room number and did something on the computer afterwards. They did it very politely, nothing to complain about. Breakfast was excellent, too. Hot items, excellent fruit, nuts + usual continental items were available. I also tried Thai buffet which was told is prepared by the guest chef from Hilton Phuket. It was very tasty indeed, although different from Thai food I’m used to in the central Europe or US. I haven’t been to Thailand myself, therefore I have no idea on how authentic food tastes.

Hotel also has turndown service. It is a nice touch to come back from the sauna and see your bed is ready. Bed was superb. I had an excellent sleep. I can definitely recommend the hotel. ^

Nice report ^ and I can fully agree with what you wrote. I was there a couple of weeks ago [I am also a Diamond] and I had the same experience. It's certainly worth a visit.

Happy with Hilton Sofia
 

I was there on Aug 17. Very nice and responsive front desk staff, comfortable room, nice bar.

The hotel is a very short walk from the city center.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the internet access is overpriced.

I can't believe I forgot one of the best customer services EVER! The free shuttle will also take you to the train station. We took the train to Belgrade. Hilton made all the arrangements for us. The driver was told by the front desk to put us IN OUR SEATS on the train. They anticipated the language problem. Free service. We tipped, of course. All done so cheerfully you would have thought we were doing them the favor.

The snacks in the lounge were so good, we never ate dinner. Plus we had a rollicking good time with several other guests who were also there for a few days.

This hotel was in stark contrast to the Sheraton which was dark and gloomy and staffed by sulky people. It is the only real competitor to the Hilton and has the advantage of being in an old interesting building right downtown, walking distance to everything but the big new museum on the hill (not that anything is close to that). However, I would not stay at the Sheraton on a bet.

I will be there Feb 16-18. Based on the wonderful reviews, I am so excited to experience this property!

Thanks for the great reviews. Because of you I will email in advance to arrange my airport pickup, something I never would have done on my own.