- Bulgaria
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Bulgaria is rapidly becoming a popular tourist destination and a number of big and small hotels are opening every year. On HotelBeam Bulgaria list there are a number of independent hotels which can be contacted directly which is good because some of these hotels are small and locally managed and are not well connected to travel agencies.
Chalet Soltir is run by an English couple. The house is 150 years old and completely renovated. It's fully catered chalet sleeping 12 people with all the mod cons and luxury you would get in a French chalet but at half the price. Our holiday was the best we had for years. The snow was great and the kids loved it.
www.boardingbansko.co.uk
00359 895 386 856
Set in the heart of the Rila National Park, this hostel is the chicest place to stay if you're planning on hitting the slopes at Borovets ski resort, just ten minutes away.
We missed out on the snow, but enjoyed hiking and mountain biking around Lake Iskar. Great for thrill-seekers, the owners also organise wakeboarding, waterskiing, sailing, and fishing on the lake, and horse riding or off-road motor biking.
Despite the rugged setting, surrounded by acres of flora and fauna, the rooms are surprisingly stylish and large apartments.
The restaurant will even prepare a packed lunch for a day in the great outdoors, and the swimming pool and jacuzzi are a welcome respite after a hard day's hike!
On arrival at either the main railway or bus station, or airport, march straight to the OK taxi desk for your trip to the city centre: They will give you the fair rate. Don't even think about responding to any of the touts you'll encounter.
On arrival
Is the spelling as Guardian spelt it, or Turnovo? Who knows - I saw it spelt both ways many times in the town itself. Anyway, it rocks, it's cooler than Sofia by a country mile. Great view from anywhere in town, great bars, and great restaurants, althought after the free (light) dinner you might just want to have a night in the hostel lounge drinking beer from the fridge and playing cards with the staff... The Hostel Mostel staff go the extra mile to help you out and Eva told us off all the best places, like BaR DaDa, and Bar Scandal. The address was on a road something like Indicko, not all the cabbies know it so phone ahead and get the details.
Just google hostel mostel - they have good web presence!
Kovatchevica is a small fascinating village in the Rodopi Mountain in Bulgaria. It is also one of the architectural reserves in the country because of its special way of building. The village kept its authenticity. Houses are built mostly of stones, including the roofs.Only the higher houses have last floor of wood. It is situated high in the mountain and has special history. When Bulgaria was under the slavery by the Turkey many Bulgarians who want to keep their faith and don't want to accept the Islam, left their homes and relatives searching for salvation in the unapproachable parts of the mountain and many of the favourable conditions were the main reasons for rising the village. The nature around it is so pattern and fascinating during the 4 seasons in the year.Kovatchevica is a calm beautiful place for relaxing and contacting with the nature.
Borovets is a great resort for intermediate skiers with a short quick transfer from Sofia. We stayed in apartments at Pine Ridge, Madjare. It's in an inexpensive and pretty village near Borovets and is much cheaper than the on piste bars in Borovets.
This is a Mexican themed bar and restaurant in the heart of Borovets. The food is great and quite reasonably priced, but the main reason to visit is the atmosphere. The live band, who are known as Sound Forge, are superb. They cover old rock (think Hendrix, Led Zep, Black Sabbath) as well as some more up to date stuff like Oasis and Green Day. The bar staff are also fantastic - the last time I went I ended up behind the bar learning to mix cocktails. Any trip to Borovets must include a drink (or several) here.
Halfway up the hill between the gondola and the Rila square
This hostel excels in providing service. The cheerful owners cater for your every need with an attention to detail and warmth not always found in this sector of accommodation. Fedio's father's powerful rakia on arrival and mother's preserved fruit at breakfast leave you with the feeling you have stayed at a family house for an informal get together.
Oh, and did I mention the best view of the Yantra gorge in the city, all next door to one of the best small hotel restaurants in Bulgaria?
27 Gurko St
www.nomadshostel.com/
Cheap luxury - top floor restaurant with panoramic views in the five-star Arena di Serdica hotel, worth going to if you fancy a bit of luxury for once and still don't want to break the bank. Superb service and food as you would expect from such a hotel and still comes out cheap. Unbelievably attentive and polite staff, most expensive main course was 25lv (£10).
Arena di Serdica Hotel, 2-4 Budapeshta Str. Sofia. (down steps from Moskovska Street)
www.arenadiserdica.com/en/restaurant-bar/
A traditional mehana on a side street in Varna, lovely Bulgarian food including amazing kebabs (try the lamb shaslik!) and of course cheap to boot. The trance background music you can ignore! Was on business in Varna and really wanted to try some local food. I wasn't impressed by the offerings in and around the main square, but was taken there by my local contact, would never have found it otherwise.
Difficult one this - it was dark... Go down Bratka Skorpil Street (Hotel Splendid is on the corner, Cathedral should be behind you) then take the first left after the large villa.
Although it is a little frantic, with everyone wanting your business, it is an experience not to be missed. Ask your taxi driver for a price to get there (it should be quite cheap) and there are loads of shoe shops leading up to it. Also in Varna (minutes' walk away) they have a Bulgarian market, some of the stallholders won't leave you alone, but it's worth the visit anyway. The Cathedral is quaint and the shopping parade leads right up to the beach. All in all give it a try...
A collection of pretty average rooms in a residential district of Bulgaria, run by the rowdiest gaggle of youngsters in town.
The downstairs basement bar has a set of decks in the corner, permanently prepared for impromptu parties…that seem to take place nightly.
For a bunch of arty ravers, they put together a cracking continental(ish) breakfast, served in a basement room covered in top notch wall art.
A new hotel, excellent location, 5 mins walk from anywhere. Ticks all the boxes for a city hotel, with prices a fraction of its peers at this level. A quiet, comfortable sleep, fast wi-fi everywhere, no hookers, bars, etc, and an excellent buffet for breakfast.
Not just the Kempinski, but the whole area around the northern Golden Sands boasts no low-cost airline types, no discos, lots to do for families with young children, beautiful beaches, unrivalled mountain setting, proximity to national parks, cultural outings, etc.
Excellent, genuine service, beautiful beaches, none of the planning deficit seen around other resorts. Just 18km from Varna for excellent shopping and fashionable cafes, nightlife, etc.
A group of friends and I decided this June to take a trip to Sofia, probably one of the best decisions of the year.
Pri Yafata is a traditional Bulgarian restaurant, complete with live music, decoration and a vast menu. The food is also very reasonably priced.
This place is also the top recommendation by Lonely Planet and quite rightly so! If you're in Sofia, it's certainly worth a visit.
East to find, just off of the Blvd Vitosha and a short walk east of Makedonia Square. The Lonely Planet guide book gives the best directions as do most hostels and hotels who will no doubt have heard of it!
A shop selling all manner of arts and crafts, modern and traditional - jewellery, textiles, ceramics, textiles.
Apparently run as a charity, this is a Fairtrade outlet. An excellent place for quality presents
36 Bld Vasil Levski (opposite Hotel Downtown)
tel 02 981 77 65
An Armenian restaurant. The name means "Come, Come". There are two such, and we ate in the ul Dobrudzha branch. Small rooms in what feels like a private house, so a delightfully intimate experience.
The food was delicious, although the service somewhat erratic. Excellent wines - we had the Tcherga white and red, both superb. No holds barred, our bill was about 60 Leva each, but one need not be so extravagant. A very good evening out, if you don't mind it being leisurely.
Booking a must - on a midweek night we couldn't get a table at the other branch, and ours was full.
ul Dobroudzha 10
02 989 33 83
also
ul Sheinovo 18
02 946 17 35
Where to start? This is a little, six-table, tucked-away Italian restaurant run by patron/chef Emil, a Bulgarian who spent 17 years in Italy.
The night four of us went it was empty (Sofia natives disappear in August). No menu, we willingly went along with whatever Emil proposed. After bruschetta, wonderful antipasti, then a ravioli (home made, of course) of spinach and ricotta with a gentle creamed tomato sauce with shrimps and courgettes. Each flavour given its proper due.
Then two of us shared a salt-baked fish, two shared a fillet steak with fresh peppercorns. Although we had no room for more, Emil suggested we share a tiramisu and a torta ricotta. How can I ever eat another tiramisu, now that I know how it can be? Both desserts made for the Gods. Limoncello on the house.
Only Italian wines here, so perhaps wine is a little more expensive than elsewhere. Each dish simple, each element a perfection of taste and texture, cooked with passion. What more could one want? This was a meal I will never forget. For such a memory, we spent 60 Leva each, about €30. Booking is essential. (I know, it was empty the night we went, but that was chance!)
ulitsa Lavele 11 - entrance in ul Lom
02 986 08 54
(between bul Todor Aleksandrov and bul. Aleksanser Stambolski)
open 11.30 - midnight
Closed Sundays
Anyone foolish enough to visit Sunny Beach should jump on the first bus to Bourgas and thence to Sozopol.
Mercifully, relatively few Brits currently visit - but the number is increasing as word escapes re its laid back charms and excellent value-for-money restaurants. Sozopol - the Eternal City - has long been a favourite escape for artists and for the first ten days of September it hosts the acclaimed Apollonia international Arts Festival.
There is a good sprinkling of beaches and Kavatse has a particularly Bohemian character.
The Hotel Diamanti is one of the few hotels located in the historic Old Town and provides a great base for visits south to the semi-tropical Ropotomo River, ancient forests and nature reserves.
Visit this area before it too becomes spoiled.
An excellent source of info is bulgariacoast.info
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