Hotel Central, Hristo Botev Blvd. After a pleasant 10 days in the Marina Palace in Nessebur on the coast of Bulgaria, in a nice 4 star hotel (which I had chosen myself) we flew to Sofia. On arrival the reception area looked nice. The staff were typically dour Bulgarians, which I couldn't care less about. The contrast with this hotel and the last was stark. The room was unbelievable. Dirty carpet, decor that looked like it had not been touched in 20 years. The are conditioning was off (fair enough to save expense) but the room was unbearably hot as a consequence. The shower cubicle tiny and toilet and tiles looked unhygienic. I complained to reception and they offered us another room which was no better. I tried phoning the tour company in Glasgow, the head office in London and finally the local rep. Her attitude was "take it or leave it". She could not guarantee that she could get us into accommodation which would be any better. Unbelievable! I was not going to allow this situation to spoil my holiday and had to set about looking for an alternative hotel myself on the net. We had no choice but to spend the first night in the Hotel Central,, unable to sleep because of the noise of the aircon or not able to sleep from the street noise when the aircon was off. The word was that staff could arrange a prostitute for any lone male customers. We left the next day. I found a beautiful hotel suite at the Maria Luisa with a lovely whirlpool bath, opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed the rest of our stay at this hotel. Were ripped off once by a taxi driver, charged us 4 times the price, don't get in without agreeing the price up front.
- Central Hotel Sofia
