Hotel Lion is a good hotel at a good price in the heart of Sofia. My rating of this hotel is as compared to other hotels in this part of the world not compared to American standards or tourist resorts...completely different rating scales! Its a little bit away from the true heart, no more than a 5 minute walk, but its a nice walk down the main street of Sofia. The rooms are large and clean, we had a corner room overlooking the Lion Bridge (heavy road construction going on right outside the hotel) but the noise was during working hours and didn't start before 9am, so it was not an issue in the least. The bed was big but hard (extremely firm) like all beds in this area of the world, but the linens were good. The AC lacked the power to cool the whole room, but this wasn't as issue as it was about 60 outside and we just opened the windows.

The complimentary breakfast in the hotel's cafe is quality and there is a decent selection of set breakfast meals; i.e. Bulgarian breakfast, English, Turkish, etc.
The front desk staff was very helpful and provided dining suggestions as well as tourist site recommendations.

There is an awesome authentic Bulgarian restaurant about 2 blocks across the Lion Bridge, and 1 block to the right. I have no idea how to pronouce the name or even spell it, but ask the front desk and they'll know where it is. Its is a renovated Bulgarian house and has an awesome courtyard seating area as well as multiple inside rooms with wood rafters, floors, and panels. Food was excellent and very reasonably priced.
Sofia is a great city, the people are very friendly and they have the best ice cream in the world! You can see all the tourist sites in 1 day, and probably not more than a 6-8 hour day...all by walking. If you want to make the trip out to Rila Monestary, plan for a whole day for that. There are mountain biking and horse back riding tours available in the nearby mountains also.

When exchanging money, make sure to get paper currency...metal currency (coins) whether they are Euro or Lev are frowned upon by the merchants and most refuse to take them.

Comfortable hotel, conveniently placed between train and bus stations and city centre. We arrived late by train (Vienna-Sofia sleeper delayed 4 hours and involving 2 unexpected changes of train!), checked in, were delighted to find fast food eatery "Oops" just over road for late night meal. Comfortable quiet room with bath (not just shower) and air-conditioning. Breakfast in hotel coffee-shop, choice of about 6 menus (chose the "Balkan" of yogurt, cheese pastry, cake, coffee, and when I asked to buy fruit juices to add was given them free) Took advantage of 12 noon checkout to explore Sofia for 3 hours before picking up bags to head to bus station for onward journey. Staff helpful (checked bus times online, recommended "Oops"). No complaints at all. Not the cheapest we could find, but solid comfort for our money.

We don't want to give this hotel a bad rating because there was not anything negative about our stay. The hotel provides free breakfast, wi-fi and a wonderful view. However, when we travel we enjoy staying in Mom and Pop/B&B style hotels. We stayed here because it was recommended from a friend.

Our room had an amazing view. At night, there really is not much around the hotel. We had to walk about 15 minutes towards the Palace of Justice in order to find a restaurant or see more than 2 people walking down the street. I do recommend staying here however I would not stay here again.

I stayed here for two nights. Situated in center of Sofia and would be a good option for you, if you want to explore the city...