Our recent stay was an awful experience from top to bottom. The owner is a rude and nasty woman who takes every conversation as an opportunity to make some snide, cutting remark. She is in the wrong business. The place is querky and odd. The other staff members don't have a clue about the most basic aspects of the place. The breakfast was horrible - a cold fried egg. The beds were rock hard and the pillows too soft. Not surprisingly, a good night's sleep was nearly impossible. Do yourself a favor and stay anywhere else - including on the street in a cardboard box. I guarantee you will have a better experience than staying at this awful, awful place.

Be warned! You do not want to stay here! The proprietress is a sociopath whose abrupt cancellation of my long-standing reservations ten days before my scheduled arrival has caused me considerable inconvenience and additional expense. She also engages in false advertising on her website. Please read on.

I contacted the website in early March 2011 and made a reservation for the last Saturday and Sunday of September. I received a request number showing those dates (9/24 to 9/26), the room I had chosen, and the rate. The site also said I would be contacted shortly with confirmation.

In mid-July, still having heard nothing from Vitosha Haus, I went back to the website and put in the request number to check my status. It showed that I was confirmed for 9/23 to 9/25. Obviously an error, I called and had to suffer the exceedingly unpleasant experience of talking to the owner, Madam Constantinov. In thirty plus years of staying at B&Bs whenever I travel, I cannot recall being treated more rudely. (Other reviews on this site also comment on this problem.) She told me curtly that she could not check on the reservation at that time (why she gives out a phone number that gets these insulting responses is a separate mystery), and in effect hung up on me. Shortly thereafter I did receive an email showing the correct dates, but a basic room rate $20 higher than originally quoted in March.

A few days ago, I received a reminder of my upcoming stay. It again showed the incorrect dates. I emailed Vitosha back asking them to check, and also asking if the policy stated twice on their website to the effect that a cash payment “confers” a 10% discount still holds. I received the following reply from La Constantinov: “Given that we may lose the first evening, on such an important date, there is no cash discount on your stay.” In my reply I pointed out and questioned the rate increase, pointed out that when I made the original request, there was no indication of my asking for rooms on some “important date” (which turned out to be a football weekend), and certainly no indication of a policy that denied the advertised 10% cash discount to guests who asked for only the Saturday and Sunday “important” (to whom?) dates. I also indicated that I understood that at the time the Vitosha was transitioning from one online reservation system to another, and that undoubtedly in the process errors were made. (The problem of La Constantinov’s dueling reservation systems, with the right claw not knowing what the left is doing, has been mentioned in other reviews on this site.) I also made the point that in the two places (at least, I didn’t look for more) where her website states “Cash payments confer a 10% discount” there is no mention of any exceptions for “important dates” or for that matter the whim of the proprietress. One should beware of this bit of FALSE ADVERTISING.

Her response to this email was: “Do you intend to keep your reservation, if not, please let me know very soon.” I responded by wondering if there was any reason why I should not keep my reservation (in place, along with maddening incompetence on the part of Vitosha Haus, since March) and requesting that she let me know very soon.

The response I received was a cancellation of my reservations, and the sweetly disingenuous offer to “assist me in finding other accommodations.” Snide and disingenuous because she knew very well that since it was a big football weekend, there were no decent accommodations available in Ann Arbor, as I learned for myself when trying to find something after La Constantinov’s abrupt and arbitrary cancellation. I declined her offer and suggested that the only assistance necessary was the kind that she might get from the many fine psychotherapists in Ann Arbor.

I suspect that by manufacturing this “confrontation” La Constantinov now has a room with three nights in a row opened on a big football weekend that she can rent at prices jacked up even higher than those she offered me. Charming way to do business. Puts the Mafia to shame.

Because of this rude, vicious, inept and dishonest innkeeper, I ended up finding accommodations in Detroit, but at additional expense. Also, since my weekend business (in no way, I am proud to say, related to football) is in Ann Arbor, I will have to waste time and money commuting from Detroit. I will go to great lengths to not spend a penny in Ann Arbor if I can help it. A city that allows establishments like the Vitosha Haus should not be encouraged.

Sadly, Ann Arbor is not a good town for B&Bs. Goggle them and look at some of the rooms that are offered—the vast majority look like bedrooms you would see in a shelter for battered women. (The Vitosha Haus photos, incidentally, are so tiny and dark that it is impossible to tell except in the vaguest outlines what the rooms look like. I doubt if that is an accident. Perhaps La Constantinov is into “art” photography.) But I suspect the innkeepers are at least genuine, caring hosts. That cannot be said for the proprietress of Vitosha. She seems quite fond of medieval imagery if you look closely at her website. So, in keeping with the medieval theme, heed this advice: AVOID THE VITOSHA HAUS LIKE THE PLAGUE.

And, should La Constantinov reply to these comments, just note the number of “Terrible” ratings the Vitosha Haus has received. One does not usually see such a high number on most places on Trip Advisor. That in itself, whatever her rationalizations, says it all.

Beware when booking with Vitosha. I called and booked several months in advance of a big football weekend in Ann Arbor. The owner assured me I had a reservation and even discussed what specific room I would like. I called back a couple weeks in advance of my stay to confirm and she said she had no record of my reservation; explained that they have been having trouble running multiple reservation engines; and asked me to email her the following day so she could sort it out. After receiving no response to my email I then called again. She mentioned again their system difficulties and complained about how hard it is to keep things straight. She said that there was no room for me. I asked what I was supposed to do without a room for a packed football weekend, she said I should stay somewhere else. I responded that she wasn't being very helpful she hung up. Beware! you don't have a room until you show up and are handed keys.

I stayed here while in town for two days' business at the U of M. I was alone. I had a very charming little room on the second floor of the smaller, newer building behind the main building. First, the plusses: It had a comfortable double bed, a small ensuite, very effective a/c, and good natural light. It was quiet--having neither TVs nor phones really keeps the place quiet. The minuses: the room had sheer curtains, which give zero privacy. Lovebirds should look elsewhere, pack sheets to hang over the windows, or be prepared to show the world your love.

The breakfast was modest in size, but tasty and not just the same ol' same ol'. Great coffee. The dog was friendly. The common areas, including the dining room, were charming.

Long story short: this is a true B and B, not a faux B and B for people who want big-chain amenities and big chain rooms with a B and B location and décor. I would gladly go back, but I would also caution away anyone who isn't used to this type of accommodation.