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Here are two main options for a foreigner to get accommodated in Bulgaria: Either to stay in the hotel, booking through us or using the following links which allow you to book the rooms at discount prices on your own HotelsBulgaria.com TravelNow.com OR If you intend to stay in the capital - Sofia, for a longer time we have an opportunity to offer you a self-maintained flat wit all modern facilities located in the central part of the city. It will be considerably more budget-effective comparing to hotel prices. To book the flat please contact us. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Accommodation in Bulgaria is up to five times more expensive for foreign guests than it is for the natives, but costs are still low by West European or North American standards. Most towns can be relied upon to have at least one reasonably comfortable 2- star hotel charging $9-15 per person. Although prices are usually quoted in US people prefer you to pay in leva. If you do want to pay in dollars, you may end up spending slightly more than the rates originally quoted. In most cases it`s seldom necessary to book a room in advance. Private rooms, available in big cities and along the coast, often provide better value than hotels. They`re bookable through accommodation bureaux (kvartirno byuro) in most places, although in smaller coastal resorts you may have to ask around in order to secure a bed for the night. Under the Communist regime, Westerners were restricted to staying in hotels run by the state-owned chains Balkantourist and Interhoteli. Cheaper establishments frequented by Bulgarians were off limits, although they would often claim to be full up rather than admit this. These days, although you may be turned away by less expensive establishments - often because the facilities are so bad that they can`t believe you`d want to stay there - you can, in theory, stay where you wish. That said, despite the growing number of privately owned hotels and family-run pensions, most of Bulgaria`s hotel accommodation still boils down to the establishments previously under the aegis of Balkantourist and Interhoteli. They`re predominantly modern, if slightly unkempt high-rise affairs, save for those at the bottom end of the price scale, which often occupy older (and grimier) buildings. They`re seldom difficult to find - it seems to have been an axiom of postwar urban planning to place a large 2- or 3-star hotel on each town`s main square. Hotels usually charge a standard rate per person, regardless of whether you occupy a single or double room. Credit cards are usually accepted by 3-star hotels and above, and occasionally 2-star hotels as well. COSTS AND STANDARDS Most ex-Balkantourist hotels are now financially independent, and their attempts to survive in freemarket conditions may mean that prices and standards will be a little unpredictable for some time. For now, however, hotels are graded according to a fairly rigid system of star ratings, from 1-star up to 5. Generally speaking, 1-star hotels may have a sink in the room, but toilet facilities and showers are in the hallway; 2-star establishments have en-suite bathrooms, and anything above this is getting quite luxurious. Breakfast is usually included in the price in 3-star hotels and above, but is rare elsewhere. Prices can vary widely within each category, although upper limits to each band are set by the national Committee for Tourism; thus you`re unlikely to come across a 2-star hotel that costs more than $22 a head outside Sofia and Plovdiv, and most of them are significantly cheaper than that. Motels along the main highways cost roughly the same as 2-star hotels. Most of Bulgaria`s purpose-built coastal resorts have become independent, self-administering companies that fix their own prices. Each has a central accommodation office responsible for handling bookings in all of the resort`s hotels (the locations of these are described in the Guide), but it`s worth remembering that the independent traveller arriving on spec will pay much more for a room here than those who opt for an all-in package tour. Numerous privately owned hotels are beginning to appear on the coast and in the busier inland spots, often offering friendly bed-and-breakfast style accommodation at about the same price as a regular 2-star hotel. In big cities, these privately owned establishments are often nothing more than a converted apartment in a high-rise residential building. On the coast and in mountain areas, on the other hand, they may well be purpose-built villas offering high standards of cleanliness and service. Given the dearth of genuine tourist information in Bulgaria, it`s usually quite difficult to find out where the best of the family-run places are, other than by looking out for roadside advertisements or relying on local knowledge. The quality of hotel accommodation often depends on the time of year. In 1- and 2-star hotels, hot water may only be available in the morning and evening. This is rarely a problem at the height of summer, but can be a bit tiresome in winter, when rooms in many 1-, 2-, and even 3-star establishments can be very poorly heated. If travelling at this time of year, it`s a good idea to opt for private rooms if available, where the provision of basic comforts can be taken for granted. Despite the relatively low cost of Bulgarian hotel accommodation, standards of service often leave a lot to be desired: complain about the lack of hot water in the bathroom or the cockroach lurking behind the shower curtain, and you`ll probably be met with cold indifference. In big hotels where staff are overworked, foreign guests are often treated as stupid, non-Bulgarian-speaking fools who are more trouble than they`re worth. Like most Bulgarians, hotel staff have to subsist on very low wages, and they often use this as an excuse to be bad-tempered and rude. Travellers prepared to take minor inconveniencies with a pinch of salt - or better still, learn a few everyday Bulgarian pleasantries - may find that their hosts begin to lighten up. OTHER ACCOMMODATION Bulgaria has a whole range of other accommodation facilities that currently face an uncertain future, but which may in time be made available to foreign tourists. Orbita, the state-run agency for youth tourism, used to run a chain of "youth hotels" that traditionally hosted the large number of young travellers who came to Bulgaria from fellow socialist countries. Now that much of this inter-Communist tourism has dried up, Orbita have lost their raison d`etre, and most of their facilities have been refurbished and transformed into "normal" hotels. More uncertain is the future of the many pochivni stantsii, or rest homes - also seen on signs as pochiven dom, mostly found on the Black Sea and in inland spa resorts, owned by trade unions and offering cheap holidays to their members. Many of these were no more than frugal holiday camps, but those establishments catering for the upper, managerial echelons of socialist society could be quite sumptuous. Some are opening their doors to foreign travellers, and Bulgaria`s spa resorts in particular may soon be blessed with a wide choice of affordable, good-quality accommodation. PRIVATE ROOMS Private rooms (chastni kvartiri) are available in Sofia, Plovdiv, Ruse, Varna and a number of other specific tourist destinations, especially on the coast. They`re bookable through the local tourist offices; accommodation bureaux (kvartirno byuro); and on the coast, a small but growing number of private or cooperative firms that specialize in renting out rooms - addresses are given in the Guide. In the smaller coastal towns, some bureaux are closed from early September onwards, after which it shouldn`t be too difficult to find a room unofficially, simply by asking around. Cost for double rooms range from about $6-8 in smaller towns, up to about $15 in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv. As single rooms are quite rare, solo travellers should expect to pay the full fee. Prices are up to 30 percent cheaper out of season. The size and quality of private rooms vary enormously (it`s rarely possible to inspect the place first), but they are always clean. Spacious rooms in nice old houses seem to be the rule in smaller resorts such as Sozopol and Nesebar on the coast, and Koprivshtitsa inland; while in the cities private rooms are almost invariably situated in apartment buildings. If you stay in someone`s home as a guest, you`re technically required to register with the police within 24 hours, but few hosts bother to take these formalities seriously. CAMPSITES, HOSTELS, CHALETS AND MONASTERIES Most towns of interest have a campsite, (kamping) on the outskirts, the majority of which have two-person chalets ($4.50-6 per night). Costs for pitching a tent hover around $3-5. Beware that many campsites, especially on the coast, close down in early to mid-September, as soon as the summer rush has slackened. Camping rough is illegal and punishable with a fine. Incidentally, you`ll need to bring camping gas cartouches from home, as they are practically impossible to pick up in Bulgaria. Dirt-cheap, very basic hostels (turisticheska spalnya) run by the Bulgarian Tourist Union lurk in the backstreets of many provincial towns, although standards vary widely. In some, you`ll be offered a bunk in a large, 20-bed dorm; in others you may be in a 2-or 4-bed room. Prices range from $3 to $6 per night. Some hostels carry the HI symbol. In highland areas favoured by hikers there are scores of mountain chalets (hizhi), some primitive, others comfy hotels in all but name. Costs at all but the most expensive will rarely come to more than $5-6 per night. Hostels and chalets tend to fill up quickly with Bulgarian walking enthusiasts and school parties. Upon arrival at a hizha, you may have to wait for the custodian to turn up before being allocated a bed. The Pirin Travel Agency in Sofia (bul. Stamboliiski 30; 870687) used to handle bookings for mountain hizhi, and are still the best source of information. The larger of Bulgaria`s monasteries traditionally accommodated guests in their cells, but closed their doors to Westerners in the early 1980s. Nowadays it`s up to the individual monastery to decide who they will or won`t admit, and many have yet to formulate a clear policy on the subject. It`s worth enquiring about rooms at heavily touristed monasteries such as Rila, Troyan, Bachkovo and Bozhen - alternative accommodation is nearby should you be turned away. |
Property in Bulgaria - Info on Bulgaria - Accommodation
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