A Bed in the Lion's Den for a Night (The Lion Hotel (Sofia, Bulgaria))

Member Name: Praskipark

Product:	The Lion Hotel (Sofia, Bulgaria)
Date:	15/04/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good situation near to the main shopping boulevard and some of the historical attractions.

Disadvantages: Security gone mad!

During our house buying trip to Bulgaria in 2007 we decided to catch a bus from Veliko Tornovo to Sofia. My son had visited Sofia a few months before and thoroughly recommend the city but said that apartment prices were expensive.

As usual we hadn't booked a room in advance so we had to find one once we arrived in the city. Although the front of the Lion Hotel is very grand with a mellow yellow facade we actually found the hotel on a back street and went through the back entrance which was a bit narrow and dingy.

Arriving in the foyer we were grumpily welcomed by a security guard posing with his mobile phone and a young girl on the reception desk. Perched high on the front of the desk was a bank of TV monitors which made me feel a little uneasy to say the least. I did think at the time that the level of security was a bit over the top. After taking our passports we were given the key fob and told the room number.

The decor of the room was very pleasant with lemon walls and all accessories in a dark shade of blue. There were two single beds both with headboards and side tables with reading lamps. Both beds were very soft and comfortable.

All the bedding was clean and attractive to look at. The duvet covers matched the design of the curtains which was a dark blue silk with a mosaic pattern. I did find the covers rather strange as they had a large central hole which you could see the actual duvet underneath. I have since come across these again in Bulgaria so it must be a Bulgarian design. The central hole is the part where you feed the duvet into the cover - it is probably easier than faffing to push it from one end only.

The wardrobes were full length and built into the walls with sliding doors. Being lazy I never unpack if just staying for one night so the wardrobes are generally wasted on me. What I do like in a hotel is a writing desk and we were lucky to have one in this room which was equpped with writing paper, pens and envelopes bearing the name of the hotel.

A mini bar was available with small bottles of red and white wine, a couple of bottles of beer, small bottles of gin and whisky, orange juice, water, Coca Cola and a half bottle of cheap champagne, bags of peanuts and a couple of bars of chocolate. All these goodies came with a price list so you could tick off any of the items and hand it in at reception when paying the bill. We were very tempted but that time didn't actually drink the fridge dry. (Honest)

I did switch the TV on to see what channels were available and the first programme I tuned into was Eastenders which made me giggle for some silly reason. It was actually Cable TV covering 60 channels although most of the channels were unwatchable except for one football channel.

Internet connection was available in all of the rooms but on this particular trip I didn't take my laptop which is unusual for me so I didn't need to use it. If the room hadn't had a connection I would probably have spent the evening ranting and raving. There is no pleasing some folk. Other office services available in reception are a fax and photocopier.

All rooms have en-suite bathrooms. The tile work and appearance of the wash basin and taps was of a high standard and spotlessly clean with lots of free shampoos and the usual hair net and shoe cleaning polish. All eastern European hotels seem to give you free shoe polish - I wonder why because in a lot of the cities there are shoe shine boys or men who will clean shoes for you for a bob or two.

Unfortunately we had a room situated at the back of the hotel so the view wasn't very stunning but the rooms at the front of the hotel would be good value as you would be able to see the central railway station and the boulevard which is always busy with people buzzing around.

On the ground floor is a pizza bar which belongs to the hotel and serves a huge variety of pizzas, salads and other culinary delights. We didn't eat there in the evening because we wanted to walk around the city and in the end we found an Indian restauarant for our evening meal (see Taj Mahal, Sofia review). However, we ate breakfast in this restaurant which was pleasant enough. The restaurant/bar has a 1940's feel to it and reminds me a bit of the coffee houses in Paris with the very high ceilings and elaborate light fittings. Although, the light was quite dim in the restaurant and added to the cigarette smoke gave the whole room a hazy atmosphere. If you sit next to the huge windows you can see all the street activity of people walking to work and street sellers haggling with customers over the prices of anything from flowers, socks, dictionaries, copied CD's and DVD's. You could possibly purchase any strange or exotic item on this street.

Breakfast consisted of the usual Bulgarian fare which is a plate of cold meat, feta cheese and a boiled egg served with a basket of fresh bread, a glass of artificial orange juice and a cup of black coffee which is so strong it will definitely put hairs on your chest. You do have a choice of ham and eggs but it isn't ham as we know it in the UK. In Bulgaria when they say ham they mean a slice of thin watery boiled ham which has hardly any nutritional value at all.

We paid 50 euros for a double room in 2007 but I believe the price is now 68 euros which isn't bad for a hotel situated in the city centre, near the main railway station and not far from the main shopping boulevard. The hotel is also within walking distance to the main historical attractions.

So what did I think of the hotel overall? I thought it was very clean and cosy and the access to the city sights was excellent. It's situation on the corner of the Lion's Bridge is a good spot for people watching. However, I thought the security guard was too officious and it narked me that he didn't believe us when we said that we hadn't taken anything from the mini bar. He actually sent a maid upstairs into the room to open the fridge and check. We could see this on his monitors. I thought this was a bit cheeky.

For an overnight stay or for businessmen I think the Lion Hotel is adequate. I think I would probably use it again when next in Sophia.

Summary: A reasonably comfortable hotel for an overnight stop