Review: The very pleasant InterContinental Hotel in Sofia

The Flight Detective
a table with food on it

The InterContinental Hotel in Sofia is nicely located in the capital. As you would expect from a well known chain, it is very well kept, modern and up to date. It has some excellent features which I found really interesting.

I was sent abroad on a work trip, so for a change I wasn’t paying for it. Happily, it is not all that long a drive from the airport, though the traffic in the city centre can be quite hectic at peak times.

Check-In

On arrival, I waited for another guest to be seen, then attempted to check-in. Unfortunately, they could not find my booking, until I found the reference number. Turns out, my name had been drastically altered from what it actually is. Anyway, once found I was handed a key and took the lift up to my room on the first floor.

Since it was summer, with temperatures around 30c daily, I immediately went for the air conditioning. This did not work, so it was back downstairs to see about another room. Some time passed and the agent eventually gave me a new key, to a room on one of the highest floors.

The Twin Room

Having spend only about 10 minutes in my first room, I still took pictures, as I like to get them before I settle in. As this is the room I didn’t stay in, I can’t really comment much on the comfort, but one assumes it’s similar to all the others.

Apart from the non-functioning aircon, it looked like a typical hotel room to me. Being nicely spacious for a European hotel room, it was sure to please.

My Room At The InterContinental

From a twin room to a triple. The new room featured what looked like a King size bed, had plenty of wardrobe space, and inexplicably had the couch pulled out as a bed. It remained so throughout my stay, and you can see that lurking in the top image in this artlcle.

The room contained some lovely snacks which I had after work, not to mention great coffee which I had before work. A few of the mini-bar items like chocolates and so on were also consumed. All round, the bed was comfortable, everything was spotlessly clean, the TV had some English channels and I was happy out for my week there.

Room Service

There is no room service menu and you order by making your selections on the TV. Once you have chosen your meal, the hotel staff will telephone you to confirm your order, pretty much immediately. Quite efficient! Food also was quick to arrive, which I appreciated as I dislike room service taking forever to arrive. When you’re hungry, you’re hungry!

I deliberately selected Bulgarian options where available, as well as some other favourites (I love lemon tarts and pasta!). Food quality was great and it was all pleasingly filling. Price wise it was not stupidly expensive either, especially compared to countries on the other side of Europe.

Overall Thoughts

The InterContinental Sofia is a really nice place to stay when you’re in the city. Each night I would have a couple of beers on the small outdoor deck beside the bar, which is great for watching people in the street nearby. My colleague had been there many times and remarked on how safe the entire city is to get around.

All in all, I would probably stay here again, given half a chance. When you’re working all day, you need a quiet and comfortable place to rest your head and this fit the bill admirably.

What do you think of the InterContinental Sofia? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Christian

Sounds quite nice. I’ve been considering a first time visit to Sofia for a while and possibly the Black Sea in Bulgaria and this provides a little context. How well can you get by with English in Bulgaria? My Bulgarian is a little rusty.

Christian

Sorry, I was pretty unclear as to where I was going by asking about language. While I won’t avoid a country because of linguistic difficulties (Korea has surprisingly few English speakers outside the usual industries and is wonderful) I try to prepare myself for the extra effort and knowledge required, particularly if there’s a different alphabet as well. Between being prepared and Google Translate you can get surprisingly far.

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