HOTEL MARINELA

We stayed here for a 2night short break in Sofia in May 2017, the hotel is advertised as a 5* and I can tell you the only thing that looks nice is the reception and ground floor, the rooms are tired and they need a serious refurbishment. The room we booked was a standard double room with a queen size bed, the room is big enough with a good view but the carpet smelt and the bathroom was tired. The staff were friendly and there is a small tourism tax you pay on checkout - there is however a 100 Lev (50 Euro) deposit you pay which is held on checkout. The breakfast was decent good enough for a couple of days, clean and fresh. The location is the key selling point of this hotel, located within a few mins walk of James Bourchier Metro station on the blue link you can get to most places on the metro easily and the metro is cheap, we used the metro to get from the airport to the hotel and took 30/35 mins and cost £1.50. I would recommend this for a couple of nights but not for a longer stay, its decent enough for a couple but you may want to stay elsewhere if you do not like to much noise.

This hotel offers experiences that are very good and awful, just like the decor. I made a booking through the hotel web site. No e-mail confirmation of booking. I had to ring them to check. They said they would send the confirmation and didn’t. They advertise themselves as a 5 star hotel and the charge like they are a 5 star hotel but they are not. The décor on the ground floor reception and bar area is outrageously ostentatious to the garish. This is off-set by a beautiful garden with peacocks and black swans. The terrace bar overlooking the garden provides some of the worst service I have come across. Yes we have this beer but 5 minutes later no we don’t. Yes we definitely have this wine but sorry no we don’t. The food has so much salt on it is virtually inedible. The 19th floor restaurant on the other hand has excellent food and service but I suspect this is run by someone else as you cannot charge meals to your room, which may explain why the food and service are good. The rooms are tired. Shower fittings not attached properly, towel rack not properly attached. The carpets are dirty, furniture scuffed and bed pillows old. The internet access is probably the worst I have ever experienced at a hotel. It is free but useless. There is no separate hotel guests and public access, just one. So all visitors to the hotel log on to the free Wi-Fi with their phones and tablets using all the band so that hotel occupants cannot get reasonable service. I would rather pay for something that works than have something free that is useless. In addition, I find out on departure that parking is an extra charge. I think adding up the positives and negatives, the negatives out-weigh the positives. There are certainly better hotels in Sofia and there are certainly better value hotels.

The hotel is with good location. Only this is good! The hotel is party event NOISY hotel NOT Business. The stuff is unfriendly not competitive. The room were not well clean and small. The deluxe room response to 2* maxim 3* after five call from 23:00 in 02:30 they changed my room with quietly room. Never yet visit again.

Don t judge a book by its cover. The Marinela Hotel looks swanky on the outside. Yes, the lobby and Japnese Garden can compete with any posh hotel in Las Vegas. But the standard room itself tells a different story. Poor quality furniture, with terrible beds and terrible sagging matresses belie the situation.Oh..just to have a comfortable chair in the room to read a book..but that chair was so painful on my bottom, and back.! Otherwise good breakfast and close to a metro, and decent service from the attentive staff.

Nothing negative very good hotel,personel! Nothing to complain! Very good food ,you can find evrything there during summer time very nice japanese garden you can relax in the city !try thr asian hotel restaurant very nice food! Metro station two minutes walk