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Me and the missus have booked Sofia for just 2 nights in June. Having done some research, it looks like the intercontinental appears to be a solid choice. We will be paying in cash. It is pricier than the Holiday inn and the majority of other hotels, and doesn’t have a pool. Having said that, the reviews are very good, and the lounge access may sway it for us.
Anyone got any experiences of this hotel, or other hotels in Sofia.
TIA
RichBefore you book check what deal Emyr can get you (but basically it’s the non member best flexible rate) with free breakfast, $100 room credit etc
Stayed at the IC Sofía a few years ago (2018 or 2019 – can’t remember precisely given chaos of last few years!)
Location is good and hotel was lovely inside. We stayed on points and got an upgrade to a very nice and spacious suite. No club access I’m afraid so can’t comment on that.
But hotel good overall. Service in the bar was a bit slow IIRC.
Stayed there during covid in 2020. It was really great. Booked on Ambassador weekend rate and then an extra night on points. The first night cost us £80 and it was 15k points for the extra night.
As a Spire Ambassador I got an upgrade from Club room to a huge suite (think it was Executive which is one category below Presidential), free access to Club benefits (this was hotel specific during covid and included buffet and a la carte breakfast in the main restaurant, afternoon tea in the restaurant, happy hour with special drinks menu.
On points night, I got to keep the suite, but had to pay extra for the club benefits. I asked to use the Ambassador credit for it and it was fine. Think it came down to £15 or £20 for the club benefits extra after credit.
Also got a complimentary minibar replenished daily for free incl. a large selection of alcoholic beverages.
On top the welcome tray included chocolates, huge fruit bowl and a bottle of wine.
It’s a really great hotel and staff are great. If I was going to Sofia again, I’d definitely stay here again. It’s a great location too. We found that three nights in Sofia was probably too much, we ran out of things to do on the last day.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Stayed there during covid in 2020. It was really great. Booked on Ambassador weekend rate and then an extra night on points. The first night cost us £80 and it was 15k points for the extra night.
As a Spire Ambassador I got an upgrade from Club room to a huge suite (think it was Executive which is one category below Presidential), free access to Club benefits (this was hotel specific during covid and included buffet and a la carte breakfast in the main restaurant, afternoon tea in the restaurant, happy hour with special drinks menu.
…I’m not sure from the above.. did you book a Club rate? If so it seems remarkably cheap at £80 but in this case why mention having free access to Club benefits? (ie you’ve already paid for them)
This looks really interesting to me as a weekend break, and certainly seems to be much better value than the one in Ljubljana (which is currently about 30% more expensive than IC Athens!)
We stayed there before Covid. It’s a good hotel, the Club lounge is really hospitable. It’s well located for the metro to the airport and good for the city centre.
Stayed there during covid in 2020. It was really great. Booked on Ambassador weekend rate and then an extra night on points. The first night cost us £80 and it was 15k points for the extra night.
As a Spire Ambassador I got an upgrade from Club room to a huge suite (think it was Executive which is one category below Presidential), free access to Club benefits (this was hotel specific during covid and included buffet and a la carte breakfast in the main restaurant, afternoon tea in the restaurant, happy hour with special drinks menu.
…I’m not sure from the above.. did you book a Club rate? If so it seems remarkably cheap at £80 but in this case why mention having free access to Club benefits? (ie you’ve already paid for them)
This looks really interesting to me as a weekend break, and certainly seems to be much better value than the one in Ljubljana (which is currently about 30% more expensive than IC Athens!)
It was during covid. IC Sofia is one of the cheapest in the chain. I didn’t have club benefits on the reward night, but yes I guess I didn’t express myself well. Also club benefits were different during covid due to lounges closed!
Edit: Just checked the first weekend of October is £120 non-ref or £140 refundable per night for Club room. You get Junior Suite for £140 non-ref.
Absolutely perfect for weekend break. Beginning of October was still nice and warm too.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Re other hotels, we stayed at the Grand Hotel Sofia which was the best of a reasonably bad lot 4-5 years ago. Intercontinental was just about to open so missed it. Having seen it since, I’d stick there.
Fun fact IC Sofia used to be Radisson Blu! My partner stayed a few times on business when it was Radisson. Total refurbishment was done when IHG took over.
I was there at the weekend. Its a nice hotel, easy to get to on the metro and everything in town is pretty much less than 10 mins walk.
I booked a club room and got upgraded to an exec suite (as spire amb), the lounge is closed so breakfast is the normal breakfast, theres afternoon tea 1500-1700 in restaurant (didnt go to that so not sure whats offered) and then happy hour from 1800-2000 in the restaurant where theres a special cocktail menu available. Theres not much food offered though, was basically a small plate of canepes, also used the $20 amb credit in there. In addition to that, the minibar was also complementary and it was pretty well stocked.
Afaik the only room type which includes club access is the club room, a directly booked suite doesnt automatically give you club access.
I stayed as Spire Amb and preferred the Hilton as Diamond. To obtain the same level of benefits I had to pay for Club at the IC, which was more than 50% pricier than the Hilton.
I got a suite at the Hilton. At the IC I got what they called an “apartment” which was probably the same size as my Hilton suite but didn’t have a divider down the middle.
The Hilton is a bit further out but not really an issue with the metro.
Service was more personalised at the IC because I paid for Club. Afternoon and evening lounge food was more substantial at Hilton, IC was higher quality but not substantial. IC lounge breakfast was excellent and private, could order anything from restaurant if not provided at buffet. Hilton restaurant breakfast was also great, but busy.
Interesting side note, both hotels price in euros and convert to lev at the official fixed exchange rate (as do the card networks), so you will pay exactly what you would have paid in GBP as if they charged in euros, not necessarily the case for hotels in other countries which price in euros but charge in their actual currency at a marked up rate. The Hilton also accepts euro banknotes at the fixed rate, but the IC charges a 5% commission to convert physical cash to lev before accepting it as payment.
I’m no longer Amb or Spire and unlikely to become IHG Diamond, so probably will choose Hilton if I visit again. But IHG Diamonds may do well at the IC in the near future.
Location of Hilton is a bit far from the main sights. Beginning of October standard Hilton room is priced the same as IC Club room.
When I stayed at the IC Malta the GM told me that he thought the IC Sofia to be the best IC in Europe.
Hi all, thanks for all your input. I booked it on free cancellation last week and I looked again last night, and the price went down by almost £60, so I’ve re-booked it.
I could now get the club room for the price I was prepared to pay for just a normal room, however knowing the lounge isn’t still open, I think we will give that one a miss.Hi Rich, how are you finding it? Let me know if you’re still around on Saturday night and I’ll buy you a beer!
Hi Rich, how are you finding it? Let me know if you’re still around on Saturday night and I’ll buy you a beer!
not going until tomorrow morning. We are there from tomorrow until Saturday morning. I certainly wouldn’t say no to a beer.
I’m checking in on Saturday, so looks like I’ll just miss you. Maybe next time!
Just looking at booking the IC Sofia and it’s adding in an additional guest fee even though the booking is only for 2.
What are recent experiences staying as a Diamond Ambassador?
Stayed there the end of June just for one night as I was transiting in Sofia, and I booked I believe a club room which was upgraded to a suite and still had the clubroom access, they told me I could have breakfast either in main bit or in the lounge. The lounge is quite small but very few use it so not busy at all. They seem to honour all ambassador benefits. One oddity I found was that I checked out late morning but left my case with them to hold for a few hours before flying back to London, I thought they would put it in a storage room out of sight but left it behind the counter clearly visible which I wasn’t too fond of but fortunately nothing of value in there but it was nice stay with very friendly staff.
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