Rila Hotel Sofia

Rila Hotel Sofia descritpion

Just 165 ft from Sofia’s main shopping street Vitosha, Rila Hotel is in a central location in the city. It has a bar and a restaurant. Wi-Fi is available free of charge. Conference facilities are also available.
All rooms have a private bathroom, cable TV and large windows which provide a lot of natural light. Some have a separate living room and bedroom. Most of the units have a balcony.
The National Theater Ivan Vazov and the Serdika Metro Station are both a 7-minute walk away. The Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral and the National Palace of Culture can both be reached by foot in 20 minutes.
Centrum is a great choice for travelers interested in Food, History and Culture.

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Facilities of Rila Hotel Sofia

Outdoors ：Terrace

Pets ：Pets are allowed on request. Charges may apply.

Activities ：Massage

Food & Drink ：Restaurant | Bar | Restaurant with Dining Menu

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.

Parking ：No parking available.

General ：Safe | Non-smoking Rooms | Elevator | All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private) | Air Conditioning

Languages Spoken ：English | Bulgarian

Reviews for Rila Hotel Sofia

Review 1：The housekeeper didn't come to clean the room or to change the towels not once during the stay.

Review 2：We got a room at the top floor, you could see the whole city from the balcony and it was amazing. The room was big and comfy, and quite warm, which was excellent because outside was -10 degrees. The friendliest staff ever, they helped us with everything we needed, good job for the front desk guys. Perfect location, you have everything you need in a walking distance from the hotel. All in all, we enjoyed our stay a lot, will come back soon for sure.

Review 3：A facility deserves to be a "Hotel" when the room temperature is guaranteed to be maintained at minimum 23 degrees Celsius. This "never-renovated" retro facility had non working radiators and had Air Conditioners in rooms to ensure 23 degrees room temperature in rooms with 1965 model wooden frame windows where it is -11 degrees outside. But unfortunately the air conditioner cannot fulfill this task. The rooms are cold during winter and I can't say it is a fun experience.

Review 4：Good price. Location is very central. Staff was friendly during check in.

Review 5：Hotel need renovation. Mainly bulgarian tv chanels.

Review 6：Very good location. Walkable to main tourist atraction in town. Old furniture but clean rooms. Internet available in room.

Review 7：A bit outdated bathroom and windows. A small TV. It is not a good idea to use air conditioners for heating when it is very cold outside. I stayed at the hotel last year and it was -15 outside and not so warm inside. This time (+12 outside) the room was warm enough.

Review 8：Spacious room and spacious bathroom (Junior suit, partially renovated), beautiful view from the balcony, comfort beds, cleanliness. Location is perfect. Ridiculously cheap minibar. Our room was better than the rooms on the pictures here, but maybe we were lucky. :) We stayed only one night because we had to travel abroad early in the morning.

Review 9：Needs to be updated . The closet was falling apart the Windows had no safety bars- a child or kid left unattended for a couple of minutes could easily fall from the fifth floor if he or she opens the window. Very unsafe and not a kid friendly room.

Review 10：Location. Very quiet neighborhood

Review 11：A chair on the balcony would be a nice touch.

Review 12：If you're looking for a retro communist kind of hotel experience bang in the middle of town, then this is the hotel for you. It may not have been decorated since those days but that's all part of its creaking charm. Lovely front desk and zippy lifts.

Review 13：Heavy noice from pub downstairs up to 04:00. 3 different rooms onlty was was completely ok... balcony door in one was so rotten it would not close anymore...beds are old and not very clean... Staff is variable, some very friendly others are not helpfull at all

Review 14：Location is very good

Review 15：car parking ,,hotel should hold tickets to purchase from reception ,,,car towed away cost 100 lv,, TOOK AWAY A VERY PLEASANT STAY i would pay extra for the service

Review 16：everything i asked was given ,and with a smile

Review 17：- In the bathroom the WC was leaking faeces and piss. - They didn't clean the room (they said that they only clean the room once every three days). - The room wasn't ready when I arrived.

Review 18：- The location.

Review 19：Very noisy after 23:00 at 4:00 in this part of Sofia, the problem is for local council Serdika and hotel management Rila.

Review 20：Very proffesional staff,reception,restaurant etc.

Review 21：The carpet was not vacumed or cleaned properly.

Review 22：It was much better than my last visit. It had a proper new matress. Upgraded to a VIP suite versus standard suite. Separate bedroom was great.

Review 23：Breakfast was a joke. Did not honor the booking.com free late checkout. Told typically rediculous Eastern European lies. Said the free late checkout was based on availability. It's an old commie hotel and was practically empty.

Review 24：Location

Review 25：The hotel is really old and needs to be renovated. The TV set was too small and old. It didn't work. :(

Review 26：Excellent location in downtown Sofia. The hotel is just 5 minutes away walking distance from the main shopping street Vitosha with its nice cafes, bars, restaurants and lots of stores. Value for money. Very good WiFi signal in the room. Nice view from the balcony. Friendly staff at the reception.

Review 27：Although each floor seems to have its own Wi-fi system, mine would not connect up at the end of 8th floor corridor, but no problem in reception area. Controlled parking area until 7pm (2pm Saturday), and tow-away truck or wheel clamp is quick!

Review 28：Older type modernised hotel right in the heart of town. Friendly staff, excellent inclusive breakfast. Had junior suite which was spacious, with air-con, and big bathroom. Good public transport.

Review 29：Very dirty rooms and especially bathroom, can't take a shower with all the broken stuff in bathroom - the water kept changing from very cold to hot; the flush was broken and water from the toilet was everywhere on bathroom floor; no ventilator in bathroom; hair everywhere. The two rooms were very cold - the central heating system was off, although it was freezing outside. Only in one of the two rooms there was airconditioner, which could't make it any warmer than the weather outside. The wind was howling under the doors... The TV is from another century, actually - the hotel is from another century - old, neglected, falling apart.

Review 30：Location and view.

Review 31：The location was perfect. The balance between the price and the quality was good. I think, it is the best hotel for those who are looking for a place to stay in short trips.

Review 32：not 100% clean, just little niggles really. No toilet paper, had to ask, came 2 hours later. Bar downstairs was noisy but was kept awake by mosquitos

Review 33：the staff were very helpful and friendly

Review 34：Have no parking area, so you need to pay for parking (hourly). Need some renewing in rooms.

Review 35：Location was perfect, very close to Vitosha, Alexander Nevski Katedral, Sveta Nedelya Tsentralna Hall. Rooms are really large. There are shops of famous brands nearby the hotel. Good mountain view from the window:)

Review 36：we were given a room with a used bed that hadn't been cleaned. the next room had no extra bedding no bedside light nothing in the mini fridge and was very noisy most of the night. have used this hotel over passed 3 years and it has definitely gone down hill.

Review 37：At least there must be an hair dryer in the room. But there is not.

Review 38：Perfect perfect perfect location, early checkin chance with the price just 7 euros per room.

Review 39：Very central location. Value for money. The view from the 7th floor was nice. Having a balcony was convinient (if you are smoker). Good Wi-Fi. Friendly girl at the reception.

Review 40：old place, needs to be restored... Price level of much better hotels (*****grand hotel sofia) is very similar. But at Rila comfort, service, breakfast are more than 2 steps behind.

Review 41：central site

Review 42：Balcony handrail is very low, it's really dangerous to go outside .. Rooms required major renovation

Review 43：Staff are friendly and helpful, location in the heart of Sofia, value for money, view from the room

Review 44：I really liked this hotel and its stuff and etc.Specially the view of votishka mountain from hotel's balcony is a feeling that just try to live it. It is better place for staying.

Review 45：Very noisy "disco" with heavy thudding bass shook our room til 4 am. Our toilet leaked and we had to change rooms. The new room was very old, carpets worn furniture scratched and bedsheets worn into holes.

Review 46：Location was convenient for seeing the sights of the City center

Review 47：Comunication problems with hotel, didnt receive answer to emails. No parking place awailable, and personnel didnt help to find parking. I ordered lux bussines suite and there was poor WIFI signal, and personnel didnt solve the problem, arguing that it works. Very very very old furniture, walls, bathroom, like in 90's. Elevators was frightening, doors is opened manually. Near the hotel works night club, and the party was audible in the room due to poor sound isolation. Breakfast was so-so.

Review 48：Location center on the city.

Review 49：Slightly older decor. Air con also didn't circulate around the room very well, but luckily it wasn't really needed.

Review 50：Nice staff. Breakfast alright, but was included in price so that was great. Huge rooms, amazing location, basically the city centre. Great prices. Good balcony view.

Review 51：I would appreciate more cleanliness, a bit of basic belongings in the room and also some fresh fruits for breakfast. The breakfast actually was my biggest disappointment.

Review 52：Rooms are very old, dirty and neglected Reception don't inform us about the car parking problem and they locked our car immadiately while we went to see our room. After a long discussion they didn't help us any parking opportunities. additionaly the rooms were disgusting. balcony door couldn't be closed. All furnitures are crunkling

Review 53：Nothing

Review 54：During seven days, the floor was never swept.

Review 55：The view from the 8th floor. In the center of Sofia and near the Serdika metro station. Fine Wi-fi, A/C, and a powerfull fridge.

Review 56：No hairdryer.

Review 57：Everything was perfect, the location, the price, the room, the stuff.. It's the 3rd time I stayed at this hotel, and will certainly choose it again if I stay in Sofia for business.

Review 58：Wi-fi didn't work outside the central part of the hotel. Rooms haven't been updated since the 1980s. Big room, tiny old TV in the corner. Shower not working fully. Breakfast terrible - first day no hot food, no buffet, just a plate of cold cuts. The hotel faces an open bar / garden playing Techno music till 2am, and has single glazed windows, so rooms are not quiet at all.

Review 59：The facilities are really old - it doesn't look like anything has been renovated or replaced (in the case of bed linens) since 1983

Review 60：the location is good

Review 61：Walls were very thin, could hear conversations and even people moving hangers in their next door closets. Also very loud music from outside. Bring your earplugs. It was fine for one night.

Review 62：Location can't be beat. I had limited time in Sofia, so it helped to be convenient to the metro and many sights.

Review 63：The behavior of the staff was terrible, talking inappropriate things in front of the guests, no matter if they were foreigners or Bulgarians. The material base was so old, looked like nothing in the room was changed since the hotel was built. They didn't clean the room or change the towels during our three nights stay.

Review 64：The only good thing was the location. We were lucky to have a room on the 8th floor, so the view was great.

Review 65：Breakfast and it had become worse in three weeks between July and August.Parking outside is not free from 8 to 19. You have to find first the person who will provide you the necessary payment ticket. They wear safety vests and are always around. Otherwise it is very probable that in five minutes you will get penalty.

Review 66：Location in city center.

Review 67：Loud music from 11pm-3am. The entire block becomes a concert stage. Dirty walls but I could care less. Even if I get paid I won't stay in this hotel.As far as I know people choose hotels to sleep a few hours, at least.

Review 68：Location, nice view

Review 69：*Cleaning of rooms is done twice a week. *Breakfast was awful, not worth to pay extra. You get scrambled eggs, some kind of boiled(?) sausage, bread and marmelade, and boiled eggs where the egg yolk was green!!! *Hot water in bathroom takes forever to get *Unsecure looks to the rooms *Poor standard in the rooms, just basic. *wifi doesn't really work, unless you are in the hallway.

Review 70：Good location, close to main street Vitosha with a lot of stores and cafe and bars. Friendly staff.

Review 71：The bathroom had an old screw sticking out of the floor, instead of being cut off it was bent over and left. It was sharp. The matress was worn out and lumpy. Internet had moments, some days it was great for a few hours and then on and off every few minutes. I needed to tether my cell phone lots of the time.

Review 72：It was in the centre of the city with easy access to all the things I needed. Close to clubs, bars and restaurants.

Review 73：Parking was a nightmare. Wi fi was only available in the corridor.

Review 74：The fact the hotel was in the centre. Stuff was profecional, friendly and welcoming.

Review 75：Room was very old decorated. Our tv was not working. And the bathroom was not in good state.

Review 76：Location of the Hotel is just perfect ! Rila is in the heart of the city center of Sofia. There are 2 bars and 1 club next to the Hotel which is also close to the museums, parks, the main shopping street and tram station. The staffs were helpfull. Our room was all ready and thanks to the receptionist we could check in at 9 am ! Even just for this reason the hotel's hospitality merits all appreciation!

Review 77：The bar/disco was extremely loud until long after midnight - I was there on Saturday - maybe it is quieter during the week.

Review 78：The location is excellent.

Review 79：Breakfast could be improved. The railing of the terrace is too low.

Review 80：This hotel is a palace from the socialist era: the rooms (actually apartments) are huge, the furnishing is luxury if outdated (marble in the bathroom, mid-century solid oakwood in the living room), there is a terrace with a magnificent view of the mountains. Its location is perfect in the very heart of the city.Competent helpful staff. Municipal long stay parking nearby. Incredible value for the money. An absolute must for a stay in Sofia. Ask for a superior floor to enjoy the view and avoid the noise of the lower floors (bar on the ground floor)

Review 81：We had beg bugs the size of pennies in the first room they put us in. When we told the staff we were given another room, exactly below the room w/ bed bugs. The toilet seat was completely broken off. This all occurred at 1am as we only knew there were bed bugs after being bit while sleeping. The manager said the situation was 'unpleasant' and did not offer us a refund for the night or some sort of way to appease the situation. I had booked this hotel because booking.com recommended it and put some osrt of 2014 award. I think the only award this hotel could get is worst hotel ever. Seriously reconsidering ever booking with booking.com again after that experience.

Review 82：The hotel's central location was a huge plus.

Review 83：its very noisy the music in the bar is too loud and it continues till 3-4am the whole hotel looks like it is during the second world war it needs painting and changing the windows in this conditions it cant be 3 star hotel we wrre in old town plivdiv in 3 star hotel and compering to Rila hotel that was luxury now we are in veliko tarnovo in 2 star hotel which loiks like palace compering it to rila hotel SHAME the breakfast was horrible too ......

Review 84：Parking might be a problem as the hotel has no private parking space and parking in the center of Sofia is restricted.

Review 85：The hotel is in the very center of Sofia, very conveniently located. Clean and specious rooms though decoration is out of date. The staff is helpful. Good value for money.

Review 86：Fantastic hotel situated in the very center of Sofia. The staff are super welcome and helpful. Hotel very clean. Rooms air conditioned. Very strong wifi. Room service on daily basis. Truly 4 star hotel. Thank you to Rilla. Will defiantly spend time there again

Review 87：Very noisy!!! The hotel apparently rented part of the building to an open disco-bar. Very load music till 2am, one can hear it even trough closed windows. Old furniture. No hairdryer in the room, there is only one available at the reception desk, be lucky to take it otherwise you might need to boy one for yourself or just not to use any.

Review 88：Excellent location. Friendly and helpful stuff. Clean rooms.

Review 89：The outdoor cafe/night club that was the reason for intolerable noise until the small hours of the night. Building is 40 years old and it shows - doors don't close, windows don't close (one of them was broken), bathroom was horrible as well. In Bulgaria nobody cares about the quality of the rest or any other goods you pay for, nobody follows any rules and our stay in this remnant of the past architecture/product of the present lack of any responsibility was the perfect example. Stay away from this cheap but horrible place.

Review 90：Location in the center of the city

Review 91：Room was not clean, hairs in bathroom and bedroom, sheets too small for bed, only set up for one person when we booked for two.Bed was very uncomfortable, furniture very poor and out dated. Paint flaking off bathroom door and outside balcony... I could go on!

Review 92：Hotel Position

Review 93：No hot water in the room. Pretty old, it looks like old socialist hotel. The blanket was not big enough for two people, it was perfect for one. The wi fi connection was not strong. It dropped down often. It was noisy because the windows are not isolated. Do not do the mistake to book there only for 20 euros more you can find way better hotel with the same central location.

Review 94：Central location, room for the luggage

Review 95：During check in they made us to pay in advance room rate. Than we understand that they made this specially to not change room. Because they gave us room without bathroom. Nobody wanted to change it. Because of our pets No help. You better cancel their hotel or room functions as pet friendly. They are not evet client friendly.....

Review 96：The hotel was a bit old and old fashioned. The parking in front of the hotel is at an extra charge.

Review 97：The location was awesome, in the very center of Sofia with a beautiful view. Good wifi

Review 98：they did not accept euros and had no exchange office on the hotel. but the exchange offices disease is natural in Sofia as they all close at 00:00 am

Review 99：softness of the bed and that it was on 5 minutes of walking from town center. literally 5 minutes!

Review 100：Hotel was really terrible. Dirty, rude employees, etc. Place was extremely noisy because of music bar under the hotel which was working till 4am. Pls do not take breakfast as was very pure with a value of 1 eur maximum. My advice pls take any other hotel in Sofia.

Review 101：Super noisy bars outside, we could only sleep with earplugs (and we were on the top floor!), bed was way too soft and mattress worn out. The hotel is quite worn down, however that's quite common in Sofia.

Review 102：Air conditioning was a bonus and the view from the top floor was truly fantastic! The staff was also friendly and nice.

Review 103：The room was okay, the bathroom was awfully bad condition. Shower was damaged! The toilet pot wasn't like it was from 90s.

Review 104：Only the staff was friendly and the main parts of the facility were clean

Review 105：The bed was soft and sank in the middle, the balcony door did not lock, and the balcony wall itself was very low. There was no parking available which I was expecting from the facilities offered.

Review 106：Great location, fridge in room and much needed air con!

Review 107：Not everyone in the stuff spoke english, but other than that everything was perfect!

Review 108：Good location near the city center, nice comfortable room with perfect outside view.

Review 109：The room we got didn't even have a shower! The "bathroom" was around 1m² with a toilet and sink and if you closed the door then you could see there was a shower tap on the wall but that was it. So if you would have showered there, the whole room including toilet and sink would have been flooded! (And you would probably hit yourself because it was so tiny.) We then asked for another room. But the lady at the reception didn't even apologize for the bad conditions! The new room at least had a bathtube but was still old and dirty, the mattress already bended. The worst was that there is a big disco next to the hotel so there was super loud bass music playing until hours after midnight and even with earplugs it was difficult to get any sleep. I didn't eat breakfast there because other guests told me we should better avoid it. We checked out after one night and went to another hotel because it was unbearable!

Review 110：The mattress was not good, probably because it is too old. The furniture was old generally speaking. There were 2 clubs right below the hotel with really extended hours and too loud music. We were too tired and finally were able to sleep, but if someone needs a really calm place in order to sleep, that´s not your hotel.

Review 111：Super friendly staff. Very good location and close to the metro station. Extraordinary clean. They have a safe at the reception desk, that it is nice.

Review 112：Where do start? Very poor washing conditions, poor breakfast. The hotel hasn't seen renovation works for a very long time.

Review 113：Location and free wifi. Helpful staff.

Review 114：If they want British visitors then they must provide Tea.

Review 115：A one night stay before flying home, with a quick look at Sofia. This is a good location, and good value for money. A dated Hotel but not a problem .

Review 116：Our friends and ourselves found the beds uncomfortable with poor mattresses. There was no parking provided. Parking outside in the street is only free after seven pm and on Sunday. Other times you must buy a voucher from someone in the street starting exactly at eight am or you risk your car being clamped. The breakfast was a limited range and service was adhoc.

Review 117：Location was great.

Review 118：No service no cleaning staff, continuous noise, complete lack of respectfrom personel. Homeless people were sleeping at the doorway, an arrestwas made infront of the reseption desk, always dirty, no room service.Totally absent managemnet!!!

Review 119：Nothing!!!!!!!

Review 120：Can't expect extraordinary things from a building this old, but the elevator's really freaky

Review 121：Clean, efficient, centre-of-town, staff very friendly. Given the location, it's a value for money steal.

Review 122：There was (at least one) disco nearby and then noice was terrible. Thank god I had ear plugs with me. I have never needed them before, 'cos I normally sleep very well even if there is some noice. But this was something else...

Review 123：Good location.

Review 124：Dirty pillows, broken bed, no daily cleaning, NO SLEEP due to the loud music in the bar under the hotel and no sound isolation at the windows, broken windows, broken doors, everywhere is falling apart. And finally, Its reception's phone number is not 0. Not 1. It is 290. Yes 290. And there's no info about that in the room. So you have to walk down to the reception to ask their phone number :) it was unbelievable.

Review 125：Stuff needs an english lessons and a bit more speed.

Review 126：This is probably one of the best locations hotel can have in Sofia. It's unchanged design and everything since 70s, so if you need comfort don't book this one. But if all you are is location this one is no brainer.

Review 127：Its better not to pay for breakfast - its very poor. The serving staff is completely disinterested. Wifi signal does not reach the rooms at all, u need to surf in the lobby

Review 128：Centrally located, walkable to most attractions Huge room size Helpful staff

Review 129：The lift is old and "industrial" The bathrooms have no baths and they are the old fashined wetroom. Also there was a running water noise in the wall for quite a while in the night.

Review 130：The staff were very helpful and friendly and the hotel was clean.

Review 131：If you come towards the end of breakfast, not much is left and the staff just puts everything away exactly at end of breakfast, a bit annoying, rude and pointless.

Review 132：Asked for pillows and towels at 8pm and again at 10pm arrived 10.30pm car parking i was outside waitingt for attendant at 7.50am waited till 8.10am,,went back in hotel informed the reception NOT THERE PROBLEM CLAMPED AT 8.15 WHILST I WAS TALKING TO THEM,,,THE ATTITUDE GIVEN BY THE MANAGER WAS WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE SOMEONE LOOKING OUT FOR GUESTS,,SPOILT MY FIRST VISIT TO SOFIA

Review 133：Good overall

Review 134：parking restrictions in front of the hotel- you can only park for up to 2 hrs at a time

Review 135：Great location in the city centre! Hotel has been renovated recently and the rooms are comfortable. The staff is very friendly and helpful.Great views from the balcony!!

Review 136：There vas verry cold in the room. It's a big difference betwen pictures and reallity. No parking

Review 137：There are no things that you can like. Maybe that the Hotel it is in a god location.

The Fine Print

Please note that the property does not have a private parking. The only parking available nearby is part of the Municipal Blue Parking Zone, which is available at a surcharge and for up to 2 hours. For more information, please contact the property directly.Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.