Ski Hotel Katerina

The owners were really kind, and the food was okay. We stayed two nights. The hotel is a bit old-school, but they’re remodeling it and updating things. The rooms were decent for the price, and the location is great, only a 20-minute drive to Vihren Hut. I’d definitely recommend it.

The rooms were small and cold, and in my case there were no blankets. There was just one charging slot in the room, and we had no hot water at all during our stay. We were first sent to dirty rooms with hair on the floor and no sheets. Breakfast was very basic, made with low-quality ingredients, and the same food was served each day. The staff were unfriendly, the owner was rude and unhelpful, and the stay was overpriced. The restaurant was always empty and felt creepy, so we had to go into the city to eat. In the end, I had to change hotels because they wanted to charge the same price for a single room as for two people, even though Booking.com showed a cheaper rate. It was a terrible choice for the price. I’d say definitely avoid this place.

After a long hike, this family-run restaurant gave us a warm welcome and proper Bulgarian hospitality. It’s a traditional place to sit by the fireplace, warm up, and get some food before continuing the hike. They serve a good range of simple Bulgarian dishes at reasonable prices, along with lovely homemade wine. The staff were very welcoming and friendly.

We only went to the restaurant, not the hotel. The food was completely inedible. The meat and fish were dry, the salad seemed to be from the freezer, and the mashed potatoes were made from powder, not real potatoes. Drinks were only available in bottles. The staff spoke Bulgarian but no English, and prices were twice as high as at other, much better restaurants.