Hotel Monte Cristo

The location is great and the people were nice, though I can imagine it’s not easy for them working somewhere that seems to scam its guests. I’ve stayed in much better places in other Bulgarian cities for much better prices. What a shame. This is sold as a 4 STAR hotel, and our two nights cost more than 300 levas. I honestly wonder how they keep those stars on the front door. Everything in the building felt cheap and randomly decorated, from the towels and chairs to the decorations and even the plastic plates in the restaurant. The bedrooms were poorly equipped. The sheets were too small for the mattresses, the bathroom felt like one in an uninhabited house, and there was no room service. Don’t expect clean towels to appear, you have to ask for them. The spa was dimly lit, and seeing how dirty the water was, I can see why they might want to hide it. Plastic camping-style chairs were scattered around to make up for the lack of proper equipment. The water dispenser wasn’t even plugged in, so no fresh water after the sauna. Breakfast was included, but the first morning there was no proper buffet. An old blanket covered it, with random items laid out: jam but no bread, cereal but dirty bowls and no milk. No proper coffee cups either, just paper ones like at a gas station. The guy from reception was covering the kitchen that day and said breakfast would be served at the table. I asked for a menu so I could choose, but he didn’t know where they’d put them. What arrived was cheap food from Metro: bread, ham and cheese. The next morning there was a buffet with mekitsi, banitsa, eggs, filiiki and other things, so at least we could eat, but the quality was still so, so poor. I’m honestly shocked. I wouldn’t complain if this were a moderately priced hotel, but it isn’t. I never expected a 4-star breakfast to mean cheap bad food on plastic plates, with silly radio music in a dining room full of glitter and shiny stuff, like it had been decorated with Best Buy & Jumbo material. This place shouldn’t be open, or at least it should stop selling a prestige that doesn’t exist. It’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t take the time to comment if this were a cheap one or two star hotel, but it’s far from that. What a disgrace.