National Hotel

It doesn’t work.

For 60 leva, I was happy with the stay. The rooms were tidy and clean, the air conditioning worked, and the woman at reception was really kind. Compared with other hotels in Ruse at this price, this is the best option. I’m not trying to promote the other places, but it’s worth considering.

The restaurant only let us choose from food that had already been prepared for dinner. Our room was the bigger problem, though. The double room felt like a closet for two people, with one bed about the size of a bed for an older child and the other being a sofa bed.

We waited until 2:00 PM to check in, and the room was dirty when we finally got there. There was so much settled dust you could write in it. The place was stifling too: half the rooms apparently have no air conditioning, and reception either wouldn’t turn it on or it wasn’t working. The curtains were torn, the beds looked ancient, and the pillows smelled musty. Thin walls meant we could hear people talking, even when they whispered. The windows had no mosquito screens. The bathroom was terribly cramped, the water smelled of detergent, and hot water was hard to come by. The fridge didn’t work, and I won’t even get into the TV. The employees acted inappropriately, and when we raised problems, they said they wouldn’t do anything and didn’t care. After making us wait until 2:00 PM to get in, they expected us to leave by 9:00 AM. The experience was awful, and it wasn’t worth the money at all.