Hotel Villa Boyana

If you want a quieter place with excellent views, this is a great choice. The balcony looks out toward the mountains and gets a lovely breeze. Boyana Church is just down the street. The single rooms are small, but clean and comfortable. There's a cafe and restaurant downstairs, plus a small convenience store next door. The owner is kind, helpful and speaks English well. An inexpensive taxi to the city centre is easy to arrange with the TaxiMe app.

The main drawback for us was getting around with a baby's stroller. There's no elevator, and the entrance has stairs, so the hotel isn't a good fit for disabled guests or parents with strollers unless someone can carry them. Otherwise, we were happy with our stay. It's a cozy little hotel in the mountain area, with a spacious, comfortable room and very kind, helpful staff. Room service was quick and the food was delicious. There are a few restaurants nearby, including one serving traditional Bulgarian food.

Krassimir was friendly and helpful throughout our stay, and arranged a taxi to the airport for us at checkout. Breakfast was good too, though it's served as a set meal, so you don't choose what you get. We enjoyed it anyway. Hotel Villa Boyana is a small, quaint place just a few minutes from the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Boyana Church. We stayed there to visit the church and explore the Boyana area, with plans for a hike in the mountains. Our room was great: a wide bed, a perfectly good bathroom and a flatscreen TV with lots of Bulgarian and international channels.

Parking was easy, either nearby or in the hotel's backyard. The rooms were spacious and clean, and the setting on the slopes of Mount Vitosha is quiet and pleasant. Breakfast was very poor, though, and the staff weren't very friendly. Arriving after 10 PM means a 10E fee, although you can also collect the key from a box without paying it.