Sofia Balkan Palace

I'm writing this review with a heavy heart, as this was my second stay at the Sofia Balkan Palace.
While the hotel boasts an unbeatable location in the heart of Sofia, my recent experience was deeply disappointing due to a significant decline in service, which unfortunately overshadowed the positives.

Let's start with what the hotel does well:
1. Unbeatable Location: Situated right next to Vitosha Boulevard, with easy access to the metro, stunning architecture, and beautiful parks, it's the perfect base for exploring the city.
2. Mostly Friendly Staff: I appreciated the presence of Greek-speaking employees, which is a nice touch.
3. Pet-Friendly: A great option for travelers with furry companions.
4. New Year's Day Treat: Complimentary champagne and sweets were a lovely gesture.
5. Available Parking: On-site parking is available, albeit at a cost of €20 per day.

However, these positives were completely undermined by the shockingly poor housekeeping:
1. No Room Cleaning: During our two-night stay, our room was never cleaned, even after we specifically requested it.
2. Unclean Room Upon Arrival: We found an empty razor packet left by previous guests in the shower.
3. Dirty Toilet in Friends’ Room: Despite three requests, the toilet remained uncleaned.
4. Dusty Room: There was a noticeable layer of dust throughout our room, and even after 24 hours, it looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in days.

This dramatic drop in service is a serious concern. While the Sofia Balkan Palace has a lot to offer in terms of location and some amenities, the fundamental failure to maintain basic cleanliness and respond to guest requests is inexcusable. I sincerely hope the management takes these issues seriously and implements immediate changes to address these shortcomings. As it stands, I cannot recommend this hotel in its current state, which is truly disheartening given my previous positive experience.

Where to begin to describe our huge disappointment in this hotel. We had stayed there before when the hotel was under the ownership of Marriott, and it was fine. Now it's an absolute joke:

1. The door lock/latch was broken meaning that it cannot be securely locked from the inside
2. The safe was not attached to the wall making it completely superfluous
3. The shower didn't drain, we complained about this twice, and were told they would fix it. Later in the day, we asked again and we were told that it was fixed but in fact nothing was done. (photo and video attached) This meant that the shower could not be used, since running the shower for just over 1 minute meant that it was already filled to the top and leaving it any longer would flood the bathroom floor, causing more damage.
4. There was a golf ball size hole in the wall
5. The iron was completely burnt and we didn't notice this before ironing a pair of trousers which are now ruined
6. On top of that, our room was entered in spite of "do not disturb sign" and I verbally instructed housekeeping that we did not require cleaning.
7. One of the towels was unacceptably dirty
8. There are only 7 parking spots available for this massive hotel. We had to struggle to find parking elsewhere. The description on Agoda shows that it has parking.

The hotel refused to provide any compensation or refund as "the reservation was made through a third party website". This was obviously not true as the third party said they spoke with the hotel who refused to provide refund.

Spend your money elsewhere, this hotel is not worthy of any of it's 5 stars.