Hotel Pulpudeva — Hotel in Plovdiv

This truly was a dreadful stay. We booked through Booking.com for a two night stay: the family suite with three beds and a double room with two single beds. The hotel had called in advance to make sure we were still coming and sent a message confirming that the room was set up with two singles. They said that there would be nobody to check us in after 7:30. We arrived at 9:00 and the keys had been left for us.||||Unfortunately, when we got into the larger room, the larger bed was not made up with three beds, only two. The other room they gave us was made up with a double bed, rather than two single beds. There were no staff to help us with situation.||||Nobody answered the number they had left for us. We messaged through Booking.com and they said the booking was correct (classic gaslighting). After a lot of back and forth, restating what the confirmation said they conceded they were in the wrong. To be fair, the owner agreed and apologised and sent someone to make up the additional bed we needed in the large room and gave us an additional room for the night so that we had enough beds. We thought it was settled.||||At checkout we were told we would need to pay for an additional room for the first night. The extra room they had given us to solve the fact they had not given us the rooms we booked. They had not told us we would need to pay for this when they gave us the extra room on the Saturday. If we had known this then we would have not used this solution. Why should we pay for an additional room for their mistake? Why should the customer be out of pocket for their failures?||||This whole issue was compounded by the fact the member of staff was unbearable to deal with: rude, unprofessional, and aggressive. This had started even before the conversation around the additional room overbilling took place.||||I arrived at breakfast at 09:55 (breakfast is served from 8-10). The staff member who was just smoking outside (as we saw her do throughout the morning. This is really not a good look to just have staff chain smoking in the one communal area of the hotel). I showed her the time and she rolled her eyes and made breakfast, before (you guessed it) she returned to her cigarettes.||||We checked out ( we were late out of one to which we had told her would be the case). This is when the whole debacle around her attempt to charge us for the additional room unfolded. She then phoned the owner who we spoke to (the person we had been communicating with on Booking.com), they said we had to pay for an extra room . This conversation went on for 20 minutes. We showed the messages they had sent us etc and said we were not willing to pay. This continued to escalate with the staff member on duty (yes, the one who smokes and doesn’t like making breakfast) shouting at us, getting very aggressive and eventually saying she would call the police on us and we would not be allowed to leave Bulgaria. Given her threats and the fact she had our passport info, we just paid for the extra room.||||Overall, it was a dreadful experience, where we were made to not feel safe by this woman. I have never encountered a more egregious, vile and disgusting member of staff at a hotel. I don’t know is she was just having a bad day, but her bevahiour and escalation was unacceptable. Hope she enjoys her cigarettes.||||Other notes||||Rooms: The rooms were clean (can’t fault them on that) but poorly fitted out. The fridge in the room with two single beds was not on so when we opened it it stank. The bathroom was one massive wet room with cheap fitting and office tile ceilings. The AC worked well. Two of the beds in the larger suite were sofa beds and very uncomfortable as there is a massive pole across the middle.||||Breakfast: Very very basic local breakfast with no options. Didn’t expect much and it delivered on that.||||Staff: If you are going to run a hotel then you need staff. If you had had a member of staff on duty when we checked in then this would all have been avoided. Checking in at 9pm on Saturday is not extreme, especially when we have told you when we are coming. You shouldn’t have to get a key from under a plant pot at a hotel. To then not answer our calls to the number you left is poor. The only time we saw any staff was the one woman we dealt with at checkout. I think I have made it quite clear how our experience with the one member of staff went… what a way to put a dampener on a trip.||||Assessment ||||Plovdiv is a great town with lots going on and great places to eat and have drinks etc. However, Hotel Pulpadeva is not where you want to stay. Even without the issue over their ability to give us the room we had asked for and how terrible the staff member was, I would definitely say to stay elsewhere. It has no major redeeming feature.||||And finally, to the management of the hotel when you read this… do better. You can either read this and be angry or read it and use it as a lesson that your overall service and the handling of the issue was dreadful. Ignore it and watch your hotel continue to be poor or act on it...

The hotel is at the edge of the Plovdiv old town and only about a 5 minute walk up the hill to the ancient Roman theatre and that is what I was there for mainly. The host was very welcoming, doesn't speak English but that's nothing Google translate can't solve these days so no issue for me there but something to be aware of so you can communicate properly. The room was nice with plenty of light, and had good AC with no restrictions on the contols so I was cool and slept well every night, and that is really all I want from a hotel because I need to have good energy to explore a place and you will need that energy in Plovdiv as it is a very walkable city and you can walk 10km per day and still not come close to seeing everything within walking range of the hotel in one weekend. There was no hair dryer in the room but I have short hair and it was warm when I visited so I didn't need one myself but there were plug sockets available in convenient locations for one, you just need to bring your own or maybe ask the host about it in advance about it, I never did because I didn't have the need. The breakfast was served between 8:00 and 10:00 and had a good variety, you probably won't want to eat too much though because you will be walking a lot to get around and there are plenty of restaurants to grab lunch in later. All in all, I'd recommend the place, had everything I wanted and the location is ideal unless you have...

You can read the full review and see a short movie about Pulpudeva in the only blog for reviews and ratings refracted through the 5D Sensograph of the 5 human senses placescases.

See ... ... The hotel is neat, located right at the beginning of the old town, on Petko Slaveykov Street; … It is new and it shows, it has a slightly retro interior, its lower part is literally dug into a rock. The facade is in the style of the old Plovdiv houses, inside you will see many paintings of Old town Plovdiv; … I did not like the many artificial plant decorations; … There is a small refrigerator, but no minibar in the room; Feel ... … The deluxe room with a terrace actually has a very small terrace - only for 1 person, who can only sit lightly on a miniature stool. ... Very kind hosts - they help with any questions about the cultural program, about sights in the city; … Convenient parking in front on the cobblestone street, which is closed with barriers for car traffic; Hear... … Quite a loud and startling noise from the shower and the tap when turning on the water from the neighbouring rooms. It is especially unpleasant when some of the guests come home very late or early the next day taking shower or washing.

Read more details about what you can see, feel, hear, smell and taste at Pulpudeva in my reviews and ratings blog...