Hotel Bankya Palace — Hotel in Sofia City

I am a frequent traveller and have stayed in hotels all over Europe and North America. Bankya Palace is my worst experience ever.||It is such a pity because the hotel grounds are beautiful, the rooms are spacious and comfortable.||Most members of the hotel staff do not want to be there and do not want to work. Let me explain.||I learned (from a hotel staff member) that the majority of t he hotel guests are large groups. Those groups are taken good care of during mealtimes in its large restaurant.||We were advised to eat preferably before or after the large group and we agreed. Only, the kitchen/restaurant staff did not want to do additional work – period. They tried everything to discourage us form eating there, which definitely would have worked if we did not have small kids with us and going into town for each meal was complicated. ||On the first day, my 3 year old spilled a glass of juice. It was the last glass of this particular juice and it was not her glass either. I apologized and went to bring a new glass of juice for the girl whose glass was spilled. There was no more juice and since there was no cutlery either for the new customers, I decided to ask someone. There was nobody to ask though. Nobody in the restaurant and nobody at reception. I went into the kitchen and with 100 apologies explained that we would need cutlery and more juice, I underlined I understood the kitchen was not the place I am allowed to be, but there is nobody outside to ask.||I was yelled at to go out and be patient. When I say yelled, I mean literally yelled. I went back to my table and started telling my family what happened. At this very time, an old woman brought us cutlery and overhearing me speaking to my family – she murmured under her nose “that is not what happened”, but loud enough to be heard. I urged her to share what had actually happened, but she just left frowning.||From this moment, every time my family went in the restaurant, the kitchen staff would stay by the door and point fingers at us. ||We felt so bad, on the second visit I decided to apologize again. I started telling them how sorry I was about going in the kitchen in the morning, they responded that all was sorted, no grudges kept - they were not sincere. ||In the restaurant, guests can choose from a menu or choose from 3 other meal options that are offered for the large group. Out kids did not like the options for the large group and wanted to order form the menu. There is a menu on the table after all, it is our right to order.||This means additional work for the kitchen staff though, so when we said we would order form the menu, the female server said “Ohhh, you could not choose anything from the 3 options for the large group, you have to have a men now” !||The finger pointing continued every time we went there. In the end, my cousin, who is a very calm person and does not like confronting people, just lost it and told them:’ You have to say what we are doing wrong and start doing your job”. This is a unacceptable anymore.||The woman from the restaurant staff who was whispering and pointing a finger at our group responded, “You are only causing trouble, you are not happy”. My cousin said “Ordering form your menu is a right of the hotel guests, it is not causing trouble. We are not the unhappy ones. We are here on vacation; we are paying customers and it it is you who are not happy to do your job”.||I could not believe my cousin was saying that. It is not her nature at all, this is rather my nature. My cousin pretends not to see trouble usually, but she just had it with the finger pointing and the frowning.||When being served, the server would ask us if there was anything else we wanted and if we ask for more drinks or more bread, he would say. “Wait, people, wait, I have only 2 hands”. We were not telling him to hurry, we are just ordering and did not cause any problem about when we would get the additional things. This did not happen once, this happened repeatedly.||That said, the woman at reception was pleasant and nice, but when we left the hotel, I forgot our swimming suits on the balcony. I released my mistake the same evening and called about it while we were still in Bulgaria.||I was told that when the maid staff comes in the morning, they would check and I would get a call. I waited 3 days and got no call. I called again and told them in which room I forgot the swimming suits on the balcony. The woman at reception said if I got no call, they found no swimming suits. I knew very well that they were on the balcony though and insisted that she send someone to check. So she did and the maid that checked did find the swimming suits.||It took an international call to arrange that, as the call I placed the same day I left the hotel from Bulgaria did not result in sending anyone to check unlike they had promised.||This is a small issue for me, she could have easily forgotten to send someone in the morning – I called again, problem solved. The behaviour of the restaurant/kitchen staff was completely unacceptable though. ||It is not the guests' fault that they do not have enough staff in the restaurant to replenish juice and cutlery. It is not the guests’ fault that they want to order dinner form the menu which the restaurant offers. You cannot ask customers if someone wants more drinks and then respond “wait, people, wait, I have only 2 hands” when they do order more drinks.||On the very last evening the server asked my cousin if she would have only 1 beer whole evening or more, so he could bring her more than 1 beer when he serves the food instead of having to come later and check if more drinks will be ordered. My cousin told him nothing, we were so, so angry by that time.||You DO NOT ASK CUSTUMORS how many beers they will drink for the whole evening and bring them several beers which will get warm, only so that do not have to do your jobagain and come later at the...

This hotel is about half an hour ride from the Sofia airport.||It is located close to Sofia in famous Bulgarian health retreat. The air is supposedly fresh and healthy (it feels quite clean, I cannot decide if it really has some healing effects).||The tap water comes from that famous source, and they also bottle it and serve in the hotel. ||The hotel staff seems helpful, hard working and well organised.||The rooms are really spacious - I have 3 beds, in my single use room, but I assume there will be enough space for three people. ||The style is not really what I like, but it is clean and well kept, the tv set is modern, there is a small fridge with a modest selection of drinks. ||The bathroom is spacious, new, and The only negative comment I would have is the height of the bathtub. I guess the designers expected extremely tall and "extremely long-legged" guests, and not people of medium height or smaller ones. ||So, when you manage to jump out of the bath - you are ok. :)||The outside swimmingpool looks great, but it's not to be used in October. Tha spa centre offers various massages, steam baths, a wide range of thermal water-everything. The prices are ok (as Bulgaria is among the poorest...

1)1st morning there was a very small breakfast buffet, but one could not serve himself, it was behind plexi glas||2)2nd morning no more buffet, but a lady came to ask what I would like to have as breakfast. I asked 2 slices of bread, scrambled eggs and some cooked ham. What I got was one toast, scrambled eggs with bacon and tomatoes.||3) 3d morning, I was invited by some one to have breakfast and I just asked for a large coffee. I got a very small cup and when I asked a second one, the answer was NO. No second coffee.||And when I came back, late in the evening, around 11 PM, I was faced with a locked door. I could not go in the hotel, I was standing in the cold. I called my business relation who is living not far from the hotel. We have been knocking on the door for half an hour and then the doorman finally showed up to open the door. I was frozen. I can not recommend this hotel, not at all. Stay away. I am going on 67, and this was the worst hotel experience ever.||And the bathroom has had better...