National Palace Wine & Spa Hotel

lovely spa day its the third time we have been. Clean and professional service. we had lunch in the restaurant Georgie is amazing his attention to detail and professional service will keep us going back. Food was lovely. pretty setting. Georgie suggested wine for us. very nice. Cant speak highly enough of the staff.

I picked this hotel because it’s number one on TA. Boy, am I sorry I did it! A Bulgarian friend made the reservation on the phone, in my presence. He clearly described our party and our needs and he was quoted a firm price for a suite. Upon arrival, we discovered that the “suite” was actually two room separated by a door and with one bathroom. Since this wasn’t going to do it for us, we were shown two other choices and assured the price will stay the same. The hotel is new and features some extremely poor architectural judgment: on a two and a half story hotel you have to CHANGE ELEVATORS, to get to your room. Once you walk inside the hotel, you are enveloped by the steam coming from the spa located at the lowest level. The rooms lack elementary facilities: no table, no desk, no credenza, ONE chair, one bed, a built-in closet and TV. But the worst is yet to come. We go to dinner at a picturesque place out of town (Vodenitzata, separate review) and upon return decide to have a night cap in the outdoor bar/garden of the hotel. We order Hennessy VSOP from the menu of drinks. The cognac we are served is the lowest grade, probably Napoleon or VS. True disclosure: I’ve been drinking cognac for the better part of my life, and that’s a long time, trust me on this. Hennessy is my favorite, so you might say I'm more than familiar with its taste. When the check comes, it features a price for XO grade (the highest grade of cognac) and the price is TRIPLE what’s on the menu. When we question it, the waiter first brings an EMPTY bottle of XO and pretends that this was the bottle they served us from. Half an hour later the Manager of the Restaurant runs over, apologizes for the empty bottle attempt and proclaims she’d refund our money. Given the extend of the offense, I expect full refund, after all we’ve been wronged about 60 Euro and our otherwise beautiful evening has been spoiled. Imagine my surprise when, after another half hour, she brings us 10 Euro and some coins… Absolutely disgusting. Next morning, when we are checking out, the bill for the rooms is, you guessed, far higher than the quoted price… I am on a tight schedule and cannot waste any time to look for redress, so I let it go. But I have to say this: for the ten days I spent in this country, both in the capital and traveling around, I did not see a single attempt to cheat us, except this place. Darn shame. Don’t walk, RUN AWAY from it. **

Our friend was celebrating his birthday at the restaurant and we decided to stay overnight at the hotel since we don't live in Sliven. The restaurant is great, the staff is wonderful, and it is all very family friendly. The management is clearly doing a great job at this place, the breakfast and restaurant service were perfect, 5-star, top notch. We will definitely stay here again next time we are in Sliven.