The Hyatt Regency Sofia is a lovely hotel nestled in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria with nice accommodations, great amenities, and a really delicious breakfast.
Hyatt Regency Sofia Review
Up until recently, I would have called the Hyatt Regency Sofia the best Category 1 World of Hyatt hotel in the world. It is now a Category 2 hotel, but it remains a superb hotel and is often a good value, even now, for using points.
My nightly rate was €150. I used 5,000 points instead, netting over three cents per point. Now, a standard room will run from 6,500 (off-peak) to 8,000 (standard) to 9,500 (peak) points per night…still a good value.
Check-In
After flying to Sofia from Bucharest, I arrived after 8:00 pm. At check-in, I was thanked for my Globalist status and informed I had been upgraded to a suite. The lobby is large and has a tobacco shop and café in it.
A sheet presenting the details of the hotel, including resturant and lounge opening hours, was presented:
Guest Room (Suite)
My corner suite, room 534, included a living room, kitchen/closet area, guest bathroom (a powder room with toilet and sink only), bedroom, walk-in closet, and large bathroom. The room smelled new (like Ikea new), though the hotel has been open since 2020.
A welcome amenity was waiting on the coffee table, including a Bulgarian red wine, sparkling water, macarons, and a bowl of berries (my Globalist profile definitely mentions I love berries…).
View from my room:
Regency Club
I was too late for the Regency Club the first night, but the second night I visited the lounge, located on the second floor. It’s spacious and includes an outdoor terrace intended for smokers.
Happy Hour from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm each evening includes a respectable assortment of drinks and canapes, all complimentary.
I enjoyed some nuts, protein yogurt, and some local specialties (that red paste has a nice kick to it) along with Negroni, my new preferred cocktail.
The Regency Club is not open for breakfast. Instead, Regency Club guests can enjoy their breakfast in The Revolutionary Dining Room downstairs. However, the lounge is open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm each day with snacks and soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee available during that time.
During my visit the lounge was not staffed: you can use your key card to enter the lounge.
Dining
I ate my meals at the hotel and enjoyed every one of them.
The Revolutionary Dining Room
Breakfast is served in The Revolutionary Dining Room and it is delicious…with a large buffet full of hot and cold items as well as an a la carte menu. As a Globalist member of the World of Hyatt program, breakfast was included and I could order anything and everything I wanted.
Some recommendations:
- The truffle eggs were delicious and my favorite menu item
- Omelets are also quite nice
- Try some of the Bulgarian cold offerings
- Juices are freshly-squeezed and the coffee is excellent
I really enjoyed breakfast here…it was a treat.
I also had dinner here my first night and that was also not just good, but excellent. Here’s the dinner menu (.pdf).
I ordered grilled lamb cutlets with fresh herb infusion with sides of asparagus and Cacio e Pepe infused potato gnocchi.
W O W.
A delicious meal…one of the best I have had all year.
I came back the next night to eat dinner here and unfortunately, the kitchen had closed early. I ordered room service instead.
Room Service
I ordered Varna-style braised chicken with French Fries and it was promptly delivered about a half hour later…it probably should have been cooked longer, but sometimes dark meat chicken is still pink when cooked.
Room service is available 24/7.
Mama Sofia
A lobby café features coffee and sweet treats. It is open daily from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.
The Scene
The Scene is the hotel’s rooftop bar, featuring beautiful views of Sofia and a wide selection of drinks and food (Mediterranean-themed).
Pool
An indoor pool is located on the second floor and open daily from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Spa + Wellness
A full-service spa facility is on-site which includes a very nice co-ed wellness area with a Finnish and Bio sauna, steam room, and salt room. Like the pool, it is open daily from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Fitness Center
The fitness center is also in the spa complex and open 24/7. It features brand-new equipment from TechnoGym.
Service
I was very pleased with the service here. For example, upon my (5:00 am) departure, the front desk clerk asked if he could pack me a breakfast to go or make me a coffee. That was a very nice touch. Every staff member I encountered was gracious and kind and I appreciated The Revolutairony Dining Room staff who did such a good job with the freshly squeezed juices and delicious coffee at breakfast.
CONCLUSION
I plan to return to Sofia one day to take my family and also visit the Buzludzha Monument. When I do, I will certainly stay here again.
So which rack of lamb was better,Tunisia or this one? If chicken is partially smoked it can have a pink tone inside. When I show the breakfast pictures from your reports to local Regency locations they respond it’s unrealistic to have that quality.
It’s insane the level of quality at European Regency properties compared to the U.S. There is no reason for this other than greed and an unwillingness to actually try harder. It’s amazing how far we have fallen here. In the 80’s and 90’s American mid-level hotels were the benchmark across the world.
That buffet looks delicious.
Were you tempted to head to the roof bar for a Negroni by yourself?
Lol. No I was not! 😉
Haha!
That fitness center is one of the best hotel gyms I’ve seen. The equipment still had that new gym smell when I was there last October.
European Orange Fanta in the Regency Club. So good!
My Globalis profile must indicate that I like bowls of apples and bananas that sit around my room for three days and go uneaten.
Great to be reminded good values still exit in this world. Btw that was a lot of lamb! Enough for two to split with sides. Big yum.
Looks nice. Is the Philadelphia cheese cream cheese? It looks more like hummus in the pictures.
Room looks really small…otherwise everything looks great.