Hotel Sofia

“Nice Boutique Hotel”

Our stay did not start on the right note as we can by the overnight train from Moscow and there was not possibility of early check-in. Though it was more than made up the fact that the hotel is very close to the Kremlin, the market and the railway station. The rooms were beautifully done and we fou… more

Our stay did not start on the right note as we can by the overnight train from Moscow and there was not possibility of early check-in. Though it was more than made up the fact that the hotel is very close to the Kremlin, the market and the railway station. The rooms were beautifully done and we found it to be cozy. All in all definitely recommended

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“Recently renovated small hotel”

A lovely clean recently renovated apartment style hotel, extremely tiny with no place to put your suitcase, no lifts so do pack light! Thin beds with unfitted sheets so you potentially end up on the bare mattress...I did and its not pleasant, I am a slimmer woman 5'8" and found the bed very chal… more

A lovely clean recently renovated apartment style hotel, extremely tiny with no place to put your suitcase, no lifts so do pack light! Thin beds with unfitted sheets so you potentially end up on the bare mattress...I did and its not pleasant, I am a slimmer woman 5'8" and found the bed very challenging to sleep in.. a taller larger person would be very challenged. Very pleasant staff and the Hotel is close to the Kremlin which is absolutely fabulous!

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“Early Check-In is a Problem”

We arrived from Moscow on the overnight train which pulls in to Veliky Novgorod at 6.35AM and headed straight to the hotel. It was pretty cold in late October and we were disconcerted to find that reception is unattended until 9AM and the door firmly locked. Fortunately, along with the opening hour… more

We arrived from Moscow on the overnight train which pulls in to Veliky Novgorod at 6.35AM and headed straight to the hotel. It was pretty cold in late October and we were disconcerted to find that reception is unattended until 9AM and the door firmly locked. Fortunately, along with the opening hours there was a telephone number posted. It took a couple of tries before the call was answered and then the person seemed to speak no English and the call was cut. Another call rang and rang until it rang off so we tried our second telephone which was again answered and then cut off. It must have been obvious that we weren't giving up because someone, this time speaking some English, called us back and then texted a door code so that we could get in and leave our bags in the tiny reception area. We then returned to the station to the McDonalds which seemed to be the only thing open at that time of the morning. A couple of hours sitting there was not a particularly good start to our stay in Veliky Novgorod. Returning to the hotel after 9AM our twin room was not ready but we were offered another, somewhat more expensive room with two beds. The additional cost was not high and more than compensated for by the early check in. The room was very crowded with a Queen bed, galley kitchen, table and chair all in a very small space. The second, single bed was situated on a sort of mezzanine over the top of the bathroom up a very steep ladder. I was able to use the ladder but very carefully and suspect it would be difficult or even impossible for some. The bathroom was small too and contained a huge hot water cylinder bolted to one wall. I would be complaining if there was no hot water but it did take up a lot of the already small space. The room was at the back on the ground floor which meant it was quiet but people using the parking area behind stared in if the curtains were left open. Everything was very clean except that for partly used cheese left in the fridge. The kitchen had crockery, cutlery, kettle, hotplate etc. More than you would need for most visits. There was also a tiny safe. The room was warm and had very good, stable wifi. The reception staff once they arrived were helpful and spoke enough English to do business. The best thing about the hotel is its proximity to the Kremlin. Very easy walking distance of the tourist information and the Kremlin gate and there is a stop near the tourist information for the bus that goes to the Wooden Building Museum. The next day we walked back to the train station pulling our bags because it was only about 1.5 km away along a flat street. The Hotel Sofia is clean, modern, very reasonably priced and perfectly adequate for a short stay.

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“Nice but extremely small”

The hotel was very nice and clean. Our room was smaller than a postage stamp. There was no where to open our bags on the floor and we have had small roll aboard bags. My husband and I had a room for three with one bed on a loft and two beds downstairs. I don’t believe three people could fit in the … more

The hotel was very nice and clean. Our room was smaller than a postage stamp. There was no where to open our bags on the floor and we have had small roll aboard bags. My husband and I had a room for three with one bed on a loft and two beds downstairs. I don’t believe three people could fit in the room with bags and coats. Very central location.

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