Hotel Marinela Sofia

Alright hotel. Strange decorations. It used to be a Sofia classic, built by a famous Japanese architect. They still kept tye nice Japanese garden. The restaurants are nice too. Breakfast was adequate, thought not copious. Close to the metro, nice views.

Terrible service, very dirty rooms! Only the location is good!

An interesting fusion of Japanese ideas for a hotel in the Balkans! Enjoyable business stay in this hotel, which is part of a large complex comprising various restaurants, a nightclub and a lovely Japanese garden. Comfortable room (not so comfortable bed) and good breakfast. All in all, a very pleasant stay.

Group check in on 15 April 2024 was a breeze. Our Rooms 719/721 well set up , has coffee making machine with coffee/tea & complimentary bottles of drinking . Full set of bathroom amenities however rooms do not have airconditioning , we had to keep window open to get some air to sleep. Room is run down, dirty with cabinet door broken too beneath the window sill. Hotel lobby has too much decorations. It has a beautiful japanese garden with some peacocks and pond with fishes & ducks. We did not get to enjoy much with all the facilities , as its only a night stay here. While room needs some improvement in upkeeping, breakfast spread is awesome , thus made up for it overall.

Seems luxury hotel but only for wannabe new-money guys and golddiggers. Rooms are average, if there is a party on the 19th floor (which is usually) forget to sleep anywhere between 19-8th floor. Staff rude, cleaning of rooms are just hanging back used towels instead replacing. Not recommended.

The room was dirty, we even found a cigarette on the floor and hair… The air condition was broken and it was working all the time so the room was very hot and we had to have the windows open all the time… the coffee machine inside the room was broken as well.. I could have saved the money that I spent to this hotel, regret visiting there…

The worst hotel I’ve ever stayed! Really dirty rooms and bathrooms! Totally doesn’t worth the money! It shouldn’t be a 5 star hotel. The location was good. The breakfast was ok. The rooms were really old. The bathroom had hair from previous guests.

Very overpraised hotel.. In the evenings it is noisy and the walls are thin and you can hear everything. The rooms are old and need updating. The carpet in the corridors is old and smells of cigarettes (smoke detectors do not work). You may come across old men with younger girls (it's clear what they came for).

We stayed in Hotel Marinela in Sofia for 2 nights in August as part of a wedding party. Located arpund 30/40 drive from the airport, it is in the highest point of Sofia and has an innovative and modern design, in sync with Japanese minimalism and attention to detail. Japanese architecture & designs such as sculptures & beautiful ethnic gardens are embedded in all areas of the hotel. Our room was spacious and had all the amenities such as coffee & tea making facilities. The towels & toiletries were changed everyday. However, it was a quick knock on the door and change the towles, handover the toiletries & water. The beds weren'tmade or the room wasn't cleaned everyday, a bit disappointing for a high end hotel. The staff were always helpful and polite. There are 6 restaurants in this hotel offering exotic and modern cuisine from different parts of the world - Japanese, Bulgarian, Mediterranean! We had brunch in Ambassador Restaurant and their vegan /gluten free food was fantastic. There were so many varieties of hot food, pastries & salads. On our last morning we had a very simple breakfast in Sakura Bar with a beautiful terrace which leads to the Japanese Garden where guests will witness peacocks roaming around. A beautifully designed garden, suitable for weddings. We got a takeaway from Burrata Italiana one day too. James Burchier metro station is just a few minutes walk for those who want to veture out.  We paid an extra €30 for late check out til 6pm as our flight was not til 11pm. All in all, a beautiful hotel, but should work on providing high end services in all areas rathar than focus on appearance and interior design only.