Sofiya Hotel

We stayed here a week. Very conveniently located close to many restaurants, 10 mins from the water, buses nearby, parks etc. Reception was very friendly, not often the case in Russia. Check in was a breeze. A very nice room on the 4th floor. Quite spacious. A balcony looking over the city and to the water. On our rate, breakfast and dinner (traditional Russian style) was included. Breakfast was quite extensive (not a 5 star western hotel breakfast) but plenty of choice - cereal, compote, deli meats, cheese, salad, yogurt, sausages, etc and eggs could be ordered. Dinner was a basic Russian meal - some sort of meat with vegetables or salad, a desert and an included glass of house wine. About half the time we had the included dinner, other nights we spent A$80 - A$100 trying the good local restaurants nearby. Overall the hotel was in excellent shape. It looked in new condition, but 30 years old at the same time, if that makes sense. We normally look for some special feature, service or event to differentiate between 4 & 5 stars, but in this case everything was just that little bit nicer.Absolutely very highly recommended. We would only consider this hotel on a return visit.