Hotel Zoo Sofia

Hotels
Independent
8.2 (43 reviews)
6, Simeonovsko Shousse Blvd., Sofia, 1700 , Sofia , BG

Facilities

Free WiFi
24-hour front desk
Terrace
Garden
Luggage storage
Express check-in/check-out
Sauna
Concierge service
Steam room
Elevator
See all facilities

Review Highlights

Pros:
Professional staff
Cozy atmosphere
Cons:
Disturbing noise
Poor overall experience

Categories

Cleanliness
7.53
Clean and well-maintained according to some reviews, but affected by the chaotic environment mentioned.
Service
9
Receptionists were professional and fast, enhancing the overall impression of service.
Location
8.54
Proximity to the zoo adds value to the location.
Room Quality
7.99
Cozy atmosphere mentioned, though not elaborated upon.
Amenities
8.02
No specific mentions but assumed standard for hotel guests.
Value for Money
7.98
Standard value for the stay experience described.
Food and Beverage
8.03
No specific mentions; assumed standard quality.
Overall Experience
8.5
Mixed feelings, but positive aspects outweigh negatives.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2026-01-06 18:55

Property Description

Discover your sanctuary in the heart of Sofia at Hotel Zoo Sofia, perfectly situated near the beautiful Borisova Gradina Park and just steps away from the Sofia Zoo.

Recreational Delights
Unwind at our state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness center or indulge in a soothing sauna experience. Your well-being is our priority.

Gastronomic Experiences
Savor delectable meals at our restaurant or grab a quick snack at the coffee shop/café. Don’t forget to unwind with a refreshing drink at the bar/lounge or take advantage of our convenient room service.

Comfort & Connectivity
Stay connected with complimentary wireless internet throughout your stay. Our air-conditioned rooms, equipped with minibars and flat-screen televisions, ensure you feel right at home.

Book your stay today and experience the perfect blend of comfort and convenience at Hotel Zoo Sofia!

Important information:

  • Children 12 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
  • Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms.
  • Contactless check-out is available.
  • This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly).

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Airport code: SOF

Property Policies

  • Pets

    Pets not allowed

  • Children and extra beds

    No rollaway/extra beds available

  • Check-in & Check-out

    Contactless check-out is available

  • Guest type

    LGBTQ friendly

  • General

    Professional property host/manager

Location

Guest Reviews

8.2
Based on 43 reviews
Cleanliness: 7.53
Service: 9
Location: 8.54
Room Quality: 7.99
Amenities: 8.02
Value for Money: 7.98
Food and Beverage: 8.03
Overall Experience: 8.5
8
897mileni Business
6
Dont visit
Pros:

The receptionists were professional at their work, although there was something that a little bit disturbed me. At first everything was chill but all of a sudden - like fights (verbal fights), screaming, throwing something and that's all i heard from lobby. Keep that in your mind. Cozy but scary. I WONT visit it again. My review is average because of the professional receptionists.

2025-10-01 via Tripadvisor
F
F6753JL_ Family
10
Hotel Zoo
Pros:

Monika, the receptionist was very professional at her work, she was fast, brave, and provided the needed service at the speed of light. About the hotel, its calm, cozy and warm

2025-08-04 via Tripadvisor
X
X4732YM_ Couples
10
Close to ZOO SOFIA
Pros:

My stay at Hotel Zoo was excellent. Everything was clean and well-maintained. The staff were friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed my time there!

2025-07-16 via Tripadvisor
Y
yanap817 Couples
10
Exceptional cleanliness and comfort – a great hotel!
Pros:

Our stay at Hotel Zoo was truly wonderful! What impressed us the most was the impeccable cleanliness – everything was spotless, from the rooms to the common areas. The interior is modern and cozy, creating a calm and welcoming atmosphere. The staff were friendly and helpful, always ready to assist with a smile. The location is also excellent – close to the city center yet in a quiet area. We would gladly come back again!

2025-05-21 via Tripadvisor
S
Sunday
10
Pros:

Property in excellent condition

2025-05-05 via Nuitee
J
Joshua
10
Pros:

Lovely hotel with very spacious room. Good restaurant and excellent staff all around. Thanks for a great stay!

2025-04-24 via Nuitee
A
Adam
10
Pros:

Great hotel, very clean and comfortable.

2025-03-31 via Nuitee
M
marcpH3476PJ Couples Greater Sydney, New South Wales
8
Good hotel but out of the city fentre
Pros:

A nice tidy hotel which in Sydney might rate 3.5 stars. It's main drawback is that it iis wel out of the city but if you're on a tour doesn't really matter. Their restaurant is fine for dinner and there is a good supermarket about 400m away for any other supplies.

2024-10-16 via Tripadvisor
P
Poul Christian
2
Pros:

For a 4 star hotel not to be able to serve dinner and the carpet floor look like there been a teenage party for weeks.
Little security and room safe inop. Towls falling apart due to use and taxi did not show up twice.

2024-09-25 via Nuitee
K
KC_Melbourne Friends getaway Melbourne, Victoria
10
Comfortable hotel a little far from the city
Pros:

Small but comfortable. Nearest mini supermarket is about 5 minutes walk away. Reception is helpful and staff speaks good English. Our room is clean, comfortable and has tea/coffee making facilities as well as a mini bar. House keeping responded promptly when we asked. Restaurant is enough to cater fir fully booked hotel, the food is good - depending on what your order. Lemon chicken with truffle infused mash potato is delicious. Downside: a bit far from city.

2024-09-24 via Tripadvisor
T
Teokrasteva Business
2
Total waste of time and disappointment!
Pros:

Old school typical Bulgarian management. Offers and promises are not kept, trying to squeeze more pennies at the last second. It’s truly disappointing this type of management still exists in Bulgaria. Do not recommend this place for corporate use. Total waste of time.

2024-07-27 via Tripadvisor
A
aleksandrinan2024 Friends getaway
10
Our place to rest in Sofia
Pros:

I had a great experience with Hotel Zoo Sofia, I stayed for 3 nights with friends, we visited the zoo which is behind the hotel 5 minutes by foot from the entrance, the breakfast was varied and delicious, the staff at the reception were very kind and explained to us what we can visit and see in area, they have a parking lot which is paid with a symbolic amount of 10 BGN, but we were calm because there was always a place to park and our car was in a protected place. something that first impressed us were the maids of the hotel who were very funny and kind, they always asked us if we needed anything, they cleaned the rooms very carefully!
thank you for your attention and care.

2024-04-22 via Tripadvisor
O
ozangunduzalp Friends getaway Kusadasi, Turkish Aegean Coast
2
Disgusting and unprofessional
Pros:

A complete disappointment with its unprofessional team and disgusting service. Don't try it. If you are not going to stay on the streets, it is not an alternative. The receptionist named Atinas is incredibly arrogant and can't do anything.

2024-03-03 via Tripadvisor
I
iamsas Family Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor
8
Good Hotel
Pros:

Our room was bright, airy with a good sized bathroom equipped with a shower and hairdryer. The room was considerably spacious and did not feel cramped although the desk was a bit too narrow on which to use a laptop comfortably. The breakfast has plenty of choice.

2023-10-04 via Tripadvisor
R
Relax95193 Solo travel
2
Worst hotel I ever had the misfortune to stay in. I was bkd to stay 4 nights but 1 night was enough…
Pros:

The room was filthy & they tried to say it was bleach. There was no kettle no fridge the air con didn’t work. No balcony just small window & very dark. When I asked to move rooms they said they were full..well the rooms with balcony’s that I could see from my window Looked empty! Very poorly run the staff seem to sit around doing nothing… there is nothing nearby so I had dinner & breakfast @ hotel which was disgusting

2023-07-04 via Tripadvisor
6
655phillipl Couples Melbourne, Victoria
8
A bit out of town, but.....
Pros:

We stayed here with a tour group for two nights and whilst the disappointing aspect was the location (4 kms further from the city than our original hotel and in a semi industrial area), the good points made up for it. The room was a good size and comfortable and had all the amenities - excellent bathroom/shower, hairdryer, fridge, safe and free wi-fi. And the hotel had two lifts compared to many with one small one.
The dining area was large and both dinner - lamb shoulder - and breakfast - wide array of hot and cold dishes - were excellent. The hotel also had conference facilities, which were useful for our orientation meeting.
As a stand alone hotel, would recommend staying there - just a pity about the location. We could only find one local restaurant nearby.

2023-06-16 via Tripadvisor
N
norhtern-lass Couples Essex, England
8
Dental visit
Pros:

We visited for 4 nights whilst my husband had some dental treatments. We booked a business apartment as we knew we would be spending a lot of time in the room .
The room was great , large bedroom/ living room / dining room
And kitchen .
We had 2 televisions with Netflix.
Towels and the bathroom were cleaned everyday .
We ate in the restaurant every evening and there was a good choice . Breakfast is also included, this is more limited, but we still found something good to eat everyday .
There are a few supermarkets close by where you can stock up on drinks and snacks .
We didn’t find much to do around the hotel , we went to the zoo. This is very old and some of the animals could be cared for a little better .
Good value for money and we would stay here again if we traveled to Sofia .

2023-06-02 via Tripadvisor
J
JanoshMattila NONE Helsinki, Uusimaa
10
Very positive experience all together.
Pros:

The hotel and the room was clean. The staff, especially the reseption and the bellboy were super helpfull and friendly. They helped with taxis, restaurant reservations etc. The breakfast was very good and the service there was fast and polite. One of the best hotel experiences EVER.

2023-04-02 via Tripadvisor
J
Jure
8
OK overnight stay but not more then that
Pros:

Hotel is ok but room furniture outdated, definitely need to refresh rooms.
Breakfast basic, staff not really friendly

2023-03-26 via Nuitee
C
c1pry Business Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
10
A hotel where the staff make all the difference
Pros:

Staying at the Hotel Zoo was a surprisingly pleasant experience. From the moment I walked through the door I was made to feel welcome. As a second time visitor to Sofia, my grasp of Bulgarian is very limited but the majority of the staff speak English. I was dealt with politely, respectfully and with good humour.

My room, the basic, Classic, on the 4th floor, was light, airy with a good sized bathroom equipped with a shower and hairdryer. The room was spacious and did not feel cramped although the desk/shelf was a bit too narrow on which to use a laptop comfortably My balcony was wide and benefitted from a mountain view. Plenty of storage and a useful lobby in which to store empty suitcases and coats were useful. There was a small refrigerator/minibar but it's worth noting that the Classic does not include tea and coffee making facilities.

The thin double duvet was a little small for the king size bed and, initially, I thought it would not be adequate. However, there were two provided and I needn't have had any concern as the heating/AC was fantastic. Rarely have I experienced temperature control as efficient as this, which heated the room quickly and quietly whenever required.

I was particularly impressed with the modern tech for such an inexpensive hotel with 4 x mains sockets, shaver socket and USB point. The LG television was large (48") and benefitted from Netflix, Amazon Prime and was capable of showing Disney+ for members. It was also able to accept a signal to echo the screen from a smartphone or laptop meaning BBC iplayer, ITVX etc were accessible, so long as a VPN was utilised.

There were one or two minor issues with the room. The shower head was faulty, spraying water everywhere and the safe was locked shut. This is where the Hotel Zoo showed their credentials and excelled. Within minutes of reporting the faults there was a knock at the door and two members of staff in attendance to replace the shower head and open the safe. I chanced my luck and asked if I could have a kettle for my room. "No problem sir" and a kettle was delivered. As it was exceedingly warm for January I asked for a chair in order to sit out on the balcony and again they obliged.

In addition to business, I was in Sofia for dental treatment and they were quite happy for me to take their crockery and cutlery and keep it in my room and store food in the minibar. They even supplied me with washing up liquid. I asked reception for some tape to repair some torn paperwork and they photocopied the whole document for me. The helpful "can do" attitude of the staff made all the difference and the recruitment policy is clearly working.

Breakfast was excellent with a wide variety of options. A good selection of cold meats and cheeses was available along with salad and a broad range of pastries (both hot and cold) cakes and biscuits, as well as yogurts and cereals. The hot options were more varied than is usual for mainland Europe with additions such as potato and french toast. Good bread and croissants are complemented by high quality preserves, honey and fresh fruit as are the pancakes. There were also a few unusual options, presumably from the previous evening and aubergine, broccoli, sweetcorn etc can be used to keep the variety on an extended stay.

The bar was well equipped with a particularly impressive and extensive collection of whiskies. Other spirits well catered too and several beers are sold although the local, Bulgarian beer knocks spots off the brands. It wasn't as inexpensive as the local bars and cafes but hotels never are.

There was very little to find fault with but, if I'm being picky, I did find the Wi-Fi a bit slow and temperamental. Low bandwidth and inconsistent signal were experienced during the evening especially, presumably during peak use, although I did find parts of the room with better reception. The hotel's own website is also slow, presumably for the same reason, so it was doubly so when trying to access it from the room.

All in all the hotel stay was very pleasant and made more so by the helpfulness of the people that work there.

2023-01-24 via Tripadvisor