Metropolitan Hotel Sofia Review: Staying Near Sofia Airport with Radisson Individuals

Is Metropolitan Hotel Sofia worth staying at? In this Metropolitan Hotel Sofia review we share our experience at this Radisson Individuals hotel near Sofia Airport, including the rooms, breakfast, location, airport shuttle, facilities and whether we would stay here again.

Location of Metropolitan Hotel Sofia

Location is always key during a city trip, and that naturally applies to Sofia as well. The Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is not located in the historic city center, but it does have a practical location for airport stays, business travelers and visitors who do not mind using taxis to get around.

The hotel is located close to Sofia Airport, several business districts and one of Sofia’s largest shopping centers. European Trade Center, Capital Fort, Business Park Sofia and Inter Expo Center are all within easy reach, making Metropolitan Hotel Sofia a convenient choice for business travelers.

For shopping enthusiasts, the hotel is also within walking distance of The Mall. You can see the shopping mall from the hotel and walk there in about 15 minutes. Inside you will find a wide range of shops, restaurants and cafes.

Is Metropolitan Hotel Sofia close to Sofia Airport?

Yes, Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is very conveniently located for Sofia Airport. The airport is only about a 10-minute drive from the hotel, which makes it a great option if you arrive late, leave early or simply do not want to travel far after your flight.

The hotel also offers an airport shuttle service. Please note that this comes at an extra cost. The hotel has its own van and for airport pick-up the driver can meet you at the airport. For airport drop-off on the day of departure, you can arrange a departure time with reception. The shuttle runs at set times.

Personally, I always consider an airport shuttle a small form of luxury. You do not have to search for public transport options or figure out the best way to get to your hotel after landing. You simply get picked up and arrive at the hotel in no time.

Is Metropolitan Hotel Sofia close to the city center?

Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is not within walking distance of Sofia city center or the main tourist attractions. That is probably the biggest downside of staying here if your main reason for visiting Sofia is sightseeing.

However, the city center is only about 10 to 15 minutes away by taxi, depending on traffic. During our stay in Sofia, we used the local TaxiMe app the entire weekend and were very satisfied with it. Uber is not available in Sofia, but TaxiMe is a convenient alternative.

You do not need to enter credit card details in the TaxiMe app. You simply order a taxi, see the estimated price beforehand and pay the driver after the ride, mostly in cash. Make sure to have some cash with you, as many taxi drivers in Sofia do not accept card payments.

So yes, Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is located outside the city center, but that should not automatically be a dealbreaker. If you are happy to use taxis, the center is easy to reach and you get the benefit of staying in a quieter area close to the airport and business districts.

Rooms at Metropolitan Hotel Sofia

The Metropolitan Hotel Sofia offers 201 rooms and suites, ranging from smaller Individual Rooms to Standard Rooms, Superior Rooms, Premium Rooms, Family Rooms and spacious suites. So whether you are visiting Sofia alone, as a couple, for business or with family, there are several room types to choose from.

During our stay at Metropolitan Hotel Sofia, we slept in one of their Standard Rooms. It was absolutely fine and perfectly adequate for a city trip to Sofia. In fact, we found it to be a large room for a standard hotel room.

The Standard Room at Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is 28 square meters and comes with either one king-size bed or two twin beds. Our room had a king-size bed, a work desk and a separate seating area, which made the room feel more spacious and comfortable.

Rooms at Metropolitan Hotel Sofia come with practical features such as individual climate control, free Wi-Fi, work desks and coffee and tea facilities. These are the kind of details that make a hotel stay easier, especially when you are staying for more than just one night.

The bathroom in our Standard Room was perhaps on the small side, but it offered everything we needed. It included a bathtub that also served as the shower, which is always a nice extra if you like having the option of a bath after a long travel day or after walking around Sofia.

Check the latest Metropolitan Hotel Sofia rates on Booking.com.

Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is a Radisson Individuals hotel

Radisson Individuals is a globally operating sister brand of the Radisson Hotel Group. It is created by Radisson Hotel Group allowing independent boutique hotels, heritage hotels and unique resorts to both maintain their local charm and unique identity but also gaining access to Radisson’s booking infrastructure, quality standards and loyalty programs. Basically a win-win for all.

The Metropolitan Hotel is member of Radisson Individuals. Naturally, this brings a number of advantages. After all, as a guest, you know that booking here means you can expect a certain (Radisson) standard. If you are a member of the Radisson loyalty program, you also know that a stay here allows you to keep earning points.

Radisson Individuals properties make a high-end brand like Radisson Blu more accessible to a broad audience.

Breakfast, MET Bar & Room Service

The Metropolitan Hotel has its own bar located on the ground floor of the hotel. You can access it from outside or just walk through behind the reception area. This bar is open every day of the year from 11:00 AM to midnight. You can certainly come here for a drink, but it also serves a bar menu featuring international dishes as well as traditional Bulgarian ones.

The Metropolitan Restaurant is where the breakfast buffet is served. Breakfast hours vary, but generally, you can go there between 7:00 and 10:00 AM.

The breakfast offers everything you could wish for from a delicious hotel breakfast buffet. Fresh eggs, fruit, bread, and yogurt. A great start to your day before starting to explore Sofia.

Next to the MET Bar where you can have lunch and dinner, the Metropolitan Hotel also offers room service. The room service offers a selection of carefully prepared and selected dishes, brought straight to your door, for you to experience in the comfort of your room. The room service menu can be accessed through the TV menu.

Fitness & Aether Relax Center

A good hotel always has its own gym, and the Metropolitan Hotel is no exception. Although the gym isn't large, it offers everything you need to stay fit and active while on the go. As a guest you can access the gym 24/7 and it is complimentary.

Next to the gym they also have the Aether Relax Center. They are an in-house partner offering professional spa and relaxation services to the guests. Available treatments can be booked through reception or through the spa directly. Any massages or therapies are at extra costs and own expense.

Things to do in Sofia during your stay at Metropolitan Hotel Sofia

Even though Metropolitan Hotel Sofia is not located in the historic city center, getting around Sofia is easy and there are plenty of highlights that are worth visiting during your stay. We’re happy to share a few recommendations that we found really useful in Sofia, as well as some of our favorite spots in the city.

Join the Free Sofia Walking Tour

In Sofia, we took part in a free walking tour of the city for the first time ever. Now I can hear a lot of people thinking: only now? Yes, so, normally we look up all the sights and spots ourselves beforehand, mark them on Maps, and then plan our routes during the weekend. However, there was a brochure for the Free Sofia Walking Tour in our hotel. It sparked something in me, perhaps partly because Eastern Europe is somewhat less familiar. So, we decided to join one of their tours the following day.

It turned out to be the best decision ever. We got to see parts of the city we never would have seen on our own. We received information about the city that we never would have discovered ourselves.

The Free Sofia Walking Tour is highly recommended. We had Dimitar as our guide, and he really made it a fun experience. He carried a bag of local sweets and asked questions along the way. If you got an answer right, you’d get a sweet. Great idea!

Since taking the Free Sofia Walking Tour, we’ve started joining these free tours in other cities as well. It is a free tour, and you are free to tip whatever amount you like at the end. Do reward guides like Dimitar for their efforts. After all, they’ve taken you around for over two hours and shown you all the highlights of their city.

National Palace of Culture and Central Park

The National Palace of Culture and the Central Park right in front of it are among our favorites. That is likely also because we enjoyed lovely spring weather and the city was teeming with locals. The parks were full, there were happy people everywhere, just really good vibes.

Vitosha Boulevard

We also really liked Vitosha Boulevard, especially the last part of it, mainly the part from the National Palace of Culture towards the city center. It is a famous boulevard with plenty of shops, impressive and historic buildings, restaurants and cafes.

The part in the city center which is closed off to cars is very nice. Restaurants and bars on both sides and with sunny weather all terraces are full with locals.

Sofia Public Mineral Baths

Not many people know that Sofia is actually known for a number of mineral springs in the area. It is all the more a pity that there is no longer a single spa or wellness center in the city that makes use of these natural springs. However, they used to have the Sofia Public Mineral Baths back in the day. This building still exists and nowadays is home to the Sofia Historical Museum.

The building itself is definitely worth a visit as it is one of Sofia's most beautiful buildings, with a rich history to it. Additionally, on the right side of the building, there is a tap dispensing warm water from one of the local springs. This water is said to have healing properties, so be sure to make the most of it.

Serdika Ancient Fortress

Probably one of my favorite parts of Sofia, and we only discovered this through the Free Sofia Walking Tour, is the Serdika Ancient Fortress. The town of Serdika was founded 2000 years BC by the Thracian tribe Serdi. They settled in the region around the hot mineral springs here.

Later Roman emperor Konstantin the Great made Serdika his favorite town and often referred to it as “Serdika is my Rome”. Until they moved the capital of the East Roman Empire to Constantinople, Konstantin reigned from Serdika.

The excavations of this city can be found in the center of Sofia. We would never have discovered this without the Free Sofia Walking Tour.

Download TaxiMe to get around Sofia

We briefly mentioned it above, but another tip we’d like to share is the TaxiMe app. Unfortunately, there is no Uber in Bulgaria, and therefore not in Sofia either. Uber is something we normally make frequent and enthusiastic use of during our travels.

Since the Metropolitan Hotel is located a bit further from the city center, and because we prefer the convenience of a taxi over public transport, we looked for an alternative to Uber. That is how we discovered TaxiMe, thanks to various recommendations and other blogs online.

Like Uber, TaxiMe is an app you can easily download on your phone. The good thing about TaxiMe is that you don’t have to set up an account. Just download the app and you can start booking taxis. We consistently had a taxi picking us up within minutes of booking. Super quick.

You don’t need to enter any credit card details, which I think is a huge plus. The app tells you the indication price of the ride you booked. Once you’re dropped off you pay the driver in cash. We never experienced a situation where the price shown in the app beforehand didn't match what the driver asked us to pay.

Make sure you have cash with you, as most taxi drivers do not accept card payments. For just a few euros, you can be right in the center. So don't always let a location outside the center be a dealbreaker! TaxiMe is widely considered the best app for taxi services in Sofia. It allows you to order a car in just two clicks, and it doesn’t even require registration.

Overall thoughts

For us, Sofia was our first real introduction to Eastern Europe. And what an introduction it was! We happened to visit Sofia during the Easter weekend. That turned out to be fantastic, as the weather was warm, almost summery. The whole city was out and about, it was bustling and lively everywhere.

We would choose the Metropolitan Hotel again in a heartbeat. Everything about this hotel was exactly what we look for in accommodation when we travel, except, perhaps, for the location. But then again, it’s actually nice to be away from the city center and the crowds; it’s wonderfully quiet. Ultimately, a location outside the city center has its own charm. You also get a better glimpse of what life is like outside the center. And with a good bus connection right on your doorstep and options like TaxiMe, the center is just a 10-minute ride away.

As a Radisson Individuals member, there is one thing you can be certain of, you can expect Radisson standards here. They certainly haven't fallen short of that mark.

• bulgaria
• sofia