Address: 54 Stefan Stambolov Str, Blagoevgrad
Tel: 073/ 881 155, 073/ 885 511
www.hotelsantacruz-bg.hit.bg

The friendliness of the staff at Villa Santa Cruz could make one wonder if the hotel was really in Bulgaria. Yes, it is Bulgaria, and at only 1h30 south of Sofia, Blagoevgrad is like another culture - one where politeness, helpfulness and human dignity are a part of normal daily life.

In the city for a weekend recently, I selected the hotel based on nothing other than its name, and the fact that it had a website, and was not disappointed.

A five-minute walk from the centre, the street to the hotel inclines slightly, and when that one segment ends, you'll be at a peaceful little park with a playground, and the city stadium. I write this because it could otherwise be hard to find - like a real villa, this one, too, is in a lush surroundings, its grounds somewhat hiding the facade.

It appears that the building is new; at least, it's built in what is called "Balkan" style, ie, ugly and quick-to-mount, though I doubt that most hoteliers have a choice in how their structure looks. No matter.

Villa Santa Cruz (also sometimes written as "Family Hotel Santa Kruz" in hotel literature) is clean and cheery and there is no evidence of sloppy construction.

Its 14 rooms come in doubles (starting at 52 leva) and apartments (80 to 170 leva), two of which have jacuzzis; for the lowest price range, breakfast is an optional additional charge of eight leva, otherwise it's included. It being the typical offering of toast, an egg, some cheese and meat, perhaps something else and coffee, I opted out, preferring instead to buy some exquisite home-grown fruit from a baba on the street.

My room was on the second storey, its walls painted a light violet (very nice!) and bedsheets in a modern beige with a simple floral pattern. It was so cool, because you enter the room, and see to the right of you the bathroom and in front of you this huge, cube-like beige armchair, next to which is the door to a small patio. "Where's the rest of the room?" you wonder, and then you notice this little passageway to the right, and, voila!, the room opens up before you, with curtained good windows filling two of the walls.

The wooden furniture in my room was in a simple design, recalling something from the countryside, and the proprietors get props for the bed frame: it's on four legs, and nothing hangs down to obstruct the view to under it, thus avoiding forgotten (unseen, hiding) items.

As to the bed itself, the mattress was horridly uncomfortable, as hard as a rock and not smooth. Otherwise, the room was a delight, with plenty of space, good lighting, a minibar, a vanity, bedside tables and a television with cable.

But bring earplugs, because, like in most Bulgarian hotels, the walls are not well insulated - at some point during the night, I felt like going to ask the couple next door (upstairs? in the room below?) if they wanted to have a threesome.

The bathroom was small, but modern, and had a separate shower cabin with some high-tech massage-like shower thing that I never figured out how to use. Not like I tried. There is a hairdryer, and shampoo. It could have done with a towel hook or two.

Wireless internet (WiFi) is available free-of-charge throughout the facilities, and while I was told that I would need to enter a password to log on, such never proved true.

Downstairs, inside by the reception area and outside by the park, there is the hotel's restaurant. Prices are reasonable, and the menu offers a wide variety - in addition to Bulgarian, there is also Serbian grill and Chinese food, a theme I saw repeated at other hotels in Blagoevgrad.

Staff were very friendly, to the point that they willingly went and found the right change for my 20 leva bill, waving away my offering to go and get the coins from my room, and all that with a smiling face and no sense of condescension.

The two girls who manned the reception desk at night gave a few suggestions about restaurants in the city. The day girl, however, had no idea of where to eat or what to see, citing that she was not from Blagoevgrad, and thus did not know what was around. To me, this was a poor excuse - after all, assisting guests from elsewhere is part of the job. Overall, staff were helpful and kind, but seemingly lacking professional, or even on-the-job, training about what is expected of such a position.

Would I stay at Villa Santa Cruz again? Definitely yes, and even more definitely if the beds were comfortable.