Address: 21 Nikola Zlatarski Str, Veliko Turnovo
Tel: 062/ 625 182, 088/ 974 44 10, 089/ 916 02 69,
web site: slavianska-dusha.com

Imagine waking up after a night spent snug and warm, in an historic-style house in the centre of old Veliko Turnovo, and first thing on looking out the window, seeing Tsarevets looming over a green valley.

This was my experience at a recent stay at Slavyanska Dusha, a guesthouse in the Samovodska Charshiya area of Bulgaria's medieval capital. Samovodska Charshiya is something of an historical re-enactment area - centred around two streets leading off a small square named Samovodski Pazar - based on an original neighbourhood from the 1860s and 1870s. There, still, one can visit traditional crafts workshops (woodworking, coppersmith, candy...) and buy a random smattering of souvenirs.

The Slavyanska Dusha lodging itself, directions to which are indicated by a sign in the small square, is simple and straightforward, yet welcoming - like coming home: a two-storey house built in 1994, clean and up-to-date, with a total of four double rooms and three triples, each with its own bathroom (with nice, hot water and good water pressure; note that the shower is a wet-room) and cable television with 97 channels, of which about 60 get good reception. Three of the rooms have terraces. In the central hallway there is a refrigerator and a hair dryer, both for common use. My bed was firm, but not uncomfortably hard. Prices start at 42 leva a night for a double room.

Wireless internet is available free-of-charge throughout the facility, and I was happy to find that it was a fast connection.
At night, the proprietress turns on the central heating - something of which she assured me when checking in - and it all turns toasty and peaceful. The street of the guesthouse is almost free of cars, something that adds to the feeling of times past, and that encourages relaxation. (For visitors who come with vehicles, there is parking available in the square, 50m or so from the lodging; also available from the hotel is a rental car service.)

While there are plenty of options for eating in Veliko Turnovo, if a guest does not want to stray far from home base, Slavyanska Dusha has a 25-seat mehana that serves home-style food from noon to midnight. If one wants to have breakfast at the hotel, it is possible to put in an order for the desired food and time of delivery to the room the night before.

The proprietress is kind and not intrusive, yet friendly. When she saw my lichna karta upon registration, she shared that her daughter was currently in the United States, a note of fondness and distance in her voice.