Hotel review: Hotel Sole, Niš

Hotel Sole, Niš
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01. Trip report introduction
02. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
03. Hotel Sole, Niš
04. Exploring Niš
05. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
06. Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
07. Getting from Bratislava to Vienna Airport
08. Austrian Airlines E195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
09. Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner economy class, Oslo to Stockholm
10. Trip summary
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I arrived at Niš airport at 8pm, but I had already arranged transport to Hotel Sole. Or rather, they had offered a complimentary shuttle service, which I happily agreed to. When exiting the arrivals hall, a guy was standing there with a sign with my name on it. We went to a Volkswagen and headed towards the city center. Just a few seconds after getting in the car, he said "parli italiano?" His English was not so good, but he had lived in Italy, so I had to quickly brush up on my very basic Italian. It worked out fine - he was chatty, and we talked about the city of Niš, opening hours, the Easter holiday among other subjects. Luckily, the ride wasn't very long, as my vocabulary was exhausted as we pulled up by the hotel entrance...

The check in agent spoke fluent English, however, and gave me the key to my room, and without further ado I went to check it out. There were no elevators in this small but cozy hotel, but then there weren't many floors either. My room was on the second floor.

Up, up, up the stairs

Second floor - there were only four rooms on each floor

Here we are! Room 202

The first thing I noticed about the room was that it was a bit dark, even with all the lights turned on. And the windows were facing the street, so the traffic could be heard (although traffic wasn't really heavy, so it wasn't a problem). But those are also the only two things that I could think of on the con side of this hotel. It would take a long time to list all the pros, but some of them were friendly and professional staff, complimentary fruit and water bottle, a drink "on the house", nice breakfast, and a clean, modern and spacious room with a nice bed.

Here, all the lights are on. It's still a tad dark.

Nice, comfortable bed

Yes - that thing by the pillow is a piece of chocolate!

TV and a small work space

I only stayed for one night, as I headed towards Bratislava the next day, but it was a really nice hotel, and I wouldn't have minded staying longer here.

Frosted glass door leading to the bathroom

Nice shower!

I liked the grey colours, and the bathroom was very clean and fresh

The view from the hotel room

...and in the other direction

Exterior

The breakfast (which was included in the price) was good, although there weren't that many items to choose from. The items that they did have were really tasty though, and they also had a menu were you could pick one item that they cooked for you. I decided to go for scrambled eggs and bacon, which I tried to pronounce in Serbian. Sure enough, scrambled eggs and bacon was served a couple of minutes later, so I guess my pronunciation was good enough...

Breakfast hall of Hotel Sole

I was the only one eating breakfast when I was here. I actually never even saw another guest during my stay here, and if it weren't for the fact that I heard another guest closing the door to his room, I would have thought that I was the only guest...

Kajgana sa slaninom, and an exquisite espresso

In conclusion, Hotel Sole was a really good hotel, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again if I were to revisit Niš. After breakfast, I checked out before heading out to explore the city. I could keep my backpack at the hotel, and when I asked if they could get me a cab to the airport in the afternoon, they even offered to pay for it! I promise, this review isn't paid for or sponsored in any way - the hospitality of the Serbs was just incredible! But more on that in the next blog post, where I'll show some pictures of Niš!