Zornitza Family Estate

Hospitality, architecture, culture, food and vibe ... This is one of the best places I have ever visited.|The buildings are beautiful and calming. Staff are so friendly and helpful. Food is great. Pools, nature and surroundings are wonderful.|Their homemade products are absolutely wonderful. From Wines to the sheep youghurt and honey on the breakfast table. Simply splendig

We booked a romantic package for our anniversary and were pleasantly surprised to see it surpassed our expectations even though they were quite high considering the price point. The warm welcome, the vastness and quiet peacefulness of the estate, the knowledgeable and experienced staff everywhere (including the winery and the spa, which I strongly recommend visiting). It can do with more people working there (some amenities were at times left unattended) and a richer menu (we were disappointed to find out upon our arrival that the aEstivum restaurant was closed and only had the limited options available at Bistro 55). Overall a breathtaking hospitality experience, a rare find for Bulgaria.

The place is designed to pamper guests in every way. The room was spacious with everything you might want including a mini bar full of complimentary drinks. The patio off the room was wonderful with views to the vineyards. There are two pools to relax around. And service was top notch including turn down service. Breakfast was as expected of a first class hotel. The only thing that could be inproved is the menu for dinner options. I would cone back any tine!

We have stayed two times at this beautiful hotel near the historic village of Melnik and Rozhen Monastery. We usually book one of the villas outside the main building, which are very spacious and comfortable. The rooms inside the main building are also very nice, we were told by a Spanish couple. The natural surroundings around the hotel are simply charming (one of the nicest places you'll find in Bulgaria) and the grounds of the hotel are beautiful: they have a farm tied to the restaurant (farm to fork), vineyards, a play area for children, a lake, a tennis court, etc. It's also possible to book tours of the grounds in a golf cart, the preferred mode of transportation for the staff. ||The original plan was to include a golf course —but the owners, a dedicated father and son team— seemed to move away from this idea, Thank God. A golf course in the middle of such rural, bucolic beauty (where rain may be scare) was a terrible eyesore and not ecological at all. That is a very positive development in my view. By the look of things, I think the father and son team are looking to "re-wild" these water-hungry lawns with wildflowers for wildlife and added beauty. It will be Eco Zornitza, and you can sign me up again and again... ||The pool inside is pure luxury (although they need to clean a bit of mold from the brown stones with a mix of vinegar and water, easy does it). The spa downstairs is an added plus. The pool outside is fed by a warm mineral spring, another luxury corner where you can enjoy a nice drink. ||Now for the restaurant (Bistro 55) which, for some people, is 50% of the experience. The chef blew us away the first time we visited. Superb food, superb Zornitza wine. Our second time at Bistro 55 we had a mixed experience: lackluster dinner the first night, excellent food the second and third nights. Maybe the chef was away for a few days, but the sous chef should be able to handle a salad with walnuts. So our overall experience with the restaurant is very good so far... ||I wanted to write this review in part because I noticed that another guest left a terrible, bitter review of the restaurant (and the chef) that is frankly unfair and not representative of this establishment. (It reads like a sour-grapes review by a competitor who has not achieved much.) To run such a quality restaurant in such a remote location of Bulgaria is no small feat, as anyone who has traveled through the country will tell you, and the chef deserves much credit fort this. Kudos. We are still fans of Bistro 55 and will return. ||So we're cheering for this hotel, and we hope that the father and son team continue to care for it with as much care and dedication as they've shown so far. Without overdeveloping the surroundings. (The fancy houses.) If they can re-wild the Trump golf courses with native wildflowers and grasses, as I said above, this place will be an incomparable beauty in a majestic rural location...

We stayed there during May for my fiancé’s birthday and had an amazing time. They welcomed us with champagne and checked us into a beautiful villa which had stunning views, very clean and cozy. We were there for 5 nights and spent them all at the hotel. They have an amazing spa facilities and outside pool and gym. It was our first time going there and we were very surprised that there is such an amazing resort in Bulgaria. The area the hotel is built on is huge and there are so many spots for walking. The staff were very pleasant and the kitchen had delicious food. We tried the wine tasting and it was a very nice experience. We loved the animals they had at their property and the guy gave us a tour around the property with a golf cart and gave us a little background of the hotel. It was our first Relais & Chateaux hotel (now we’ve been to a second location) and thanks to Zornitsa we decided to check out more locations. The hotel and staff are definitely held to high standards because everything was 10/10 we plan on coming back this summer and booking a villa again. Excellent getaway for Bulgarians and excellent resort to stay in if you want to explore Melnik and other spots nearby. It’s definitely our favorite hotel here and they deserve props for the way they treat their clients and maintain the area.

The best hospitality experience in Bulgaria in the premium space. The biggest assets of Zornitza Family Estate are the quality of the team and the size of the estate that provides a sense of peace, closeness to nature and privacy even at maximum occupancy. Every detail is well thought out - from the personal welcome, through the elegant, artistic interior, to the level of comfort in every space. A wide variety of activities for every taste - electric bikes, spa, wine tasting, or simply walking around the estate just to name a few. To give some constructive criticism - I think the food needs a bit more attention for this price point. I wouldn't give it a negative review, but our meals at both the bistro and the fine dining restaurant were below our expectations. I'm sure the team is capable at bringing it to the next level, but during our stay it was not there yet. Regardless I'd rank the overall stay as simply wonderful - Zornitza will be our go-to family vacation place in Bulgaria going forwards.

Great hospitality and beautiful nature, perfect place for relaxation. The prices are high but the experience is wort it. The food at the main restaurant is amazing with local ingredients, vegetables and dairy products.

Zornitsa Family Estate: A 5-star mirage where service is just a rumor. You know you're in for a treat when the "50 meters to the estate" sign leads you on a bumpy off-road rally. Bonus points if your car survives. At the gate, we played several rounds of "Hello? Hello!" with a mysterious voice on the intercom. Felt less like checking in, more like auditioning for a low-budget escape room. Parking? Oh, that’s an adventure game in itself. No spots, no plan, just creative chaos. Block a few cars, hand over your keys, and hope for the best. Reception welcomed us with synchronized “Hello!”s and the revolutionary idea that a glass of wine cures hunger. We were starving, but apparently that’s not on-brand here. Bistro 55: Salads with the flavor profile of a wet napkin. The “Chef’s Garden Salad” was proudly described as “kind of like pickles in a jar” — for 50 BGN. Tempting. Service? Waiters practiced the fine art of disappearing. Empty plates lingered like awkward dinner guests. The room was spacious, comfy, and came with a decorative melted truffle slowly melting into our bedsheets. Cute. The spa promised “relaxation” — and delivered it to the used glasses and dirty plates left out for hours. The jacuzzi had one working jet, which we all fought over like survivors of a shipwreck. We tried the fancy restaurant — no reservation, no food. Unless you’re into surprise 6-course tasting menus that last until midnight. We weren’t. Back to Bistro 55. Again. Steaks: good. Service: still on strike. We eventually got up to hunt down the bill like it was an endangered species. The room key was attached to a metal “Z” roughly the size and weight of a horseshoe. It broke. We laughed. Then we left. Breakfast was mostly sugar, dough, and guesswork. Protein? Not invited. Labels? Who needs 'em. Nobody told us about the farm, the winery, the vineyard tours — apparently they assume you arrive pre-briefed, telepathic, or both. Final verdict: Beautiful place, zero soul. Looks like luxury, feels like a prank. Would come again only if blindfolded and kidnapped.