Mountain View Lodge Newsletter
March 2022
Hello and welcome to our first Mountain View Lodge newsletter, which we will be publishing monthly from now on. This one is introductory and the others will be more informative with accounts of what is happening in gorgeous West Bulgaria at the time.
The aim of this blog is mostly to give people some insight and experience into beautifully scenic, richly cultural Bulgaria and specifically our rich and fertile Kyustendil region. We hope to bring it to life for you as a remarkable place to visit, explore, adventure, relax, unwind and maybe even indulge a little!
Trina and I are an English couple who have been together for a good number of years, experienced ups and downs as do we all, but we have always had the good fortune to escape to our holiday home in West Bulgaria, which has uplifted and regenerated us every time without fail. I feel that we really should share with you what we love about Bulgaria, the value for money, landscapes, culture, the friendliness of Bulgarian people and so many sights, activities and experiences we have enjoyed during our times here.
After losing my mom and Trina losing her dad, we decided it was time to follow our dream and turn the family holiday home into the perfect holiday retreat and to leave our respective work in England, to do what we love and do best, which is to host exceptional holidays and give people an unforgettable experience in ‘our’ wonderful Bulgaria.
Having holidayed here for more than 15 years (we used to come over with my parents) spending our time on local activities, shopping, eating, drinking and meeting friends, we have always loved the total contrast that rural Bulgaria offers compared to our relatively built up area of Birmingham, although we must say that rural Bulgaria is a contrast to even rural UK.
The dream was always to retire early and to set up Mountain View Lodge as a hosted venue, for our semi-retirement and escape from the ‘rat race’, as well as allowing us to continue enjoying Bulgaria for as long as we can. We have opted to do that now rather than later.
So, having sold the house in Birmingham, we have developed our lovely barn into a stunning guest house (and are still doing some of the work, which is why our brand-new lodge is opening 1st May). We call it a guest house, which it is with bed and breakfast but it is much more with ensuite rooms having their own outdoor areas plus all the facilities and amenities to cook, wash and facilitate your own stay. You could even use the BBQ fire pits to cook!
The whole lodge is also available to rent for upto 16 people or you can rent the the top floor luxury apartment on its own, which sleeps from 2 to 8 people, or take one of the light, & luxurious ensuite rooms. Whatever your choice, be sure that we will always do everything we can to make your stay as wonderful as possible.
Where we are, in the Kyustendil region of Western Bulgaria, the area is barely touched by tourism and it remains beautifully authentic and fresh. Having kept its innocence, my mom always used to say “this is like Spain was twenty years ago”.
Winters are cold and summers are hot. Spring is beautifully abundant and Autumn is richly colourful. Summer brings warm excursions and poolside eating with cocktails and sunbathing on the terrace. Winter means snow sports and all the enjoyment any flurry of snow brings, whilst being all warm and cosy with a real log fire crackling away inside the lodge. Snow packed Osogovo mountain is easily accessible and beautifully quiet even in the peak winter season, unlike other bigger Bulgarian resorts.
For a bit more about the place, Trina says “James introduced me to Bulgaria thirteen year ago and after not knowing what to expect, I was thrilled. I never knew I could come to love a place so much with its fascinating culture, friendly locals and beautiful historical places to visit. I am still amazed at all things to do having been skydiving, skiing and swimming off the beach, just to name a few.”
The currency exchange rate is brilliant for visitors. Eating out (even extravagantly) is inexpensive and by visiting the small local market in town on specific days you can source your own local produce to cook with. With our area known as the Orchard of Bulgaria, local food is fresh with delicious traditional and international cuisine, serving inexpensive spirits and some gorgeous beers to try. Restaurants are plentiful in Kyustendil from Greek to Traditional Bulgarian to specialised fish restaurants on our doorstep!
For relaxing, Kyustendil has “hot spring spas” that have been here since roman times famous for their healing properties and the town itself is wonderful to walk around with its specialist shops and main shops sitting together, giving you everything you need to hand.
Skydiving anywhere in the world is wonderful, a freedom that everybody who has ever skydived knows, if you have not, you will never know so give it a go! Skydiving in Bulgaria is truly beautiful and we should know because we do it a lot. You can soar above snow peaked mountains, huge green pastures, fields and orchards, sunflower fields and stunning hills and dales, all visible from 4000 ft.
We will help you to organise this with our local school as well as any of the other many activities to hand if you wish. To see the whole list, visit our website and explore all the relaxation, exploration and energetic activities available.
Mountain View Lodge is great for laid back socialising. Having had a day’s skiing or visiting a monastery or two, you might want to chat to other guests who may have been, say, horse riding, whilst nestled in a sumptuous Chesterfield sofa, at the same time as sipping a gorgeous glass of red wine from our wine chiller and contemplating ordering a Pizza in!
Or you could be doing just that in your ensuite room on your own patio and maybe preparing a BBQ if not ordering a takeaway or cooking up a storm in either kitchens on both the ground and first floor.
Then again, you might instead be enjoying the outdoor hot tub on the terrace of the Wishing Well Apartment, gazing up at the stars with your loved ones, which are oh so clear, especially on winter nights, with the snow falling whilst you are feeling all warm and toasty in the hot tub.
Alternatively, you can rent the whole lodge and have everything all together for up to 16 people, all with a glorious backdrop of wide-open meadows and stunning mountain views, whatever the season.
To end this first newsletter, we warmly invite you to come and stay with us, to make wonderful discoveries and beautiful memories. We will help with everything you could possibly need, whilst staying out of your way and the bar is always open, the kettle ready to go on and the wine chiller “chilling” whenever you wish.
We hope to see you soon!
Contact Us
Neighbourhood Centre 76 Ranentsi Kyustendil 2569 Bulgaria info@mountainviewlodgebulgaria.com
Bulgaria: +359 877465425
United Kingdom: +44 7821 713286
