Quest Bulgaria Property Magazine

For years Bulgaria has been branded as a downmarket budget destination which has attracted hoards of bargain-hunting tourists in search of cheap booze and fake Rolexes ... no more! All this is changing as developers chase a wealthier clientele, Bulgarians become richer and a different type of tourist explores the treasures of this Balkan wonderland.

Words like “cheap,” “bargain” and “low–cost” are slowly being replaced with “boutique,” “luxury” and “designer” as Bulgaria ditches its cut price image in favour of one associated with style, culture and opulence.

The construction of professionally designed golf courses from the Black Sea to the capital is one of the driving factors; property in golf complexes is of a lavish standard with many design features not included in traditional new builds. The property prices within the complexes is much higher than equivalent property in neighbouring towns and villages, with four-bedroom cliff-top homes costing up to £330,000, but has had the effect of increasing prices of high quality properties in the vicinity.

This upward trend has pushed out the bargain hunters who came to Bulgaria to make a quick turnaround on a low investment price.

The Gary Player designed Black Sea Rama golf complex provides a lavish gated community with apartments and villas encircling the 18-hole course. The development provides spectacular uninterrupted views across the coast, and an attractive garden setting. There are numerous on-site amenities and access to a wide range of other “elitist” sports like tennis and horse riding. The course, along with the other two Black Sea courses, is close to the Tuzlata Spa’s thermal and mud baths as well as a number of new yacht marinas.

Marinas are also another classic example of Bulgaria’s upwardly mobile trend. Last year the country's first private and biggest yacht port Marina-Dinevi opened in St. Vlas on the Southern Coast. The state of the art yacht port has 300 yacht places and can accommodate the enormous king class craft, which are longer than 25 meters. Boat International, the leading magazine group serving the international super yacht industry, included the port in its annual catalogue of leading yacht ports, which included similar complexes in the Seychelles, the Bahamas and the Paradise Islands.

The evidence of Bulgaria’s rebranding is all around. In major cities, in particular the capital, boutique hotels, like the Maria Luisa Hotel in Sofia, offer stylish surroundings often in renovated older buildings. Boutique hotels also tend to offer a high standard of personal service are springing up all over the country. Last year the Association for European Boutique Hoteliers held its annual conference in Sofia in recognition of the cities encouraging trend towards the opening and promotion of Boutique Hotels.

Even the wine industry has taken on the mantle of boutique wines with wineries like Todoroff, known now worldwide as a boutique wine cellar. In the last two years this boutique winery has won numerous prestigious international awards including medals at the world renowned Vinalies Internationales Wine Tasting Show in Paris. In fact wine tours of Bulgaria’s wine producing regions are slowly replacing package tours to Sunny Beach. One such tour marketed by a Sofia based-travel company to American tourists offers tours starting from 900 dollars for a ten day tour. In fact, special interest tours are developing as fast as new apartment blocks, with companies offering hunting tours, Black Sea and Bulgarian river cruises and heritage tours.