Two Days and One Night in Starosel, Bulgaria

When Tony and I were researching day trips and excursions in and around Plovdiv we noticed several options for wine tasting. Starosel seemed to be a good place for at least a daytrip. We love going to wineries and have been to some pretty popular wine regions, like Napa Valley, California; Mendoza, Argentina; and Douro Valley, Portugal. But we had no idea what to expect with Bulgarian wine. So we knew we had to check it out! 

Little did we know, Bulgaria actually produces several recognizable wine varieties, like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay. But you will also find varieties and blends unique to the region, like dimyat, gamza, pamid, mavrud, melnik, misket, rubin, ruen, and tamianka. We won’t go into all of these here, but if you’re in the area we definitely recommend checking out the local varieties! You can find taste many of these wines on a day trip to Starosel or another winery–but we recommend an overnight to Starosel if you can swing it.

In fact, at first we were just looking at group organized day trips. But when we stumbled across Starosel Winery & Spa, we decided we had to spend more than just a day in Starosel. So we rented a car for a couple days, which really wasn’t too bad, and booked a 1 night stay, which was plenty of time to enjoy everything the winery, spa, and region had to offer.  

Here’s what we did in 24 hours in Starosel!

Day 1 

We drove from Plovdiv to Starosel, which took about an hour, and arrived at Starosel Winery and Spa a little before noon. They have beautiful grounds with a Mediterranean feel, lush green grass with gorgeous plants and flowers, and are home to 50 peacocks and several friendly cats. 

Thracian Temple Complex

Since we had time, we added a fun side trip to our first day in Starosel. We visited a nearby tomb and temple that are part of the Thracian Temple Complex. This relatively new archeological spot was just discovered in 2000 and consists of 6 underground temples, as well as royal burial sites, and lies just 1.5-4km from Starosel. The two sites open to tourists are: Thracian Tumulus Horizont (aka “Horizon Mound”) and Thracian Cult Temple Starosel (aka “The Temple at Chetinyova Mogila”). These sites date back to the 4th-5th century B.C. and are the oldest discovered Thracian complex with tombs.

The Horizon Mound is also the only Thracian tomb that has been found with columns and is believed to be the tomb of a high ranking Thracian person due to valuables discovered inside, including bronze arrow heads, silver beads, and gold plates. As you approach The Temple at Chetinyova Mogila, at first you just think it’s a hill. But as you get closer, you realize it’s much more. This underground granite temple is 241 meters long and 3.5 meters high and remains largely intact, amazing for its age! It has a circular shape, which archeologists believe symbolized the sun and was used for religious ceremonies. It’s definitely worth adding this to a day trip to Starosel–or an overnight trip–because of how close these sites are to the winery.

After checking out the tombs, we grabbed lunch at Restaurant Starosel back within the Wine and Spa Complex. Tony had a salad and stuffed red peppers. I had grilled chicken with a creamy onion sauce, side salad, and potato wedges, which was all pretty good. 

Back at the Starosel Winery and Spa Complex

Then around 2:00 we checked into our room and went to the spa. The spa had pools with different temperatures, jets, a steam room, and a sauna. We also relaxed for a bit in our room, which had a hot tub and balcony overlooking the valley. 

At 6:00, we did one of their winery tours and tastings. We opted for their largest package, which included 7 tastings, 3 white wines (muscat, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay), 1 rosé, and 3 red wines (mavrud, terroir, and merlot). And they were all quite good! I was surprised by the variety of grapes and blends and each wine had its own very distinct flavor. 

The Muscat had floral notes resembling elderflower. The Sauvignon Blanc had a fruity, citrusy flavor. The Chardonnay Barik had a rich oaky, vanilla, leathery flavor. The Rose was very light, with notes of strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. The Mavrud was a fruitier red, with notes of cherry and prune. The Terroir tasted almost dessert-like with vanilla and chocolate flavors. And the Merlot had a rich deep flavor, with notes of cherry, raspberry, blueberry, vanilla, and spices. 

The tasting room was designed after a Thracian tomb and certainly gave the experience an extra oomph. If you like wine, no visit to Starosel is complete without coming down here.

After the tasting we headed to dinner at Restaurant Thracian Residence. They had a pretty extensive buffet, which was pretty good. It included things like: pork, chicken, fish, pasta, soup, couscous, pizza, soup, salad bar, fruit bar, and dessert bar. Really just too much to list here!

Following dinner, we also picked up some red velvet cake and a bottle of wine from the lobby bar to enjoy in our room. We ended the night drinking and eating around the fireplace and enjoyed some more hot tub time. This was a perfect conclusion to our first day in Starosel

Day 2

On our second day we had an extensive buffet breakfast at Restaurant Thracian Residence. This was included in the stay. They had sausage, eggs, pastries, fruits, yogurt, cereal, coffee, juices, and more. It was a mix of food you might expect both at American and European breakfast buffets. After breakfast we still had time to enjoy a couple more hours at the spa and our hot tub before checking out at 12:00pm. Greatstart to the day!

After that, we drove about an hour to another small picturesque town, Koprivshtitsa. We spent the afternoon there before heading back to Plovdiv. We highly recommend visiting the town if you’re already in the area to see Starosel.

For information on Koprivshtitsa click here. 

You can read more about Starosel Winery & Spa’s accommodations, spas, dining, and wine tasting below.  

Starosel Accommodations

The complex is divided into 3 hotels: Hotel Starosel, Apart Hotel Starosel, and Thracian Residence Starosel.  

We stayed in an Elegant Studio in the Thracian Residence. We booked this through Booking.com for about $160 USD/night. (We had some issues trying to book the room on their website, which is why we went with Booking.com) Our room included a fireplace, a balcony with a view, and an outdoor jacuzzi. Guests staying in The Thracian Residence can also enjoy a buffet breakfast and dinner included in the price of the stay. 

Hotel Starosel seems to be more traditionally decorated, with bright colored rugs and fur blankets. And Apart Hotel seems a little more modern and has larger rooms and apartments with kitchenettes. 

Starosel Spas

The complex has 2 Spas: Starosel Spa and The Thracian Spa, complete with mineral pools, hydromassage jets, jacuzzis, steam rooms, and saunas. You can also get massages and spa treatments, including ones that use grapes/wine! 

Since we were staying at The Thracian Residence, we spent all our time at The Thracian Spa, which is the larger of the two. It includes the amenities listed above. Plus it has a large swimming area, a children’s area, and a treasure pool, which is pretty cool. The treasure pool is designed to look like a tomb. It has little relics built into the floor that people can explore with goggles. One spot even looks like it goes down into an underwater cave with lights. Kind of trippy. The Thracian Spa also has a terrace which is good for taking in the view, sunbathing, and peacock watching, a fitness center and yoga room, and additional spa rooms for an added fee, like a snow room, shock pool, solar center, and a salt pool and cave.

Though we did not spend time at Starosel Spa, it looked pretty cool. From pictures, it looks like it’s designed more like a Thracian tomb surrounded by stone columns and a glass dome ceiling. 

Starosel Dining

Food

Starosel Winery & Spa boasts plenty of dining options, including: 3 restaurants (Restaurant Thracian Residence, Restaurant Starosel, Terroir Restaurant), a cafe (Cafe Klyukarnika), and 4 bars (the piano bar, the lobby bar, and two pool bars). 

Restaurant Thracian Residence serves a buffet breakfast and dinner, which is included for guests staying at the Thracian Residence and can be purchased by guests staying at Hotel Starosel or Apart Hotel Starosel. 

Restaurant Starosel provides dining for lunch and dinner offering traditional Bulgarian and contemporary cuisine. It’s decorated with wood, stone, and wrought iron, and has an outdoor terrace where you can dine with a view of the vineyard or courtyard garden.  

Terroir Restaurant is the smallest of the three and provides Bulgarian and international gourmet cuisine and also has a terrace overlooking the vineyards. 

Beverages

The piano bar is a large conference-like space where they have a DJ or live music on Friday and Saturday evenings from 10:30pm-4:00am. 

The lobby bar is on the ground level of Thracian Residence next to the SPA where you can get a snack, dinner, dessert, or enjoy a glass of wine by the fire. We picked up some red velvet cake from here to enjoy in our room with a glass of wine, which was pretty good. 

There are two pool bars at the complex, one at SPA Thracian Residence and one at SPA Starosel. The pool bar at the Thracian Residence is serviced by the lobby bar and provides all the same drinks and dishes.

The pool bar at SPA Starosel primarily provides cocktails and other beverages.

Starosel Wine Tasting

Last, but not least, the best reason to visit Starosel is their wine! The winery has 6 different tour and tasting options, which are worth a visit because the wine cellar is designed to look like a Thracian tomb! We loved our tasting experience and had some of the best wines in Bulgaria when we took the 6:00 PM tasting experience. You can check out all the options below.

• A tour of the winery/wine cellar without wine tasting. 10:30 AM, 5 BGN/person
• A tour of the winery/wine cellar and 3 wine tastings. 12:30 PM, 15 BGN/person
• A tour of the winery/wine cellar and 5 wine tastings. 4:00 PM, 19 BGN/person
• A tour of the winery/wine cellar and 7 wine tastings served with cheese, sausage, crackers, and fruit. 6:00 PM, 30 BGN/person
• 30 BGN/person
• A tour of the winery/wine cellar and 3 brandy tastings. 15 BGN/person
• Wine-Making. Groups can schedule a wine-making event to create their own wine blend.  21 BGN/person

Wines were generally 10-15 BGN/bottle

*Note: Prices and times of tours may change. 

Final Tips

• Starosel can be done via a day trip from Plovdiv. It’s only about a forty-five minute drive. But it’s worth it to spend the night so you’re not driving under the influence and getting access to the spa/pools is worth it for a relaxing day.
• It’s also about two hours from Sofia. Definitely worth the overnight and splurging for a room with a hot tub if possible! You won’t regret it.
• Public transit isn’t readily accessible out here. You can find paid tours that will get you to Starosel, but rent a car and go on your own to make the best of your experience. The drive is easy and parking is plentiful.
• Go for the 6pm wine tasting if possible. You’ll get the best tasting experience with the most wines!