Balneohotel Druzhba 1

Balneohotel Druzhba 1 is a sanatorium in all but name. It has a doctor's office, a treatment base and two mineral pools kept at 35–36 °C, and full board costs from €52 a night on the 2026 price list. It belongs to PRO EAD, the hotel company of Bulgaria's National Social Security Institute (НОИ), and insured Bulgarians come here on the state's ten-day rehabilitation programme. Anyone else can book the same rooms, meals and water as a paying guest. We stayed in June 2026.

Pools at a glance

• Indoor mineral pool: open all year, in a hall tiled in blue mosaic. 35–36 °C (the hotel's figure). Pool slippers are compulsory.
• Outdoor mineral pool: large and set in the garden; open in summer only. Sunbeds cost extra: about €3 a day in summer 2026.
• Jacuzzi: beside the indoor pool. It was charged separately during our stay; some packages include it, so ask when you book.
• Sauna and steam bath: in the relaxation zone; included in the weekend "Relax" package.

The hotel doesn't publish pool opening hours or which of Bankya's boreholes feeds the pools.

The doctor, the procedures and the NOI programme

A stay on a treatment package starts with a doctor's examination, and the doctor decides which procedures you get. The treatment base covers hydrotherapy (mineral-water, pearl, whirlpool and underwater-massage baths), physiotherapy (low- and medium-frequency currents, Darsonval, ultrasound, light therapy), exercise therapy with a physiotherapist, and massage. The number of procedures is set by the package: one a day on a 3- or 4-night full-board stay, two a day on 5 nights, three a day on 10 nights.

The hotel lists cardiovascular conditions, the peripheral nervous system and the musculoskeletal system as its indications. That is the traditional profile of Bankya's water, not medical advice; our balneotherapy guide explains what the evidence does and doesn't show.

The NOI programme is a ten-day stay, once a calendar year, for people insured in Bulgaria, with a referral from their doctor. In 2026 the guest's own share at Druzhba 1 is €165.04 for ten days in a block A double room: a €15.34 booking fee plus €14.97 a day for meals, tourist tax, insurance and the pool and jacuzzi. A block B double with a terrace costs €195.04. This is not NHIF (НЗОК) treatment: Druzhba 1 is a hotel, not a rehabilitation hospital. For NHIF-funded rehabilitation in town, see SBR Zdrave.

Our stay, June 2026

We spent two days here on 18–19 June 2026. The first thing you notice is the quiet. The buildings stand around a big garden with lawns, a pond and old trees, and the rhythm is a sanatorium's: meals at set times, guests in bathrobes on their way to procedures, no music by the pool. The indoor pool was warm and well kept. The slipper rule is enforced: one of us was sent out of the pool hall for walking in barefoot.

Three meals a day are included in full board. The food was tasty but dietary: light, low on salt and fat, and on some evenings not quite enough for a hungry adult. We bought a second dinner in town a couple of times; Bankya's cafés are a few minutes' walk away. The surprise was the sunbed fee at the outdoor pool, which a hotel at this price level could easily drop. Our twin room was simple, spotless and looked onto the garden.

What other guests say. To check our impressions, we read the eight Google reviews that Google ranks as most relevant on 28 October 2026, most of them from 2025 and 2026. The doctors, physiotherapists and masseurs get consistent praise, and so do the quiet garden and the fresh air. The food is usually called tasty, though some guests found the menu repetitive, especially at breakfast. Two weak points come up more than once: on longer stays, towels and bed linen were changed only on request, and Wi-Fi works only in the lobby. Opinions on reception are split between very helpful and unfriendly. A charge at the outdoor pool is mentioned too (we paid for sunbeds), so ask what your package includes.

Prices (2026 price list)

Per person per night, bed in a double room in block A: €39 with breakfast, €46 half board, €52 full board. Block B, which has the lift and rooms with terraces, costs €3 more. A single room or a double for sole use is €57–73. A VIP room or apartment for two on full board is €129–135 a night. The five-night full-board package (with the examination and two procedures a day) costs €260 in block A; ten nights cost €520. Guests over 60 get five full-board nights for €240. Children under 3 stay free. Prices include tourist tax, insurance and the mineral pool (by season). Bookings need a 50% deposit.

Pick it if…

• you want real balneology near Sofia for very little money;
• you live in Sofia and want a cheap, quiet weekend with warm water and three meals;
• you prefer a doctor to set your procedures.

Skip it if…

• you want resort polish, free sunbeds or generous portions;
• you want evening entertainment: this is a place for early nights.

Practical

The hotel is on Aleksandar Stamboliyski Street in Bankya, about half an hour from central Sofia by car; see our Bankya guide for buses and the town's public mineral bath. There is free, unguarded parking on site. Wi-Fi is available at reception. Druzhba 2 is a separate, smaller building of the same complex on Kiril i Metodiy Street; check which one your booking is for. Bookings go directly to the hotel (+359 2 812 9010 or +359 877 115 377, druzhba@bgholiday.com) or through PRO EAD; the hotel is not on Booking.com. For a four-star spa hotel in town, compare Bankya Palace.