Another week passed by, which means it's time for me to tell you about a romantic place and a good hotel to spend the weekend. It has become a habit of mine to write about romantic getaways, maybe not all of you fancy quiet places, but once again I can't help it.

So, back to the point. I have another romantic suggestion for you – the Ichera Hotel. Most probably you have never visited the beautiful village of Ichera. If it is so, I must tell you, it is high time you do that. I am once again talking out of my own experience, I've been there, and I know – it is worth it.

Let me tell you something more about it...

The hotel is in the center of the village of Ichera. This is an ancient village, which existed even before the Bulgarian country was founded. No one knows what its name means. It is not typical for our country, but it is quite common in Egypt and Morocco. According to legends, the village of Ichera was a favourite place of King Simeon The Great (889 – 912), and he often went hunting near it.

The village is mentioned in 1278, in the chronicles of the court poet of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, as the location of a battle between the armies of the Emperor and Bulgarian tzar Ivaylo.

In 1304 the village was again mentioned in Byzantine chronicles, as the location of a battle between the Bulgarian Tzar Svetoslav Terter and the Byzantine army, which was this time defeated. In later times the village became popular as a favourite place of noblemen and rich merchants. The village is one of the places (alongside with Jeravna, Kotel, Elena and Sliven), where the unique spirit and architecture of the period of Bulgarian Revival has been preserved.

So much for historical facts, now back to the hotel.

Ichera is a small family hotel comprising 5 double rooms, a small resaturant which seats 20 people and offers traditional Bulgarian cuisine and a selected collection of wine, a summer garden and barbecue. An outside swimming pool operates in summer season. You can rent a bike there or have a picnic on the bank of the Luda Kamchia River. There are organized trips to the Blue Sands Nature Reserve Park, and the ancient villages of Jeravna, Medven and Katunishte, situated just 20 km away.

This is the only hotel in the eastern Balkans, which has received the award for quality of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Authentic Bulgaria, plus an additional rose to it for „interior and atmosphere“.

Now check out the hotel rates. Double rooms with a bath tub cost 52 euros per night, and a single room with a bath tub costs 40 euros per night. If you prefer to have a shower cabin in the bathroom, rather than a bath tub, a double room would cost you 46 euros, and a single room - 32 euros.

The hotel is open all year round. The prices mentioned above are valid for the busiest season between July 1 and August 31. There are special offers available throughout the rest of the year, for which you need to check with the hotel.

That's all from me this week. I wish you all a great time, and take care!