Yoga instructors complained about the lack of policies and understanding from hoteliers about organizing retreats in Bulgaria.
That's why many of them do it abroad or in the few specialized places in our country. This became clear during the first Retreat Conference & Expo in Bulgaria 2026 event, which is organized by the leading travel media TravelNews at InterContinental Sofia.
“Most hotels in Bulgaria do not have good conditions for organizing retreats because they do not have adapted spaces or suitable rooms for yoga”, said Atanasiya Zheleva, founder and owner of Yoga Vibe. In addition, hoteliers do not have a policy for attracting yoga instructors, as they do not provide preferential prices for groups and free accommodation for the teacher. Some even increase prices, she commented. According to her, yoga practices cannot be organized in guesthouses either, because they do not have any spaces.
The weather does not always allow for outdoor exercises, emphasized Velina Savova, founder of Aditi Yoga. “There is a lack of retreat policy in hotels in Bulgaria, and that is why we call for partnership, dialogue and audibility in the sector”, she explained. Savova added that a large part of yoga people want special food and a healthy menu, not like for mass tourists. The goal is to provide very good services according to the requirements of the specialized group, said Velina Savova.
Moksha is a certified yumeiho therapist and owner of “Trinity Retreat Center”. He is among the first in Bulgaria to create a specialized place for yoga practices in Apriltsi. “We host many retreats and practice shows us that they should be organized by people who do this, not by hoteliers”, he commented. According to him, for the development of culture, there must be authentic places. “For Bulgaria to be a retreat destination, there must be a unity of people who deal with this. Let's work together, instructors and hoteliers”, said Moksha. A future segment is being created - retreat culture, which is starting to develop in the country.
Marta Kamenova, a yoga and Pilates teacher, event organizer, also believes that we need to start working with hoteliers and have an approach and listening to the requirements for organizing retreats. An event is prepared for months, satisfying all the demands of the clients. “We even collect data on allergies, vegetarians, vegans and declarations about taking photos, so that there are no complaints. Hoteliers must comply with all this”, commented Kamenova. According to her, it is important to know that yoga instructors choose places that are connected to nature.
Vesela Lambert, a certified nutritionist, yoga teacher and sound therapist, added that after each retreat they collect feedback and provide it to hotels. She gave an example that energy and sound practices do not take place in completely closed rooms, but require natural light. That is why conference rooms are not suitable in some hotels. In addition, yoga people do not want to mix with other guests at the site.
Lenko Slavov, executive director and program manager at the Vita Rama Center for Healthy Living, believes that some hotels are starting to open up to the yoga community. “It is all a matter of communication and they need to know that yoga people also work and cannot attend retreats that are only held during the week. Therefore, hotels should think in this direction as well”, he said. According to him, one of the big problems is the food in hotels, which refuse to comply with the requirements of the yoga community. Vita Rama has a vegetarian restaurant in Sofia and organizes twice a year 7-week retreats - at sea and in the mountains. They have groups of 7 and 14 days during this period, which is a very good occupancy rate for the hotels.
Nora Peneva, a yoga and meditation teacher, announced that she does retreats all over the world. “Bulgaria is a wonderful country, a sacred land with many energy places. We can be the energy place of Europe”, she believes. According to her, the yoga community should not only be shown the specialized places in Bulgaria. We should also work with hotels, because there are great bases in good and natural locations. “Hoteliers need to understand that a person needs to have access to something other than television and steak”, she commented. Therefore, it is important to have motivation for joint work from all sides.
Source: travelnews.bg