The Sheraton Sofia, perhaps more than any other hotel in the capital, has Bulgaria's history pulsating through its grand corridors and 184 rooms and suites. Just think how many times it features in people's street directions – "continue past the Sheraton" – to get an inkling of its landmark, almost iconic status in the city. The fact that afternoon tea and scones are served to the accompaniment of a harpist (from October onwards) sounds perfectly in keeping with its old-style elegance and majesty. It is Sofia's magnificent eminence.

Formerly the Grand Hotel Balkan, the old hotel opened its doors in 1956. It became the Sheraton in September 1986, the first Western-managed hotel in Eastern Europe. World leaders have long chosen the Sheraton as their base, reflecting its proximity to nearby offices of power. Many hotels boast of their illustrious guest-list but it has to be said that the Sheraton seems to score highest for its A-listers.

Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, former US defence secretary Condoleezza Rice, Spain's King Juan Carlos, Israeli president Shimon Peres and president of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas have all stayed there – and that's just a small sample of its dignitaries. Only a few days ago former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar held talks with prime minister Boiko Borissov – apparently a regular visitor to the hotel. Perhaps the Sheraton's most famous guest, however, was Madonna. Pop superstars, you see, tend to eclipse all competition!

The Sheraton Sofia's general manager since 2009, Gerasimos Perdikaris is keenly aware of the hotel's history, describing it as "an icon in the hospitality industry and a place that has a lot of fond memories for old Sofians".

Perdikaris, whose home city is Athens, worked for six years at the London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Hyde Park and at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall followed by 13 years in Thailand and Malaysia with the Accor Group. These exotic locations apart, he seems genuinely pleased to be in Sofia. Currently he resides in the Emil Markov borough of the city. "I have Bulgarian blood running through my veins because my great grandfather was from Plovdiv, so it's like a homecoming to me," he says. "Although I'd never been to Sofia (before 2009), my grandmother sometimes spoke to me in Bulgarian when I was a child," he says. For Perdikaris, the Sheraton position was a great privilege. "I'm very proud to be the general manager of this hotel. The staff here are very loyal; many of them have been here for many years."  

Praise for the Government
Like other Sofia hoteliers, Perdikaris' report card for business is cautiously optimistic.

"Occupancy has risen over the last year. People are looking for bargains and they're shopping a lot more through the internet," he says. "But business people are travelling again. I hope that by the end of the year we will finish with around 70 per cent for the year, a good achievement – we are 15 per cent up on 2009 occupancy-wise," he says.  

The new government, he says, is doing a lot of good work.

"We have started to benefit from its initiatives. For example, Traicho Traikov, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism and the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Ivo Marinov, have recently announced Government plans for an advertising campaign on Euronews, Eurosport, National Geographic and Discovery to promote Sofia and Bulgaria as a destination. This was a good move but I'd like to see more; not enough has been done to promote Sofia as an excellent business or leisure short break destination."

In spite of the crisis – never felt more keenly than in his home country of Greece – Perdikaris says business people from Greece are still coming to Sofia.

"Bulgaria has been a business haven for Greece in the past. In the next few years we will see a rise in investment from Greek companies. I believe that Sofia, and Bulgaria in general, is doing well to bring itself up to par with other destinations in the region. The level of English skills is excellent, so is the willingness of local people to learn new things and devote themselves to the hospitality industry."

Perdikaris hopes to stay in Sofia for a long time.

"I like the hotel and I like Sofia because it's a city in which you can do many things. You can have a long day's work but also find other activities to do. I'm a decent tennis player, so I try to exercise a couple of times a week. Sofia is a very human city with genuinely nice people," he says.

Perdikaris says that he and his wife and mother (who have accompanied him to Sofia) feel very much at home here because of its closeness to Greece. Both are Balkan countries with many similarities despite their very different political pasts. Whether you call it a Shopska or a Greek salad, the two have a lot in common, as Perdikaris points out. And the same applies to Greece and Bulgaria as countries.

Market leader
Perdikaris appraises his hotel honestly without putting too much of a PR spin on it.

"In the past year we have focused on improving our service and improving the way we look at guests' requests and needs. We are here to upgrade services. Every experience should be like a dream for guests, whether they come for one day or one hour. We are dedicated to improving guests' services and hospitality and raising the standards of our facilities within our means and resources," he says.

The hotel's food and beverage concept has also undergone a transformation.

"Since last year we have introduced a new Italian restaurant, which has proved quite successful. We've also brought in English high afternoon tea (scones, clotted cream and finger sandwiches), all tuned to a resident harpist’s music because I think it's important for guests to enjoy some relaxing moments. This has proved very popular and therefore we will reintroduce it this winter. We have recently completed preventive maintenance programmes for all our rooms and public areas. This is very important – if wallpaper needed replacing we have done it. If a table is scratched we have replaced it, similarly with air-conditioning and other systems," he says.  

When I put to Perdikaris that he is in "competition" with Sofia's other five-star hotels, he gently demurs.

"We don't compete – we are the market leader and we have been for the past few years, through our location, history and preferences of our clients," he says. "We have the highest level of business activities among Sofia's five-star hotels, therefore we are the market LEADER," he repeats, smiling. "But obviously you have to keep abreast with the competition and we always maintain good social relationships with other General Managers in the other five-star hotels."

Perdikaris says it's vital that all his staff speak excellent English. A special in-house teacher ensures that their English meets the required standard, invaluable when you consider that, as he says, 65 per cent of the hotel's clients are English-speaking, and 80 per cent are non-Bulgarian speakers. Aside from speaking fluent Greek, Perdikaris speaks English and  French fluently and he can converse very confidently in Spanish and Thai, so he sets a good example by being such an accomplished polyglot.

We end as we begun, discussing the hotel's illustrious past. Perdikaris tells me that the first week he arrived at the hotel, he asked to see the hotel's history VIP book.

"Any general manager must understand the history of his or her hotel. We always ask VIPs to sign and write a comment."

And reading that book, it must be said, would rather be like studying a book of presidential autographs. Long live the Sheraton!