Campus 90 Hotel, rising high in the cultural and academic district of Varna, Bulgaria, is a modern breed of hotel designed for the remote worker. Its eclectic clientele of business travellers, workationers, digital nomads and students of the city’s six universities are drawn by the hotel’s mix of comfort, coworking spaces and creative setting, plus the flexibility of short-term and long-stay options. And inside, all its 14 floors are brought to life by the murals of a Bulgarian graffiti art duo. Here’s our review of Campus 90 Hotel after a three-night stay.
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What’s the story behind Campus 90 hotel?
There are rare occasions when a hotel has such a distinctive vibe and identity that it lives long in your memory after staying, maybe as much so as the destination itself. But Campus 90 Hotel in Varna is such a place that refuses to blend into the background.
Today, it’s a multifaceted hotel that revolves around the needs of the post-pandemic remote worker. Its exterior of white, grey and yellow square shapes has something of a digital cubism about it, which is then contrasted by a mesmerising interior of giant graffiti murals splashed across every space of its 14 floors.
But that wasn’t always the plan. Construction of the building began back in 2008, but what you see at Campus 90 wasn’t the original vision for it. The site was originally intended to be a modernist high-rise office building. But barely had the foundations been laid and the structure raised when the global financial crisis brought construction to a halt, and the edifice then stood unfinished for more than a decade.
Varna was a city under transformation, and with the expansion of its universities bringing an increasing flow of local and international students to the city, the building was revived with a new student accommodation concept.
The wider world of remote working was undergoing an even bigger transformation, which was about to be accelerated by a global pandemic. Against this backdrop, the hotel’s architects, E-Arch Studio, expanded the concept. By the time it opened in 2022, it incorporated coworking, conference and social spaces, a restaurant, gym, and 70 hotel rooms to complement the 120 student units. Its opening was followed by a host of architectural awards.
Campus 90 sets the tone for how Varna is flourishing as a destination for remote work. Already well known for its beaches, the city also has excellent wellness and foodie scenes, and is built on thousands of years of fascinating history. You can read more about all of that in our Varna workation guide.
The imprint of local graffiti art
Beyond the modern coworking facilities, Campus 90 Hotel has a deeper creative dimension thanks to the work of Bulgarian graffiti artists Arsek & Erase, whose work covers pretty much every wall and corridor of the interior.
Based in Sofia, the duo have become renowned worldwide for their vivid and colourful brand of surrealist illustration. You can find their works from El Salvador to China to the USA and many places in between.
The playful, vibrant presence of their characters and creatures gives the hotel a depth that separates it from the array of formulaic business hotels throughout Europe, many of which have attempted a similar concept but not quite hit the mark.
My first impressions of Campus 90 Hotel
I spent three nights at Campus 90 Hotel while taking a workation in Varna. It was late on a Thursday evening when I arrived, and so I appreciated the convenience of a 15-minute taxi ride from the airport.
Even in the street-lit aura of a city nearing midnight, the structure of Campus 90 stood out a long way off. The academic and cultural district it sits within has the feel of a city meeting leafy suburbia, with slightly ageing high-rises obscured by bushy green avenues of trees. Among this, the bright, digital-patterned white and yellow hotel tower rises above it all like a marker of a city edging into a new era.
Entering the foyer is a step-change in vibe from the abstract to the immersive. The first thing you see in the reception is a whimsically expressive mural depicting a space traveller, welcoming you and making clear what you can expect at Campus 90.
After being welcomed and checked in with impressive speed by the friendly night staff, I took the elevator with similarly impressive speed straight up to the 14th (top) floor, where I was lucky enough to be staying.
Spacious room with a very spectacular view!
At that hour, as much as night-lit cityscapes have a certain pizzazz to them, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the extent of the splendorous view across the city out to the Black Sea. But that just meant I got to wake up and experience it in the full glory of sunrise the next morning.
The late night and travel weariness didn’t stop me from noticing the size of my room and its suitability as a bedroom-meets-office. I had a comfy bed that was wider than it was long, an ample desk for working, ambient lighting, a large flat-screen TV, and, of course, a big colourful graffiti mural on the wall.
Hotel coworking, hangout spaces and flexibility
After breakfast the next morning (more on that soon) I was given a full tour of the hotel by one of the desk team. The first floor is dedicated to working facilities, with a large coworking room as well as breakout spaces, meeting rooms and a kitchenette area with a cool little hangout bar.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the graffiti art on this floor is especially stunning, with jungle leaves winding around the walls and a giant grinning monkey peering through.
The ground floor bar area is also great for casual working. Adjacent to the long bar there are big comfy sofas alongside high-table seating, all with access to plug-in points. I enjoyed sorting through my photos in here on the laptop at the end of a day’s exploring while soaking up the buzz of the social atmosphere.
There is also a concealed outdoor courtyard area with seating on the ground floor, where you can slow down for a drink, or flip out the laptop and work unplugged.
A look around a few more bedrooms confirmed they’re all similarly spacious and equipped for working as mine. Guest rooms fill roughly the top third of the hotel, while the lower two thirds are mostly made up of student accommodation units.
What is the hotel’s all-day restaurant like?
I had two evening meals and three breakfasts at Campus 90’s ATM°S restaurant during my stay. The ambiance was lovely and relaxed, and the food exceeded what I typically expect from a hotel restaurant.
Both nights I had pork dishes, each with a different local twist. Seafood might be the predominant local speciality in Varna, but I also always find that pork is done so beautifully in this part of the world.
On my first night I had pork smothered in a rich mushroom sauce, served over sweet potato purée and garnished with rosemary. That was delicious, but it was eclipsed by my showstopper of a meal the next night – pork fillet with chorizo stuffing, herb purée, glazed carrot, crispy onion and Dijon sauce. So many things I love, and cooked to tender perfection!
The breakfasts were very good too, served buffet-style with a plentiful choice of hot and cold foods, savoury and sweet, coffees and juices.
Views from the rooftop and the treadmill
If you ask nicely at reception at Campus 90 Hotel, you can take a walk out onto the rooftop terrace at the very top. This is technically only one floor higher than the view from my room, but being out in the open air makes it all the more spectacular, looking out through the gaps in the giant white squares that protrude above the building.
You can enjoy an alternative streetscape view from the treadmill if you go for a session in the hotel’s gym, albeit much closer to the ground. It’s a nice little gym and perfect for a workout to start the day or between work shifts.
Boulevard stroll to the Sea Garden and city
Campus 90 Hotel is within walking distance of Varna’s two most prominent academic institutions, the University of Economics and the Medical University. All this is set within the city’s laidback academic and cultural district.
The walk between the hotel and university sites is the same one that takes you to the city’s sprawling Sea Garden; a pleasant 25-minute stroll along Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, a main artery connecting the old city centre with suburbia. The hotel’s location on this thoroughfare is a convenience without being an annoyance, as you really can’t hear traffic from inside.
All things considered, Campus 90 Hotel is an inspiring place to stay for any remote worker, whether you are in Varna on a business trip, taking your latest workation or setting up here for longer as a digital nomad. The Black Sea coast is where it’s at!
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You can find more inspiration in our feature on the world’s best hotels for remote work.
Are you planning a trip to Varna? Let us know any questions you have in the comments below.
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