Anyone booked for next season yet?

From all I know about it, and what I have worked out for myself, there is nothing good about Bulgaria. Except once you get onto the slopes and forget where you are maybe.

Tony_H wrote:From all I know about it, and what I have worked out for myself, there is nothing good about Bulgaria. Except once you get onto the slopes and forget where you are maybe.

When were you there Tony? As with most places there are plus sides and minus.

Dave Mac wrote:There are some good aspects to Borovets, the snow is usually good. I was lapping up a metre deep, and the locals were moaning about the "bad season". Gondola locations are good. Good runs. If you choose not to ski back to the hotel, the normal taxi is a horse and sleigh for next to no cost. The ski school is a high standard.

The food is not the greatest. You do need to count your fingers after a transaction.

The snow was good when I was there at Christmas time a couple of years ago.

However, the gondola queues were the worst I've ever experienced (every morning) but you can take a taxi up to a chair lift and ski down a red that gets you to mid station for a fiver. The gondola (at the Samakov end of town was closed for three of our six days. The pistes were not very well maintained. Hire equipment was ancient and ski school was appauling...I heard soooooo many complaints. (Our friends had private lessons and said she was fab.) My friends son was drugged and robbed of cash, camera and phone then thrown onto the street by bouncers. He ended up in hospital for the night. I had my mobile phone stolen from my pocket when in a bar on the first day. Knew of three people while I was there that had skis stolen from outsde bars during the day.

I would not choose to go back as my experience of Borovets was not good, but there are thousands of people who go back year after year they absolutely love the place. I suspect lots of them have been no where else.

It just does not seem my kinda place

Its sad to hear of bad experiences like that, and I do believe that it would be more prevalent in Bulgaria than many other places. We can all only report what we see for ourselves.

I would not have an issue with going back to Bulgaria. However, my reason for going there, at the time, no longer exists, in that Bulgaria no longer appears to be an ultra-low cost destination.

Dave Mac wrote:Its sad to hear of bad experiences like that, and I do believe that it would be more prevalent in Bulgaria than many other places. We can all only report what we see for ourselves.

I would not have an issue with going back to Bulgaria. However, my reason for going there, at the time, no longer exists, in that Bulgaria no longer appears to be an ultra-low cost destination.

I agree Dave, prices have rocketed in the Bulgarian resorts. There's no need for the prices to have risen as they have, it is just greed. The English couple who run the Alpina bar refuse to hike the prices as the locals have done which is why it is popular and so cheap. I find it quite unbelievable that the Bulgarians don't realise that Bulgaria was popular because it was cheap, people really are going elsewhere now and in the long run they will lose money.

Ian Wickham wrote:It just does not seem my kinda place

I have some fond memories of Bulgaria years and years ago, and did have a good time two years ago despite what I've said. It is a pit though...you really wouldn't like it.

snowb4ndit wrote:

However, the gondola queues were the worst I've ever experienced (every morning) but you can take a taxi up to a chair lift and ski down a red that gets you to mid station for a fiver. The gondola (at the Samakov end of town was closed for three of our six days. The pistes were not very well maintained. Hire equipment was ancient and ski school was appauling...I heard soooooo many complaints. (Our friends had private lessons and said she was fab.) My friends son was drugged and robbed of cash, camera and phone then thrown onto the street by bouncers. He ended up in hospital for the night. I had my mobile phone stolen from my pocket when in a bar on the first day. Knew of three people while I was there that had skis stolen from outsde bars during the day.

I would not choose to go back as my experience of Borovets was not good, but there are thousands of people who go back year after year they absolutely love the place. I suspect lots of them have been no where else.

Theres your answer, Dave. Add that to beggars in the streets, prostitutes roaming about, and people trying to lure you into strip clubs with offers of free drinks.....
Nothing about Bulgarian skiing appeals to me. I think we had this discussion last season as well so no point going over old rope.