Has anybody been to Poiana Brasov recently?

Hello, I am totally new to skiing and have booked a trip to Poiana Brasov on 30 January. I selected Poiana because the reports I have read of the ski school seem very positive (I am not expecting much from resort or accommodation although it looks pretty), only downside is I am a little worried about snow levels as anybody been out there recently. Many thanks

in your pocket.com guide

Poiana Brasov
The purpose built ski resort of Poiana Brasov has long been a staple of the UK holiday brochures, attracting a strange breed of curious skier on a budget for the best part of 30 years. Today its charms are less obvious. Prices are now relatively high and while new hotels have been built at a rate unlike anywhere else in the country - increasing the resort's capacity four times over – very little has been spent on improving what was always a very limited ski area. Queues for cable cars during the ski season can be long - at weekends over two hours – and the four or five pistes very crowded.

The latest Ski Club reports are for just 10cms on the lower slopes and 20cms on the upper

Hi, this was our first skiing trip 2yrs ago and from a very first time point it was okay (we had nothing to compare it to). We stayed at the Hotel Sport AI. although basic was clean warm and dry. food was also basic but eatable. We went in February and snowfall was enough for us to go into ski school everyday, and although the resort was busy on the beginners slope it was never overcrowded. The wait for the lift was not overly long. Each lunchtime our instructor would trudge us back to the hotel to have lunch as a group, i think maybe the instructors pick up some kind of bonus for wht is spent in the restaurant, it was cheap enough 2yrs ago dont know about now, we did not have any complaints. Last year we went to niederau and it was then we realised what a difference there can be in terms of equipment hired it was of a much better quality. All in all Poiana Brasov for a 1st timer was ok, although there were lots of return skiers who had been 3-4 times. i think the transfer time is about 3hrs. I hope this helps

Hi, I live about 2 hours away from Poiana Brasov.
First the good news.
The ski school is excellent, if you are staying in one of the ANA hotels and have already booked lessons then stick with them. They are very good, speak excellent English and also have the advantage of skipping any lift queues on the nursery slope pull lift because ANA also run the lifts. If you have'nt booked lessons just go to any of the ski schools and ask, they all have very good instructors. I have had private lessons in Poiana and this costs about 50 - 60 Lei / hour. If they want much more than this tell them politely to go away and they will drop the price. Shop around they all speak english so you can get a good price.
The resort is OK, a few restaurants, bars and a night club plus the hotels. Make sure you take a taxi into Brasov at least once, it will cost you about 30 - 40 Lei max (20 minutes) and you will not regret it, Brasov is a beautiful medieival city and has great restaurants and bars, it also tends to be cheaper than the resort, seriously, you will be impressed with Brasov.
Now the bad news
The snow in Romania has been nearly non-existant this year so far, they do have snow making on the small slopes at Poiana but the temperature has been to high to use them in recent weeks. The temperature is going down now and there is some snow forecast over the next couple of weeks, as a completely new skier you should be OK because the snow making machines on Bradul slope should be working over the next few weeks as the temperature drops.
Transfer time is about 3 hours from Bucherest or about 2 hours from Sibiu.
Have a great time, Poiana is a good resort for beginners and if you are from West Europe you still find the prices very low indeed.

Many thanks, my mind is eased a bit now and I will pray for reasonable snow!