What is the best resort in Bulgaria ?

Hi I'm looking at booking up a long weekend to Bulgaria with a group of old army mates and their wives, some are not skiers.
I would like to know which is the best resort for skiing and alternative activities ie spa, sauna and shopping etc.
Also what is the best month to ski there ? I was thinking February March.
PS I'm not expecting the French alps, just a reasonably priced jolly with a bit of ski-ing thrown in. All advice is welcome as I have never been to Bulgaria before.
Regards
Crusher

Hi Crusher
We went to Borovets about 15 years ago and would never return, I'm sure some things will have changed since but the hotel was worse than any barrack room I ever inhabited and the food made AB biscuits look like something from Heston Blumenthal.
However the wost aspect was the ever present local gangsters who appeared to be running the resort and made everyone, but especially the young women, feel intimidated and uncomfortable.
No doubt others will have had better experiences but that was ours.

not didier wrote:Hi Crusher
We went to Borovets about 15 years ago and would never return, I'm sure some things will have changed since but the hotel was worse than any barrack room I ever inhabited and the food made AB biscuits look like something from Heston Blumenthal.
However the wost aspect was the ever present local gangsters who appeared to be running the resort and made everyone, but especially the young women, feel intimidated and uncomfortable.
No doubt others will have had better experiences but that was ours.

Also been to Borovats, a few years earlier. The skiing was fine, the ski school for the kids was one of the best I have come across.
The hotel was pretty well as ND describes, but we did a cockroach hunt every night before going to bed, and it was fine.
Yes, there were gangsters, but they were just ordinary gangsters, nothing to really worry about. I just told them I was from Manchester, but have now become a naturalised Scot, and they hastily backed off.....
Best thing about the food was the display cabinet, displaying three dishes. While the dishes remained the same, every day, they changed the description!

I have been to Borovets a few times and have found that it has improved over the years. The first time I went was in 04 and it was as described, the food in the hotels was dreadful but in the restaurants quite good..I went a couple of years later and it had improved a little but the last time I went,about 4 years ago we went to a newer hotel which was excellent. I would not recommend it to anyone above intermediate and would really not go too late in the season as it is really not snowsure but if you go to one of the better hotels you can have a nice break with some skiing