Latest posts for the topic "Borovets - 31st Jan...."

Borovets - 31st Jan....

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:35:59 GMT

Hi,
Just thought I'd drop a post to see if anyone can offer any advice.

A group of four of us are heading out there for a week, 2 English men, a Scottish Man and an Aussie...Could be the perfect opening to a hilarious week :D

2 of us are semi experienced, I did Andorra a couple of years ago but fear this will be a hell of a lot colder, are thermals essential?

Any one else going at this time..?

We're staying in the Samokov, any of you guys stayed there?

Cheers

Adam

Borovets - 31st Jan....

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 08:18:54 GMT

BigCheese wrote:Hi,
Just thought I'd drop a post to see if anyone can offer any advice.

A group of four of us are heading out there for a week, 2 English men, a Scottish Man and an Aussie...Could be the perfect opening to a hilarious week :D

2 of us are semi experienced, I did Andorra a couple of years ago but fear this will be a hell of a lot colder, are thermals essential?

Any one else going at this time..?

We're staying in the Samokov, any of you guys stayed there?

Cheers

Adam

Hi BigCheese, Welcome to J2ski, have a look back some of the previous threads re Bulgaria, they don't sound good :cry:

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:23:29 GMT

this was my impression 2 years ago
"BIG hotel, nice room ,which as the previous reviewer said was a little rough round the edges..cant really fault it but for a skiing resort they do not provide a ski room ,you have to pay the ski shop 25 lev to keep your skis for a week but they sharpened and serviced mine overnight for the same price. The food was plentiful ,edible but you served yourself with a ladle! it would be OK if you were a veggie as well. The cutlery was amusing..i thought they would bend if i pressed too hard i have used plastic which were better. A bit upmarket Butlins! but not by much

Shame about the resorts lift system and maintenance. As a skier I would not go to Bulgaria again ..they need to invest some money in the resorts ..up to European standards...in 1975...old lifts, not many pistebashers and surly staff..I know you can't legislate for no snow but you could make the best of it when you get it...
I did notice that better quality skis and boots were availible this year from the hire shops but there was some old rubbish about and some friends said the instruction was of debatable quality."

...there looks to be plenty of snow at the moment.. you can have a laugh there if you take it all with a pinch of salt as it is at least a value resort...I would have said cheap ..but the GBP sinks daily ...at least the lift pass is cheap..but get there early as there are queues from 9.30 onwards for the bubble ..the yastrovets runs are the most interesting..

have a good time

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 10:02:12 GMT

Hi there,

I've just returned from a week in Bulgaria (Bansko) and can tell you for a fact that thermals are needed - it was bitterly cold some days, especially on the chair lifts. Personally, I don't get too cold but some of our party suffered with cold hands and I would recommend inner gloves for extra warmth.

We chatted to some people at the airport (we had a 30 hour delay coming home, so plenty of time!) who had been to Borovets and they had generally had a good time. Couple of general tips about Bulgaria - don't expect your food to be hot, Bulgarians tend to eat it lukewarm. Also, as a party of 13, we never got our meals all at once, I got the impression that they tend to just eat as the food arrives rather than try and serve everyone at once.

It was certainly cheaper than being in the Alps, but don't expect it to be dirt cheap. Prices were about the same as going out here, maybe a little less in some places.

Bulgarians weren't the friendliest of people but a smile and being polite went a long way!

If you go expecting the standard of the Alps, you'll be disappointed but go expecting Bulgaria, with an open mind, and you'll have a great time! Wish we'd gone this week though as it has snowed all weekend and conditions should be great!

Enjoy!

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:24:34 GMT

Hi,

a party of 12, 3 stags and mixture of boarders and skiers were out there from the third to tenth of January. Having been twice before i new what to expect in regards to food and overall standard of the resort . We were staying at the Samokov, which is probably the equivelant of a 2/3 star over here. Food was ok could always fill ourselves up there was a reasonable selection though it was mainly luke warm. Bedrooms were clean and warm,shower powerful enough to wake you in the morning !

After a days skiing we would all meet about 4pm at a bar that used to be called pete's bar [cant remember name, obviously cooked my brain] where there was a band that were brilliant ! [played a great kings of leon sex is on fire] The resort also had some good eateries, Mamacietas was one i would recommend, there are several other good bars with harry kokee and stuff. All in all I think you have to be open minded and not too fussy and you will have a great time, good luck and great skiing.

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:02:12 GMT

I always worry about somewhere when people say go with an open mind, as it generally means it was crap.
All the people I know who have been and the reports I read suggest exactly what everyone has said: dodgy food, poor equipment, limited skiing and not particularly well kept pistes, miserable and sometimes aggressive locals, big queues for antiquated lifts.....
If people are looking to spend on a weeks skiing, I really dont understand why they would choose Bulgaria. Most places in Austria, France, Switzerland or Italy would be 10 times better.

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:48:20 GMT

I went to Borovets last Christmas and stayed in the Samokov. I would not pay to go there again. DO NOT whatever you do hire skis and/or boots from the ski depot under the Samakov...the equipment is very old and very poorly looked after. The technicians are rude and will try to bung you off with ill fitting, sub standard skis and boots. The rooms in the Samokov are warm and clean and that's about it. Do not leave valuables in your room and keep your eyes on your possessions at all times in resort.
If you have your own equipment do not leave it unattended at any time.

The food in the Samakov we found to be edible, a good selection and hot, we did not have a problem with warm food.

The Alpina (bar) is run by an English couple who have refused to hike up prices above inflation like the locals and it is therefore the cheapest place to go. It's very friendly and the food is pretty good. Everywhere else you'll find prices are much higher than they should be.

When there is snow the skiing is fine, but pistes are poorly signposted and the lift system is basic and old. The Masala Path is fab for beginners but you do have to ski a blue to get it and there is a really tricky corner which is (IMO) equivalent to red/black.

Instruction is poor... on a few occasions I saw groups of about twenty and beginners being left to make there own way down because they were unable to keep up, on one occasion it was a child!

If you have any youth with you make sure they don't accept free drinks from anyone working in the nightclubs. There are lots of stories about drinks being spiked and then security taking phones, cameras and money and chucking them out. Someone in my party last year was a victim of this and ended up in the medical center all night with his mum and dad watching over him scared for his life.

This all sounds very negative and as I already said I will not go back. However, I believe that if you expect the worst it will probably be better. We still had a fabulous holiday (a bad day skiing is better than no skiing at all...etc) Be prepared and I'm sure you will have a fab time.

PS. Lift queues at the Gondola are so long first thing in the morning (about an hours wait) providing your not a beginner you can get a cab up to the chairlift and then ski down a red and pick up the gondola mid station to avoid the queues.

Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:32:08 GMT

i have been 3 times , last time was 5 years ago when we went it was always end of jan and it dumped for the whole week on the last 2 holidays food and beer was cheap instruction was good .reading reports it seems to have gone down hill since .the main problem is the bulgarins are very greedy people always trying to make a quid,having said that i had 3 great holidays

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:39:26 GMT

I too went many years ago and have very fond memories of Bulgaria then especially the locals who were friendly and welcoming.

It certainly has changed.

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:39:22 GMT

I was there last month and had a wicked time. Instructors at the Albena school were fantastic and quite often our 4 hour lessons were 6 hours at no extra cost.
I'm going back in 2 weeks :D

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:21:23 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:DO NOT whatever you do hire skis and/or boots from the ski depot under the Samakov...the equipment is very old and very poorly looked after.

I've never hired equipment from there but that's def. good to know.

[link spam removed - Admin]

In any case, there are plenty of hire places, just ask to see their kit before you commit.

snowb4ndit wrote:
The Alpina (bar) is run by an English couple ... It's very friendly and the food is pretty good. Everywhere else you'll find prices are much higher than they should be.

Yes, it was a favourite haunt of the MyBorovets crew, but unfortunately they won't be running it this year (2009 / 2010 season). Instead you can catch up with the upstair in Franko's bar. The food was excellent & yes, when you look at their prices the other bars are more expensive ... but perhaps that's why they're not running it this year??

snowb4ndit wrote:[The] pistes are poorly signposted and the lift system is basic and old.

Sorry, that just isn't the case.

snowb4ndit wrote:The Masala Path is fab for beginners but you do have to ski a blue to get it and there is a really tricky corner which is (IMO) equivalent to red/black.

Yes it is a great run. 10km from top of the gondola to bottom ... perfect way to end the day.

There is a green pathway across the bottom of the drag lifts (one of which is now a chairlift). Fair enough you do have to tackle maybe 100 yards of the bottom of a blue but it's hardly challenging as it is miles wide ... just traverse or sideslip.

snowb4ndit wrote:Instruction is poor...

Yes, it can be ... there is a Bulgarian instructors exam that any Bulgarian can take with no prior skiing experience... that's why every season we make sure we team up with the best instructors ... you've gotta know who you're booking.

MyBorovets use British instructors to ensure quality.

snowb4ndit wrote:If you have any youth with you make sure they don't accept free drinks from anyone working in the nightclubs. There are lots of stories about drinks being spiked and then security taking phones, cameras and money and chucking them out. Someone in my party last year was a victim of this and ended up in the medical center all night with his mum and dad watching over him scared for his life.

I haven't heard of this & am frankly horrified .... not calling you / them a liar but it does sound like the perfect excuse for a kid having one too many (from him I mean).... I'll keep an eye / ear open for this when I hit the resort & report back if I hear any stories...

snowb4ndit wrote:Lift queues at the Gondola are so long first thing in the morning (about an hours wait) providing your not a beginner you can get a cab up to the chairlift and then ski down a red and pick up the gondola mid station to avoid the queues.

Yes they can be horrendous - especially in high season. Grab that cab & we'll see you at the top!!

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 01:15:38 GMT

Thank you for your kind advice but there is no way I'll be returning to Bulgaria in the foreseeable future.

If you have a look on the 'bulgariaski' forum you will see there are many, many people singing from the same hymn book. You must have been walking around with your eyes closed.

My friends son and his mates are not 'boozy brits' and certainly not liars. There were also 'grown up' non alcohol drinking witnesses to the incident.

I hope you have a fab season.

Re:Borovets - 31st Jan....

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 06:55:47 GMT

I have read far too many horror stories about Bulgaria to ever think about taking my family there 8)