Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Well just came back from 1 wks snowboarding

rila hotel:
nice clean and warm all food was fine the only let down was the price of the beer and soft drinks i avoided the bar as much as possible.The bar staff short changed me twice and also come out with the .................sorry i have no change, this happenned quite abit not just at the rila its all over the borovets.
Also read the menu before you order food at restuarants as the price difference can be alot.

snow conditions (rila) were fine but the bottom runs on the rila are wearing thin and many of the green runs are very icey.The black runs are both un skiable,when i left (2nd march) 1 was closed and the other one was not far from it.The red runs are fine as are the blues on the top but lower down the slope are not so good.
snow conditions: yastrobets (sp)

All good apart from the masala path,this run is now closed ( shame it was a top run) all the other runs are fine with no worries about the snow. the manistay of life on this side of the moutain are drag lifts these are a real pain for boarders,they are long and steep.The lift ques were large for the main gondala,i also did not like the fact that many locas thought it fine
to jump in front of people ( well apart from me)

ski hire:My partner and other friends hired the equipment from the ski hire shack at the bottom of the slope next to the drag lift.
The equipment was prehistoric the boots and skis they got were rubbish and they waited 2 hours to get it.The boots they hired were the type that do up from the back and the skis were not much better!!!

Ski school: Cannot coment except to say my party waited another 2 hours only for knowone to turn up !! in the end they got an instructor but the class was now a group of 20.He was not happy at having to teach the class and was really arrogant and rude.My group never bothered to turn up with him the next day in the end a few of them got in other classes.

I had a good holiday, but would not return again due to the fact that i did not feel at ease when ordering food/drinks and dont like to be taken for a ride with money
The general look of the place,looks dirty and grim (this is at the foot of the mountain) and the lft system needs updating especially on the yastrobets mountain.
Sadly this place is not for me.

I wrote that coment in abit of a rush,there was one other thing to put down............this was the constant smell of burning wood,maybe its just me but this really put me off walking around the shops at the slope.

I am not trying to slate the place,as clearly ppl on here return year after year.Maybe with a fresh dump of snow the place would look so different.For instance outside the ice angels,the snow has melted leaving you to walk through a mud bath to sit on their chairs to eat some lunch,i know snow melts but surley they could of put some kind of pallets down to walk across so you clothes and boots did not end up with mud all over them.

Maybe in years to come when they have created the super borovets i might return but not for now.

for anyone who is going their,enjoy your holiday, your views may differ from mine but hey we are all different and look at things at different ways.

Have to agree with Mr.P on many points regarding pricing and short changing. The 'sorry I have no change' is a bit lame to be honest. Prices have risen over the years but on balance if you are careful still VFM.

Have been to Boro for many years now this was my 8th and the snow conditions last week were about the worst I have experienced, a good dump of snow especially on the lower levels works wonders for the place and cuts down the gondola queues dramatically as more people ski the four man lifts instead of going up the mountain.
I believe the drag lifts on the slopes at the top of the gondola are to be replaced with 4 man chair lifts this summer so will help you boarders enormously.

My instructor/guide for the week was a top bloke. Have had him the last 4 years, however, 2 beginner boarders in my group had a very different experience. The instructor was completely disinterested in what she was supposed to be doing, would wander off for 30 - 40 mins at a time who knows where, and didn't even turn up for the last session. Complaint to tour company and Borosport has been lodged.

Would agree entirely with Mr.P about the standard of equipment. Some of it is now quite shocking. Having read a previous thread from RobertTK about what to look for in your hire skiis I rejected the first set. 'Technicians' did not look happy, gave me a second set that were not alot better and I decided not to push the point further. In the end had to get them serviced myself. Thankfully I take my own boots, a result of a previous experience.

All in all I think Boro needs to a long hard look at where it fits in the grand scheme of things. They can't keep hiking prices and providing poor service in what is a small resort of mediocre skiing, in comparison to the much larger european areas. Don't get me wrong, I like the place and the people I have made friends with, but by the way things are going there is a going to come a point where I would say it's not worth it.

To Mr.P I would say give it at least another go when the snow is good, you will find it a alot different, but at the end of the day Fraser is absolutely right. For the moment at least, you get what you pay for.

Anyway Pete, hope there's still enough snow left for you to be able to do your 'thong thing'. Good luck with the appeal

I got back yesterday and it was my 4th time in Borovets in 5 years. I was so disappointed. Having little snow is no one's fault. Hiking prices up and not improving the facilities or the services IS their fault. £4 for a chocolate bar at the top of the mountain is ridiculous. Ski instructors that have no regard for your ability despite what you tell them they insist you "follow me" is just unsafe. No training on how to ski or what techniques - just look at you as if you are wasting their time and that tourists are a nuisance. When I went into supermarkets to buy things, price on the item is not what they charge at the till. For example, 20 cigs 3 lev; man at the till charged 5. I said hang on they are 3 lev. He shrugged and tried to usher me out of the shop saying "if you don't like, go other shop". This happened in 3 shops. Walking through the main street of Borovets was a nightmare. They physically block your way, "come in this bar" and if you politely say no they shout abuse or mutter things about you. They are still passing horsemeat off as beef in some places, shortchanging in places and having loved Bulgaria on the whole since 2003, I actually couldn't wait to get home this time. Fraser said you get what you pay for - not the case in my opinion. It's charm used to be that is was a bit tatty and had little money. Now its getting the money and its even more tatty than ever. I'd rather go where the snow, the service and the attitude to tourists is better, and to be honest I wouldn't have to pay a great deal more than I did for Borovets.