Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Ok so I've just come back from an absolutely wicked week in Borovets so I'll give you a brief run down of my thoughts:

ACCOM
Stayed in an Iglika Villa. I was pleasantly suprised by how nice they were when we first arrived. The brochure says they sleep up to 6 but I would reccomend a comfortable 4! They were always heated, with a decent shower and the cleanin lady was a legend, she washed up for me everyday! They are situated only a few minutes walk from anything so location wasn't a problem either.

FOOD
We ate out every night. Eagles Rock, Atlantic, Hunters, Red Dragon to name a few. I found that all the menus were the same just in a different venue and ALOT of it was very salty. The steak at Hunters was lush but the side orders were not that great.

PEOPLE
Everyone was really really friendly! We had a black guy with us and I had read things about potential racism occuring but that was not the case. If anything he was better treated (particularly in the strip clubs!). The PR people in the street do constantly try to lure you into their bar/restaurant but they are friendly enough. Only found the older generation of Bulgarian to be grumpy but I think that comes with age with everyone! hehe

MONEY
I took 600 lev (£300) and only spent 400 lev! Beer was cheap enough, ranging from 3lv to 5lv and so was the food as already mentioned. Local shop wasn't too pricey either.

SNOW
We started our hol on just the slopes in front of the Rila. We were all begginner boarders and basically threw ourselves down the reds from day 1 which was painful but fun! Eventually we got the hang of it all and the holiday got more adventurous by day 3. The snow was poor on days 1 to 3. It was very icey slush on the flats and then it became a solid lump of ice down the steep parts.

We ventured to the main mountain on day 3 and that was a welcome relief. Theres plenty of good snow up there on the yastrebets runs.

Day 4 was the worst day, the gondola shut and so we had to stick with the rila slopes.

Luckily the heavens opened that night and we had a nice dump of snow ready for day 5 and 6 which was just superb!!!!


OVERALL
Overall my holiday was great. I probably would go back again but not in the near future as I would like to explore more of what Europe has to offer me. If I did come back it would probably be a last minute so I could arrive when the snow arrived!

Hope this has been helpful to anyone reading. Please feel free to ask me any questions

Andrea - You usually find better exchange rates out there. If you take sterling, make sure it's newish notes. There are ATMs outside Rila and in Flora, which take Maestro and often give the best exchange rate. Credit cards are not widely used and the banks are in the Rila, Samokov and Flora. There are also exchange booths but only use the ones with a crown and check what they will give you before agreeing exchange.

I take about £50 in lev to tie me over and then change sterling as needed.

Lift passes vary but the cheapest way is to pre buy them through tour operator. If you are going independently, there are suggestions on here eg try looking for posts by FIONA and send her an email by clicking on her name.

Hope this helps

Firstly...First National bank office in the Rila - They give a good rate - approx 2.08 per £. (that was last week) I wouldn't recommend the exchange booths outside as I wouldn't wish to put myself forward to being ripped off. Some places do take Sterling but check 1st what exchange rate they are willing to give. Not sure about Credit Cards but there is a cash till outside and inside the Rila and saw people using them. Likely though that your bank will levy a "handling fee". If you can, ALWAYS buy your LP from your tour operator. It will always be cheaper than purchasing in the resort. Got mine free with Bulkan holidays.

Tip - a nice place to have lunch is the Bar at the Alpin Hotel (just walk left 150 yards - if that) after leaving the Rila - staff are very friendly and polite. Additionally the food and drink is of very good quality and very reasonably priced. Also they have a free Ski locker so you don't have to worry about anyone nicking your skis.

Hope you have great time.

Looked out for you but never met up, bumped into B, G and Mr W all also staying in the Iglika. We had a fantastic week, great hotel, friendly and obliging, superior rooms have a bath and shower, bath robes supplied, a nice touch. Ate out a couple of times Golden Horn and Black Cat both reccomended although service at Black Cat slow and disjointed. Also brought money back had 85 levs left from £250 which I changed for euros at the airport, ate drunk and shopped well, spent a day in Sophia, so no complaints.