Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi to all fellow wesiteaddictees...following is my 2006 Bulgarian epistle.....

Arrived in Sofia from Manchester on 25th - very painless journey (flew with Monarch - very good service but a bit restrictive with the leg room ..more later on that front). Inghams rep sorted us in Sofia and we were on the coach and off to Bansko within 25 minutes of landing. Everyone was getting a little concerned as we got higher up the mountain and still seeing no evidence of snow! - however we all conveniently forgot that Bansko is well 'down the hill' compared to the actual pistes that are up to 1500m higher!
Stayed at the Hotel Orphey - quite a new hotel , modern construction with huge rooms (unless ours was a fluke?) - location is around the corner from the town centre but a good 25min walk from the gondola - so the ski bus was essential. Food was as was expected - enough said - but no complaints - at least they asked us what we thought and promised to continue trying to improve - how many UK hotels would do that?
SNOW!!! - yes it snowed like hell on our first day up - it was a wonderful sight and the skiing was superb. Little bit taken aback by the piste map - I would judge the top 2 blues as most definitely red so be warned! Snowed again in huge continous dumps on a couple of days and this was where the problems started - on Tues there was an avalanche higher up and due to the amount of new snow and the high winds we lost Wed and Fri - lifts all closed. Lots of mega-disappointed skiiers - as much as we filled in with eating, drinking and shopping it still didn't make up for missing a couple of days (and I fully support the safety reasons). There is a serious amount of development going on over there - only time(and the EU) will measure the overall impact on the resort but we talked to lots of people who were very seriously thinking about buying in Bansko.
Went on a day trip to Sofia on Sat - well worth the day out if you get the chance - it definitley smacks of a weary city that is now trying to shake off the past and jump into the 21st century - these people have really been through some grief in their recent history.
Return trip on Monarch? Made sure I flew back with 'business-class' leg room by requesting the middle seats near the emergency exits - what a difference!!
Overall verdict - preferred Bansko to Pamps (went there last year) - will most likely go back next year - and am also giving serious consideration to buying a property out there- I have faith in the future!

VIVA BULGARIA!!!!

i think we posted these about the same time!! Great report too, It's nice to hear that you had such a great time. I know what you mean about those blues at the top, I think, 3 and 11 (spotter I know). I also found them quite scary too and my other half who is better than me at the time told me they were easy but later admitted they were defintiely like reds!!!! We also have in our minds about buying too, we went out to the pirin golf and country club site to have a look which is in a beautiful spot about 10 mins form Bansko. It seems to offer a lot of activities for the Summer too so we will bare that in mind.

Didn't realise that there was an avalanche high up there, we heard it was just high winds. Like you, I beleive safety is imperative although a little frustrating. We went horse riding for a couple of hours on the second closure day, which was really good, if you get the chance next time. Our hotelier arrange it for us which was great.

We went though the centre of Sofia on our way to the airport after dropping off some other people at a hotel in the city. I really can agree with what you have written and although we only passed through and didn't stop, I think next time we will do what you did. we booked our holiday do it yourself and can recomend a great little hotel to you for next year if you so wish....

I'm gutted now, driving back last night, it was nice not to have pot holes but I would loved to have been back in Bansko.