Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Having been to all 3 main resorts (although pamps some time ago) my review of Bansko is in the knowledge of the others.

Transfers
We used Steve and Wendy from Earlybird and I would fully recommend them. Wendy was waiting for us when we got there and we got straight into the minibus and was away within 10 minutes. It is clear she knew where she was going as she managed to miss every pot hole on the way and this is no mean feat. We stopped halfway for a comfort break and this was well timed. The dvd player is obviously a big hit with the kids and the beer and snacks went down well with the adults. Wendy had also arranged our lift passess and handed these to us along with a small information pack including maps etc. She also gave us some tips on places to eat and she was spot on. The trip back was equally as well planned although we did not want to go so will leave it there.

Resort

The resort is a lot bigger and more spread out than Boro and did not quite have the same feel about it. It is definately more cosmopolitan with a mixture of nationalitiles including Greeks, Romainians, German, French and English. The hotels and apartments are all new and the facilities are good. We stayed at the Bankso Royal Towers and the apartments were great. You clearly have a choice to either stay near to the ski lift and have to walk into town or stay in town and walk to the lifts. I am not sure which is better. Having said that the walk was only about 10 minutes, it just seemed longer when comparing it to Boro where you were near to both.

Lifts and skiing
The gondala is a pain. It was half term so we expected to wait. You either have to be at the gondala for 0800 or wait until 1030 ish and expect to wait about 20 minutes. Go anytime in between and wait up to 1hr 30. I am sure it is not always the case but speaking to people they said this season it has always had something on each week, be it Greek holidays, Bulgarian Holidays, Skiing comp etc. It is clear that with the amount of hotels they have built they will need another way to get to the top.
Once at the top the lifts link very well and if we waited more than 10 minutes for any of them I would be suprised. The runs are well marked and were kept in fair shape. The runs did get busy when the Todorka area was shut due to high winds but it was not uncommon for us to look around and be the only people about. I have no idea where everyone from the morning lift queues went. The only other thing of note was that some of the blues were quite challenging in places. The slopes are wide so this made up for it but be careful. I am a competent skiier and made sure the group I was with got down safely and under control but did see people start off on what they thought was going to be a nice easy blue only to find it was a little steeper that they imagined.

Kindergarten
Our youngest one went in and was very happy. They only ski for about 1 - 1hr 30. This is plenty for a 5 year old and having seen him cry everyday in France due to the amount they made him ski we were so pleased he was happy. They obvioulsy did teach him as he was skiing the whole of the ski road on his own by the third day. (I was very proud and I am sure he will be a pro!!!)

Conditions
It snowed heavily on the first day and on the second day and this made the conditions great. Low cloud came in on the third and visibility was poor. The temperature also rose and it did rain. There is plenty of snow though and like I said early the piste bashers worked hard overnight to make the best.

Ski road

If you do noting else visit the little bar on the ski road (piste 1 next to big sign for hotel) THis little place is a real gem. Beer was 1.40 lev and food was 1 lev for a hamburger and 2 lev for chips. It is very rustic but we stoppped off here on the way home every day.

Food

The food was great and it would be hard to explain where we went. There was 9 of us (4 adults, 4 teenagers and a 5 year old) We never paid more than 160 Levs for our evening meals and this included at least 2 litres of wine a couple of beers and cokes. We also had salad and garlic bread for starters and a main course. This works out at less than £9 a head. Not bad at all.
On the mountain use the places in the Shingalia (not spelt right) as these are privately owned and do better food and are cheaper. We used Friends bar and 4 of us has kebabs and a beer each and this was 40 Lev. We did use the bar at the bottom of the Todorka area and hade 5 hot chocolates and this was 30 Lev. This may sound expensive but I would rather this than the prices we paid in Chatel.
Overall
This was a fantastic holiday. We have skiied bigger french & Austrian resorts but not enjoyed our holiday half as much due to not being able to afford to eat. The infastructure is not as good but this is some of the charm. We will be booking for next year.