Bulgaria Ski discussion board

We spent Christmas 08 in Borovets but had heard negative reports about the hotels so we rented 'Chalet Borovets' for the week, (£600) which sleeps six and was set back from the road, a little before you get to Hunter's Restaurant. Leaky shower cubicle but otherwise very good. The company that oversee transfers, welcome meeting, ski hire, passes and lessons is Balkan PMS. Everything was stress free, the welcome in Hunter's (where we also left our skis each evening) was great. We spent Christmas day evening there (and a few other evenings too!) and had a great Bulgarian meal. Christo and his family take great pride in their culture, restaurant, customer service and ski hire. All of the equipment was well maintained and everyone so helpful. Bobby Il iev (he was a professional ski jumper) runs the Hunters Ski Club(the office is in The Flora Hotel)and was an excellent instructor. One of our party was a complete beginner, but completed the Masala Path by the end of the week! The chalet was warm and cosy, had a sauna and basic cooking facilities. We ate in for three nights and out the other times. We didn't experience any 'bad' food. It was all ok (good in Hunters) but you have to be careful of some places that overcharge. One place charged us £9 for three portions of chips! Thankfully this is not the norm. We had two course meals with drinks, for five adults, for around £50. The supermarkets are not cheap in Borovets, but in Samokov prices are better.
Chalets offer you more privacy than a hotel and you can relax with your family at the end of a hard day's skiing! I agree that compared to Austria and France the pistes are not exactly 'groomed'. But heh ho, life would be dull if everywhere didn't have its little quirks! We found the Bulgarians friendly and very proud of their culture. They are also very laid back compared to the Austrians and French which we actually quite liked - it helped us chill! We enjoyed our holiday very much. By booking everything ourselves on the internet we saved nearly £2000 compared to a package! Hope this is useful to someone. Great forum.

Water is cheap - you can buy it in huge bottles. It is cheaper to buy chocolate and crisps in the supermarket, but you will find lunches - salads, chips, omelettes, sandwiches etc, pretty cheap to buy in the cafes. Santina, just by the gondola, is very good, as is Hunters, (which is great for an evening meal out, too) The local dishes are delicious. The cafe at the top of the gondola is very expensive. The Alpina is run by an English couple and is very cheap-turn right out of the gondola station.Smoking is allowed in the cafes.Hunters ski school was excellent.(based at The Flora Hotel) Have fun!