Bulgaria Ski discussion board

My overall impression for Pamporovo this season would be this.

With the withdrawal of Plovdiv airport for Pamporovo travellers this season, the resort has suffered very badly. Add to that the poor snow conditions for December and January then the resort is in big danger of another catastrophic season next year unless the tour companies reconsider their current decision on not using Plovdiv. There appears to be many political, financial, and self-interest reasons why Plovdiv is not being used at present and to believe that this is not the case is head in the sand stuff.

The resort itself has improved dramatically with the new slopes down to Stoikite and the introduction of many new snow cannons but the footfall this year was the lowest I have ever seen it in high season and many business ventures have really struggled to make end meet.

Next year will be pivital to the future of Pamporovo and in my opinion this is what needs to happen.

(1) Re-introduce the use of Plovdiv airport.( without this everything else is not worth considering as no amount of resort improvements will encourage the masses to make the 4 hour Sofia transfer.)

(2) Stop selling holidays when there is little or no snow. (It's been years now since decent snow conditions were to be had before January in Pamporovo and my advice to all is not to travel to Pamporovo before late January.)

(3) Mountain management need to take a reality check and actually manage the mountains better. The week we were there in February saw fabulous snow, yet the best slope on the mountain for learners (the back blue) was only ever pisted once and most of the week it was unskiable due to deep snow.

(4) The all-powerful ski school need to stop insisting where people go for their lunch. The Golden Eagle which is owned by the Ski School seems to be the place everyone in ski school is MADE to go to, and their prices are rediculous compared to other restaurants on the mountain. The skiers should decide where they eat - not the instructor.

I will always go to Pamporovo for as long as I can put on a pair of skis, mainly because of all the great times I have had there in the past and all the wonderful friends I meet every time I go; but if this year had been my first ever visit to Pamporovo I would very much doubt I would be considering it again for next year - and that's very sad.