Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Unaccustomed as I am to writing to Forums, you all seem very nice so I thought I'd give it a try.

We are planning on going to Bansko at the end of January (will it be snowing then?), and although we have both skied before (me when I was 14 in Romania & him for 2 lessons on a dry ski slope when he was 12) we will be opting for the complete beginners full learn to ski package.

Firstly - have we chosen the right resort. I was definitely going down blue runs by the end of my week, & I don't want to be left rotting on a nursery slope if I can remember how to ski really quickly - so are the instructors quite flexible?

Secondly - We're thinking of going to the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, as we like to have a nice hotel, but previous comments suggest that the Lion is also really nice - is it worth paying more for 5 star?

& lastly - What's the food like in the hotels. I'd like to sample the local restaurants as it has been said that they are really nice, so should we go B&B & then sample the town in the evening?

Please entertain me with your replies

You are really all no longer beginners, you will probably be ok to leave it at beginner but to go to intermediate classes, they will not notice! its hard when one is better than the rest at sking it does slow the good ones down and the slow ones feel more nervous if they are with a group who are a tad better than they are - best thing is to go in a group for the first few days if after this someone in the group is finding it too easy/hard they can always move into a different group more at their level, in order to make sure everyone has a good holiday they need to be in a class that suits them....

hello Fenella_the_witch,
bansko is a good place to start as the green slopes are nice and easy and not crowded so you dont have to worry about people rushing past you all the time.
i learnt in bansko and the instructor as very flexible, we learnt at a snowdome before going so they just put use on the nursery slope for the 1st lesson to see how we went then after the lesson was over the instructor took us on the mountain for an extra 1-2hr, just to show us about at no extra charge (he wouldn't even accept lunch from us even though it cost about £3).
the hotel is very nice, the best in bansko although it's about a 15min walk to the old time (better/cheaper bars & restaurants) but the restaurants /bars around the hotel are nice just lack a bit of character.

we only tried the food in the hotel once, it was ok but we went out to eat and the local food was so nice and you get talking to different people. i found it hard to spend £100 a week and that was having a 3 course meal with a couple of drinks.

just a small note, make sure that you keep an eye on your belongings as i had a pair of sunglasses and camera stolen. they tend to pick on foreigners as they are only about for a couple of day, don’t speak Bulgarian etc, etc.

sorry for the sour point but we did have a great time and we've been 3 times.

hello Fenella

the best hotel in Bansko is the Kempinski its right at the bottom of the slopes and you can ski to the door, very impresive inside BUT also expensive, little bit of a walk to the town centre. hotel Bulgeria is close to the centre, there is also another hotel opposite the Lion pub but cant remeber the name Iam sure someone will, the Perun is a realy nice hotel but again a little out of the cente. If you want to be close to the centre of Bansko stay away from the Katarino as we were told by people staying there it is about a 20min drive into bansko everyday, although is said to be a realy nice hotel.

We did self catering there are plenty of realy nice appartments around, BA do some good priced flights to Sofia, you can book taxi transfere on this site for about £100 return for up to three people and the food in the resturants is fantastic and realy cheap.

lift passes in the resort are £100 each adult was slightly cheaper for children but cant remember how much, there are a lot of places doing ski hire we paid 110 euros for two of us at intersport, lessons are cheap in the resort too, I think a full day private was around £30. although all this can be booked a package through the travel agent.

Hope this helps if you need any more help just shout