Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Just back from Pamp this afternoon (3rd year running). We stayed in the new Hotel Orlovetz having stayed in the Hotel Pamporovo twice before. Orlovetz is advertised as a 5 star and from the rooms and hotel inside and out it is, but the food and staff attitude were terrible. The food was constantly cold, not even warm like the bulgurians like it and the same stuff was rolled out day after day and you could tell it was from the day(s) before. Breakfast was cold they did offer to heat our scrambled eggs up in the microwave!! We complained to the waiting staff and the receptionist but nothing changed, they shrugged their shoulders and pretended not to speak english. The staff generally were rude, surly and lazy. Most of the time they sat around watching tv or reading the paper or getting shouted at by a mafia looking type who wandered around the hotel.

Pamps generally: its our 3rd year running and we wont be going back for a few reasons:
- its getting over developed
- too many hotels
- not as cheap as it used to be, which is fair enough if the money was put into better facilities but its not
- farce at the ski depot on the first day, standing around for nearly 2hours to get skis etc
- staff in most places are ruude and try and do you over on money at every turn, my friend bought drinks which came to 17L he gave the waitress 20L we get 2L back, not a lot of money but its the principle, if they do that to everyone their quids in!!!!!
- Plovdiv airport is rubbish and they need so sort it, one gents toilet in the whole place
- restaurants on the slopes are getting overpriced and the facilities are crap
- bus service to the slopes is getting worse

I really liked it the first 2 years and would recommend the ski school and the slopes but nothing else.

If the bulgurian people dont sort the place out the bubble will burst big time.

A word of warning to anyone going at half-term, 2000 people are booked into the Pamporovo ski school, add on everyone else and it will get messy.

Very dissapointed.

2000 people in ski school good god when i was there at christmas was very busy but no where that amount of people, the place is not big enough and if the classes get any bigger you will never learn to ski, if you don't pre book your holiday there are plenty of deals to other bigger resorts. but sorry i disagree with you on the cost, it may be more expensive than it use to be and as for the slope resturants being a rip off have you tried france and itay for costs on the slopes and in the resort? i was paying around £5 for lunch including a drink that is by no means expensive you can pay more than that for a beer in france, they do need to watch not getting to big, if they don't increase the size of the slopes, but it is still one of the cheapest ski areas thats why its so popular.

accept what you say about £5 for lunch and yes you are right france etc is a lot more. We paid 86L for lunch on the first day, couple of pizzas, salad and some drinks. We went to the italian in the Perelik for dinner had 2 courses, wine, beer, soft drinks and it came to 90L. My mate bought 2 hot choc and brandy from one place at the bottom lift it cost 8L, next time we stopped we tried another place at the bottom it came to 14L, it lacks consistency and I just felt a bit coned sometimes.

was in pamps 3 weeks ago and to be honest Dan, i don't see anything wrong with the place!!i had the holiday of a lifetime out there and the money was no problem at all!!the waiters and receptionists and just all bulgarians were the nicest people in the world!!i had a brilliant ski instructor too who had us on the green slope on the second day!!i even took a liking to the bellmen!!only one name i can remember though and he was Diesel who stood outside the depot wearing a black hat saying Diesel!!i absolutely fell in love with pamporovo and im planning on returning for christmas!!