Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on both the ski resorts and the beach resorts?
A few years ago it seemed to be the place to go for both summer and winter holidays however more and more people i speak to would not go back.Why is this?
I have been to the 3 main ski resorts and golden sands,sunny beach and albena.
I personally thought they were good however could see points that would piss people off.The beggars ,people trying to rip you off with fruit etc however i could see the plus points also and have enjoyed every holiday i have had !I am worried that the reputation of Bulgaria is going downhill and the fact its cheap is not enough anymore.People only seem to remember the bad points and there seems to be too many now that its putting people off.short season in the winter and people getting poor snow,short season in the summer and people getting poor weather dosnt help!Or is it the Tour operators fault for selling holidays to early/late in the season for both summer and winter?

I think regarding the winter resorts, and lack of snow- people may start to pay a little extra and come later in the season, as comparerd with other resorts it is still much cheaper (to book and to pay in resort)- regarding the Summer resorts, prices do appear to have gone up this year, though with VAT going up, and generally most folk having less cash, it may still appear a cheaper option.
Tour opperators perhaps should make the customers aware of the winter seasonal change- then again, it may lead to less bookings early season and there could be an excellent early season dump of snow!
Take the chance and see what the snows like or pay more for a mor snow sure resort elsewhere (that saying- it could still be a poor year elsewhere as last year around Europe!)

Not sure what research you've done Alan but Bulgaria experienced a 7,8% increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country in January and February of 2010.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism published data showing that visits were up in the first two months compared with the same period in 2009.

More than 437 000 foreign tourists visited the ski resorts, plus people on private visits and taking internal vacations numbered 273 000, an increase of almost 30% over 2009.

As for the summer destinations, I think there is a marked change on people visiting them from when we first went in 1996. Gone are the sleepy, almost seedy resorts we used to love and in place we have vibrant 18-30 style resorts now that no longer seem to attract the 'old boys' like myself. When they started to charge people £7 a day just to sit on the beach and kick people off of it who refused to pay then I'm afraid it lost a lot of it's charm for me.

Sunny Beach in particular may well kill the golden goose, but on the other hand it may well flourish with the youngsters now looking to take it over as they did with Benidorm and Ibiza at the expense of the p[eople who prefer a quieter life.

Pete

Hello Alan,
We have had 4 fantastic ski holidays in Borovets and are flying out on Saturday for our 5th
There are always points with any holiday which people can pick fault at, we always travel with positive thoughts in mind and are prepared to roll withh the issues!
We like bulgaria for its charm, good and not so good points!
My message is to carry on enjoying Bulgaria and all the doom and gloom merchants should look on the bright side of life!

Pete
PS, as for poor conditions, Jan 09 saw that much snow that they couldnt land planes in Sofia!