Bulgaria Ski discussion board

.Snow cover – in village and on mountain

Improved after snow last Tuesday night.

Runs at the top of the mountain are ok - 2nd week skiers were using Red 11 (in better condition than Blue 3 but that was also open), Reds 2 & 4 were more challenging but OK down to the bottom of the top chair lift. After that you were picking your way through rocks and tree stumps.

The mid week snow opened up Blue 10 which made it easier to get down the mountain without having to use a lift. Only got tricky at the end were it meets the bottom of Red 4, but they were working very hard with the snow cannons to keep this ski-able.

Reds 7 and 8 were well served by the snow cannons all week, but were crowded and did ice up. Red 8 is the one served by the T bar that you see on the web cam.

The bottom half of the black was open all week, again with the help of the cannons.

Artificial snow on the ski road meant that you could ski home at the end of the day. This got crowded and icy at times, but the 2nd week skiers in our party were fine.

.Number of lifts open
I think it was 11 out of the 13 listed on banskoski.com. The 3 man chairs didn't operate all week. The ski map we had in resort showed another red on the far side of the ski road but that was closed, as were the two reds off the mid station on the gondala.

.Queue times and length

Biggest problem of the whole holiday was the queue for the gondola in the morning. At least an hour in a very uncomfortable "queue" if you wanted to make it up the mountain for 10am ski school. If you have the choice wait until after 12 and ski through to 5:30. Queues for the other lifts on the mountain weren't too bad, and after 3pm were pretty much non-existant.

.Hotel quality

Perun was great. Very comfortable, indoor and outdoor pools, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, pool, table tennis, games room, internet access... Kids were easily entertained allowing parents to eat and drink in peace.
Breakfasts very popular - egg & bacon, omlettes, pancakes all cooked to order. Evening buffet was OK and worked well with kids - would have eaten out more if we were on our own.
Frequent minibus service to the gondala.
Only minor issue was the queue to checkout on the last morning (but mid-day checkout was much appreciated)

.Level of customer service

Hotel staff were good
I was also impressed with the Neilson reps

.Recommended bars and restaurants

Happy End near the gondala was fine for the last night party - good live band.
Friendly Pub (on walk between hotel and gondala) had an extensive family friendly menu.
My wife and I escaped for a meal out on our own, and enjoyed a cellar restaurant (also found on the walk towards the gondala).

.Money exchange

Best to take a few Levs and plenty of Sterling. No problems exchanging money in the hotel or at the gondala and rates much better than the UK. e.g. 2.8 while we were there vs. 2.6 at Gatwick.

Just back too!!!!!

I think the queues were so big because of the time of year witgh loads of people on holiday!! The runs were good after the fresh snowfall and the ski road to resort helped the long gondola queue back down.
The people were very pleasant and friendly. i stayed at the Hotel Ida which is just around the corner from Sir Gallahad - You have to try the Hot Mojito!!
Towards the end of the week the queues were eased by a system being put in place - ropes to stop the guys from pushing in where they felt like it!!
A great resort - but when the rest of the hotels go up I fear for the lifts - I know the planned area is going to grow but if this doesn't happen very soon there will be disappointments!!
Overall a great holiday - I would recommend Bansko to anyone wanting a simple Ski trip - If you want 100+km runs then go to France!! If you want a simple and affordable trip with nice skiing and great prices - Go to Bansko!!
Just don't wear your best clothes in town as the dust is incredible!!!