Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Just got back from Borovets. We flew out on 27/12/03. Stayed at the hotel Moura which was ok but basic. Food at the hotel was not that nice and was served lukewarm if you were lucky. The staff were friendly especially in the bar. The hot chocolate at the bar is in my opinion the best in borovets. While we're on the subject of food you must visit the Happy Duck (next to the hotel Moura) for a great evening with live music and great atmosphere. Staff were friendly and spoke very good english. One of the downsides to the resort is being constantly mithered into going in peoples pubs/restaurants. This can become a pain. If you say you will be in tomorow or later they will kind of leave you alone.
The skiing is extremely limited at the moment because new snow is needed on the lower slopes and half of the lifts aren't open. Because of this the queues on the other lifts were masive and you could be queing for 15-20 minutes on a nursey slope. As borovets is mainly visited by beginners this is a problem as you don't get enough practice in. The queue for the gondola is worse between 9.30 and 11.00 but is worth the wait because the slopes are in better condition. Snowboarders beware that you can't use the drag lifts on this side as they move too fast.
The ski schools are overcrowded and not very well organised. If you are going to ski school book in the U.K as the reps try to rip you off. If you're not a total beginner it might be a good idea to get some private tuition on the slopes.

We bought a snowboard,bindings,boots,and bag cheaper than we would have done in most European resorts. The equipment is cheap to buy and the airport didn't charge for carriage.

My overall view is that i wouldn't go back to Borovets but if you are a beginner and a family looking for a cheap skiing holiday you should give it a go.

Do you have some evidence that the Mafia run the resort or is it just something a drunk told you in a bar? I'm sure the Bulgarian authorities would appreciate such evidence if you have it, I'm especially impressed that you managed to fit in some skiing what with all this investigatiive journalism.

As far the IMF running the country, well true, but only as true as it runs the UK. They want ot get into Europe which meant stabilising the currency and selling of the state run industry to private enterprise (much of it foreign funded) as well as other market reforms.