Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Just thought I would post and ask a couple of questions so here goes;

What is the Rila hotel like in terms of food, price, facilities and most importantly location?

Also who/where si the best place to buy our skiing equipment/f lift passes off for 1 DAY. As we haven't booked any package holiday we are going to ski on a day to day bases (I know it works out a little more expensive but if there is no snow we havent wasted our money).

Finally as we are all first time skiiers, can anybody recommend which slopes to go on first and where they are located in relation tot he Rila hotel.

I know this is a massive post but any info would be great. Looks liekt he snow is now picking up and its only 9 more sleeps till we are out there.... CANT WAIT!!!

Hi Dave, just got back from the Rila.
Fantastic location right in front of the nursery slopes and 4 man chair lift. 10 mins easy walk to gondola.
Food was fine, much better than expected. Breakfast had plenty of choice from cold meats, cereals, loads of fresh fruit, full cooked breakfast and freshly cooked pancakes to order. Dinner again had loads of choice from soups, salads, freshly cooked pizzas and meat dishes (try these as they're much better than they look). We ate in 4 out of the 7 nights so it can't have been that bad.
Pool was good. A little chilly but fine and never too busy. There are also 2 hot tubs which are nice after a tough day on the slopes.
I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Donna,

Thats great news, after rading a couple if reviews online regarding food I was getting worried that Half board would have been a bit 'hit and miss' so to speak.

As for the slopes that also music to my ears.... nice and close and after a hard days skiing we can relax in the hot hubs.

My mum and dad are coming out with us and they are looking to break their skiing up, i.e have one days skiing, then maybe go into sofia, then skiing again then maybe ski dooing. if you get what I mean.

How busy was it out there Donna? can you reccomed the best place to get equipment/passes, I hear Rila have some equipment that we can rent. Also which times are the busiest on the slopes? apparently late morning /early afternoon is packed? Im sure there is plenty of snow for everybody

6 days to goooooooo! lets hope the snow keeps falling

The Rila has it's own ski depots so the hotel should be able to sort everything out for you. We went through a package deal so ours was all sorted before we got there.

If you're arriving on a Saturday then you will find the nursery slopes very busy for the first couple of days. No avoiding it I'm afraid. I would definitely recommend booking lessons because you'll find it very difficult as a first timer without them. Taking lessons will get you off the busy nursery slopes much quicker. Once you're up the top of the gondola there is much more space so not so busy.

By the way, not sure if your parents have been to Sofia before or not but it's not really a tourist destination. It's not a pretty city like other capitals and there wasn't an awful lot to see or do there othere than 1 or 2 churches (which are impressive I'll admit) and a few shops.

Have fun!