Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi I am looking at holidays to Borovets in Bulgaria for a week's skiing next year at begining of January. My son is coming with us who is only 3 1/2 and we would like to know about child groups etc., out there. We went to Arinsal in Andorra this year for the first but without little one in toe and we loved it - first time ever skiing it was but had been to Tamworth Snow Dome a few times. Got into it really quickly and can't wait to go again next year.

Can anyone let me know details about cheap hotels, child groups and holidays and also information about skiing in Bulgaria.

Inghams do cheap trips, I'm sure there must be others offering the same.

I booked fairly last minute and managed to get a deal for £199 (Borovets), with half board. I expect it's probably near double that if you book well in advance.

In short I would say that the skiing is pretty good for beginners, okish for intermediates, but probably not enough for advanced skiiers.

I can only speak for Borovets, but I would say that the pistes could be better prepared - I've seen no evidence that they are bashed at night.

The food is known to be 'variable', you may not always get the finest meals in hotel. However, there are a number of good places to eat cheaply in resort.

Having said all the above, this is one of the most enjoyable ski holidays I have had!

If you have been to Andorra you will find less piste variety in Bulgaria, but if you are fairly new to skiing this may not pose a great problem.

pat

Having just returned from Borovets with a 4 year old I really would urge you to think twice before taking your 3 1/2 year old.

My daughter was in the Rila Kindergarten - and cried and begged not to go there for the whole week. She is usually a happy child who can be left with anyone and goes happily to pre school. The kindergarten is sparse and staffed by Bulgarian women who do little to amuse or control the children in their care, I witnessed a child left alone and crying on the slopes for over 10 mins and noone went to comfort her. There are only a few old broken toys to amuse the children there. There were also other incidents while we were there, as the children are mostly lefy to their own devices. Having paid for skiing lessons my husband and I had to take turns to collect her early to lessen the distress, while feeling guilty that we had put her in there at all.

My daughter was not alone - at various times during the day I saw distressed children , and parents we spoke to reported the same experience with their children.

My husband and I would love to go skiing again but would not take our daughter until she is old enough to come to ski school with us, as we would not want to put her in that situation again.

You might want to do some further research as we did hear that the kindergarten at the Hotel Ella was much better? Hope this info helps

The kindergarten in the Ela is for 'Inghams' only, and our little bundle of joy has been to both the rila and samkov kindergartens. and im sorry to say im in total agreement with you. Thats why we are setting up a kindergarten with uk nannies next year with the chalet that we are converting, near to the gondola.

Patq, im really surprised , one of the best things we did each morning was to go to the new four man at the yastrebets end and ski the freshly bashed slopes before people worked their way down from the gondola, and believe me there is loads of 'bashing' done at night, so cant see where you get the 'no prep' idea from, maybe youre not up with the worm????

So, I'm Nasko and I'm from Bulgaria!About your request for information about skiing in Bulgaria I can help you!I was a ski-school teacher this year at Pamporovo(this is a place near by Plovdiv)and I think that it is a great place for tourists and the best from all other places!!!About the prices ot the hotels....it is not very cheap but it isn't very expensive too.I would recommend you Snejanka hotel,hotel "BOR" and grand hotel"pamporovo"
This is the most interest places at this resort for the moment.the price for one room per night is about 70 Euro!!!
If you want some more information you can write me to my e-mail or to see this site-www.rozhen.com
Bye for now and have a nice day!!!!)))

Alicia

In answer to your question we went to Borovets for 2 years on the trot 2003 & 2004. In 2003 our children were 7 & 5. The main reason I chose Borovets was that Inghams run their own kindergarten. It is the only resort where they offer this service.

It was excellent and we could not rate it highly enough. It is based at the Ela hotel and is run exclusively for Inghams guests by British nannies. The children are well supervised by the nannies and the ski instructors from the Albena Ski School. The kindergarten runs from about 9.00am to 4.40pm.

In the mornings they play a while indoors with a plentiful supply of toys, games and videos. They they go out for 2 hours which includes an hour and a half lesson on the nursery slopes. They return to the hotel for a lunch (mine are fussy and we didn't get any complaints - always the way when you aren't with them!!) After lunch they have a rest and then returned to the slopes for another lesson or to go bumboarding etc.

We went during half term so the kindergarten was full - 15 children. There were 2 nannies and a minimum of 2 instructors and usually 3 on the slopes. No children were forced to do anything they didn't want but all were encouraged to have a go at skiing in the morning. In the afternoon the younger children in particular had the choice of staying in the hotel to play - most went out.

We saw our children out and about on several occasions and they were having a great time making new friends. They looked great skiing with their faces painted. They also learnt to ski enough to be better than me - not difficult! and well enough to join ski school the following season.

For under £100 a week each child the Inghams kindergarten offers excellent value for money and the opportunity for you to have a great time during the day without worrying about your loved ones.

I hope this helps.

Ellie