Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Have been to Val D'Isere, Serre Chevalier, Borovets and Bansko. This will be my fourth time in Bansko. Val D'Isere was the best but Bulgaria ski resorts much better than Serre Chevalier.
Reason I like Bansko: good range of ski runs for my standard; can book into a hotel with swimming pool, gym and spa; ski run back to the town; ice rink; comparable food standards (I'm a veggie); ski tuition 4 hours a day; relatively quick transfer times, and cheap beer !!
I do look across all resorts when making a decision but till now, unless I want to pay a great deal more, I choose bansko.

Seems you will sadly always get a few on here that try and ruin the experiences and expectations of others. Why they want to continually post on a forum about a place they obviously hate beggars belief and it can only be put down to a very horrible nasty streak in them so perhaps they should be shown some pity. I have done Pamps twice and loved it albeit this year I am going to try Austria but rest assured I will go back to pamps. Only gripe I had about the place was the taxi fares as they were extortionate and I would say to anyone going out set the fare before you get in as they are crooks.

As regulars to this site will know, I am a Pamporovo supporter and have been going there for 17 years. The schools I have worked in and currently work in have brought in the region of a thousand kids there over the past 30 years.

I love Bulgaria as so many others do because of the people. I do not go there expecting the level of facilities that I experience elsewhere when skiing. Over the past seven years facilities and the hotels have improved. The hotels in particular provide better accommodation and value than elsewhere in Europe for money.

Bulgaria, however, was always seen as an affordable place to try skiing for the first two or three times and is good for school groups for the same reason and because of the high quality of ski instruction.

Where Bulgaria has gone wrong in recent years is loosing sight of why people go there. The big bosses behind so much of the infrastructure have hiked prices beyond the point where other countries are not competitive. For example Bulgarian airlines have slapped a £10 surcharge on flights from Belfast. Without competition they can do what they like but when everyone starts taking out additional slices of profit the cumulative effect is that people are put off and it is the honest, hard working locals that feel the pinch.

Balkantours has closed its Dublin office. They now only fly from Belfast. Where there were three flights a week several years ago, now there is only one. This is a company that has brought tourists to Bulgaria for over thirty years but is struggling because of the after effects of Bulgaria's financial collapse five years ago.

Personally I'm looking forward to going back in January and again in February and/or March this year to see old friends. Too much is being taken forgranted in Bulgaria though and I worry every year if this season will be my last, mainly because of snow and because of costs in increasingly difficult times.

Anita's post has certainly caused a stir. Bulgarian food is brill especially Satch and Kavarma. The new ski lifts have made a big difference. The local Bulgarians are nicer people than you could meet anywhere. She does have a point however when the resorts are empty by comparison with five years ago and the reasons for that are those I have outlined and not hers!

Flutter makes some very good points about prices rising in resort, although in comparison to many other places in resort costs are still far cheaper in Bulgaria if you go to the right establishments.
For me the fact that Borovets has never been packed to the rafters when I have been there is a big plus.
I have rarely queued for lifts, except maybe the gondola if going up first thing in the morning and even then it's been 20-30 mins tops.
The only time I have ever had an issue with snow was when we went at the end of March and even then we still skied every single day. It's been two years since my last visit, but I can't wait to go back and I know every single person in our group of 9 feels exactly the same.

Roll on 23rd Jan.