Bulgaria Ski discussion board

The reasons I choose Bansko over France:
- affordable hotels with swimming pools, spas etc.
- better hotel rooms
- can ski back to the town
- four hours of tuition per day instead of two
- good range of slopes for an intermediate
- cheaper cost of the holiday, and food and drink when you get there
- better exchange rate
I have been to Val d'Isere and Serre Chevalier. The skiing was much better in Val d'Isere as was the food, but the accomodation was far inferior. I can't think of any reasons why I would choose Serre Chevalier over Bansko.

Only been to France once (Val Thorens) but been to Bansko a few times. Why? Money.
Price of purchasing the holiday is one thing - you're going to save a couple of hundred quid, maybe. But that's not the main cost difference.
When I go - i normally don't want to cook, and I hate eating in the same place every night. So I go self catering and like to eat out. In Bansko I can get a decent 2 course meal for a tenner, with half a bottle of wine (if you go away from tourist traps). Last time I went to Razlog a couple of times (we always hire a car - but you'd probably save the price of a taxi!) and in the bars a 500ml beer (Zagorka) was 1.20lv (55p ish) and a really good 3 course meal, ordering expensive dishes, was about 20lv each, with a bottle of wine + raki (several) each.
Now last time I went to France (it was a while ago) it was about 6E for a pint. A good 2 course meal was about 25E and a vodka and coke about 8E.
For me, the cost of food on the mountain, a meal out and a few(!) drinks in a nightclub in France and there's not much change from £80. In Bulgaria the same thing is more like £35. And if you're doing it most days then it soon adds up. Exchange rate is irrelevant - the Lev is tied to Euro (1.95) so when the Lev is bad value (to £) then so is the Euro. That's why i go to Bansko. The skiing really can't compare - the Three Valleys was awesome. But I'm happy to keep that for a special occasion, and enjoy bulgaria knowing that my return flights cost less than a night out in France!

In reply to the question `what is piste maintenance ?' i shall try to enlighten....
When snow has been groomed, that is the action of a piste groomer that has compacted the snow, broken down and then smoothed, it can be referred to as a piste. This action will also flatten formed bumps (moguls) which will form through skiers turning in the same area. The best groomed areas will be totally smooth so as not to offer any obstruction. Maintenance can extend to bringing in fresh snow or shifting from heavier covered areas to maintain coverage of rocks, tree stumps etc on heavily used piste...
I have to accept that this type of preperation is superb in most French premier resorts, the need from the average French skier (still the largest visiting group) to skid down a piste in a technique referred to years ago as `ski evolitife' on shorter skis basically just throwing their weight to turn, skidding on two skis, where any ridge or bump could upset them, is a requirement...
The prep here in Bansko is quite good, not perfect as explained, but at least when you have a red full of moguls, it is a challenge, and something you can look back on as a achievement....