Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi all

we returned from borovets on Sat 19th, our party of 7 stayed in the rila studios, they were clean, warm and there was plenty of hot water. Having read all sorts of horror stories about the food, we were pleasantly surprised to find that actually, it was very good, there was plenty of choice,even for a picky vegitarian and the food was always warm enough. There was plenty of fresh bread and a selection of fruit, all in all we could find nothing to complain about. The rila in general was clean and welcoming, there were security guards but they were unintrusive and gave us no cause for any concern, we didn't see any ladies of the night and although it was obvious that smoking was the done thing, it didn't bother us particularly. The floor around the swimming pool is very slippy, would suggest wearing flip-flops, the pool itself was warm and clean. We were all ski beginners and having survived the crush in the ski hire place, were handed over to Danny - our ski instructor for the week, he was quite simply a saint, he was patient, friendly, tirelessly enthusiastic and went out of his way to ensure that we enjoyed ourselves, none of us could rate him more highly. The snow on the nursery slopes outside the rila can be a little icy and the roads in the resort are very very icy, make sure you have boots with a good tread, the snow at the top of the gondola is fab, it is an experience not to be missed and if you want to be warm at the top go to the White House, good food and beer! All the bulgarians were friendly and even though they encourage you to visit their restaurants, they are friendly with it, we ate in several of the places around the rila, they were all good and were value for money. We went ski-dooing, again we all enjoyed it and the experience of zipping through the forest was unforgettable, we would recommend the end of holiday Sofia tour, it was a real eye-opener, the shopping was average but the experience was brill. We would definately go back and would definately stay at the Rila, go with an open mind and don't take things to seriously and you will have the best ever time, oh yes, one of our party broke her wrist on the 4th day, she was very well cared for and the doctor was fab, don't expect NHS facilities, but what they don't have in up to date equipment, they make up for in care and attention. Can't wait to go back.