 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi. Am off on a cheap trip to Borovets on Mar 13th. Anyone got any good input? We have heard about the terrible food...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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No personal experience but someone I know came back from there last week. She and her family had a great time. So much that they have booked to return next year. Apparently the food is good if you eat out. Also the standard of instruction is high and lessons are very cheap. The instructors treat you very well as apparently they are keen to get tips to supplement their poor wages. The queues for the gondola were a big problem but aparently you can bypass it by taking a T bar to the middle station?? or skiing the runs served by the Tbar until the gondola queue quietens down a bit. The skiing is very limited but they were a mixed group beginners/intermediates/kids and were happy with it.
Have fun!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I went years ago to Pamporovo with school, my memory would be that Sarah had it about right. We did go to some local restaurant and I think it cost nothiing and was really good, whereas the hotel food was awful . Tipping the instructors is probably a good thing as well like Sarah says, maybe a few dollars or Euros would go down better than the local currency.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Some thoughts on Bulgaria skiing.
I haven’t been there since 2000, but always had a good time. I would say for learning it’s probably still a good option because the instruction is very good and the drinks prices ludicrously low. First the good news!
Most of the big hotels in Borovets are grouped at the bottom of the nursery slopes. The ski schools meet here. If you are more experienced than your friend you will probably still be able to stay together. They have a very reasonable “It’s your holiday” attitude and tolerate mixed ability family/friendship groups. Ski school is recommended as sign posting is practically non-existent. There is a jumble of shops, stalls, bars and things spreading down to the main (and only) gondola. Access to the nearest sector is by, to the left looking up, a single chair which is pretty queue prone at busy times. There is a twin chair to the right. These take you up to a decent nursery slope area and also give you access to a couple of shortish runs down, which are bluish. Snow tends to get scraped off the steep bits down to icy rock, which can get tricky.
The better skiing is on Yastrabets which is reached by the solitary gondola. The queues here are often an hour plus, as all the ski schools set off at the same time. Take a book to read! When you get to the top there is some very decent skiing to be had if there is snow, and there seems to be at present. The top is occupied by 3 Poma served runs, the first of which is graded red but really blue. A good confidence builder. The other two are more challenging and genuine reds.
Runs down from the mountain are graded red but are reasonably gentle. A beginner would expect to ski down by the end of the week. You end up with a bit of a walk at the bottom, but there are pony traps which will taxi you back for a couple of quid. There is also some delightful tree-lined off-piste and tracks. Most pleasant. Snow grooming was not reliable.
I thought the food was OK but then I’ve eaten in Russia. There is always plenty and they give you the best they’ve got. The locals will tell you there is a crime wave and I have heard reports of petty theft. Take small denomination UK and Euro notes. There are no bank facilities aprt from the hotels. Buy the fake CDs. They are good.
Hire equipment is rubbish. Old rear-entry boots and long skis prevailed there in 2000. I hope there has been some improvement since. My skis delaminated in use!
The people are friendly and love a good time. Your instructor may well buy you a jug of wine and dance on the table in ski-boots. They may not have much money but are proud and well-educated. They also smoke like chimneys, incessantly.
Our favourite bar was the Titanic which in 2000 was showing the eponymous film non-stop. I’ve seen it in sections dozens of times in Bulgarian. Eight of us drank all night in there for £11! Local vodka and brandy was around £1 a bottle, and easily worth that….
Pizza and stuff is readily available if you can’t stand the hotel food.
All in all I think you’ll have a great time. It’s great for learning, but an experienced skier would do the whole resort in a day. Cheap and cheerful? Yes, but at least it is cheerful.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks all, appreciate the input. I ski fine, but the emphaise is on giving my sister-in-law (a ski virgin) a good time, on a budget. I think we will be fine, and am excited now. It just needs to snow.  9 more sleeps...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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for everyone interested in Bulgaria again i should say the difference between the resorts.
Borovetz is a typical resort place with hotels qnd expensive for the local standart restaurants and bars. for skiing is OK but not that good comparing to Bansko.
Bansko is a small and lovely museum town where you can find out everything at the local standart and local prices. for skiing Bansko offer new lifts and Gondolla built last year and much better oportunities for freeride. and most important of all less people and rare lines for the lifts. in the week no lines at all just go and ride, ride,ride.
check Bansko at: www.banskotravel.com.
cheers
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We skied in borovetz a while back the food in th hotel was appalling and we where all in the forces at the time so for us to complain it must've been bad but we ate out went to a chinese one night and had a banquet between 8 of us and a load to drink as you can imagine and the bill came to £36 the food was fantastic and the people where really nice ok the skiing was really what we where used to but we had fun all probably a 8 or 9 on S&R guide appart from one total beginer i'd recomend it to any beginer little tip be careful changing money on the black market ask people before you do it and take dollars with you much better rate for some reason. I know no punctuation but not much time
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bootneck, there's a full stop in there. But I was gasping for air long before I reached it. 
Lynn Truss (author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves) reckons you can't go far wrong with dashes - in emails - or forums - if you can't be bothered with the real marks.
Your post content is always worth the minor trouble of sorting out the meaning - where it isn't clear. Keep 'em coming.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Cheers Ian, It's because i'm generally on the phone or doing something else at the same time as posting so i just keep typing plus my 2 finger technique takes ages to type anything.
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If you can make booking with out including hotel food is much better. You can find over 280 tavernas and restaurants in Bansko with excellent food. A dinner will cost you about 6 quid incl. wine. the food is rich. For example SACHE includes huge pieces of various meets like grilled chicken, beef or pork including various salads enough for 3 persons served on a wooden board. That think cost something like 10quid.
It is worth to book B#B but not dinners.
www.banskotravel.com
vlado
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