 Poster: A snowHead
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goin on the 22nd of jan if anybody wants to give us a shout stayin at the grand 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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[ putnik generally got the worst complaints
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DNC:
Hi, as you have probably read, my girlfriend and i are heading to Kop on the 22nd and are stayin in the putnik, can i ask what people complained about??
as long as the hotel is clean and the food is good i'll be happy. not really expecting much, but your last comment has made me feel a bit uneasy 
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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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well the people i spoke to complained that the tour company didnt prepare them for the quality of the hotel (its really not a 2 or 3 star hotel). their specific complaints were:
1) distance to the piste (mostly because the first few days the nearby run was closed, so there was no lift operating nearby. leading to complaint number 2
2) "shuttle bus" was running at stupid times and wasnt exactly a shuttle. they complained to the rep, who sorted something out (i think).
3) food wasnt labelled. they enjoyed the food, but were a bit uneasy about some of it, because its serbian cuisine and designed for serbs who know what goes into different dishes and what to expect from them. serbian food is fairly different to british tastes, it can take a while to adjust. the lack of labelling meant that they werent as adventerous as they might have been given some information about what was in each dish.
i think thats it. seriously, its no big deal - its a lovely resort, the snow has been fantastic recently and you are only 10 minutes away from a ton of decent restaurants and shops in the core of the resort.
they mentioned that one night they went for a meal in the grand and the food was amazing. eating out on kop really isnt that expensive, especially considering the pound/dinar exchange rate right now.
i hope this has alleviated your worries. relax, you'll have a wonderful time, maybe the tour operators have taken the complains onboard already. dont be afraid to complain or ask, people in serbia are really happy that the ski tourism has started again, everyone on kop was really eager to help out and chat with the brits. kopaonik was really popular during the 80's, and they are hoping that they can make it back into everyones address books.
despite what ive said, its in a good location - especially if you want somewhere a bit quiter (where i stayed, konaci, it was above all the bars and clubs and that meant it didnt lead to the most relaxing nights sleep). as long as the nearby lift is operating you can ski from your hotel and never have to walk anywhere on the mountain.
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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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haha, sorry i didnt want to put anyone off. it was very interesting talking to everyone who visited, ive been going for the last 5 years now and see it all from a very serbian point of view (travel with serbs, stay with serbs, book with serbian travel agents etc..) its interesting to hear what people coming from the UK see of it.
seriously, i didnt meet a single person who had a bad time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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i would just like to thank all the people who have added info to this site it seems to be the best i have found on the net so far give yourselves a pat on the back.
if you are going have a good time (if you are going to be there 29jan-5feb hope to see you there post an message here and mabe sort somin out)
if you have been hope you had a good time and let us know your tips
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ok another stupid question are there any good shops for ski/snowboard service or should i get them done before i go
i sure there is but im just cheaking
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i always use the ski service which is to the left of the "Grand Ski Servis". they are good guys, speak some english and ive dealt with them loads. i think the hotel thats above it is called hotel beobanka but im not 100% sure about that. if you are on the skislope side of the grand hotel its just to the left of the grand ski servis - which is the easiest ski service place to see - it sticks out a bit from the rest of the buildings in that row.
you'll get a good deal having a service done on kop itself, it'll be cheaper than getting it done in the UK for sure. hope this helps.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Sat 14-01-06 22:09; edited 1 time in total
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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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AberdeenCouple, Take plenty of suncream, it is not much further north than Corfu. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just want to say thanks for the info and the heads up on hotel putnik as im heading there on the 29. I belive im ready for the it.
Just one or two little question. how far away from the center is it? dnc said it was 10 minute itake it, it is by bus, or is it by walking?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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its about a 10 minute walk (or at least thats how long i think it took me when i last did it - about 4 years ago). its a walk down the main road, so you basically cant get snowed in or anything. the bus should take a long less time, although the road can be busy - and there can be traffic jams with coaches trying to get into the konaci car park - but theres traffic police posted there to try and smooth things along.
as long as the weather is nice then there is a lift practically opposite the hotel (from what i remember) leading directly onto the mountain, so to go skiing you arent reliant on walking for ages and ages, or getting a bus to the slopes.
hope this helps...
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi all
just loged on after trying to fined out snow falls and weather reports with little sucsess.
Now i feel mor confident about going to kopa.
this is our first ski trip as as a family staying in konaci.
good to hear about the short distance to the lift
any more info about the acomidation and the ski schools as the children and my wife have not been skiing
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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welcome to  s nick bryan
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Poster: A snowHead
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nick bryan, well the snow is great on kop right now. keep up to date with it here: http://www.tckopaonik.com/ski_info.html
konaci is a nice place to stay, i would recommend at check in you ask them for a quiet room. some of the rooms can be above bars/clubs and they stay open till 2am. a few times staying there ive not had much luck getting early nights sleep.
the other thing to note about konaci is that the tap water isnt for drinking, this year our cleaning lady told us it was fine, but the signs were still up saying that it wasnt. they bring bottles of water, but its terrible quality, make sure you buy your own from the supermarkets - i recommend "aqua viva" as a good brand of water.
at the end of your stay you need to get the cleaning lady to sign off that everything is fine in the room. she'll need to check dishes/cups/towels etc... and sometimes it can take a while to corner her and get her to check everything. be prepared for this and try and get her fairly early in the morning (checkout time is typically 10am). oh and theres really no chance the cleaning lady will speak english, it shouldnt be a problem though, they are friendly enough and know what needs to be done.
theres a few big ski schools on kop, ive never used them, but ive chatted with the instructors who are friendly and cooperative. i have used private instructors and i know a few if you want something a bit more specialised (the schools are good, because you get priority at the lifts, and a full itinerary. the private instructors are a bit more flexible and open to doing things your way).
oh and im about to book another holiday there (2 weeks isnt enough). so i think i'll be on the mountain again on the 25th feb. when will you be going there?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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glad to hear you had a great time, thanks for the updated info on putnik, having never stayed there i was having to quote people who stayed there once back in the 80's on small details like distances and timings.
i was speaking with some serbian friends about the whole ski bus issue, they remembered that kop used to have a fully serviced ski bus service linking up several of the hotels in the area (ie, not the ones directly in the resort). apparently it used to run every 15 minutes throughout the day. it might be worth putting pressure on the booking agents you used as to the timings of the ski bus. those timings seem fairly poor considering when im skiing im often the one whos going back to the apartment a bit early.
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The bus in question was a 7 seater mini bus put on by the hotel, although we say 7 seater, we did fit 13 in at one point! The bus in the morning was convenient and reliable and as we say, if you ski back to the hotel, it isn't really a problem. The problem comes if you need to get the bus back from the centre as it can't be guaranteed to turn up. We had a serbian speaking member of the English people in the hotel which made it easier for us but obviously not all groups will have that luxury.
If you can keep your sense of humour, everything's fine and not as bad as this may sound. It certainly won't stop us from going back.
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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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Hi all. Have just returned from a week in Kop, and have to agree with the last post. I stayed in Club A, and found it good. The choice of food is excellent, the staff friendly, the bar cheap (150 dinar a beer, which is about £1.10 ish). It is also close to the lifts. Snow fell for about two days and covered the whole place. The runs are kinda short though, and we seemed to spend most of our time queing for the lifts (the two man at the bottom of red 6 is a nightmare - it's too small to cope with the volume of skiers cos it's about the only decent long run there!) There is plenty of off-piste though (especially below the two man lift). For beginners and low intermediates, it's good, but if you are better than that, it is kinda limited. A new four man lift is supposed to be opening this week, which should ease the pressure at the bottom of the slopes. With regard to the piste map, it's crap. I couldn't find anyone who could understand it. The best thing is to get out there and discover for yourself where the runs go. It won't take too long, trust me.
I had a good week though, boarded every day, though ended up mainly off piste after a few days cos the runs are so short, and only two lifts were open for two days due to fog (a problem apparently) I spent a fraction of what I would have spent in the Alps. (Cashed £100 on Sunday, and still had £20 left on Thursday, and bought lunch every day, hired a board and had a cuppla beers each night.)
Also, the BBC were there this week filming for the holiday programme. It will be shown on the 13th February.
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good review bobo. you are right about run number 6 (its called "duboka 2") - it gets incredibly busy, especially when the rest of the mountain is closed because of the fog. there are some great runs a bit further away from the center of the resort, but you are right, the piste map can be a bit hard to understand. maybe if i get the time next time i go i'll take some strategic pictures and try and give some good routes around the place (if you know the right runs then you can avoid most of the queues).
there are some fairly challenging blacks (or so ive heard...) but you are right, if you are after a more advanced mountain then jahorina in sarajevo is a much better option (where the 1984 winter olympics was held). supposedly jahorina is a lot cheaper than kop (kops prices have at least tripled in the 5 years ive been there).
"club a" is regarded as the second best hotel in the resort ("the grand" is supposedly the best).
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bobo-blanc, glad you got home ok.
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Hi.
Im going to Kop on the 29th, my 1st time snowboarding. The weather reports on here show snow showers for at least the 1st 4 days. Will this be a problem for visability or for the lifts?
Also how much money would you recommend to take (staying for a week, half board)?
And is it best to change the money when you get there?
Thanks
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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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they usually have a few slopes open even during the worst weather. ive been up there on days where i couldnt see 3 meters ahead and they still had a few lifts open. it was ok though, everyone was very concious of the conditions and noone was bombing it around the mountain.
100 pounds goes a LONG way. it really depends on what you want to be doing? drinking all night although cheap does eat away at your funds. theres a fair few shops, (last time i bought a tv...) and me and my friends have often bought new equipment/clothing up there. eating out is cheap, although not exactly by serbian standards.
yes bring pounds and change them in the bank there (or at the airport. im not sure what the facilities are like at the airport, but there should be a proper exchange place). you'll be able to change money at hotels, but i doubt you'd get as good a rate doing it that way. you cant really get dinars anywhere in the UK, although if you order in advance i think your local bank will be able to get them. oh and as a result, change stuff back to english before you leave. the exchange rate right now is around 125 dinars for 1 pound. it used to be 100 dinars to the pound, which made calculations fairly simple.
enjoy your holiday!
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DNC
Thanks for the tip's we fly on the 12 feb. Will the serbian winter hols be over or how long do they go on for.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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serbian winter holidays are over now apparently. its usually 3 or 4 weeks in january. you should be going in a bit less of a busy time.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thanks DNC, appreciate the help.
Im already to go now, ill log on when I come back to tell everyone how much i enjoyed it, and how many bones ive broken! 
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oohhhh not long now to go(29th) cant wait glad to see theres no shortage of snow and did i see some one quote about danceing girls in andres bar? are thay the ones i have in mind you know the ones you tip?
hope to see any of you there im a mid 20s looking chap with a two tone blue boarders jacket with my lady in a white jacket i expect you will see me at the airport
hope you have a good time
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You know it makes sense.
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| shane45 wrote: |
| bobo-blanc, glad you got home ok. |
Cheers, Shane. It was a 7 hour mooch in Gatwick airport. Was full of caffeine by time plane landed in Glasgow.lol. Hope you guys are ok.
Robert
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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back now its tr about putnik if you havent booked yet goto clubA
New lift is open and it was snowing wen i left on the 5th
good resort nice people (serbs that is) i would recomend this resort shame its a early start from gatwick 4.10 cheakin ahhhhh
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi don't know if this is the right thread to post in, but i am after some info on Kop.
Been reading some useful stuff in this thread and would like to know the average cost of Ski & Boot hire in resort.
Also how does this resort compare to Borovets Bulgaria?
Thanks in advance.
Fez
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| F3zza wrote: |
Hi don't know if this is the right thread to post in, but i am after some info on Kop.
Been reading some useful stuff in this thread and would like to know the average cost of Ski & Boot hire in resort.
Also how does this resort compare to Borovets Bulgaria?
Thanks in advance.
Fez |
Hi Fez. I wrote a report a cuppla weeks ago. Hire of stuff is cheap. I hired a board for a week and it cost £27!!!! Beer is cheap too - it was about 30p in the supermarkets for a bottle serb beer and it tasted ok. If you going, have a good time.
Bobo
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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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serb beer is very nice and i seemed to drink a lot of it and had no hangovers i recomend mb or lav thay are the best i tryed .
euro beers are in some bars but thay are expensive.
a board and boots was £8 a day from the burton shop and it was good new gear i seen some crappy rental gear from the other shops
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do not drink MB, it's not natural. Lav is the best serbian beer, Jelen and Pils are also good 
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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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Bazr, where is the Burton shop ? Cheers Shane.
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the burton shop is in the old lift house netx to the bar(with video screen) opersit club a it has funny opening times 9.30ish-12 5-9ish its veryable
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Thx Bazr I'll check it out.
Cheers Shane.
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hello i live in Serbia - belgrade. I go on Kopaonik 11th-18th marth. New ski lift is very fast.
The best beer in Serbia is MB (mnogo bolje - Much better)
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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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F3zza, Don't know about comparing, but Iv'e just had some clients who had a week on Borovets for their first ever week of skiing. They were taught on long straight skis by an instructor who didn't teach them anything (not even how to plough properly, let alone traverse or turn) and frightened 3/5 half to death before mid-week. Appalling interlude, and not to be repeated. If going there, make sure you'll get proper modern equipment, and if taking lessons clearly make sure that the instructor knows wht you want (to learn?)
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