 Poster: A snowHead
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Please only respond if you've actually been there.
I have heard about the naff hotels and bad food, but is there any reason I shouldn't go to Borovets? Thing is the couple we've going away with, first week of march, are on a mega tight budget and apart from the afore mentioned issues as well as perhaps not having a massive ski area is there anything I should be aware of? We've already had our propper ski holiday, this is just an extra and if we don't expect too much I reckon Bulgaia could be the perfect budget resort? What about Bansko, is that any better? We are 3 intermediates and 1 beginner.
All advice appreciated as we're planning to book soon 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I went 21st - 28th January. It was the coldest week in a very, very long time - the gondola opened on Sunday, then closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... It was minus 39 at the top of the gondola which is one of the reasons it closed.
A good flight and we arrived on Saturday night at about 8.30pm, dumped our stuff at the Iglika and went straight around to White Magic where we got a lovely greeting from Christo Angelov - former Bulgarian Olympic Skiier.
Sunday was ski school - got up early, got our ski packs from the reps and then went in search of Tosh - found him and got him as my ski instructor for the week. It was a beginners class, but I was an "advanced beginner" - needed to get the ski legs back first before going into an intermediate class. We spent the first day on the Rila slopes just doing the basics - and in the afternoon we were already on the drag lift there - no longer side stepping up the slopes like most of the classes.
On Monday morning, we went to the steeper nursery slopes over the other side and spent the morning there, and in the afternoon, the group took the Sitnayakovo chair lift and did the 6km run. I didn't join in with this.... not my favourite run.... spent the afternoon at White Magic instead.
Tuesday the group were back on the Sitnayakovo run - but did a couple of practices on the small drag lift at the top there first. I decided to try blades on Tuesday - I'm not a blades person I've decided - I'm glad I only rented them for the week and not bought them. We were practicing traversing the blue at the top of the Sitnayakovo - two turns, wait for th rest of the group, carry on - one of the class went into me - had I been on skis I'd have stayed upright, but with blades on, as soon as the bodyweight got released, down I went. Came down on the chair lift and joined the group at the end of the run. Did the Inghams Pizza and a Quiz night and our team came third.
Wednesday - missed the group so checked the e-mails, went to lunch at White Magic and got convinced by friends to go on the Sitnyakovo 6km with them. Only fell once and that was on a piece of sheet ice where I didn't have the momentum to keep going. I got to the part where it crosses the black run my friends refused to let me take my skis off - I've a new nickname - Sheeeeeeeeet scared of Borovets... It was such a feeling of elation doing it - back to White Magic in the evening.
Thursday - the Gondola was open at last - went up to the top and rather than just do one run on the long drag, we went straight off down to the red run. No falls - great fun. Schussing down the blue though didn't half judder my legs. Spent the whole day up there and it was so nice. Got the skidoo taxi up to the gondola again - it's gone up, it's 5 lev this year!!!
Friday - last day on the slopes and Tosh took us up the Rila 4 man chair. Oh no, that was really scary... Sheeeeeeeeettt scared of Borovets was in her element - I looked at the slope and just thought to myself "gulp" I can't do that - only one tiny fall - actually going out from the blue run out onto the red bit - the sheer steepness of it unnerved me. I lay there in the snow just scared out of my wits and laughing - being stupid really as I knew I could do it. Got down nearly the whole way without incident - got cramp in my legs just before it turns off onto the green so came down on my bum from the red across to the green then skiied the rest of the way down (including across the black and reds)
In the afternoon, we went up the Gondola again and I just pottered around on the baby drag lift - the rest of the group went on the red, but by then, my legs had enough. Did the baby blue about 4 or 5 times but I know when I've had enough. Got the skidoo taxi back up and took some photos. Ski diploma presentation in the evening and we also all went out to Black Cat for dinner with Tosh. Got a bottle of sprite split over me by the waitress and when I asked for a replacement, she tried to charge me. In the UK they'd have been sent a dry cleaning bill!!!
Flight home was fine - except a 3 hour delay so we didn't get indoors until 2am!!! should have been home by about 10.30pm. Had the best time for ages - I'm slowly getting my confidence and tackling more challenging runs. Met a fantastic group of people and will definitely be going back again - but I'm going to try Arinsal in 2007, just to see the difference.
Hope that helps everyone. I went for massages at the Samokov when I was staying at the Iglika, it was 25 lev for a massage at the Samokov and 40 lev at the Iglika - 5 massages in a week, that's 75 lev saved!!!
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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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The_Mac_Daddy, I haven't been there, BUT . . . have just booked a skiing holiday to Zel am See, Austria for £299 per person, including flights, transfers 2*+ Chalet (yes bit of a gamble) which includes cooked brekki, packed lunch, afternoon tea with cakes, 3 course evening meal + wine and coffee. Try this site if you are in doubt before booking Bulgaria . Good luck! 
http://www.teletextholidays.co.uk/WebSki/Homepage/HomeSki.aspx?area=ski
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i've been, stayed in the Rila hotel, which was great for drinking and partying, had a really good time. the prostitutes leave you alone if you are in a mixed group and you get used to the men carrying guns after the first couple of days!
skiing is ok if the gondola works, the long runs from the top, one of which is an olympic downhill are great. when the gondola breaks, or the queue is over an hour long the small slopes in from of the rila are not really enough to keep you interested for more than a day or so.
food is fine, was really cheap a couple of years ago when i was there, but don't expect your chicken to look anything other than pink in the middle, and make sure you take some tablets for dodgy stomachs.....
overall we wouldn't go back again, but we did have a good time whilst there
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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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jg5118, welcome to snowHeads
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My sister went here last year.
They had a number of power cuts which affected the skilifts and the heating/water in the resort.
She says she's not going back...
d
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I went to Borovets my 2nd week skiing, admittedly a bit of a come down fron Val d'Isere the previous year, but all the same there wasn't enough skiing for me. If you say there's some intermediates in your group I'd go elsewhere. On the other hand I really enjoyed the food and couldn't get enough of it.
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My brother in law (well brother of my boyfriend to be truely accurate) went there a few years ago - said it was very depressing (prostitutes, begging), awful snow and generally didn't have a great time. He said he'd never go back but it depends how tight that budget is. I'd take a late deal instead myself. I've been to pas for £170 before now (HB) on a late deal. If it's on mountain costs that concern our I can first hand recommend slovenia, lovely modern facilities (roads, restaurants, plumbing etc) and friendly people (and seemingly all quite well off, modern cars etc) although slow old lifts. Very cheap, very small areas - as middling intermediates we managed 3 days in vogel and kobla (bled/bohinj) before we got too bored...I think kranska gora would be a better bet. aj xx
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I went t2 years ago, on a cheap week, as a girls tirp, to take my sis-in-law skiing for the first time. So we had a complete beignner, one intermediate and one more experienced skiier.
I have skiied often, else where, went knowing what to expect, and was not disappointed. It was very good value for money. On the nights when we really didnt like the included hotel food we went out and had great pizzas and bottles of wine, for about £10 / person.
Yes, the ski area is limited, but we found the staff to be welcoming and helpful, and the value to be excellent. We still found enough fun to be had for a weeks skiing, although it wasnt particularly challenging, but good for building up the miles under our skis.
The package we booked for the beginner was excellent value at about £90, and included a full week of ski school with an excellent, fun instructor, rentals, lift tickets and a night out at the end of the week with champagne/beer etc.
HOpe you have a great time.
BTW, we stayed at the Samokov, i think.
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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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hi eveyone have been to borovets three times and gonna go again next year , always stay at the samakov its not bad at all,food is ok in the hotels ,there loads of nitelife 5 mins from town ,gondala,and chairlift ,i cant comment on other resorts as have been anywhere else ,its a cheap ski resort for the itermediate skier i would say ,so dont believe the conflicting reports ,ladies of the night keep themselves to them selves ,and the beggars ,same ones everyyear respond to a polite no ,i wouldnt mind being ther now though regards gary
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ozwhit, can i ask why you keep going back and not visit any other resorts in the Alps ?
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You know it makes sense.
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Been four times now. You're right, it is the budget end of the skiing scale, but non the less enjoyable. You will hear a lot of nonsense about Bulgaria, it's up to you if you believe it or not (I've never had a prostitute begging me, but then that may be another thread?). It is eastern Europe! go with an open mind and you'll probably enjoy yourself, particularly when a nights drinking cost you less than a hot meal and a bottle of wine in the alps. The skiing is limited, but not unchallenging for an intermediate. If you want to see what I mean have a look at this video. It is Christo Angelov, former Bulgarian champion, and fantastic host (he owns the white magic bar)
www.skidvd.co.uk/highbandwidthvideo/christo.wmv
If you do go, drop in and say hi from Phil and Lisa for us.
Regards
Phil
Edit to add: apologies to ajhainey, I missed the comma between prostitutes and begging 
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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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Well, bit the bullet and have booked a hol in Bansko which is apparently better for intermediates. I'm not going with high expectations so I sure I'll be well happy. 2 weeks to go
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hopefully we'll be going to Bansko in the next couple of weeks, just gotta beg the boss for more time off, serves him right for employing a snowhead 
We've not been before, but are told it's more geared for the intermediate skier, in fact, people have told us it's not the best resort for beginners. Suits us. They have spent millions over the last couple of years on the infrastructure, it's gonna be interesting to see if it lives up to our expectations.
Phil
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The runs look very flat
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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 haven't been either but my sister has, and said the hotel was very good value but she dreaded ending up in a Bulgarian hospital after an injury. She also didn't like some of the mountain loos; she said the extreme cold had at least kept the piles of whatever around the hole frozen hard.... I noted a post on another thread from someone who has an apartment in Borovets but always goes skiing to La Clusaz... 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The_Mac_Daddy, Philthy, if you're going to Bansko in the next few weeks, keep a close eye on the snow reports. It's had some fresh snow recently, but it's hardly got a decent base (30 cm) and half the lifts are still closed. Similar story in Borovets, only 3/15 lifts open. No ski resort is any good without snow. Haven't been there myself, never seen the attraction, so can't comment on either resort.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 29-01-07 16:08; edited 1 time in total
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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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provenjohn, is it rude for a skier to utter the B word?
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They have spent millions over the last couple of years on the infrastructure, it's gonna be interesting to see if it lives up to our expectations.
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Philthy, It's a bit like the Spanish Costa's 20 years ago, but with a bit of snow  On a serious note I understand that there is still a huge amount of development going on in Bansko. My mate has a chalet there and he's more than a little concerned at when and where it's all going to end. Now is probably the time to go though - there could soon be too little demand for all the apartments and chalets they're building (good for renters but not for owners!), not enough lifts to get all the skier and boarders up the hill , and over crowding on the slopes. I understand there's a cheap flight to Sofia launching soon, if its not already, which should make independent travel easier and cheap.
I've never been to any of the Eastern European Resorts (by my own choice) but I have to say, from the reports I've had of Bansko and Borovets from people I know who've been, I'll be giving it a miss due to reports of below average food, dodgy toilets, questionable healthcare and emergency services, poorish snow records, significant over-development and also the lack of challenging runs. Having said that I understand it's a decent budget proposition to learn to ski and see if you like it without re-mortgaging the house It could, I suppose, also be a reasonable opportunity for an additional week on top of the main skiing holiday of the season. At least you're on a mountain and not in the office!!! For me though, I'd rather pay a little bit extra and go to a less fashionable and hence cheaper end resort in Austria or Italy, or go to one of the resorts in Andorra. Based on what I've heard I think they may well represent a better experience for not a huge amount of extra cash.
In light of having been recently slated for not wanting to go to a particular group of resorts on another thread (Scotland), I'll reiterate that this is only my opinion and it is not intended to offend anyone!!!!!! The "spanish costas" comment was actually a joke, just in case anyone missed it....
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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SnowGod, from my research on the B word lift queues seem to be a problem as their success at building the resorts does not seem to be matched by the lift companies to build and update lifts. Having said that teton gravity research have been to Bansko there guys make some pretty cool ski and snowboard films so I suppose that gives it some street cred! http://www.tetongravity.com/viewer/Clip_TSS_EP11_BULGARIA.aspx
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Peter Ross, Your Teton Gravity comment got me thinking.... When selecting a resort I always used to look at how challenging the hardest runs were and that had a big impact on my choice of resort. An instructor said to me about 5 years ago that virtually any resort in the Alps can be as hard as you want it to be..... I didn't really know what he was on about until I went to Seefeld, a beginners paradise, not a lot of off piste ( in fact, not a lot of piste at just 25km of runs!!!), no steep runs etc etc... We had 3 days of fresh powder so hired a top guide / instructor and I had the time of my life.... went on stuff I'd never have dreamed of finding in this resort. Now I'll go anywhere skiing wise, but tend to look at the quality of food, lift network, queue problems, quality of accommodation, transfer times, resort ambience and apres ski, snow record and skiing conveninece rather than how many runs of what grade. Thats why Bulgaria doesn't particularly appeal to me... doesn't tick enough of my boxes.... Could probably find some mega skiing there with the right guide though, just like them Teton boys did !!!!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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SnowGod, They didn't mention the word mega but they found some ice cones to slide up! I see where you are coming from but I have a free holiday to Sofia and just weighting my options up, Vitosha http://www.skivitosha.com/ is the local hill but Borovets isn't very far away. I've skied in most countries in the Alps and Pyrennes but Bulgaria seems to be a few steps behind these. Still I have never been to Eastern Europe and travel is all about experiences so nothing to worry about really!
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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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Peter Ross,
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They didn't mention the word mega but they found some ice cones to slide up!
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Oh I don't know - some of that powder looked good fun...
How's you Bulgarian coming along Peter?... my guess would be that there's not an awaful lot of English spoken on the local hill... unless they're all getting themselves ready to desert their homeland and come over here to the UK as soon as their EU membership is confirmed..
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You know it makes sense.
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SnowGod, I don't understand a word, can't read the letters but I can play charades! Well the holiday was won by my brother and the sponsor was a travel agent in Galway so I assume someone speaks English or they wouldn't send people there!
Have they been EU members since Jan 01 07 or has this changed?
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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"I have heard about the naff hotels and bad food, but is there any reason I shouldn't go to Borovets? Thing is the couple we've going away with, first week of march, are on a mega tight budget and apart from the afore mentioned issues as well as perhaps not having a massive ski area is there anything I should be aware of? "
I would have thought that was enough reasons not to go. Unless you really can't afford to go somewhere else. It will be better than MK snowdome - probably
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Borovets only has roughly 40km of slopes. Bansko has 65km.
Saalbach in Austria has 200km. Les 2 Alpes in France has 220km. Zermatt in Switzerland has 310km.
Bulgarian stations are small. Most skiers will track each one out in less than 3 days.
Very cheap, though. Great value for money.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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According to http://www.borovets-bg.com/main/index.php it says Borovets has 58km of slopes. The website looks pretty good and informative. They also having a grooming report, something many other resorts don't provide.
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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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I have nothing but good things to say about Bansko, was brilliant when we went a few years ago.
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Furbag, The Edelweiss was very good, no complaints at all. The rooms as clean and warm, the beds soft and the food (so long as you like meat) is good and plentiful. The fact it's a 10 or 15 minutes walk to the slopes is a huge plus in my book, certainly for Boro.
Boro does get some bad press, much of it deserved, but if you go with an open mind, and can deal with the seedyness and other such nasty's you'll have a great time.
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| stevec wrote: |
Furbag, The Edelweiss was very good, no complaints at all. The rooms as clean and warm, the beds soft and the food (so long as you like meat) is good and plentiful. The fact it's a 10 or 15 minutes walk to the slopes is a huge plus in my book, certainly for Boro.
Boro does get some bad press, much of it deserved, but if you go with an open mind, and can deal with the seedyness and other such nasty's you'll have a great time. |
Cheers Steve
Well I did a fair bit of looking about and certainly I'm not going thinking its going to be anything like Tremblant, the 10-15min walk is a bit off putting as in tremblant I could ski striaght into the hotel, and on occasions did
We went for the Edelweiss for two reasons mainly, a) it seems the bar their stays open longer  b) I couldnt find a bad report about it.
Not long now out there on Saturday
Fur
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Furbag, The bar stays open as long as there are people in it! Not the livliest place in town, but great for a late beer
The walk is a bonux, trust me on this. the centre of Boro is a bit lively and you'll be grateful that you're a bit away from it. The walk is also a world class hangover sure.
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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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We have a place 10-15 mins outside Borovets and TBH only go there for a ski. Restaurants/bars are expensive (why pay a £1 a pint when you can get it for 40p  ) and the general service is pretty crap.
The problem with Borovets is the company that runs the place, Borosport. They own alot of the bars/restaurants and price fix, get instructors to take people to places etc. Compared to local prices lift tickets are extortionate and there capability of sorting the slopes out is non existant.
We live in the hope that they start develpng the place or even better a company with a brain cell takes them over. If Borosport reinvested half the money they pulled out, the place would be awesome.
IMO, the strengths of the place (if you want to get out of the resort) are there are some pretty special restaurants (£20 for family of four to eat/drink all night), shooting, horse riding, ski dooing, kiddies farm visits, local ski slopes and all this is in my village.
So in summary, if you want a holiday just for skiing go somewhere else. If you want a really different family holiday on a budget, give me a shout 
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FAQ
) and old fashioned cobbled roads. But none of this bothered me as I knew what to expect and had an excellent (cheap hol) £200-ish per person half board 4* hotel, lift pass £70, beer £1 a pint.......
