 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Jennyski, Sorry to hear you holiday was not as you had hoped for. £3200 for 4 is quite expensive. I day it would be as cheap in Courchevel! Half term week is always a problem, that time of the year it may be better going either to lesser well known Italian or Austrian resorts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Jennyski, Sorry you had a bad experience in Bansko. I had a week in Bansko from 2nd - 9th Feb, with 9 other friends and our experience could not have been more different. We soon learned that getting to the gondola at 8.20am meant 10 mins in the queue but arriving at 8.30am meant about 30 mins in the queue. Not easy I know if you can't eat breakfast until 8am I know. The added benefit was empty slopes which were fantasic. It did get very busy around 2pm ish but by that time we were skied out anyway. We avoided the ski road after the first couple of days. It does get icy and busy as the day goes on. Bansko, the old town was great. Lots of traditional restuarants which were very reasonably priced and the food was excellent. There is lots of building work around the outskirts but most is easily avoided. It was my second time in Bansko and would certainly go back again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Hard luck. I was going to say that you get what you pay for, but £3200 for 4 seems very pricey. For the same week in St Anton, we paid about £2100 for travel (which would have been a cheaper had we flown instead of training it) and B&B in a comfortable hotel. Kit hire and lift passes (for 6 days, we actually had 7 days), about £900. We spent probably around £600+ on grub, but we could easily have kept it to £400. We had some instruction, 1.5 days private and a total of 8 days group, which added about £500/600.
I reckon you could have a skiing hol for 4 in St Anton at half term in a very comfy and convenient hotel for about £3500 without effort (excluding instruction, new boots for the OL, new bits and pieces for the daughter ...), and probably about £3000 if you flew and economised a little on accommodation (and didn't use a TO). We had a week's excellent skiing, plenty of people around but there were no significant queues apart from for the Valluga I. Happy Valley sounds a bit like the run back to the resort in Bankso, though, but that is easily avoided if you wish. If you go somewhere less high profile, as Roy Hockley suggests, you could do a lot better than Bankso.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 5-03-08 11:43; edited 2 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Mogs, you weren't there at half term week, which accounts for the queues and the cost.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
richmond, Granted, which is why I stated my experience was so different. it would be a shame if everyone based their opinion on half term week, which is busier everwhere. The cost is somewhat of a worry though. We paid £560pp in a 5* inc lift pass, skis and instruction for a week for the week before half term
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mogs, indeedy. Your price sounds more like what I'd expect, and pretty good value from the sound of it. That's half term for you. I don't know how easy it is to arrange DIY trips to Bulgaria, but that may be the way ahead for half term and other school hols. None of our costs to or in St Anton was higher because it was half term; we'd have paid exactly the same the week before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As discussed many times, Bansko has been massively over developed in recent years and the infrastructure is not there to support it. A single gondola out of a town that size is never going to work. It was probably an excellent budget resort 5 years ago, but I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
are there plans to extend the lift system? for when they get the Winter Olympics?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayscoops, They won't need a lift system....because Hell will have frozen over by then
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
rayscoops, Work has (or is about to) started on a second gondela. Will help a bit with the morning rush, but untill they can increase the skiable terrain, it seems like a short term answer to me.
I've been a few times, first time in 2005, and really enjoyed it. I'll not be back though, at least untill they can add some serious km to the avaliable runs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
uktrailmonster, I agree totally - Bansko has developed as a slightly cheaper ski destination.....or was!! As I mentioned, Pamporovo was a much better experience even in half term - the people were nicer and the food was far better quality and reasonably priced just very limited skiing.. I think the Bulgarians have latched on to the fact that people will pay a lot to ski and have become greedy..... unfortunately they will lose out long term as we (and a lot of other Brits I spoke to) will never visit the country again!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well done Jenny for a great report. How was it in the Kempinski ? I was there at half term and never queued for more than 10 mins ....Ok I got a taxi up to the lower lifts at a cost of £8 for 5 of us. I decided that after paying £352 each for flights, 6 nights accomodation at the Fortuna, lift passes and transfers from Warwick to Gatwick and Sofia to Bansko I wasn't going to let a lift queue get in my way.
We had some great early skiing and had a whale of a time on the fresh snow through the trees. I avoided most of the ski road by taking the quieter route down through the fantastic new runs at Chalin Valog.
DIY trips are easy to arrange and I am sure all of you will agree are great value at this price. I agree more runs are needed but they are working on this I believe. No start on 2nd gondola yet IMT.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Dave Canski, Catching a taxi sounds like a good idea! Cheap holiday, you may need to spend a little more to get the best out of it. The OP price of the holiday seems quite expensive to me, how do you find it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Dave Canski, We stayed at the Perun which was generally fine but was a ten min walk to the gondola (or wait for the minibus) so add together this, the call at the ski hire shop and the gondola wait and it was nearly two hours every morning to get up the mountain - it was like a boot camp. I lost the will to live one day and spent the day in the spa - shame on me! Oh and we ordered a bottle of wine in the hotel restaurant one evening which was 30 levs (thats expensive enough) and when it was opened for us and returned to the table they had changed the price sticker to 80 levs. We naturally made a fuss and our bill for all drinks that night was magically paid for by an embarassed restaurant manager. The whole episode left a very bitter taste in my mouth ( but the free drinks tasted ok  ).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Roy Hockley,
I don't find £350 expensive for a ski holiday at half term including lift pass. Do you ?
Jenny, I think you got a bad deal on your holiday and this is liable to cheese you off. I have heard of this wine incident in other establishments as well and always double check the price before buying. Oh and I never spend any more than 25 leva on a bottle of wine.
I prefer my 1.20 leva pints too much to indulge in all that expesive wine 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Dave Canski, You are right about the pints but I do enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner and when I am on holidays and have time to enjoy it then even more reason to have it! The cheapest bottle of wine on the rack in the restaurant was 25 leva so paying 30 leva seemed like a way of getting a fairly reasonable bottle...but obviously not. The final nail in the coffin was that the 80 leva bottle of red in quetion was .....pretty damn awful actually!!
Oh well you live and learn...... have booked Banff for New Year.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Jennyski, Yeahhhhhh
It will be a completely different experience.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Jennyski, I've never been to Bankso, but I'm confident that Banff will be more enjoyable in every way. Where are you staying?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Dave Canski, No I dont, I think it is remarkably cheap. Sorry you missunderstood my comment. I meant when you pay so little in the first place, a few extra levs on a taxi wont break the bank. Jennyski, Did it really cost so much?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
richmond, We are staying at Irwins Mountain Inn which I believe is on the main drag, which is what we want for convenience with restaurants, ski buses etc. It looks ok - 3 star which I believe is enough when you are out most of the time! Some friends have just emailed to say that they have also booked to join us there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roy Hockley, Yes I am afraid it did!! The basic holiday cost for four at the Perun was £2400 - unfortunately our children are classed as adults now they are over 12 so i guess we are paying for four adults really. By the time we added in ski hire and lift passes and a few lessons we totted up £3200. Mad really isnt it? We only chose Bansko because we were taking along two friends with six (yes six) children and we thought it would be a cheaper way of them trying out skiing. However three months prior to the holiday they pulled out because of an unexpected house move. Wish we had gone somewhere in france instead!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jennyski, Maybe your friends would be better off going to an apartment holiday in France, even at half term prices it should be considerably cheaper than that. They may have to make the odd sacrifice and not eat at the Michelin starred restaurants and cook in. I am sure it would / could work out at better value. Wow six kids, you dont see that these days even here in Ireland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Jennyski wrote: |
| richmond, We are staying at Irwins Mountain Inn which I believe is on the main drag, which is what we want for convenience with restaurants, ski buses etc. It looks ok - 3 star which I believe is enough when you are out most of the time! |
Haven't stayed there, but it'll almost certainly be fine, in Canada you have to go a long way down the food chain to find a shabby hotel. You might want to think about car hire. The bus service is good, I believe, as bus services go, but obviously a car gives you more flexibility, especially to visit other places, such as Lake Louise and Kicking Horse, which may only have one or two buses a day. It also avoids the transfer, and may enable you to ski on the last day. Not too eco friendly, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
richmond, Good idea - there are 7 of us going so far, wonder if we could consider some sort of people carrier maybe? How would we carry our skis and poles then though? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Roy Hockley, Yes I think you are right actually. We will be investigating France ourselves and we fancy Serre Chevalier. Maybe we will persuade them to join us and give it a try...........
By the way,
If I knew how to put a picture on here I would - I took a pic of the gondola queue in Bansko because I just couldnt believe it. If anyone can tell me how to do it I would be grateful!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Jennyski wrote: |
| richmond, Good idea - there are 7 of us going so far, wonder if we could consider some sort of people carrier maybe? How would we carry our skis and poles then though? |
We had no problems putting them in any of the cars we hired (4x4s and ordinary saloons). For 7, you could get a minibus or a giant 4x4.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
richmond, Yes thats a thought - will have to look into that!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
I got back from Bansko today - I managed the whole thing including flights, accommodation, lift passes, car hire and spending money and 10 hours worth of tuition for £600! All arranged independently and all costs split evently between 5 people. I found it incredibly cheap and left having had a great week. The longest we queued at the gondola was 30 mins on the Monday, after that it got shorter by the day with no queues at all by the Thursday but maybe as its the last week of the season thats why. Quite the amateur myself, I found it a very cheap way to see if skiing is for me! Still a building site in the town itself but that didn't matter as it was so cheap. Had no problems in bars apart from the 'Happy End' where we payed 35 lev for 3 vodka & coke so that was a visit we only made once! I can imagine its a right nightmare in peak season, our instructor told us they hope to get the second gondola up by next season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
'our instructor told us they hope to get the second gondola up by next season.'
Yeah, that old 'chestnut' gets churned out every season. Just like, 'Organised crime and corruption in Bulgaria will be dealt with next year'. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Well I had a bloody good time anyway without that second gondola!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I spent a week in Bansko in 2002. I don't think I spent more than $100 for the whole week for two people. I know times have changed there but 3200 pounds that's insane! I went to austria this year for a whole month and didn't spend half that including the airfare from halfway around the world. What could you spend that much money on?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Thought Bansko was a big building site. Que for Gondala was a joke and there wasnt much snow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
The White Stuff, did you say it was the last wek of the season in Bansko?
Not even open for easter??
Renatl market = joke if you are a property owner there.
A pal of mine just told me that he bought a place there, £100k, 2 bed, near the Gondola.
Went to use it this yeqr 1/2 term, it is all finished and furnished....EXCEPT the electricity to the whole building is not connected due to some permit problem with the council.
Had to rent somewhere else instead and was shocked (!?) at how little he had to pay to rent and how much supply there was.
"Doen't look like we will get much rent on ours"
What was he thinking of ???
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
rungsp, Thats what I was told when there, apparently last week was the last week the UK tour operators were selling but I know the season continues till April. We had the same problem actually, we were meant to be staying in a friends apartment for the week but he had some issue with the water not being turned on so we ended up in an aparthotel, albeit a lovely one but still I know what you mean. The place is growing massively and there well may be a massive oversupply on rooms forcing operators/owners to compete on price which usually means selling out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
j, The actual holiday itself cost was £2400 for a family of four - this is because our 15 and 12 year old children are classed as adults now and prices shoot up for half term.
Unfortunately circumstances mean that we have to go this particular week at the moment - I wish we didnt. Ski and boot hire plus lift passes for four added on another £400. Every time we had lunch up the mountain it cost about £30 and the food was awful. Add to this a few drinks in the evening and you can easily see where the money went. We were in Pamporovo lasy year and prices there were nothing like that in Bansko - they seem to have gone up an awful lot in a year - or maybe they are just hiked for the half term period?
I dont mind paying good money to have a great holiday but it was like a boot camp having to get up early and queue at the gondola. Not my idea of a what a holiday is all about. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have a look on here talkbansko.com
We went out with a view to purchasing a place last Year, glad we found this website 1st. People who have invested in property have had there fingers well and truly burnt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People tend to put on their common sense goggles when they see the potential for a quick profit. I don't consider ski apartments in general to be a great financial investment and especially not in Bansko!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Heres the gondola queue pic (queue number one of two) 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You're not selling it to me! Doesn't look like there's much snow either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
