 Poster: A snowHead
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A group of us have booked to go to borovets in Febuary, whats everyones opinions of the skiing there? heard mixed reviews so far. 4 beginners and 3 intermediates. Heard that the queue for the gondola is a nightmare, how true is this?. Any tips on good bars for the apres ski? Any info would be appreciated. Cheers!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Been 3 times, jan had great snow, feb ok snow, mar puddles and slush! If the snow is reasonable its actually pretty good for beginners and the ski school was reasonable. The very long top to bottom green is more like a very awkward blue in less than perfect conditions and gets very busy! The gondola is a nightmare first thing its true as some of the beginner runs are at the top of it and all the ski schools try and get on at once, either get there early and queue before it opens or take a few runs near the rila chair til 10:30 ish when it calms down.
There is enough skiing to keep beginners and early intermediates amused for a week but when you don't spend all day queueing as a decent intermediate or advanced skier you could probably ski every run in a day.
Food, cheap and cheerful but nothing to write home about, actual on mountain eateries are rubbish with 1 notable exception- The Yastrebets hut at top of gondola serves a great goulash soup and hot choc with rum! Otherwise I would make the trip back to the base for food lunchtime or take something up with you! Worth remembering is it is considered rude in bulgaria to serve food hot enough to burn your tongue so most things are served luke warm unless you ask them to make it real hot, I just asked for steaming soup most of the time, soups and stews are common and usually very good.
Beer is quite cheap and the local stuff is fine. Chilli peppers serve a decent steak and rock music, Red Lion does good food too. Strangest Karaoke ever down in the bottom of town in a bar we renamed the mucky duck, cannot remember its real name but it sounded like a chinese take away. They had a bulgarian attempting to sing in English who had no idea what he was singing and probably learned the words from a badly tuned radio! We had such classics as " theres a bathroom on the right" and "by by miss american cry" was actually good fun and we went back a few times but the bathroom is foul so go before you go, and leave before you need to go!
Lots of snide goods on sale, be wary, if the offer is too good to be true its probably fake. Which hotel are you staying in?
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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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We went there over new year in 07 08. We took a chalet and booked everything (flights, chalet, skis) seperately. The skis and passes were done "in cash" and they didn't want Bulgarian Lev, they wanted sterling or Euro's. For a group of 8, this was a fair amount of cash to be carrying around.. but no fear... the mafia run Bulgaria and anyone that messes with the tourists will very soon get "messed" with by the mafia!
Food was really cheap, so we ate out each lunchtime and daytime. Brandy/beer on the piste was cheap the first time we went, but prices doubled by the second time.. so there is no guarantee that piste-side prices will be much cheaper than the Alps.
In our group we had 2 of us who were competent "Red" runners, and 6 who were "blue". Without the "Blue" people we'd have finished the resort on the first trip, but their slightly slower exploration meant that they took both weeks before they felt that they had "done" the resort.
The slopes around the village are ok, but overrun with learners. which means someone like me spends half their time stopping to help someone stand up, rather than skiing my own line. The Gondola gives you access to the upper slopes, but as you say, the queues are huge. Get there REALLY early and be ready for a 1 hr wait. We had a Bulgarian ski-guide (he wasn't a teacher, but he did give tips to the children in our party) and he had a handy way of getting us to slip him a few notes which miraculously got us to the front of the queue each day! Only the bulgarians (and possibly the russians) seem to manage this.
The lifts are typically second hand from "premier" resorts, and one specific event led to me now skiing with a helmet. A girl on the chair infront of ours was smacked on the back of the head by the chair that she'd just got off as it swung around. She had a helmet on, but was still lifted off her feat and thrown onto the ground. nice!
Back then, there were some pretty tricky button tows too. The second time around one had been replaced with a chair-lift, but my 8yr old kept falling off the buttons (they were quite vicious and steep). Adults wouldn't have a problem, but small children don't have the strength/weight to keep on their feet.
Some people complain about the quality of the pistes out there, but peversely THAT has made me a better skier. The Red runs might be nice and wide (and therefore easier than a Red in the alps), but you'll come across stones/pine-cones/mud in various unexpected places which will ensure that you treat them with respect. The long green from the top of the Gondola to the village was always enjoyed by everyone, but keep an eye on other people... when they tuck and go fast you MUST follow their lead. There are so long flat bits, and if you haven't got some speed up, you'll be walking (boarders beware!).
I've also seen complaints on some forums that the Hotels and Bars are frequented by "ladies of dubious virtue". I was slightly concerned about this (our party had 3 girls aged 7-9 at the time) but when we got there we found that the "ladies" only arrived at the resort (by minibus) around 9-10pm, by which time we'd had our evening meal/drinks and had left the resort in the hands of the hardened apres-skiers. We didn't find a bad bar while we were there, and all the food was great (try ordering a typical Bulgarian dish rather than a Euro dish... they seemed to be impressed that I wanted to try their cuisine and seemed to take more care over my asodifaski platter compared to my daughters pizza!!!).
There are a lot of snide goods as lilywhite says... however my wife got a nice cheap Rollex watch that worked for a year, and my Britling watch still works 4 years later and fooled a mate that has a proper Breitling (when he first glanced at it.... he could see it was a fake after 5 seconds though  )
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Thanks for your replies. we are staying in hotel moura, we picked Bulgaria as we are all just fresh out of Uni or still in uni, therefore we had a big budget. It sounds a bit like you get what you pay for. My only concern was the lack of runs, I have skiied in the Alps previously, and I was worried my expectations would be too high. Hopefully we have some nice skiing conditions when we are 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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Very fair reviews - it looks as if nothing much has changed since I last went there in 2000. I would say the place is a great budget option and for beginners the tuition (and care) is excellent.
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The moura got mixed reviews, clean but food not great, its close to gondola and only 5 mins (carrying skis) from the beginner slopes at the rila.
I'm sure you'll have a great time with your friends but it sure is not the alps.
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Good place for beginners - I learnt to ski there and like jamescollings think it has made me a better skier. Can't add much to the comments above except to ditto the comment on the food "up top" being poor, packed lunches all round. Oh, and don't even think about buying a choc bar to keep you going at the top of the mountain, daylight robbery - take a multipack from home and shove one or two in your bag/pocket to keep you going.
Have fun, hope you enjoy it
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Yeah I have heard about the moura having bad food, but its clean and friendly so that doesn't sound too bad, just a place to sleep at the end of a long day really. Thanks for your tips!
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my hubby and i have booked a week at the hotel samokov in borovets as my 40th birthday "treat!"
we are both complete beginners and have never skiied before (competed in triathlons for past 5 years and fancied trying something different!)
i have booked a package which includes lessons and ski hire...just a bit worried there wont be any snow now that i have read reviews...!
we have our own skis/boots/poles etc but have never used them yet...we live in the north east of scotland so not far from glenshee/lecht...would you recommend practicing before going to bulgaria or just waiting until we go our hols? everyone we have spoken to has told us we will learn more and have more fun getting lessons in bulgaria, but i do fancy having a wee go before we go lol!!all advice greatly appreciated 
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dee999, Welcome to snowheads. I cannot make any promises about the snow, but ti would help if you could tell us when you are going. To be honest, you do not need very much snow when you are starting out as you move quite slowly to begin with. Also, as beginners, you will not really have much to compare with, so will accept what you find as "normal" and not worry about it.
If you can get a few lessons at your local slope before you go you will progress much quicker in Bulgaria.
Beware, both skiing and snowHeads are ruinously addictive!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I would say it's entirely up to you. If your lessons are with Borosports (lift/ski school operator) they will see what you can do when your lessons start on the first day and put you in a group accordingly - think the Samakov hotel has their own ski school, it certainly used to, and it may be different if you are there.
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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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If you can get a few lessons at your local slope before you go you will progress much quicker in Bulgaria.
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+1. But I'd advise against driving up to The Lecht and "having a go" on your own.
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Was there last feb half term, the queue for the gondola was huge first thing but if you did a few runs round the chair lifts first thing head pretty much vanished to a walk straight on by mid morning.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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new skis and boots are "burning a hole in my pocket" if you get my drift!.....itching to try them out!....learned the hard way....over the past 5 years we have spent an utter fortune on triathlon bikes....competitions.....etc...etc!!! so when we decided that we fancied giving skiing a go and saw what it would cost to hire equipment we replied to an advert in local paper....woman was selling boots (in both my size and hubby's), skis, poles, ski bag and boot bag for £70 all in!......unfortunately i knew nowt about anything related to skiing, and thought they all looked ok for the price!
on getting them home, i noticed hubbys ski had a partial crack in it, my binding was knackered and wouldnt adjust and to top it all...hubby dropped his boot on the concrete outside our house and it shattered into a million bits!!! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I know buying second hand may seem a bargain, but unless you know what you're looking for, ie tried on boots in a shop and are happy that they suit you, it could be a minefield.
I've just bought new boots, my old ones I'd progressed out of, and ended up trying on 3 or 4 different pairs in Ellis Brigham. Whilst a boot may suit your abiility level there are so many other things to consider - I quite fancied the look of some Head boots but as I am a skinny minny they'd have dwarfed my feet - wouldn't have known this without the boot fitter pointing it out, and once you've bought second hand, you're stuck with them!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Anyone know if theres many cash machines in Borovets itself? wondering weather to take some cash and my bank card or all cash. Cheers
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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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We took all cash. I can't recall if there are cash machines, but I didn't even want to trust my visa card in a handheld device in a restaurant, let alone a 'Lebanese loop' on a cash machine.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, there are 3 or 4 - outside and inside the Rila hotel, one opposite the Flora hotel (uphill from the gondola queue!), one at the gondola too - been a few years since I last visited so might even be more now. The ones outside the Rila and opposite the Flora were small banks, from what I recall.
No issues whatsoever using them.
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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 for your responses
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just to add....
Snow out there at the moment is brilliant. They are due lots more over the next week and so the rest of the season will be absolutely fine.
We went last March (5th), had a big dump of snow and had a really good time. We are going again that same weekend this March.
Gondola queue can be busy at times (e.g. first thing in the am, especially at weekends or holidays) but the only day we had a problem we went on the freemini bus to the Yastrebets chair.
Apre ski - there are plenty of places in Boro and it's so compact you can easily move around from one to another. On the mountain the best value place we found is the White House at the top of the gondola. It's run by an English lady called Kas and her instructor husband Bobby. They now also have a place called Bobby's Bar, by the gondola, which is getting good feedback this year.
Borovets/Bulgaria is different to France but we've had great times there and are looking forward to going back. You will have a top time as well I am sure.
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Had a brilliant time in Borovets in feburay, tour guide told us it was the most snow they seen for 15 years, so was lucky in that sense. Too much snow and wind caused the goldola to close for 1, and a half days however. Resort was quite tacky, wouldnt reccomed for families, but if you were a young group like us then it suited us fine. I would go back to borovets, but going to go to other places, maybe back to France where the ski area isnt as restricted.
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