Borovets, Bulgaria

Laura from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

I've just returned from a week at Hotel Flora in Borovets (New Year 08/09). The amount of unfair reviews I read before I arrived in Borovets really got me worried as I only read them once I had already booked and paid.

On arrival in Hotel Flora at 2 in the morning, I thought that all the negative reviews must have been right and that I was in for an awful holiday. The hotel was not of UK 4 star standard, the sheets did not fit the bed, there was no hair-drier as advertised so my hair froze and everything seemed generally awful (a hair drier was obtained from Reception free but must get there quickly as they run out once people catch on)

However, once we'd had some sleep we realised we wouldn't actually be in the hotel very often and that we weren't in a country which had spent an awful lot of money on tourism so we couldn't really expect the hotel to be amazing. Had we wanted nice posh hotels then we should have spent the money and gone to Canada/France etc. We were in Bulgaria and along with that came the benefits of amazing scenery, lovely locals and culture.

I suspect the hotel was 4 stars due to its brilliant location and once we were out skiing and enjoying the atmosphere we didn't notice the standard of the hotel. Hotels Rila/Samokov/ice/Flora are all close to the facilities and it's definitely worth while being close; those further away were really cursing.

The skiing was great, so much snow that we couldn't actually leave on time as we were snowed into Sofia (the airport was closed). However, this said, the airport put us up in a five star hotel (and it most certainly was UK 5 star) with free access to mini bar, all meals included, free 2 min phone call and internet access until they were able to reopen and fly us out.

It didn't snow for 2 days, and there was some ice but there were ample snow machines and the rest of the time there was tonnes of snow.

The Green Route has brilliant views as does the gondola. Even if you don't intend to ski down it's worth the trip up and then back down just to see the views. There are also blue and green runs up the top if it gets too busy down near the Rila hotel.

The ski school is generally good, my group got a bit of a rogue instructor but mainly other groups had really good instruction and people were moved into groups according to their ability. Generally, people were amazed that we weren't entirely happy with the pace our instructor went at.

The first day was an absolute nightmare and I wanted to go home. There was a huge queue to the ski depot (there wasn't any queue for the rest of the week), there was a lot of hanging round, we had to get up early for the welcome meeting and we'd had no sleep. But once you have got through that the skiing is brilliant and the people are really friendly and helpful. The hotel food was a bit dodgy - the Bulgarians like their food luke warm so you might be a bit surprised to find chilly chips etc in the hotel (they provide a microwave - yuck!) but generally in restaurants they cooked food to the standard we would expect at home. Particularly Mammacitas the Mexican which you really must book if you want a table - they do brilliant English breakfasts. Even if you aren't into Mexican they cater for other tastes. The Blue and Chilli Peppers were also favourites of ours. Frankos is great for lunch and you can pretty much ski there.


Bulgaria isn't as cheap as people are likely to tell you before you arrive and they do try to rip you off. There were occasions where they asked for too much for drinks and we said "no we will pay £.." and they accepted. Also they don't like to give change and they like to round up, but if you mention it they will give you items up to that price to make up the change.
Advisable to take Sterling as extra to change at Change Plus if necessary as the cash points are'nt keen on British Cards.

Don't bother with the Sofia City tour, the guide wasn't interested and it lasted about 20 minutes. It takes 3hrs to wander round on your own. I guess it might have been worth it but as it was snowing and too cold/slippy to walk around we just had to waste time sat in a coffee shop waiting to be taken to the airport.

I've never been skiing before but, all in all, had a great time, progressed quickly and did a red run by the end of the week. My boyfriend has skied in France, Spain, Italy and Canada and said Borovets was comparable and in some ways better.

It's a bit rough around the edges but its great fun. You should definitely try skiing in Borovets. Go with an open mind and enjoy it.

2009-01-06