Pamporovo, Bulgaria

Craig from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

My girlfriend and I spent a week in Pamporovo last february. Although apprehensive about going to an eastern european country for a skiing holiday, we were both pleasantly suprised that it was just as good if not better than most western european resorts. I had expected a really run-down, ill-equipped resort but I could not have been more wrong. The skiing itself is a bit limited to a beginner/intermediate level but that is not a bad thing. The conditions were the best I had ever experienced (maybe thats just because I've had bad luck everywhere else!!) and it snowed 4 out of the six days we skiied so a good, thick cover was maintained. The boot and ski hire lodge was extremely efficient, little to no waiting time even in a group as large as ours was (there were about 21 people in our class). The instructor was brilliant and extremely patient with those who were finding it hard to pick up.
We stayed at the Hotel Pamporovo. I was gobsmacked when we arrived because I have stayed in so many hotels that looked lovely in the brochure but turned out to be awful. The Pamporovo was clean, luxurious and very friendly. There was so much to do in the hotel that there was never really a need to go anywhere else. My only minor complaint would be the food. It wasnt great, but by the same token it wasnt 'bad'. I would recommend this resort to anyone, I had an excellent time and would definitely go back but unfortunately the skiing itself is really aimed at beginners with only one black slope. So for someone who has never skiied before this is the place to get amazing value for money, the hotel was really luxuorious and we only paid about 400GBP for everything.

2005-12-15