Snowsure: 3.9
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Bansko is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Bansko Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
February 13, 2007
andy quinn from
United Kingdom
andy quinn from
United Kingdom
February 05, 2007
Stelios from
Cyprus
Stelios from
Cyprus
I have just come back from Bansko. I was there for 4 days, from 30/1 to 2/2 2007. I'm very excited about Bansko. It's a great ski resort not far from my country. Fast new chair lifts and a big variety of slopes make the resort one of best I have ever visited.
Special thanks to Avalon Hotel which is great and I highly recommend it to anyone who is going to visit Bansko. Avalon Hotel you deserve more stars than you've got and probably you will remember the crazy Cypriot who was walking with ski boots inside the hotel. I will come again next year and this time I will not walk with ski boots inside the hotel.
February 01, 2007
Natalie from
United Kingdom
Natalie from
United Kingdom
Me, my better half and my parents went there in Jan 2005 as beginners. Our instructor was "Meto" who was great!! We stayed at the Pirin which is one of the older hotels and has a homely atmosphere. We found the resort superb as we had never skied before. English was weak but sufficient. The town itself had a few small shops for clothing and shoes were CHEAP!! We were half-board and found the food to be served warm rather than hot but enough choice to suit everyone.
We returned the following year to a MUCH more built up Bansko, we were suprised at how much building work had been done. But still the skiing was great as we could now ski!! We appreciated the the slopes more, trying out the Blues and Reds. Again, we took advantage of the ski school package with "Martin". We stayed at the Orphrey which was ok, nice big room, food was very good.
We are now returning for a third year back to the Pirin, which we hope to be even better - we will let you know?
January 28, 2007
Dom Evans from
United Kingdom
Dom Evans from
United Kingdom
We got back from Bansko yesterday, all in all I was very disappointed with the resort.
The Hotel - We stayed HB at the 4* Strazhite, the rooms were ok and the hotel nice enough but the service was lousy and they were downright unhelpful and grumpy, a theme we saw all too often. The food was also rubbish, pure stodge and crap variation, we ate out every night as a result. Hotel was well placed, about 4 mins from the Gondola and at the top of Pirin St.
The Skiing - The weather as everywhere else in Europe was rubbish, little snow, lots of closed runs, lots of ice and lots of people all on the same 4 slopes! It did snow the last 2 days which improved it a lot. The lift system is new and modern though and with good snow I'm sure the whole mountain would be a different place.
The food - the food in the mexana's we found to be superb and really well priced, great shashlik, Kapama and you must try Banski Starets, yum! The people in these places tend to be a bit more real but we still found them to be cold until they saw us a 2nd and 3rd time. The food on the mountain (as everywhere I suppose) was awful, crap service, cold and horrible, the pizza shack at the gondola level though was superb. A word of warning, avoid "the steakhouse" in Pirin st, I got food poisoning from raw chicken and it's well pricey for what you get.
The people- really strange bunch, some we met were nice but most ignore you, are grumpy and haven't a clue about customer service. It's as if they need you there but don't want you there, spoilt it for me and tinted my attitude towards them.
Summary - it's a strange resort, it wants to be a lot more than it is, huge amount of building and I can't for the life of me see why, it simply does not have the charm, the history or the quality of other resorts. I went there really hoping I'd like it and, with property investment in the back of my mind, if it's purely for investment purposes then it might be worthy of consideration but I wanted somewhere that I could also enjoy and Bansko is certainly not that place.
If you want cheap then Borovets is a better bet, smaller and more intimate. Bansko's only + is the lift system, if you want quality then go elsewhere. The bulgarian's really do not undertstand what makes a good resort!
One other word of warning, there is a lot of crime in Bansko, they don't tell you about it but the whole resort is mafia run, I had my wallet and snowboard stolen and saw more people in the police station than I did on the slopes, beware!
January 21, 2007
Marc Price from
United Kingdom
Marc Price from
United Kingdom
I have just come back from Bansko and we had the most amazing time. The night life was fantastic as was the skiing facilities, the customer service might be lacking but you get what you pay for.
We are definately coming back again, we just bought a place out there from Bulmax Estates (highly recommended) and we plan to return many times.
January 10, 2007
Mike from
USA - California
Mike from
USA - California
Hi there
I was in Bansko last week and I'm really impressed by this resort!
As you probably know the weather conditions in Europe are not one of the best, and so was the same in Bansko. But even though the ski slopes were almost perfect (thanks to the snow cannons, which can cover nearly 90% of the ski runs) There is quite a lot variety of slopes - almost 70 km, which can be used from beginners to advanced skiers. The Pirin Mountain is just amazing (especially when you go to the top of the slopes, the place is called Todorka peak - the view is just splendid!!!)
About the Bansko village - it's a small ancient town with very nice and modern apartments and hotels. The prices are reasonably low - you can stay in a pretty nice 4-star hotel for about 70-90 Euro. The Bulgarians are very warm and hospitable people and most of them speak English.
If we talk about the restaurants and food there - just perfect (don't miss to try these two Bulgarian meals - Kapama and Kavarma :) Night life is also great (the girls there are wonderful ;)
So if you want to spend a real nice ski holiday - Bansko is the place!
January 09, 2007
Mark W. from
United Kingdom
Mark W. from
United Kingdom
We visited Bansko at the start of January 2007. There was not enough snow yet for the skiing to be great, but they have enough snow cannons, so it was OK. I would advise going later in the season if you can. Expert skiers would probably get bored quite quickly here, though.
We stayed at the best hotel in Bansko, the Kempinski, which is very good. Great food, good service, ideal situation next to the gondola and foot of the ski run. But it is expensive by Bulgarian standards. Some people we met who had gone for cheaper options had less pleasant experiences, so beware!
I found the Bulgarians to be reasonably pleasant and helpful, though many don't speak English. However, they have no conception of queuing at ski lifts, which are more like a rugby scrum! The instructors were of varying quality, but no complaints with mine. The ski hire equipment is all modern and good quality, as are the ski lifts etc.
We ate out in the town one night at somewhere called Banski something, quite near the centre. It was a good atmosphere, good food and we spent about 30 Levs per head, including tips and several drinks.
The transfer from Plovdiv takes ages, nearly 4 hours.
Bansko can't compare with the Alpine resorts but if it doesn't price itself out of the market, it's a reasonable option.
December 30, 2006
David Sutcliffe from
United Kingdom
David Sutcliffe from
United Kingdom
I have just spent Xmas in Bansko and it was disappointing to say the least.
The 4 star aparthotel had terrible food (buffet) rubbish was piled high in the car park, swimming pool was freezing cold, sauna smelt of sewage.
Some staff were pleasant (mainly women) but the men were arrogant, unsmiling and rude.
Unbelievable amount of over construction, no way are all these apartments going to be filled.
WAKE UP BANSKO.......if you want to be a success STOP BUILDING and concentrate on keeping your guests happy and entertained instead of trying to make a quick buck or you will have no future.
And another thing , train your staff. Nobody had a clue how to do anything, from organising a hire car to locating a laundrette.
Service in Bansko is ZERO !!!
If you keep increasing your prices then France and Austria are better options infact anywhere is a better option than Bansko at the moment.
YOU NEED TO IMPROVE.........BIG TIME !!!!
December 14, 2006
Konstantinos from
Greece
Konstantinos from
Greece
Hi there! I spent my new years eve last year(2005-2006 )in Bansko. Great snow, great and brand new facilities, but the village and people couldnt be worst!!!
The 4 star hotel was a little bit above average, the food had nothing to say, the hospitality of the people was......was....oh my god!!!Nobody spoke English, nobody was smiling, and everybody was looking on their watch in order to finish working and go home.
Nightlife zero,walking during the night in the village dangerous...and....
I must say that I will think about going to Bansko again, cause spending almost the same amount of money that I've spent 1 month later in Austria made me think alot!!!!
For once maybe it is an experience, 'cause after all what we are looking for is the MOUNTAIN and nothing more....but for those who are thinking of going there ( Bansko ), let me give you a small bit of advice! Try it, only for couple of days, and for Gods Sake not for a whole week!
December 03, 2006
Christos from
Greece
Christos from
Greece
Well, my first ever visit to Bansko on March 2006 left me with mixed emotions. Let's start with the bad ones. Bansko a few years ago was a traditional Bulgarian village lagging western Europe by 50 years in every aspect. Suddenly an Austrian firm decided (correctly as far as I am concerned) to build a quite big, for Balkan standards, snow resort. This led to enormous growth of the area but not in the correct way. There are currently hundreds of under construction and already constructed multi-storey ugly poor quality buildings, with little or no infrastructure improvement.
I felt pity for my 4x4 vehicle, as the few tarmac covered roads are full of holes 40-50 cm deep.
To put it in simple words: People are looking for a quick (and dirty in certain cases) profit, without looking into the future.
Most of the local people we met were un-friendly but I was told that this phenomenon is limited to the village (or villages) and it is not a general attribute of Bulgarians.
Let's go to the food now. From very-very bad to nothing special.
The services at the resort are very poor. My wife lightly twisted her knee and having experience from the Greek snow centres, where the lift from an accident is free, I called for the snow mobile to get her to the doctor. I was asked initially for 500 Euro (~300 GBP) for the lift and then 170 Euro (~100GBP). I learned afterwards that I could have bought an insurance for about 2 Euro per day that covers the lift and the doctor.
Enough with the bad impressions. Let's go to the good ones.
The snow centre is superb. New and fast moving lifts, good snow (especially at the high altitude lifts). The queues are virtually non-existent during the weekdays and very small during the weekends. All sorts of slopes exist (blacks, reds, blues even a couple of greens). The beginner's lifts are excellent, slow moving and with good slope inclination. Although the centre’s personnel does not speak English, they are very helpful even trying to communicate with body language.
Summarising, Bansko is a ski resort, with no infrastructure in the village, ugly looking nature due to the swift over-development, un-friendly people but with a very nice snow centre.
I could reconsider going again but I would never-ever buy property there.
Nearest