Snowsure: 3.7
- 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
- Borovets is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Borovets 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 25, 2007
Nigel Jamieson from
United Kingdom
Nigel Jamieson from
United Kingdom
My wife and I are good intermediate skiers. Enjoy red and even black slopes after a fresh snow fall. We came to Borovets in the half term holiday period. The resort is strangely split between two areas and sadly they do not really join up. The lower slopes are accessed by a couple of chair lifts which start off on wide blue slopes ending in a choice of reds a black or a green mountain path.
There are a couple of very wide nursery slopes but these were incredibly crowded for the first 3-4 days. We saw groups of 15+ in classes and it seemed to take ages for the pupils in the classes to take their turn. At worst the beginner drags had 75+ people shuffling in line for their turn. It must have been 40+ minutes to get onto the drags at peek time. Also on the first day we were shocked by the length of queues to get ski gear for some of the groups (it’s unlikely they got their gear before lunch on the first day) so get up early to get your skis.
The second range (much higher and therefore much colder) is reached via the gondolas (25 minute ride) and has an amazing wide green run at the top along with a good blue, a couple of nice wide reds and a black. The drags are tedious though and the 2nd and 3rd drags are horrendously jerky and uncomfortable. The runs down are mainly reds with one nice blue for part of the way. Strangely a couple of the reds run down to nowhere and you have to either walk back or take one of the horse drawn taxis (10 Lev) back to the gondola. There is one chair lift up the side and when the gondola queue is huge (over 30 mins) then it could be advisable to take a taxi to the chair lift which goes up to the middle of the range where you can join the gondolas from the reds, not advisable for beginners.
We arrived after a fresh snow fall and so the first few days enjoyed relatively good conditions. The snow on the higher range stays fresher if conditions turn mild, but it’s icy till mid day if there has been no cloud cover overnight. We enjoyed many of the slopes but were annoyed that on some days not all the slopes were refreshed by piste-bashers. With the limited runs it seems incredibly lazy not to have them all in good working order at the start of each day. On the last day they closed the top gondola so many more beginners were packed onto the lower range. Too many beginners trying their first red slopes at the end of their first week to make it a safe experience. There is an opportunity to night ski on floodlit slopes but I’m not sure of the attraction as its just floodlit and at extra cost (no flaming torch processions etc)
If you are a good strong skier you will have skied the entire range in two days or less, but there are plenty of off-piste tracks for the more adventurous. All in all a reasonable range but too crowded at times and very annoying that random runs were left undressed and remained heavily rutted when they could have been so much better.
We can thoroughly recommend one of the restaurants on the nursery slope. As you come off the number 3 red slope facing the Rila Hotel it is on your right facing the first of the two chairlifts. Their pizzas are amazing and so is their hot wine. A mug of that mid afternoon will certainly help you fly down the reds and blacks for the rest of the afternoon!
A word of caution
The hole in the wall machines seem to either not work or deliberately not accept English cards of any sort. Is it a conspiracy with the bureau de change and hotels? This forced us to take out cash from our credit card in the hotel with a handling charge of 10%! The cash exchange rate is generous so bring English cash for emergencies.
February 17, 2007
Paul from
United Kingdom
Paul from
United Kingdom
January 14, 2007
jay from
United Kingdom
jay from
United Kingdom
January 14, 2007
scott from
United Kingdom
scott from
United Kingdom
A group of 7 went to Boverts over x-mas, our 2nd year running. Snow wasn't the best at the bottom but once at the top it was ok. 5 of us were snowboarding and 2 others were skiers. At the start of the week we built a big jump and a rail. I used my unbreakable spade that I received for Chrismas because there was not a snow park. I bet most of you reading this came and sessioned the jump at some point in the week. Since being back I've been to Leeds Indoor Snow Dome. It's not the same as Boverets but recommend it to you boarders looking for some big air jumps and hitting some rails. Will be back Dec 2007. Happy New Year!!
December 31, 2006
Kerry from
United Kingdom
Kerry from
United Kingdom
We just got back from a week in Borovets. We stayed in the Samokov hotel and the people couldnt have been friendlier! we had skiing lessons booked as it was our first time skiing, and the ski instructors are amazing!! Being beginners we were nervous about learning to ski but they take it at your pace, yet pushing you so that in 6 days we were skiing on a blue run, no way would we have done that without the lovely Kamen!! The hotel was clean, tidy and right in the centre of town, and very close to the gondala so that we didnt have to walk too par with all our ski stuff, unlike other hotels.
Our main concern was what the food would be like as we were told that it was horrid, we were pleasently surprised as it was on a good night, nice. Everything is cheap but be careful were you eat as they arent the cleanest of places, but still very welcoming!
The only bad thing i can say about the holiday is that at our Christmas dinner a waitress attempted to steal a member of our parties camera, so just keep a close eye on your belongings at all times.
As the Bulgarians dont get paid hugely they rely on tips at the end of the week, so if your ski instructor is good I would recomend that you tip as it makes life a little easier for them. Apparently a good tip is about £10 per person at the end of the week we turns out a little under £2 per day which isnt too bad at all.
Overall our week was amazing and we are planning on going back next year as intermediates!! What a scary thought! The resort is beautiful, set in a pine tree forest which really sets off the magical feel of the place. I would recommend this place to anyone!
chio chio xxx (we were patient enough to try and learn a bit of bulgarian from our instructors)
December 26, 2006
Kim Oultram from
United Kingdom
Kim Oultram from
United Kingdom
March 12, 2006
Gavin Greenway from
United Kingdom
Gavin Greenway from
United Kingdom
The wife and I returned from Borovets last night and got home early this morning. We had a superb time. I wanted to write this summary as prior to booking we took a certain leap of faith in selecting Bulgaria, we had odd visions that the low price meant we were settling for a somewhat decayed Siberian post communist time warp. We couldn’t get a feel for what it might be like from previous reports, so this is my effort and I hope it helps you.
Travel:
We went with Neilson, but honestly I think they are all similar. The hotels are used by all operators and there seem to be two main ski-schools, the Samokov school and Borosports.
The flight times were not perfect for us because we arrived at nearly midnight and had to be selecting skis and poles at 9am on the Sunday, so very little time to familiarise yourself with the resort or hotel. If you get a choice go on an earlier flight (to/from Gatwick). We were the last flight out on the Saturday and the last to return. It meant we arrived late and had to wait a long time in the hotel once checked out, always gauling and depressing once the holiday is over and everyone else has gone on earlier flights.
Hotels:
We stayed at the Rila which I could easily recommend, but the Samokov and the Ella seemed ok as well. The resort is small so access to the slopes is good from anywhere within it. If you are a complete beginner go to the Rila as the slopes you need literally end in the lobby bar of the hotel. If you are a little more intermediate the Samokov is just closer to the gondola and the higher slopes. Whatever you chose the hotels are only 200 yards apart anyway, but if early or late season maybe the Samokov is better because the gondola will have access to altitude.
In the Rila, we never ate the evening meal we just went out to eat. The breakfast was good every morning with identical choices. From cereals, breads to frankfurters and eggs, nothing amazing, all welcome though.
Food:
We were very impressed. We did not have any cold meals as some other reports might suggest from Bulgarian custom. All the exterior restaurants had large menus and you would be hard pressed not to find something to like. Lovely thin crust pizzas, steaks or traditional Bulgarian goulash to deep fried tongue...I won’t give too many recommendations because picking a restaurant can be such great fun and personal choice, but the exception I would make is to try the Turkish flat bread in Harry Potters steak house. Its seriously about the size of a small pillow and comes out steaming away on a hot plate……mmmmm.
Ski runs/equipment:
I was told that as an upper intermediate level skier I would get bored after a whole week in Borovets. Sorry I can’t agree with such European alpine snobbery. I was very satisfied, although the weather could play a big part in this issue. On the first 2 days the gondola (which is the only link to half the resort and the highest runs) was closed due to a pubic holiday then high winds.
When the gondola was not working the remaining (lower) slopes were crowded. It was also warm on those two days so the piste was getting dog eared. The rest of the week the gondola was working and this offered ample opportunity to most if not all levels. I really question how many people demand the kind of off slope skiing seen in extreme videos, but there were many pathways between the trees for those up for it. We had 40cm of new snow fall in one night which was fantastic. With conditions changing rapidly from strong sun, through heavy snow/fog and back to sunshine I never felt bored, and felt continually challenged.
My skis worked fine although I took my own boots; the wife hired all the gear. No problems. The ski depot where stuff was left overnight was 50 yards from the front door of the hotel. Couldn’t be better, therefore one of the potential worst bits of skiing, lugging around all the gubbings, hitting yourself in the head or shin with skis, was avoided – priceless.
The hardware (chairlifts etc) was all either new or in great condition. Apparently this was necessary to get up to EU membership for next year. No complaints whatsoever and was as good or better than stuff in France. One gondola, 3 chairlifts the remaining being drag lifts. The runs up until 2000 metres were just beautiful tree lined, covered in the white stuff. Above that the scenery was more tundra like, but no less impressive.
Nightlife:
Borovets seemed to be all things to all people and that’s quite a claim. Me and the wife are late 20’s early 30’s so we aren’t strangers to heavy noisy nights, but this time we were there as a couple only and to improve our skiing. We were worried that there would be too many families, or too many groups of youngsters out to the small hours waking us up. There were both sets actually, but we had a room at the back of the Rila away from the bars and didn’t have any problems. Every different demographic group sort of kept themselves to the themselves and did their own thing. Plenty of bars and late nights out if you want them (some in my ski group were getting home at 9.30am just in time to change back into ski gear) and others in our ski group managed to ditch their kids all day in the kindergarten in the morning and pick them up exhausted in the evening.
Ski instruction:
This was my only gripe. The wife was between groups (too good for one, not good enough for another) so after day 2 decided on private tuition. The official Borosport price was 30 quid for 4 hours which is just so reasonable. The problem was that the instructor was changed mid way through a lesson, and had to come down in the middle of a run on managers orders. After an ensuing row between us and the Borosport manager, who had double booked the instructor, we were left hours short. I tried to organise another instructor privately through my own instructor but he failed to show up for our group lesson and switched off his phone. He made many excuses and said he had run out of phone credit, but in truth we had seen him very drunk the night before. I have no worries with hy-jinks, but you don’t let 10 people down like that if you are a professional. It wasted precious practice days and ruined a great ski tutor group atmosphere.
This experience is maybe not typical, we heard other bad stories but met yet others who loved their instructors. In general I just surmise that the school is not organised that well, in comparison to European standards, maybe Samokov ski school is better.
In Conclusion:
Bulgaria and Borovets is a real find. If you are looking for a cheap and quaint place to ski this is definitely it. Bulgaria appears to be advancing fast yet retains a certain innocence. This innocence could be seen in the cosy chalet restaurants, with roaring open fires and wooden interior, or the people (the young locals are still in that impressed with their mobile phone/ringtone stage that most of us grew out of in 2002). The food is good and everyone is very friendly. I would go again even though I normally like to try different countries if possible.
Don’t think twice about going to Bulgaria, it’s great. If you have already been, you will know what I am talking about.
February 23, 2006
Martin & Jess Turk & family from
United Kingdom
Martin & Jess Turk & family from
United Kingdom
Just spent half-term week at Hotel Rila, Borovets. Yes it was busy, but where isn't during school holidays? Had an absolute ball. Brilliant ski-school instructor, Alex (small but good), looked like Frankie Detorri. We made some great new mates that we plan to keep in touch with. The hotel was perfectly adequate, rooms cleaned everyday and fresh linen, what more do you want? Loads of food available, we went half-board, all food self-service so it's up to you whether you're hungry or not. Contrary to popular belief there are plenty of ATM machines all with good exchange rate and they take all debit cards, don't know where the rumour that you have to take cash came from. The runs were brilliant for us we all left as intermediates which is no mean feat when working with a mixed group, all ages and sizes. The Gondola was only going half way for the last 3 days, sadly, so the rest of the slopes were crowded, but we're hardly going to complain when it was shut for safety reasons. Would gladly recommend Borovets to everybody and will definitely be going back. Lovely place, super people, brilliant holiday.
February 22, 2006
Judith Verburg from
France
Judith Verburg from
France
Just back from Borovets. Had a great time!! The first days snowed all day and it was very cold. The runs were good, but the last two days it wasn't that good anymore.
There were a lot of beginners, but if you took the red runs, it was good skiing, not too busy.
Met a nice guy from Manchester, he stayed in hotel Moura. So if you read this and you know that guy or you are that guy. Greetz from me!!!!
I will go back to Borovets one day! It is a very nice place to spend the holidays (if you like skiing).
February 21, 2006
P Gregg from
United Kingdom
P Gregg from
United Kingdom
Just returned from Borovets, 18 feb/06. It snowed for the first 3 days, which was great. Unfortunately a thaw set in on the Fri & Sat, the snow on the lower slopes turned very sticky and I gave up skiing. The conditions were not good for the last 2 days. On 1 of the black runs, you could see grass showing. But don't let that put you off visiting Borovets. If it does snow over the next couple of weeks, the blue and red runs are great. I stayed half board in Edelweiss, the food was pretty good and I defanitely would go back again.
Nearest