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Pamporovo resort snow
Lat Long: 41.62° N 24.72° E
Ski Bulgaria

Pamporovo Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Pamporovo Ski Resort

Pamporovo Ratings

Overall: 4.0. Based on 80 votes and 108 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.1

  • 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
  • Pamporovo is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.1

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Pamporovo has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.4

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.4

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.7

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Pamporovo

Public Transport: 3.7

  • There are no buses or taxis to Pamporovo
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.7

  • No places to stay in/near Pamporovo
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 4.3

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.3

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Pamporovo

Ski in/Ski out: 4.2

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.9

  • There are no child care facilities at Pamporovo
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 4.2

  • Pamporovo relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.2

  • There are no snow groomers at Pamporovo
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Pamporovo are groomed daily

Shelter: 4.5

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Pamporovo is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.3

  • If snow conditions are poor at Pamporovo, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.3

  • Pamporovo usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.2

  • The staff at Pamporovo are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Pamporovo are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.9

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.5

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.3

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 4.7

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.5

  • No intermediate terrain at Pamporovo
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.7

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.3

  • Not even a kicker at Pamporovo
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.7

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Pamporovo
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.7

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Pamporovo has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 4.4

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 4.3

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.9

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.9

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.6

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.6

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 4.0

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 4.3

  • Overall, Pamporovo is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 4.5

  • Overall, Pamporovo is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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January 02, 2006
Steve Scarlett from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Just got back from Pamporovo, 30th Dec 2005, Hotel Pamporovo, one week over Xmas. A really good experience. The hotel was superb, wife and daughter using a couple of the spa/massage facilities, son and I settled for the Jacuzzi. Snow was excellent for the first four days, rained on the lower slopes on the fifth but was OK, snowing at the top and ski-able. The sixth and final ski day was superb for our ski test new snow at the top ensured a lot of the fluffy stuff. We had Ani as our ski instructor and concur with a previous comment that she is very good. Ex National skier and did the Wall, the Black Run, at three and a half! On the day we left it was raining hard and looked set in. Not sure what the snow was like after. Did a couple of touristy things, Bulgarian Folk Night was very good. Only down side was the Xmas dinner in the Pamporovo was not very (British) child friendly.
December 15, 2005
Craig from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
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.
April 26, 2005
Lynn Mornin from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I have been to Pamporovo twice now (february & new year) and am ready to book for this year again (xmas). I have also stayed in the same hotel (Snezhanka) each time because it is very good and the staff couldn't be more helpful. It is a small hotel with comfortable rooms, has a great apres ski atmosphere and the food is of a good a standard. The resort is very cheap, the scenery is breathtaking, and the instructors from Steve's ski school are fab for beginners and for the more advanced. The skiing is good for all levels because there are plenty of slopes to try. The resort is getting bigger and better each time I visit. The only thing I would give a warning about is the price of food when you are on the slopes, this can vary from person to person and day to day even if you order the same thing but it is all so cheap anyway that it doesn't really matter. Ps. if you go you must take a photograph of your favourite person/pet and take it to the artist in the Snezhanka to have him paint it. You won't regret it. He is amazing.
January 03, 2005
Andy Harrington from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
My family have never ski-ed, been away at christmas, or been to Bulgaria...and we have just done all three!!!!! Ski-ing was excellent. We all mastered it fairly quickly. Even my 20 year old daughter, who thinks sport is getting out of bed a bit quickly, took to it!!! It helped that we had the best instructor on the slopes. If you go to Pamporovo Ski School, make sure you ask for ANI. She was amazing!!!! On Christmas Day we ski-ed, had pizza, and the like for lunch, and enjoyed a good festive night in the hotel. Hotel Pamporovo is very good. 5 star for it's surroundings and facilities. 3 star for it's food. Good selection, and cooked breakfasts. But we did see quite a lot of English people eating fruit and bread for dinner....they didn't take to 1001 things to do with pork and cabbage!!! My biggest complaint was the service. Everywhere we went there was a certain level of disinterest from waiters and bar staff. I'm afraid if that doesn't change then a lot of people will be put off from returning to what is otherwise a very nice country.
January 04, 2004
Lene Thybo from Ski Norway Norway
This year we celebrated New Years Eve in this lovely area of Bulgaria. The people are openminded, kind and very helpful. The scenery of the area and the slopes are great and the prices are extremely low. And even lower if you visit Chepelare - the nearest town, 10 km's down the road.
December 31, 2003
J Wootton from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
We have spent Christmas in Pamporovo and had a wonderful time. The Hotel Pamporovo was excellant. Snow fell on Christmas Eve and we were able to ski, the instructors were excellant the slopes were fantastic scenery. In all a wonderful first time experience. The people are very friendly and the prices amazing.My family and i think it is briilant holiday to go on.
October 04, 2003
alex from Ski Bulgaria Bulgaria
This is a wonderful ski resort which is situated in Rodopi mountain.Breathtaking beauti-this is the most important thing in this mountain.A plenty of snow in the winter and cold summer.If you want to relax in silence and to sport on the excellent runs-this is the place you're searching for!