Overall:
3.7.
Based on
32
votes
and
42
reviews.
Vote
Access: 4.3
(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski.
Public Transport: 3.5
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.1
(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.
Accommodation: 4.3
(1) No places to stay in/near Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
Cheap Rooms: 3.8
(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
Luxury Hotels: 3.9
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski.
Ski in/Ski out: 4.3
(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.
Childcare: 2.8
(1) There are no child care facilities at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 3.8
(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 2.8
(1) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
Snow Grooming: 4.2
(1) There are no snow groomers at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski are groomed daily.
Shelter: 3.9
(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 3.1
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.
Regional rating: 3.8
(1) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
Lift Staff: 4.0
(1) The staff at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 3.7
(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
Ski Schools: 3.9
(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.
Hire and Repairs: 3.9
(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
Variety of pistes: 3.9
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
Beginners: 4.5
(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
Intermediates: 4.1
(1) No intermediate terrain at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 3.7
(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
Snow Park: 3.0
(1) Not even a kicker at Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 3.5
(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
Cross-country: 3.7
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 2.3
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 4.0
(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.
Eating: 3.9
(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
Apres-Ski: 3.7
(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.
Other Sports: 3.4
(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
Entertainment: 3.3
(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.
Winter Walks: 3.4
(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
Ski Pass Value: 3.2
(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.
Value (National): 3.3
(1) Overall, Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
Value (Global): 3.6
(1) Overall, Mavrovo-Zare Lazarevski is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.
What a disappointment; we have all been waiting for years for this place to get it together.
When there is snow the staff at Zare don't know how to manage it. They don't even use the snow blowers. When there isn't snow they don't offer alternative activities to keep the place running. It's like they want to lose money. I wonder why? ! :-) ...
Another sad Macedonian story.
Go to Bulgaria instead.
WHY IS THERE NO DATA ON THE CURRENT SNOW COVER THICKNESS IN MAVROVO?
[Editor's reply. We have obtained regular snow reports for approximately 1500 out of 2500 ski resorts. Mavrovo (Zare Lazarevski) is currently not one of these. Sorry about that. We provide various ways for resort managers and local skiers to submit snow reports online. The simplest it to use twitter. See http://www.snow-forecast.com/pages/eyeball_report. With twitter you can simply send a text message and it will appear on our site right away. We hope that this new feature will allow us to increase the proportion of resorts with regular snow reports]
There is snow today but not enough for skiing. At the bottom almost 30cm snow, but higher at the slopes due to the strong wind there is almost none. It's freezing!
For further information regarding the skiing conditions in the next days call the Ski Center: 00389 42 489 065. I haven't tried yet calling this number but I hope it will work!
The prices are expensive at Zare Lazarevski, but Mavrovo (Zare Lazarevski) is the only place in Macedonia that can be called a ski center. Sapka is amazing but the ski lifts are too old and the gondola from Tetovo is destroyed. But think of this, Mavrovo is amazing. The mountain is incredibly beautiful; the whole area is just stunning. Still until Kozuf is built and Krusevo expands and Sapka undergoes repairs, Mavrovo has the monopoly of skiing in Macedonia.
I just got back from Mavrovo (Zare Lazarevski) 5 days ago. The weather was great. People operating the ski lifts are not that friendly, they think they have the most important job in the world. I don't want to offend any one but they are just assistants to the ski lift. The snow was fine. Check the wind before going up the hill because the one reported by the ticket office is way much lower than the actual wind on the mountain. They report around 15 km/h (less than 10kts) but up there it is more than 30 and they don't give you money back. Overall, the piste for beginners is great. Waiting time around 10 mins at the T-bars (ski lifts) on Sunday. Prices are expensive comparing that you are going to Macedonia. Hotels very expensive 30 eur per person per night in a less than 2 star hotel. Food is expensive as well.
Nice place, ruined by overpriced hotel with appallingly bad service and even worse food. Hotel Lodge & Bistra, take a deep bow. If you are happy with medium rate skiing in a badly appointed resort which is difficult to reach then head to Mavrovo. Do any Macedonian tourist reps visit their own resorts because if they do, then they might like to care to compare them with those in Bulgaria.
The opening of the ski season, this winter, will be on Friday 21st of December 2007. There's around 70 cms of snow on the ski slopes. All the ski lifts and terrains will be open.
Although the mountain is beautiful, the owners of the ski resort havent invested anything in the infrastructure and the complete picture for the resort is TOTAL DISSAPOINTMENT! The slopes are not groomed properly, there is not enough snow, the term artificial snow is SCIENCE FICTION....disaster...they are only increasing the prices of the ski tickets and offering nothing new... everything sucks
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