Borovets - trip accounts

Borovets is a good ski resort but it's limited in terms of the amount of runs. A good skier will ski them all in 2 days, leisurely and weather permitting. For learning it is a very good resort.

Balkan Holidays reps are a bit anal with the cleaning of the coach. On transfer to Sofia airport on the last day we were told 'not to make a mess of the coach' and there was a very original prohibition symbol on the coach's windows...

Balkan Holidays package including:

• Flights with Norwegian Air from Gatwick with 20kg hold luggage + 7kg hand luggage.
• Transfers Sofia airport - Borovets - Sofia airport.
• Hotel Lion in Borovets, 4-stars, half-board, 7 nights, double room.
• 6 days of ski tuition, 4h daily in a group.
• 6 days of full equipment hire.
• Storage for hired equipment at the equipment rental shop.
• 6 days ski lift pass.

The package cost 1494lev (£670, €797, $885) per person.

Food & drinks:

Water in Bulgaria is safe to drink. Some blogs say it has a strange taste. We totally disagree! We had Bulgarian tap water all week.

We spent 172lev (£77, €92, $98) per person on lunch, teas/hot chocolates and evening drinks. Please remember we are not heavy drinkers!

Dinner at the hotel included drinks: wine, beer, juices, coffee.

Activities:

Night skiing: 30lev (£13.50, €15, $17).

Hot springs (with transport): 42lev (£19, €21.50, $24).

TOTAL for 2 persons:

• 1738lev
• £779.50
• €925.50
• $1024

Conversion:

£1=2.23lev

€1=1.96lev

$1=1.76lev

Borovets Day 6

Weather:

Sunny, breeze.

Instructor:

'Good skiing'. Couldn't get a better comment from the instructor!

Slopes:

Strong winds meant the gondola was shut again. There seems to be a pattern here...

Again stuck at the crowded Stinyakovo area. Dodging skiers and snowboarders whilst trying not to catch an edge on the fluffy snow became part of the lesson and quick reflexes are mandatory.

The black Martinovi Baraki 4 was closed for slalom competition which reduced the options even further.

By half morning we were bored of doing the same over and over again and of queuing on the very busy chairlifts. 10min descending and 20 min queuing were boring us to death. Mitko then promised me something 'naughty'. 6 days and the man already knows what makes me tick!

We descended the black and mogul riddled Cherveno Zname, marked as 'freestyle only' today. It was not as bad as I thought. The start of the run is pretty vertical and scary but the remaining is manageable. It was fun! We only did it once because it is against the rules for instructors to take students on runs that aren't technically open. 'Freestyle' means 'you'd better know what you're doing or you can get hurt'.

Lunch at the Derby again. Food is good. Today I had hotch-potch, apparently the Bulgarian breakfast, a mix of eggs, tomatoes, peppers and cheese. Tasty!

As you arrive at the Derby, you are given a shot of some kind of Bulgarian spirit, sweet and strong. I would highly recommend having it for 2 reasons: it's good and it's antibacterial properties are important. There was a queue for the toilet as several groups were preparing to leave at the same time. The employees allowed us to use the staff's toilet, a small cubicle with a toilet but no sink to wash hands... Ew!

Lessons ended early on the last day. The runs were crowded. The chairlifts were crowded. It was the last day and we were tired. We decided to return the equipment and hit the hotel's swimming pool instead. We enjoyed the pool until 4pm, when too many children meant it was getting too noisy.

There was a ski school gathering tonight at Franko' for food and drinks with live music. A way for the local business to squeeze some more money out of tourists. We decided to skip it. Food at the hotel is better and these social evenings are usually too noisy!

Borovets Day 5

Weather:

Cloudy, snowy, windy. Freezing cold!

Instructor:

No comments today so I must be skiing alright.

Slopes:

We decided to go up the gondola at 9am to avoid queuing again. We planned to do a few runs before the lesson but it took so much time to get up there that we ended up having time for one run only.

The top of the gondola is guarded by a very friendly cat. I hope it's long fluffy hair keeps it warm!

Meeting was at the top today, at the White House cafe at 10h30. We waited inside for the remaining members of the group, holding a hot chocolate to warm the fingers. The temperature today was -11°C!

There was time for a couple of runs before the weather changed. Strong wind, snow and poor visibility battered the top. I was very jealous of Ricardo's balaclava as my nose gained icicles.

A skier must have got seriously hurt because he was taken down the mountain from the top on an ambulance, a snowplough type of vehicle with tracks. Mitko says the Ski Patrol usually ski the injured person to the gondola and a special gondola takes them down. Using an ambulance means serious injury!

Mitko decided to take us down. A third of the way down visibility improved greatly and by half way the trees were sheltering us and it wasn't as cold. Well, it was a more comfortable -6°C!

Lunch was at The Terrace Lounge of Hotel Rila. It has wonderful panoramic views to the slopes. We sat in the sheltered and warmed open bar which was sheltered indeed but at -3°C it wasn't that warm.

We finished the lesson at lunchtime because we had booked a trip to the hot springs with the Balkan Holidays rep.

Hot Springs:

A 40min drive from Borovets in the village of Sapareva Banya sits Aqua Club Kotvata, a thermal mineral spring. It is a fairly big complex of indoor pools, outdoor pools, spa and restaurant.

By the entrance, some prohibition signs. We were all laughing out loud, assuring each other we had left our guns at the hotel!

Outdoor pools were our aim and it has several pools ranging from cold (icy surface) to warm (20-25°C), hot (30-35°C) and very hot (40°C). It's surrounded by the Rila mountains and the scenery is gorgeous.

The very hot pool was a bit too much for me and Xana. It felt like I was being boiled alive. Jorge and Ricardo managed a few seconds submerged up to the neck and came out with flushed skin from the neck down.

We spent the majority of the time on the hot pool which was lovely. The others did a few trips to the cold pool and back which is wonderful for blood circulation, but it was a bit too cold for me and once was enough to try.

The heat of the water was welcome on sore muscles and I took advantage of the jacuzzi jets to massage my achy calves.
The sun was setting as we left the hot springs and the colour on the mountains was beautiful.

The outdoor pools are open 9h-19h every day and 9h-21h Fridays and Saturdays. Adults pay 15lev weekdays and 20lev weekends.

Borovets Day 4

Weather:

Cloudy, snowy, windy.

Snow, lovely snow, how beautiful are thee.

Instructor:

I got a 'you're more confident' from Mitko. Along with it came 'Now work on making less sharper turns'. I need to learn to turn gracefully, like a ballerina. 

I think this is the most productive skiing tuition I've paid for. There is a reason Bulgarian resorts are known for teaching.

Slopes:

The legs are very sore by now. It took me some time to get them out of bed. The shins ache from the ski boots. However, as soon as I hit the slopes, I inhale the pure mountain air and all pain is forgotten. I giggle as the wind hits my face and I pick up speed. I love skiing!

Due to the weather the gondola is closed. We, and the rest of the resort, are grounded at the Stinyakovo area. Again, the runs were crowded.

Xana decided to have a ski-free day. She went up the chairlift and walked the closed green Stinyakovo Royal Residence Ski Way. Untouched fluffy snow. She raved about the beauty of the route amongst the pine forest and past the old mountain residence of the Bulgarian kings. Further down the green run, now open, it crossed the reds and blues and became very icy. Xana was forced to do a bit of bum sleigh. Resort staff was positioned in 3 parts of the route which were very narrow and became icy very quickly due to the huge flow of people. They were helping skiers and snowboarders not to slip down the edge.

By mid-morning the snow and wind were intense and the main chairlifts were closed. We stopped for a hot chocolate. Half the resort must have quit because, when we re-started about 1h later, as the wind subsided and the chairlifts re-opened, the runs were less crowed.

We descended the toughest black in the resort: Martinovi Baraki 4. It was steep. It had some icy patches. It was long. It made the already sore legs ache. It was so rewarding! We returned after the lesson to do it a couple more times. It's a major confidence boost!

Lunch was, again, at the end of the lesson. Hungry, I decided to treat myself: chicken soup, stewed potatoes with garlic & dill and apple pie. Delish!

I really like the hotel bar:

Borovets Day 3

Weather:

Sunny, breeze.

Instructor:

No negative comments on my skiing today. I'll take it my hips and shoulders are much better. I feel that it is making my skis turn better with less effort. I'm also working on using a much shorter space of the run to ski and turn.

Slopes:

Meeting at the base of the gondola at 10am. Us and the entire resort! The queue came out of the gondola building, along the gondola road and turned to the main road. Around 40m of queue and a 30min wait. Horrendous!

We did a red run Mitko says it's the toughest of the resort: Markudjik 2B. It was marked as 'freestyle only'. Moguls galore! Tough work but fun.

At one point I was desperate for the toilet and not wanting to wait. I decided to just go behind the (very small) bushes. I miscalculated how deep the (unskied) snow on the sides of the run is and ended up thigh high in snow. It took some effort to unbury myself...

The majority of the group decided to do 4h straignt lesson and eat at the bottom. I was starving when we finished and cleaned up a huge plate of Penne a la carbonara in under 10min!!

Night skiing:

Between 18-21h30 one can ski at night in specially lit runs in the Stinyakovo area: Iglika, Rila, Martinovi Baraki 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is very much like skiing during the day as the lights are very powerful but with a dark sky, watching the moon and Borovets by night from the top.

For 30levs the experience is at everyone's reach. I would very much recommend coming in earlier rather than later as the chairlift was very busy from 19h and the runs felt like Sunday-crowded again.

The only downside was having to walk back to the hotel at night. The majority of the way was lit but it would have been scary for a sole person to walk.

Borovets Day 2

Weather:

Sunny, periods of clouds, no wind.

Instructor:

My hip game seem to be better. Now I need to improve on the shoulders. I see Mitko is feeding me little bits of information at a time.

Slopes:

We finally understand why lessons takes up the whole day. The resort is small. It's day 2 and we've already skied the majority of the runs!

We went to the top of the resort via gondola, to the Markudjik area. The gondola goes up almost 5km and takes 25min!! Each gondola has 3 seats, back to back. The equipment goes on the outside of the door.

The views from the top are amazing!

Much less people on the top, more space to manoeuvre.

Lunch was a flat bread with garlic and cheese on top. Very popular here. It's kind of a pizza base with topping. Very tasty and filling. Jorge had a bean soup, which came with a sausage today.

Après-ski at Mamacitas:

Borovets Day 1

We've flown into ski resorts before on Saturdays but this is the first time ski lessons start on a Sunday and run for 6 days.

Weather:

Sunny, no wind.

Instructor:

The instructor is called Mitko but his badge reads Dimitar?!?

We practice 10-12h, have lunch 12-13h, practice again 13-15h. It takes up the whole day, total of 4h lesson. How are we supposed to meet with the others not on the same level?

I want to go fast, Mitko tells me to slow down and to work on my hip game, which is awful. Love his Bulgarian honesty!

Slopes:

Skied at the Stinyakovo area and covered 90% of the runs. A green run (Stinyakovo Royal Residence Ski Way) and a black (Cherveno Zname) are closed due to low snow levels.

A whole new definition of the word 'crowded'. Bulgaria and the UK have come to Borovets. Sunday, bloody Sunday!

Lunch was a bean soup. Ricardo had a goulash soap. Both good. Jorge had a disappointing mushroom soap.

A few dogs in Borovets, they bother no one and no one bothers them. They seem to enjoy going up and down the slopes as well. There is no rabies in Bulgaria so I cuddle a dog who allowed me to.

A crazy man descending the slopes on his bum wearing jeans, t-shirt and trainers. Where the hell did he came from?

 

I use coconut oil as a lip balm. It works really well in the British weather, it's not a good idea in sunny weather when one spends the day outdoors. I ended up with my lips burned by the end of the day! It reminded me about the 80's when sun-goers used to liberally apply coconut oil to get a faster tan (burn).

We like the hotel bar:

Skiing in Bulgaria (Borovets)

Our last skiing trip was 5 years ago. When Ricardo and Xana invited us, we thought it was about time for a bit of Winter sport.

They were thinking affordable so the Alps were not to be. Bulgaria came up with good reputation and they settled on Borovets.

Borovets is the oldest Bulgarian Winter resort dating back to 1896. It's situated at 1300m altitude, along the northern slopes of the Rila Mountains, the highest mountain range in Bulgaria and indeed the Balkans. Musala is the highest mountain in the range at 2925m altitude.

Flights to Sofia from London Gatwick take 3h. Transfer from Sofia to Borovets takes 1.5h by coach. We arrived Saturday afternoon.

We booked our package through Balkan Holidays. There was a welcome meeting on the afternoon of the arrival where the rep told us about the resort, a few helpful tips and obviously advertised a few more services (no compromise, we were not pushed).

There was also time to sort out the equipment ready for the first day of skiing. I asked for short skis to go faster. The shop assistant looked at me and said 'these are your size and fast enough'. Bossy Bulgarian!

The mountain range is beautiful but there is a clear lack of snow this year.

The resort itself has all the necessary amenities, including night entertainment, but lacks the picturesque of the Alps resorts. 

Half of the restaurants have a man outside trying to lure you in but they are respectful and understand a 'No, thank you'. 

Borovets was built for tourism and makes no apologies for being purely functional.

The exception being the 4-stars Hotel Rila. The building was beautifully designed, at the doorstep of the runs, bang in the middle of town, providing ski-in/ski-out and views to the Rila mountain range. Of course it was not to be on our budget!

We stayed at the 4-stars Lion Hotel, 1.5km away from the centre. The hotel is comfortable, very clean, it's situated in a quiet location and has friendly staff. The rooms are hot at night so we slept with open windows which seemed to deliver the ideal sleeping temperature. We have booked half-board and were happily surprised with the variety and quality of the food. 

It takes 20min to walk to the centre but there is also a shuttle bus provided by the hotel between 8h20-18h.

We did find a pretty fountain on the way to our hotel which has the particularity of the water freezing and de-frosting according to the weather. The fountains can't be seen at all, only the water jets.

Borovets ski resort has 3 areas: Stinyakovo (1780-1300m), Yastrebetz (2049-1440m) and Markudjik (2550-2369m).

The resort has perfectly functional equipment (drag lifts, chairlifts) manned by plenty of staff. Scattered on the slopes you can see 'Ski Patrol' staff, ready for any emergency. It gave us confidence on the safety levels of the resort.