Katarino Spa Resort Apartments, Bansko, Bulgaria
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £154
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
The nearest ski lifts are 8 miles away. The hotel is 5 miles from the centre of the town and both the lifts and the centre can be reached by a 10 minute shuttle bus ride which stops outside the property. The hotel is in a quiet area and has great views of the mountains. loading...
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Katarino Spa Resort Apartments Reviews
" Bansko skiing/hotel Katarino "
Submitted By: jonst276
Just come back from Bansko,stayed at the Hotel Katarino Spa....
Hotel
This hotel is absolutely superb, says 4* and believe me it is! Clean, spacious rooms, excellent food - fantastic choice every breakfast and evening...large lounge area to relax in, Spa area is also superb, comfy loungers, heated pool indoor and out, bar for drinks, 2 saunas, 3 steam rooms, aroma therapy rooms, heated stone loungers all superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Drinks can be a little expensive(own beer nice and cheap £1.75 a pint and happy hour for beer 6-7). Bulgarians not very friendly but hey no skin off my nose!Hotel allows smoking but has designated non smoking areas....views of mountains are spectacular and hotel has a boot room for free...
Hotel is also really hot in the evening so take some t shirts!
The hotel ski bus is very, very reliable every 15 mins....
Weekends get very busy with the Bulgarians, but quieter during the week..
Transfer
With a late flight the hotel have a sandwich and water waiting for you.... the transfer from the airport is 3 hours but the hotel IS worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Skiing,
Sunday is a nightmare getting Ski's & pass, queues are horrendous for the cable car to the slopes and for chairlifts when you get to the slopes,just be prepared! The rest of the week is fine hardly any queing and Bansko has alot of snow canons so skiing is virually guarenteed....we had no snow falls whilst there, 3 clear days then rain and cloud, but lost just one day skiing...
Hotel
This hotel is absolutely superb, says 4* and believe me it is! Clean, spacious rooms, excellent food - fantastic choice every breakfast and evening...large lounge area to relax in, Spa area is also superb, comfy loungers, heated pool indoor and out, bar for drinks, 2 saunas, 3 steam rooms, aroma therapy rooms, heated stone loungers all superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Drinks can be a little expensive(own beer nice and cheap £1.75 a pint and happy hour for beer 6-7). Bulgarians not very friendly but hey no skin off my nose!Hotel allows smoking but has designated non smoking areas....views of mountains are spectacular and hotel has a boot room for free...
Hotel is also really hot in the evening so take some t shirts!
The hotel ski bus is very, very reliable every 15 mins....
Weekends get very busy with the Bulgarians, but quieter during the week..
Transfer
With a late flight the hotel have a sandwich and water waiting for you.... the transfer from the airport is 3 hours but the hotel IS worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Skiing,
Sunday is a nightmare getting Ski's & pass, queues are horrendous for the cable car to the slopes and for chairlifts when you get to the slopes,just be prepared! The rest of the week is fine hardly any queing and Bansko has alot of snow canons so skiing is virually guarenteed....we had no snow falls whilst there, 3 clear days then rain and cloud, but lost just one day skiing...
Good for: Ski
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- Date of Holiday:Jan 2009
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
" My husband and I stayed at the... "
Submitted By: Mrs D Tomlinson
My husband and I stayed at the Katarino Spa for 5 days at the end of November 2007. Very good value - breakfast and dinner included. The food was very good with a good choice. Drink in restaurant was not as expensive as UK. Snacks and drink in the lovely lobby lounge was very reasonable. The view from this area is spectacular - uninterrupted views of mountains and forest. Our room was very good - clean and spacious - definitely a 4* hotel. The pool facilities etc are excellent. The area is beautiful and unspoilt -just outside Razlog, and just a short drive to nearby towns. We plan to go again this year with a group of about 10.
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- Date of Holiday:Nov 2007
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" The hotel is beautiful, but please... "
Submitted By: Ms E Sweeney
The hotel is beautiful, but please anyone who is coming here please fly in to Sofia airport, there is nothing wrong with Plovdiv airport its just that its 4 hours away on some of the worst roads that I have ever been on. Keep this in mind if you are a bad traveller or have small children with you. The food here is fine I didnt go hungry once, the hotel do their best and like anywhere its never like it is at home. There are great pizza places in bansko down by the ski rental centre, and the hotel puts on a great spread, you would have to be an extremley fussy eater not to be able to choose one thing per meal at least. The people are friendly and the beer is cheap what more can I say. The place its self is not very developed but thats the stage its at. The skiing even though its not my thing is very good for beginners, the ski instructors are lovely and I highly reccomend doing the lessons with them if you are a first time skier.
I have given the holiday a 7 simply because the transfer time, this for me really was a killer especially when there is an airport less than 2 hours away, this is my travel operators fault though and not the tour company, but do check it out before you depart because the roads are not very good and on a bus even the best traveller can be quiet ill.
I have given the holiday a 7 simply because the transfer time, this for me really was a killer especially when there is an airport less than 2 hours away, this is my travel operators fault though and not the tour company, but do check it out before you depart because the roads are not very good and on a bus even the best traveller can be quiet ill.
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- Date of Holiday:Jan 2008
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Crystal
" We were traveling as two adult and a... "
Submitted By: Mrs M Austin
We were traveling as two adult and a seven year old and were the first Brits to stay at the hotel. There were 8 Brits in total when we stayed, but this shouldn't put you off staying at the Hotel, it was excellent value for money and has excellent facilities, the leisure complex/spa being very good and very reasonably priced, about £14 for a massage. The Hotel was very busy over the weekends with Bulgarians traveling from Sofia, etc for the Skiing, but during the week it was very quiet.
An unforgettable part of the Hotel was the outdoor swimming pool, which may sound surprising in January when the temperature didn't rise above freezing, but there was a covered entrance and the pool was at approximately bath temperature. We looked forward to this after skiing especially seeing the temperatures were exceptionally cold when we stayed. Happy hour in the hotel was very cheap, 2 pints of local beer for 80p.
The Skiing in Bansko was great for a beginner and the instructors were very friendly, spoke good English and stayed with the group even at lunch time. The food and drink on the Piste was ok, you could get an omlette and chips for a couple of pounds.
An unforgettable part of the Hotel was the outdoor swimming pool, which may sound surprising in January when the temperature didn't rise above freezing, but there was a covered entrance and the pool was at approximately bath temperature. We looked forward to this after skiing especially seeing the temperatures were exceptionally cold when we stayed. Happy hour in the hotel was very cheap, 2 pints of local beer for 80p.
The Skiing in Bansko was great for a beginner and the instructors were very friendly, spoke good English and stayed with the group even at lunch time. The food and drink on the Piste was ok, you could get an omlette and chips for a couple of pounds.
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- Date of Holiday:Jan 2006
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:First Choice
" Beautiful Spa Hotel with great... "
Submitted By: Mr C Thornley
Beautiful Spa Hotel with great facilities. Spa treatments, bars, bowling, pool etc
We stayed in one of the small chalets which surround the hotel.
Luxury furnishing with a roaring log fire & wonderful views of the mountains. Very relaxing.
Good skiing & Bansko town is great. And so cheap compared to other ski resorts we've been to!
I think it would be a great summer destination as well.
We stayed in one of the small chalets which surround the hotel.
Luxury furnishing with a roaring log fire & wonderful views of the mountains. Very relaxing.
Good skiing & Bansko town is great. And so cheap compared to other ski resorts we've been to!
I think it would be a great summer destination as well.
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- Date of Holiday:Dec 2005
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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Katarino is a fantastic hotel with great facilities. It’s just a shame about the staff! Only the housekeeping and spa staff were consistently polite. It’s hit and miss with the waiting staff, and the management team are about as useful as a waterproof teabag.
On my first evening a ‘barman’ (and I use the term loosely here), offered me a whisky, I checked if it was ‘on the house’ and the grunting noise masquerading as a response led me to believe I may have to pay for it – how bad could it be, I was in Bulgaria and it’s supposedly cheap. £30 he tried to charge me for a glass of whisky! I refused to pay, and the next day, he did apologise and accepted his mistake.
He didn’t take the drink off the bill as I had asked, and I spent the rest of my week being passed around the very large middle management team, each passing on the buck, until I spoke with the General Manager. This chap didn’t understand the concept of customer service, proceeded to insult me and call me a liar (despite his barman admitting the mistake). His stubborn alpha male stance on the issue meant he wasn’t going to back down. At check out I simply paid in cash minus the £30, only to be insulted by yet another staff member, who at first pretended to not know about the issue, but then miraculously remembered.
The issue with the staff at Katarino, is simple – if a mistake is made they pay for it out of their salary. This explains why no one accepted responsibility, and quickly forgot their English language skills as soon as they realised there was an issue. The same ‘barman’ (Toni) had 4 other complaints against him that week. They included offering 16 year old ‘prostitutes’, cocaine, and a suspicious substance found in a drinks straw. Needless to say he was still working there when we left.
If you do stay there, follow these simple rules:
• Never ask for or agree anything over the phone – they will get it wrong
• Always check prices and ask for the menus – overcharging is rife
• Don’t use room service – they overcharge
• Use the mini bar in your room – it’s cheaper than the hotel bar!
• Pay your bar bill in cash – don’t put it on your room
• Collect your passport as soon as you can, and don’t leave credit cards as security – if there’s a problem at check out, they have nothing to hold you to
Next year, I’ll be going back to Austria – it might cost a bit more, but I’ll be dealing with honest people who smile and appreciate my business. The 3hr flight and 4hr transfer doesn’t make it worth while!