Bor Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

Skiing Pamporovo, 13th-20th Jan 2008 with Balkan Holidays. Delayed due to fog for 8hrs and had to land in Burgas instead of Plovdiv - again due to fog - then transfer to Plovdiv by coach, 4hrs. Then from there onto Pamporovo, 2hrs by coach; arrived midday Mon 14/01/08. We were lucky as all other airlines landed in Greece. Return trip had to leave hotel 2 hrs early to fly out of Sofia; was delayed 3 hrs - you guessed it - due to fog.
Pamporovo is a great ski resort for all with good slopes for beginners and the more competent skier. We stayed at the Hotel Bor, a basic hotel a short walk from the centre of Pamporovo and a few minutes walk to ski buses that take you to the slopes some 3 kilometres away. The hotel offers clean, tidy, and warm basic rooms with a wet room; bedding changed mid week with clean towels several times. It also offers a small sauna free of charge well worth visit after a day on the slopes. The gym amounts to nothing more than a multi-gym, a few weights, a rowing machine, and a machine with a belt to wobble the inches away - great for a laugh if nothing else! The food was adequate, but not very warm. If you are entitled to a free beer or glass of wine with your meal, ask, as it is not always offered.
In general the hotel is clean and tidy with friendly staff, but is in need of some T.L.C. - remember, this is a former communist country and has a lot of catching up to do, and this will take some time. No doubt this is one of the older hotels in resort, so if you're looking for a fancy modern hotel, it's not for you.
If you're on a learn-to-ski package, your instructor will stop on the slopes each day for drinks and lunch, which can work out costly with the price of hot chocolate being 6 lev, beer 5 lev, Fanta/coke 4 to 6 lev, large basic pizza 12 lev, chips, and burger 14 lev. So if skiing with kids like me the cost soon adds up. There are a couple of small kiosks, one near each ski lift, that sell hot chocolate at 2.50 lev and soft drinks at 2.50 lev - a lot cheaper than the restaurants. See current exchange rate for cost in £££.
Beware of the bell men at the ski centre - they are friendly enough, but will pester you constantly to buy bells. If you are not interested, just politely say no thank you; if you do want to buy one - barter, barter, barter!
In the centre of resort there's a nice supermarket with Forex Exchange, a small shopping centre selling mostly ski gear, a few bars, restaurants, a couple of night clubs, a new ice rink (15 lev per session) and a bowling alley in Hotel Perelik (8 lev per person per game). You can also use all the facilities of the larger hotels - swimming pool, steam room, sauna etc. for a reasonable charge. If you fancy a go on the ski doos they are situated near the middle chair lift. We booked through our rep; believe it or not, it worked out cheaper that way, especially as we paid in £££ sterling.
Exchanging money in resort: the Forex Exchange offered a better rate than at home and with no commission.
Have a great time skiing in Pamporovo. We did and would definitely go again.