Samokov Hotel

As first time skiers, we were unsure what to expect but Borovets didn't dissapoint.Big enough to eat and drink in different bars each night but small enough to make everywhere acesible by foot.Snowed whilst we were there which added to the magic.Samokov Hotel was a bit dated but we expected that.Rooms were clean and of a good size,plenty of bars in the hotel to choose from and lots of lounge areas.Pool was large and restaurant was ok.Some strage food combinations but something for everyone.Not always piping hot but microwaves available.Ski school was based in the basement and once we got past the first couple of hours being allocated skis etc it was a great holiday.Special mention to our instructor Angel who was patient,knowledgable and great fun.Would recommend to any first time skiers and yes,we will return.Probably use sofia though rather than Plovdiv(Closer and doesnt suffer fog problems as much)

1 reader found this review helpful

There was 5 of us in our party,all skiing for the first time.
The hotel was well located, the Neilson staff (Chiris & Colleague) were very friendly, helpful and efficient. The resort was ideal for beginers, we had a fantastic time!
Special thanks to our ski instructors STOYAN and ANGEL. Regards Sue, Andrew, Sam, Don and Sharon.
Hello to Catherine, patsy, Martin, Judith, Emma etc........
ps. we'll be back!

This was our second skiing trip to Bulgaria (previously went to Pamporovo).
Borovets is far more suited to intermediates than Pamporovo, there are plenty of varied runs - the best ones being at the top of the cable car to the right where there are plenty of good red runs, and also to the left at the top of the cable car back down to the mid station - great views across the valley.
There were enough runs to encourage us to come back again whereas we were board by the end of the week in Pamporovo.
The hotel Samakov is a very big imposing building. The rooms are a bit dated & it's not really up to our 4 star standards, the bathrooms are small & the room lighting was terrible - but they were kept clean each day & the public areas are good.
The food was typical Bulgarian - don't go expecting a la carte & you won’t be disappointed, but if you venture out for food it's very good elsewhere.
For comparison we had a look in the Rila hotel & were disappointed with what we saw, so on the whole I think we choose the best hotel in the resort at the time (there was a nice looking new hotel called the Ice Angels being built right on the slopes which we may try one year).
There's lots to do in Borovets & we found a great bar/restaurant called the Salamander (just off the Iglika run) with a lovely Manager called Plamen who looked after us very well - we looked forward to our homemade apple pie each afternoon!
Don't worry too much about the reports of there being a lot of lap dancing clubs etc. it's not that bad - they are there but they're not that obvious.
We went with another couple (all in our mid thirties) & there was enough going on to please us from dusk till dawn if we had wanted it. We will go back.

Party size - 8. This was 1st time skiing, and 1st time to Bulgaria. People were very friendly, hotel was in excellent location. Facilities in the hotel were great.
The night club was excellent and the prices at the bar were very very cheap!
Rooms were good size, cleaned every day, and from the balcony the views were fantastic!! Food was nice, lot's to choose from.
We did ski school through the Samokov hotel and our ski instructor (Kiko) was excellent with us. He knew the best places for food. Francos was a great place for pizzas and drinks! Kiko made our week! I have never laughed so much!
We found Bulgaria a great place for our 1st ski holiday and we are looking to book again next year to same hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

Great holiday! Food and drink very, very cheap and at some places, high quality meals available. In the hotel Samakov the breakfast bar had a good choice of breakfasts such as full English, continental and cereals. Teatime was also good, with a selection of Bulgarian and English food. Especially good was the fresh red trout and the veal.
Out into the night and it was a vibrant place considering it’s not that big. Karaoke bars, loud nightclubs and an abundance of lap dancing clubs made for a great week for the lads, maybe not so good for the kids and missus like. I will add that there were some quieter venues scattered around and even a proper British curry house with an Indian chef from Leeds, so it is possible to have a nice, quiet one.
Now let’s get to the real reason your reading this review, the beer prices. Man it was cheap! I was paying 3 levs (about 90p for a conservative estimate) for a 660ml bottle of Stella, so it will be apparent to the lager swilling hordes that I spent mucho hours after the skiing propped against the bar nursing my battered body!
The skiing was great for our group as most of us were beginners. The lifts were directly outside the hotel and you could see the floodlit slope at night from our balcony. Top holiday!