More Traveller Reviews of Samokov Hotel
Tried & tested - its still good!
from xSmithx
We stayed at the Samokov in Feb 2003 and returned in February this year. Okay so its basic, but its Bulgaria not Mirabel & you get what you pay for. We've always found the food to be reasonable, you can't fault the location of the hotel for convenience for the gondola. Samokov Ski School is fantastic, on both occasions we've been taught by patient, highly skilled and entertaining ski instructors who earn an absolute pittance. There were about 8-10 people in a ski group, so at the end of the week, we all put about £10 each in sterling in as a tip and gave it to our instructor on the last night. It works out about a months wages for them and the look on their faces is lovely to see. They are so genuine and they want you to learn how to ski so it shows they are doing their job right. The Diploma evening at the Samokov at the end of your holiday is a scream. You all get a certificate and a table full of booze for your ski group, the instructors put a cabaret show on and its so bad its hilarious! If you've not tried ski-ing before and dont fancy paying la-de-dah prices then this is the place for you. If you're not keen on trying Bulgarian food there's plenty of restaurants fighting for your business as most people are there on half board deals in hotels. Never been anywhere friendlier. Rooms are a bit basic but they are warm and comfortable - anyway you only want it to sleep in and dry out your ski gear. You meet so many nice people in your ski groups that you can always find plenty to do in the evenings. Thoroughly recommended.
basic, but acceptable
from tomsawyer77
I have stayed in Hotel Samokov for a couple of days in August, 2006. Borovets itself is very close to the capital, Sofia, if the road and weather conditions are good, takes only 60-70 mins to reach the resort. Since I was there during the summer, in winter it could be longer. Since Borovets is a ski resort, the village - which consits of only several large hotels and much more ski services, restaurants, bars and night clubs - was quite deserted. At weekends hordes of tourists arrive (probably from Sofia) for hiking, but on weekdays there was not too much to do. Most of the restaurants are closed and we were the only guests in the one we have found open. Probably it ts better to go here in winter. The hotel itself is a massive 10-storey building, advertised as a 4-star, but in fact it is a decent 2-star (maximum 3-star), slighly dated hotel. But if your expectations are not so high, it is not a problem, since the rooms are clean and relatively comfy. In winter it is more than enough for someone who wants to enjoy wintersports on the whole day, a real sportman does not need the luxury of Hilton or Ritz. Unfortunately, I have not got enough time for using the pool, because it is not open in the early mornings. But the bowling and pool billiard was fun, also the minigolf course just in front of the hotel. If someone wants to use the internet, there are only 2 computers (but both works). The meal was really basic, but acceptable. The hotel faces to the gondola lift, so probably for skiers it is one of the best choice together with Hotel Rila. The return ticket is 7 leva (1eur = 1.96 leva approx) in the summer season, in winter it must be slightly more. There is a small bank office in the basement, which changes your money using the official rate (the euro-leva rate is fixed!), whilst at the hotel reception the changing rate is only 1.8, so it is better to change your currency at the bank. All in all, if your expectation is not so high, hotel Samokov is a decent resting place after a day spent with sport (both in summer and winter). I hope I can go back sometime in the winter season.
Cheap and Cheerful
from A TripAdvisor Member
My husband and I have just returned from a fanastic snowboarding holiday. The Hotel Samokov although basic is clean and adequate for getting your head down after a hard day on the slopes and a night on the tiles. However, beware the pillows feel as hard as a sack of potatoes. The food isn't the best but edible if your real hungry. We opted to eat out and found plenty of restaurants and bars to keep us occupied, would recommend Franco's pizzas and Katy's steakhouse and bar. Going as beginners we booked lessons and weren't disappointed the instructor was great and got both of us up and going with the three days. The resort is friendly and laid back with some fashions disasters roaming the slopes. We made some good friends in the snowboarding classes and had a great laugh. Talking about booking to go back the same time next year.
Holiday from hell
from traveller2511
I went to this hotel with mix feeling, reading the comments... I will not go back. The first night I arrived I found peanut shells in my bed ! Rooms are dirty and old - same for Bathroom. The staff can be very friendly or very rude. They understand English when they want. I hurt my knee and went to see a doctor who seemed very friendly. I went for an xray and back to the hotel he plastered my whole leg (the second day of my trip). The insurance was a bit late to reply and he was harrassing me everyday to get the papers eventhough I gave him my claim number... Prostitutes are staying in the hotel night club and Peep shows are everywhere outside. Food not great. and when I came back to England they took the plaster off as I just had a bruise on my bone...
snow plough all the way!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from a fantastic week staying at the Samokov Hotel,Borovets. It was our first time ski-ing, and won't be our last-we've booked again for Christmas-Can't wait! Hotel was more than we expected, food was good and service great. We made some fantastic friends at ski school and partyed on into the evening and early hours of the morning with them! Instructor was fantastic with all abilities in the group and soon became a good friend to all in the group. There were 8 children in our group, all ended up on the black run by the last day!
Roweman....instructor...Samokov...Best New Year..... Thank you very much...
from A TripAdvisor Member
This guy made sure I was OK even when I could not see him... & then we found the taxi, gondal, look up, well any way.. Happy dayszzzz!
Hotel Samokov - Highs and Lows
from cdann83
Recently visited the some what notorious Hotel Samokov this month (Jan 06) with tour company inghams. First thing to say about this hotel is that it is massive. Many floors, many rooms and loads of facilities. The rooms weren't particularly great, seemed very dark and old fashioned. Our bath was hanging from the hinges as well. It would have been nice to have the facilty to boil water as well. Also, if you have a third person in the room, make sure you don't get stuck with the soda bed. Not great for a week by any standards - noisy and uncomfortable. In terms of snowboard hire, we didn't have any problems getting out equipment in the morning, altho the bindings on my board weren't great and ended up not using their board. As for the lessons, they didn't really stack up to much but for some reason, the equipment hire and lift passes are cheaper if you get lessons too (thru inghams before you go) they also claimed before hand that if you had ever done it before they would throw you off the lesson and take away your lift pass. complete rubbish. so just save yourself some money! Back to the hotel, facilities weren't as great as anticipated. I laughed at another comment posted about the gym - it really is rubbish. nothing works! internet wise, they only had 2 computers and only one worked properly. In terms of food at the hotel, it wasn't great to be honest but then we didn't expect much really. After 3 meals in there we opted out of it and went and ate out, not expensive and much better. Would recommend you ask the locals in shops to point out any restaurants they go to. we went to one that you would never go in normally but it was excellent, served proper bulgarian food, the owner gave us a free jug of red wine when we came in and it was so cheap you almost felt bad. This report does sound critical but I had a really good holiday. You are going for the boarding/skiing and a few drinks in the evening, not to sit in a lap of luxury for a week. As the hotel was graded 4 start, I was expecting it to be better but it is ok. Also, the hotel nightclub is if anything, hillarious and very cheap. may as well have a look. Oh, and 101 cocktails is excellent if you are looking for a rowdy night. Buzz bar is pretty good as well. In terms of slopes, well worth going up on the gondola, very nice scenery on the way up and less crowded as well. Word of warning, they stop at 4.20, so don't get caught up there if you are an amateur as it is a long way down!! Hope this helps!!
Recent stay at the Samokov
from Miss-Piggy
I've just got back from a week staying at the Samokov. I asked for a quiet room on a high floor - I got a quiet room on a high floor. The bathroom was clean and towels changed everyday (even if I didn't want them to be), the TV has Euronews and BBC World so there was "English" TV to watch. The restaurant was fine - there was a choice of 3 or 4 main dishes every evening and two soups every night - one was always vegetarian. We actually burnt our tounges on the soup it was so hot. There's a man in the corner who cooks fresh omelettes every morning and evening and there's always a choice of veg and salad to eat with them. The dessert selection was fine - always had prepared fresh fruit and fresh fruit salad available too as well as various cream cakes. I didn't try out the swimming pool, but the massages were great. One of the masseurs is a lady by the name of Milka who by day is a physiotherapist so she really knows her stuff. At a cost of 25 lev a full body massage, you can't go far wrong. Hairdryers are available from reception at 15 lev for the week and safety deposit boxes are also available for 21 lev. There's a man in reception every afternoon who does fresh pancakes for 2 lev and they are brilliant. Worth every stinky. Choice of lemon, sugar, various jams, white or milk chocolate spread, flambed with rum and served with cream. Yum Yum, you've got to try the.
The Smakokov!
from Foggyduster
I have just got back from a week in Borovets, February half term week 2005, and what a disappointment We stayed in the Samokov Hotel, described 4 star standard. The Samokov is hard pushed to make a 2 star grade. It is desperately in need of a face lift. The rooms are very cramped, dated, poorly lit, there is no T/coffee making facilities, the plumbing is hit and miss, the bedding looks and feels 50 years old. Our room stank of stale cigarette smoke which permeated every article of clothing we had and the bathroom fittings were loose and poorly maintained. Yes I did complain to the hotel reception and requested a room change but this could not be facilitated. They could not even find some air freshener spray to make the room bearable and with outside temperatures sub zero, airing the room was uncomfortable. The food was just edible but again definately not of 4 star standard and most of it was served luke warm. The swimming pool is a toxic chemical soup and the gym is full of broken and poorly maintained equipment. Borovets resort is full of peep shows and exotic bars offering adult entertainment. Some of the pole dancing was observable from the street. Not the sort of place I had in mind for a family holiday. Our first day was a nighmare. We had no help what so ever with boot fitting despite lots of people in authority standing around. The limited staff dishing out equipment quickly got frayed tempers. The Gondola was out of action for the first 3 days making the limited remainder of the slopes very crowded and they quickly turned into ice, mush and bare rock. When the gondola did open the que was so large it took us all morning to get up to the top of the mountain. The only good thing I have to say about Borovets is the ski instructor was very patient and competent, however, the average group size was 15 persons making progress very slow. No I will not be going back to Borovets.
Not great
from Tartan69
I don't think that Borovets has a selection of good hotels to choose from but we were told the Samokov was 4 star. We stayed there in Dec 03 and were not impressed. Negative The hotel is a large, depressing, grey concrete block. The rooms are small and very dingy. The food is awful. The swimming pool is unsanitary. Positive The bowling alley and table tennis is fun though. The hotel is opposite the gondolas so very good location And if, you're unlucky like we were, you'll be pleased to know the hotel doctor is very nice.
Just back from a week at Borovets and had a fun time. Took a while to sus out the ski hire dodges as we booked skis/boots/lift pass/ lessons independantly via Bulgaria Hotels.com all in for a fantastic price but skis were stored in deport called Rila 1 opposite Rila Hotel.... more