Hotel Ice Angels
Features
The superb Ice Angels has bright, contemporary styled rooms. It is ideally located at the edge of the slopes, only a few metres from the four man chairlift, in the heart of the resort.
Location · fantastic location · on the slopes, opposite the main ski lift
Features · indoor swimming pool · extra charge for sauna, whirlpool, turkish bath and steam room · bar · café · nightclub · lift to all floors · 38 Bedrooms
Meals · buffet breakfast · 4 course buffet style evening meals · Christmas and New Year's Eve gala dinner included
Rooms for 2 people on half board sharing a twin room with sloping roof, private bath and WC. Standard twin rooms, studios and family rooms are available at a supplement. All bedrooms have hairdryer, cable TV and radio.
Family rooms, sleeping 2-5 consist of one room with a double bed plus a living area with a double and single sofa bed.
Official Rating ****
Borovets Resort Info
Eastern Europe's biggest ski resort (58km), Borovets suffers from many of the usual complaints about this finance-friendly region. Most commonly associated with budget-conscious skiers and beginners, Borovets has an excellent ski school, a fine snow record, cheap prices (especially for beer and spirits), lovely scenery - and it's only 90 minutes from Sofia. On the downside, there are unattractive buildings, skiing for better intermediates and advanced skiers is no more than average, the lifts and piste are kept poorly and there is the constant threat of theft, boring food and bad queues.
But, many people regularly return. Why? Most veterans talk of the great teaching they have received and the low prices, as well as the varied nightlife available. You'll have to forfeit western creature comforts, but it can be well worth it. It's skiing in a very different culture and is, joy of joys, half the price of the Alps. If the skiing doesn't interest you, there are always site-seeing trips to Sofia and other historic sites to keep you busy, although the archaic transport systems can make this rather time-consuming.
Overall, Borovets is a place to go to learn if you have a tighter budget. You also need to have a sense of humour and adventure, as it is very much the poor relation to Western European skiing. It isn't going to replace Val d'Isère as your venue of choice, but it does successfully cater to a completely different clientele.
More Borovets resort information