from London, England, 18 February 2009, 13:41

Comment: I'll talk about the resort/skiing first - it was great. The resort itself wasn't very big, with only a few bars and restaurants, but that was fine, because we were half board and also because I was so tired after skiing, I was happy to stay in the hotel. The ski school was very well organised - we had our boots and skis on within half an hour of arriving, and these were fitted well. We kept the same ones for the week and picking them up and dropping them off every day took only a few minutes. On the first day, Pamporovo hadn't had snow for a while, so there was some ice and slush around, although not enough to hinder the skiing. We had plenty of snow later in the week though, and conditions were absolutely perfect for most of the holiday. My boyfriend - an advanced skier - went off to do his own thing and said the runs were good, while I joined around 16 other people in my ski class. The instructor (Bobby) was very good and patient with us complete beginners. The first few days was spent learning to snowplow and turn, and on the third day we were ready to do our first green run. To be honest, by the time I'd got the basics down, I found it more useful to ski with my boyfriend, because some of my class didn't pick it up as quickly as me, but others stayed with the class. For the rest of the week, I met up with them intermittedly but mostly did my own thing. By the end of the week, most of us were doing red runs. Overall, there are two good green runs, a couple of decent blues and lots of good reds. Most reviews say this is a beginners resort, but my boyfriend also found it really good, and said the blacks and reds were up to the same standard as anywhere in Europe, even though there weren't quite as many as at other resorts.
There were some nice bars and cafes on the slopes - I recommend the Spider bar at the bottom of the main slopes.
Now the hotel. Although the Belmont is a bit further out of the resort, we didn't have any trouble picking up the minibuses to the ski centre or resort. It's only about a 5 min drive, or you could walk it in 30 mins, although there are no pavements. As other reviewers have suggested, you can walk down to the Finlandia about 5 mins away for a more frequent bus service. Taxis are quite expensive and it is worth bartering - we found a £20 difference in prices just by asking around! If you find a cheap one, get their phone number and use them all week.
The rooms were lovely - we had a large twin with a balcony and a wet room. The shower was high pressure and always hot, and the chambermaid did an excellent job every day.
The food was good too. As half board, we had breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was served from 7 til 10 and was made up of some hot things (eggs, beans, french toast, sausages) and cold (fruit, cereal, cheese, ham etc). The bread in Bulgaria doesn't taste the best, but was fine toasted. Dinners were great - plenty of choice of meats and veggie options, and the salad bar was varied and good. We didn't have any problem with temperature or poor quality food - it was all very nice and we ended up eating there every day. The only down side was the drinks, which weren't free. There was a good wine list, but the waiters seemed confused about what they did and didn't have - it seemed to depend who you asked! If you want a good red though, I'd suggest the Chateau Karnobat - a decent merlot at about £10 a bottle. The hotel bar was very nice, although prices were quite steep. I highly recommend drinking the Bulgarian spirits - their cognac and vodka was fine, and cost £1.50 for a double measure. The cocktails were good too, at around £4 each.
In terms of other facilities, we didn't try the bowling, but the pool was fine and very quiet every evening. Slightly colder than most UK pools, but you get used to it. No need for flip flops or caps like at other hotels. The night bar downstairs was great. It does karaoke every evening from 10 til about 3am and was pretty much empty most of the time, so we were indulged in any music we wanted. The DJ also let us choose any songs we wanted to listen to, as well as sing.
It was my first skiing holiday, and I had an amazing time - would definitely go back!
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