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!

from London, England, 15 February 2009, 19:51 (submitted from UNITED KINGDOM)

Comment: We stayed at the Belmont Hotel 8-15 February 2009 and had a great time. It is situated in a forest surrounded by pine trees yet only a 15 minute walk to the ski lifts (if you like to walk) or 5 minutes by bus.The facilities are very good, sfaff are friendly and helpful. The choice of food is better than some other four star hotels we have stayed at in the resort in previous years. Most of the younger guests took advantage of the excellent nightlife that is provided. We will certainly be going back possibly in the summer to explore part of the International Trail which passes the hotel.

from Ireland, 10 February 2009, 08:42

Comment: The hotel is very modern and clean. The room although was quite small and had two single beds rather than a double. The shower in the bathroom was quite small but very powerful. There was also a heated towel rack and a magnifing make up mirror. The television had 3 english speaking channels - bbc world news, music channel and HBO - which continually showed films which was a good for days when the slopes were closed. The room was very warm the heat was quite uncomfortable at night we turned off the radiator in the room however we suspect there was under floor heating which we had no control over. The maids were very good our towels were changed everyday of the week and they even picked clothes up of the floor and folded them. During our weeks stay we had three random powercuts (that we are awared off as we spent most days out of the hotel) that each lasted 5 - 10 minutes. The hotel bar is reasonably priced in comparision too the rest of the resort aslong as you order local beers and spirits eg local beer was 3lev and local vodka 3 lev. On one occassion on our 1st day the bar maid short changed my boyfriend 10 lev I had read before going to bulgaria this is common and you should always check your change, however when he went back and told her about it she refunded him the 10 lev immediately without question so prehaps it was just an honest mistake. There is a pool table in the bar that cost 15 lev for half an hour very expensive! There is also a night bar which is slightly more expensive than the lobby bar eg local vodka is 3.50 lev however they have a happy hour between 10pm and midnight when spirits are buy one get one free. This happy hour promotion also applies to the bowling bar between 7pm and 10pm. The music in the night bar is very loud and we could here it in our room two floors up but it didn't really bother us. Between 12 noon and 5pm bowling is half price at 7 lev per person otherwise it is 14 lev which is quite expensive. There is also a indoor swimming pool spa and gym but we never used these so can't comment although hotel guest could swim for free. There was a very small shop in reception that sold crisps 3.50 lev and chocolate bars 1.50 lev quite dear but on par with the rest of the resort and also shampoo and shower gel etc. We stayed half board and the food was not great too be honest but after a days skiing you will eat anything. Breakfast was cereal or eggs scrambled poached or boiled depending on what day it was, german sausages, fried bread and tomatoes. There was also an extermely slow toaster and assortment of jams and cheese and ham slices and sliced apples and oranges. Dinner consisted of either chips or boiled potatoes with a selection of meats done in different sauces i'm sorry I can't be more specific but I don't know myself what they were as they weren't labelled but I suspect alot of the meat dishes were pork based. The dinner were not great to be honest and the evening we arrived down to find the resturant decorated in bulgarian flag put the fear of god in us as this was obviously bulgarian night, however it was the tastiest night there was, i don't know what I was eating but I enjoyed it! The resturant never seemed to be very busy with guests I suspect alot of people choose to go into the resort centre for dinner, I'd love to know where they went because we tried eating out a few nights and the standard of food was much the same as the hotel but I guess thats just bulgaria for you. The hotel is a good bit away from the 1st ski center and even further from the town center and very far from the 2nd ski center. A shuttle bus however is provided in the mornings to the slopes and back in the afternoons free of charge. A taxi will cost you 15 - 20 levs into the town or too the slopes there is no way this journey is worth that much and the reps had us warned to agree a price with the driver before getting in as if you don't there is no limit to what they will try and charge! In the evenings if you want to go into town it is best to ask at reception for the shuttle bus it will cost 5 levs each. There is not much too the resort center other than a handful of bars and resturants that all seemed quite empty. Most bars will have a buy one get one free happy hour. There is also a "shopping centre" there is not much in it and the goods are very over priced for bulgaria and an ice rink. The resort centre is quite dirty with alot of stray dogs wondering about. We arrived on a saturday and it had snowed the pervious few days so our 1st three days skiing were great on the 4th day the lifts were closed due to stormy weather up the mountain and the 5th and 6th days due to no new snow the slopes were very icey and dangerous I had two bad falls which left me with badly bruised ribs and blurred vision for a period. Prices on the mountain were expensive enough 12 lev for two hot chocolates with cream although there was a bar in the mid station were all food and drinks were 3 lev so was nice to stop at for a beer. We also ate at a resturant just down round the corner from the mid station it was set away by itself from the other resturants were the waiter give us 50% of the menu prices. We got a large pizza,chips, garlic bread, a large beer and a sprite for 18 lev! All in all as our 1st ski holiday pamporovo was ok. We now know we absolutely love skiing and will be going on two ski holidays hopefully next year but not to pamporovo as the snow cover is just not good enough.

from England, 24 March 2008, 23:02

Comment: As first timer skiers and last minute - bookers we were expecting the worst .In Fact we ended up in the best Hotel in town .It was truly excellent and we could not recommend it highly enough.Ideal for those who wanted everything but the night life !If you did want to go down town it was a taxi ride away.There was plenty on site to occupy us after a full days skiing !!

from ireland, 13 January 2008, 22:52

Comment: Fabulous hotel...worth every penny i spent there!the staff can be a bit off at times but the service in the bar n dining areas was brillaint and the rooms were nice clean and tidy!the cleaning staff were outstanding they wud clean every day ,change towels every day n dress beds n pick up clothes off the floor n fold them!the food was good it was pleneiful aswell...i couldnt fault the hotel nly that it is a gud walk from the shops but taxi nly cost 8-10 lev to get there which is nly 4-5 euro!

from Ireland, 12 September 2007, 23:40

Comment: Never ever again! We stayed a week at the Belmont and we just felt like they wanted our money at every turn. We stayed half board and they tried to charge us for things that were included in the package. We got onto the rep who half sorted things out. eg: tried charging us €10 for a pool cap while the locals used the pool without one. Food was cold most of the time with only a small selection. Mostly local dishs or German sasuage based.
Staff would not look out of place in a prison as they were as friendly as gaurd dogs. Prices in the hotel were crazy. Both in the small shop and Bar. The only time we felt it was a holiday was when we left the hotel. One couple were charged €10 for a hand towel they misplaced before we left the hotel and I had the misfortune of having an accident on the quad bikes they rent. I needed 4 stitchs to my chin and was badly brused after I fell from the bike. I had no problems with this as I put it down to a good story to tell when I got home. I was informed the following day at reception that I now owed for the damage to the bike as they had no insurence! before we took the bikes out (with a member of the hotel staff) we were ASKED if we would like to ware helmets. The resort is good fun and the taxis are a rip off but the Belmont takes the biskit. Never ever again. Ian

from UK, 29 June 2007, 21:26

Comment: Just want to say thank you for the nice week with you.


Frank