Borovets, Rila Hotel Review

Overall Rating

There is snow

Everything else

>Borovets - Third World Skiing.>I was staying at the hotel RILA. Until I moved out. I'm here in Borovets now at a different hotel -the Ela, much nicer. I moved out because 4 of us were sharing a 'studio' and it was way too cramped. A 'studio' is a standard size hotel room with a set of bunk beds shoehorned in. When I explained this to the (Nilson) rep his best efforts from the RILA amounted to an offer of a room for 5 nights for 375 pounds (thats about 550 euros). They did get me into the Ela for 25 pounds a night, and although its 200 yards down the road its MUCH nicer than the RILA which gets by on a reputation for 4 stars, although I can't see why. It's one of those hotels where you hear every chair scrape and toilet flush and 2 out of 4 lifts don't work. Oh, and its smoky all the time in the public areas. The food is passable - just.>The Boro ski school is a joke. The ski instructors are not that at all. They are local lads who make good money in the winter by donning a ski instructor outfit. They do little more than take you on the chair-lifts. At my daughters snowboard school the guy stands around smoking while the class does virtually nothing. The ski class started on the first day as usual with the grading into groups. Except that the instructors didn't watch me - they asked me how many times I have been skiing, and on the basis of my answer (3) they put me in an upper intermediate group. We went straight up to the top of the mountain and down - fast - a very hard red. I fell and tore a rotator cuff and tendon insertion in my shoulder. After a 2 hour walk down I went to see the instructor. He laughed and bid me join them for lunch. I declined and went to the medical center where I was relieved of 50 pounds for what was very good treatment. Seems like they are used to injuries? The 4 hour lesson (nothing more than repeated chair-lifts to the top of the mountain and a hard and boring ski down a narrow, icy tree-lined 'run') is broken by lunch at a restaurant. This is so that the instructor can get a commission from the restaurant. Lunch costs about 15 pounds sterling and is mediocre. I had chicken that was red and bloody in the middle and fried potatoes. With a coke it came to 15 pounds. The ski instructor gets something that does not seem to be on the menu and is free. Skiing on the slopes is a free for all. There is no attention to safety, and the locals send people flying all over the place. The reality is it's downright unpleasant most of the time. If you are a beginner, watch out. In Borovets, you are constantly hounded in the street to go into restaurants and bars. There are beggars on the street and in the hotel. It is not family friendly. I'm with my teenage daughters, and there are 2 unavoidable girly bars, and an 'erotik' show next door. My advice? Don't even think about Borovets. The runs are narrow, icy and dangerous, the locals are out to squeeze every last penny off you and the hotels and service are derisory. In short, its horrible.