Spa Resort St Ivan Rilski - Halfboard & All Inclusive

Stayed here over Christmas for a week skiing. The hotel is in a great location. 10 minute walk to Bansko town centre. We rented skis from the little rental shop attached to the hotel. The guys that run the shop couldn’t have been more helpful they even helped us put on our ski boots every morning! There is a shuttle bus that goes to the Gondola every 15 minutes starting from 8am until around 11am and then collects in the afternoon which is very handy. The facilities in the hotel are great, there is a nice gym and the spa is lovely and the outside area with heated pool and jacuzzi has a stunning view of the mountains. The only let down here is the amount of young kids that are running around and jumping in and out of the jacuzzis etc. Parents seem to let their children run wild. The indoor pool was jammed every day. It would have been great if the outdoor area atleast was adults only. After a day of skiing it would have been great to use the jacuzzi without it being full with kids. The food in the hotel was another real let down. We paid extra for the all inclusive package. The breakfast was decent with a good variety of food but the lunch, snacks and dinner were very disappointing. The selection some of the nights was so bad that we went upstairs and ordered pizzas off a different menu and paid for it. If you are there to ski I would recommend going just bed and breakfast and going into the town for dinners. Some of the restaurants in town are great value. You will be up the mountain during lunch anyway. Also the all inclusive guests are not allowed to get drinks from the lovely lobby bar they have to walk into the buffet food area to a little bar in the corner to get a drink. This is quite annoying especially if it’s during a meal time where all you want is a drink and it’s very crowded with people getting food. The staff hover around your table as well and take stuff from your table sometimes without asking if you are finished. The bedroom was extremely hot and there is no thermostat in the room to control the heat we had to keep opening the balcony door. The cleaners didn’t fill up our shower gel all week and on the last couple of days we had to use the hand soap which I think was the same stuff they were using anyway. They also didn’t hoover the floor all week and they don’t take bar glasses from your room they just leave the dirty glasses in your room for you to take back. All in all it was ok. If we were coming back to Bansko we would go for a self catering option or adults only resort.

Currently here at the hotel and I have to say the statement best 4 * mountain hotel in Bulgaria is definitely overrated First of all receptionist at the hotel doesn’t offer too much information and the app hotel guide as well Traveling with a child we decided to go all inclusive but not a good choice at all … they have very limited choices for all three meals, definitely not child friendly and all food is Warm at best, all the food seems recycled from one meal to another, no grills, very few sides The drinks are very low quality and even so, the “bars” for all inclusive are placed in areas very hard to get … like none of the bars are accessible if you want to use the lounge to relax Kids animation almost inexistent and children playground is very very small the shuttle bus to the slopes has a break at lunch, so no way you can go skiing with the child and get back for lunch you have to take a taxi The famous spa/pool area is very small compared to the hotel capacity and it gets very crowded in the afternoon. The pool can’t be used for swimming as it it built with level variations, most of the pool is 80 cm deep, so people just stay there in the water … It was a very bad choice coming at this hotel and of course they charge you for the full reservation when you arrive … something I didn’t see at any other hotel At this price point you can definitely find a lot better options in Bansko …

So I recently got into snowboarding and this was my 2nd snowboarding trip (first trip going solo). And I specifically chose this place because I wanted to focus majority of time on snowboarding, and I figured this would place would be perfect because I can be on the mountain all day, come back, go spa, have dinner served, sleep and repeat. And that's exactly what I did. But what I didn't expect is how good the spa and food would be. I was very skeptical on the food because some of the reviews say the food is bland and cold. And I'm quite a fussy eater, especially in Bulgaria because I dislike cheese and most dishes consist of cheese. But I was fine with it. It served its purpose and more. And local alcohol was also included which was a nice surprise. But what really blew me away was the spa services. The saunas, the jacuzzi, the thermal pool, the steam rooms, everything! I loved it and I don't think the pictures or description does it justice. This hotel is also perfect for people who don't mind walking. I was able to walk back to the hotel from a full day of boarding no problem (10 - 15 min walk). And also, this hotel is great value for money! I will definitely be coming back