Lion Bansko Hotel

We stayed for a week at the beginning of March in a 2 bedroom apartment and were so well looked after by staff. Positives Lovely staff, helpful and caring. Our rooms huge, beds comfortable, little mini kitchenette, sofa was also a sofa bed. 6 people could have easily stayed in this apartment (just to note 1 bathroom though). Rooms always lovely and warm, we had our windows open often as weather was very warm. Safety deposit box hireable from reception 27 lev a week. Plenty of public area in hotel to seat, bar on ground floor which was reasonably priced. Tvs showing sport for those who wanted it, a billiard table. Swimming pool was clean, a lovely 29c and empty most of the day as was gym and spa. This was great for me (non skiier).bath robes hireable from reception 20lev a week. Downstairs there were spa treatment rooms but also a steam room, quiet room and 2 saunas. Even in the evening, when we all went to the sauna there wasn't too many people. Opening times 10am until 8pm. I have seen some comments about the food but I feel these are unfounded, we are in Bulgaria not France. The food was plentiful and tasty, different themes each night, easy to eat 8+ of your 5-a-day. Always free fruit available. At dinner there was help yourself free juice plus free wines and free beer. Negatives Our rooms were at the front of hotel just above front doors, so was very noisy, I should have asked to change but we had unpacked so didn't but my partner was often woken up. Definitely suggest checking where your room is, I'm sure the back of the hotel would have been quieter. No kettle in room but we knew this from other reviews so took a travel kettle and cups. Ski hire place in hotel only took cash- Lev and you could only keep your ski stuff there if your hire stuff came from them but that said it turned out better to hire from a place near gondola that was open until 8pm. This is because you could drop all your heavy stuff close by, pick up shoes and walk back or go to a cafe without carrying everything. Also not reliant on hotel bus as was only 10 minute walk between hotel and gondola.

This review is based on my OVERALL experience of being on a winter holiday in Bulgaria . . . I will give the hotel 5 ⭐️ and my reasons are towards the end of review. Starting with the airport and on arrival, I was getting good vibes because the process was really quick from getting off the plane and picking up our luggage. Probably about 30 mins until we met up with cab driver arranged by tour operator. We expected to have a 3.5 hour transfer but it was more like 2.5 so that was a bonus as well! As we arrived in Bansko, there was literally NO SNOW anywhere except in the mountains and this was a bit concerning but there were skiers and boarders everywhere and the people I spoke to said that the snow was good up top. I have never been to a resort where you had to rely on transport to the mountain, I have always had ski-in / ski-out, so that was all a bit weird which is when things start to become apparent about the lack of infrastructure for this resort. The one gondola from Bansko had a que approx half a mile long which was 6-10 deep and was taking 2-3 hours! It opens at 8:30 and people were queuing from around 6:30 am! A few of the tour operators were able to provide fast track passes which is an absolute must at an additional cost to your lift pass BUT it’s money well spent and worth bearing in mind when planning the trip. The alternative was to take a mini bus which cost 15-20 lev per person, per day. It was the same in a taxi providing there was a group of you. I would recommend the gondola over taxi or minibus because it was carnage getting up there. One day, it took an hour and a half I appreciate it was half term week but I have never been to a resort where it was so busy, I mean it was heaving, which obviously meant long ques at chairlift. The ski runs themselves were actually really good and we were lucky to have fresh snowfall nearly every day so there was plenty of powder 🙌👊💪 If you wanted to buy food during the day, it was table service only, providing you managed to get a table! More often you were sharing with randoms coz every seat was taken and payment is cash only!! Basically, the resort has become so popular because of how cheap Bulgaria 🇧🇬 is but the infrastructure has not kept up with that. Something else I found interesting that I have never seen before at any resort I have been to, was just how ‘male dominated’ the restaurants, bars and venues were. By that I mean the staff, waiters, barmen etc and they all look like they want to kill you! Most of the locals were rude, never smiled and quite obnoxious to be honest and didn’t really make you feel welcome which was a bit disappointing. As for the hotel itself, I was quite impressed with 👍👍👍 The room we had was top floor and the same size as a small apartment which was great to have so much space. The pool was really good and the spa was good. Sadly the jacuzzi was out of order. Typical help yourself restaurant and I thought the food was very good along with th

was forced to pay 130 LEV due to fake tan getting on a towel and robe. Although I apologised and explained it will wash out and that it doesn’t cost that much to replace a towel, they still said I have to pay as their laundry company does not wash out fake tan which gives the impression that they don’t properly wash their bed sheets or towels which is very concerning. I respect that I should have been more careful and would have paid to replace but having to pay 130 LEV is ridiculous I’m very disappointed by my experience and I haven’t heard of any other hotel which charges for this.