Festa Winter Palace Hotel

We booked this based on its 5* rating. Couldn’t have been more inaccurate. We booked a week in the Junior Suite with balcony (for us with our two teenage kids) on half board. The room: First room we got put into had a double bed and a sofa bed. The sofa bed had a mattress which was about 4cm deep and sloped downwards towards the head. It was extremely uneven and terribly uncomfortable, and absolutely stank of body odour. Plus, the two kids (boy and girl) would not want to sleep in same bed. I understood when booking that it would be two singles for the children. We asked them to move us on the first night, they said that was all they had. We then discovered the main double bed was two singles pushed together, so the kids slept there, and we “lay”(didn’t sleep!) in the sofa bed as it was so awful. The TV wasn’t working, the curtains were hanging off by a thread, the electric plug sockets were hanging out of the wall, and the bathroom tap was broken. The next day we complained again to our Crystal Ski rep, who spoke to the hotel and got us moved to another room, which which was much better but still nowhere near a 5* standard. (So, there WAS a room available!) The hotel staff kept telling us that this room was not included in our contract, and ensuring we knew how much of a favour they were doing us. Hah! New room: curtains still broken, tv broken, shower head broken (kept falling down every time we turned the water on). The glasses in the room were only cleaned twice during the week. The rest of the time, I had to wash them myself. The empty toiletries bottles were left on the side of the bath, never tidied up. My gown got dirty on day 3, so I put it in the bath with towels to be washed/ changed. They ignored that and just hung it back up. Food: Be warned, no drinks with dinner are included in half board, not even a glass of water or juice. You have to pay extra for that. When you do order these, please allow an entire evening for them to arrive (you will be finished eating by the time they do), and then you won’t get everything you ordered. The breakfast was just about the minimum standard acceptable, if you want toast every morning. The rest of the food was awful, greasy, and the coffee machine was only working for about 3 mornings. The rest of the time, the coffee or the milk had run out. The dinners - well, despite paying for half board, we did end up having to eat out eventually. I have no idea if it was a money saving exercise, or the chef was just awful, but the food was the worst I’ve ever come across. Everything was cold, all the time. The food looked like it had been left out all day, crispy and dry at the edges. Terrible quality and the restaurant got emptier each night as people realised they couldn’t do this, and slowly left to find other restaurants to eat in. There are PLENTY of other restaurants in Borovets, so I implore you to NOT get half board for this hotel. You will regret it. The only reason to enter into this hot

We, a family of 3, two adults and a 15 year old, have just spent a week at this beautiful hotel. A perfectly situated hotel for the ski lifts, and just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the evening pubs, bars and restaurants, of which all are fabulous, I would recommend Pappa Mia, the barman Vlad the lad is a star. The staff and the hotel are a credit the hospitality industry, really. Anna the lady who met us and booked us in at reception couldn’t do enough for us, full of very useful information about the ski resort, and all the hotel had to offer. A very professional lady without doubt. The spa is a superb place to go to after a day on the piste, it does get busy though, but the guy at the spa is a most kind and helpful man, nothing is too much trouble for him. We had a junior suite on a Bed and breakfast basis. Breakfast has everything for all tastes, eggs, bacon very streaky, and sausage of a European appearance, scrambled egg, beans, toast, cereal, and croissants etc. Tea, coffees, juice the works, it’s a grand feast. Sets you up ‘till lunch time. The rooms are delightfully furnished and hark back to an era from the Victorian times, or old style Italian, by design apparently. They are basic, functional, and a decent size, but beautiful nevertheless, and as you are only in them for a while it matters not. Fresh towels and sheets everyday. I would certainly recommend this hotel for your stay, it is very peaceful and tranquil just what you need if you’ve popped down the road enjoying all Borovets has to offer in the evening.