"We had a fantastic week in Borovets staying here. Our room was big and comfortable, the hotel was quiet but we appreciated that after a day skiing and plenty of breakfast choices every morning. Lovely bar area with nice cocktails, we had dinner in the restaurant which was authentic Bulgarian food and the Spa was great."

"I recently stayed at the Samokov Hotel for a ski trip with my teenage daughter, booked as part of a package through Crystal Ski (TUI). The whole experience with Crystal Ski was mostly fantastic — everything was well-organised, and the support they provided throughout the trip was excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again. The hotel itself is a budget option in Bulgaria, and while the décor is tired and a little dated, it’s functional and clean — exactly what you'd expect for the price. Our room was comfortable, with adjustable heating via the radiator, which worked well throughout the day and night. The beds were surprisingly comfy. One downside was the noise — the walls are quite thin, so we could hear people coming back late from après-ski while we were already asleep. That’s to be expected in a ski resort where nightlife is a big part of the experience for many, though it was more noticeable for me than my daughter. The sound of flushing toilets from neighbouring rooms was also quite loud, which could be a bit disruptive at night. The bathroom is a plastic wet room — I noticed some reviews complaining about missing bath sealant, but it’s simply not designed that way. The wet room style might be different from what some people are used to, but it was practical and worked perfectly fine. Breakfast was basic but adequate — enough variety to set us up for a day on the slopes. It’s not a luxury spread, but we never left hungry. The location is a real highlight — right by the gondola, making it incredibly easy to get to the slopes. I’d definitely recommend taking the gondola up the mountain, even if you’re not skiing, just to experience the stunning views — it’s absolutely worth it. A word of advice for first-time skiers — while dry ski slope lessons back home can give you a feel for the basics, I’d suggest keeping them to just a taster session. Even if you’ve done some dry slope practice, I’d still recommend joining the beginners’ group at ski school when you arrive. Learning on real snow is completely different, and the instructors go through all the basics again anyway. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done more than a brief dry slope session — the real learning happens on the mountain from day one of ski school. A major downside to be aware of is the sickness bug (diarrhoea and vomiting) that seems to be a constant issue in Borovets, season after season. It’s not limited to a particular hotel, or caused by water, ice, or food — it most likely spreads through the crowded, poorly ventilated bars and the generally low hygiene standards in some places. The John Smith’s pub and White House had the worst bar toilets we saw, which likely doesn’t help the situation. From what we experienced and heard from others, at least half the travellers seemed to get the bug during their stay, often losing a day or more of their holiday to illness. What’s concerning is that there appeared to be no infection control in the hotel. I saw a cleaner in"

"Good breakfast"

"Hotellet er meget dejligt.Det er meget godt renoveret og forfrisket.Værelset vi var indkvarteret i var meget rent, stort, tidligt og varmt.Bederne og pølserne var komfortabelt.Personalet var meget venligt og udsigten fra baren er fantastisk. Generelt er hotellet meget godt opvarmet, hvilket er meget vigtigt for et bjerghotel.Frukost var meget smagfuld.Pris-kvalitetsforholdet er fremragende, og vi vil gerne komme tilbage igen."

"Great experience and clean hotel"

"Jeg kan anbefale dette sted."

"Meget venlig reception og rummeligt værelse.Vores værelse havde balkon med en smuk sneudsigt.Spa var usædvanlig, helt sikkert fremhævelsen af vores opholdsområde- smuk udendørs varme rør, damprum, 2 saunaer og koldt dyb. Personalet var meget venligt og hjælpsomt på receptionen, baren og spaen.Frukost var også fantastisk, der var et stort udvalg af mad og drikkevarer. Hotellets beliggenhed var også god, omkring 5 minutters gang op ad bakken til gondola og hovedstriben, og omkring 10 minutter fra hotellet til løbene."