Europe’s new ski frontier

The Times, February 2006

The mountains of eastern Europe offer potential bargains for winter holiday homebuyers. Peter Conradi checks out the options
The reaction among fellow diners at the London dinner party was one of amazement mingled with mild disdain. “You’re going to Bulgaria to ski?” said one, his lip slightly curled, as the conversation turned away briefly from the relative merits of Klosters and Lech. “My brother went, and said it wasn’t bad, considering... ”
The rest of the sentence was left hanging — but considering what? That Bulgaria was run by the Communists for 50 years? That it is almost twice as far away as the Alps? Or maybe that the country has recently acquired something of a reputation as a cheap-as-chips destination for holidaying on a shoestring?

The reality is rather different. Bansko, Bulgaria’s prime ski resort, is not about to challenge Chamonix, Verbier, St Moritz or any of the other established alpine resorts for the title of Europe’s most exciting, or indeed, most glamorous, destination. Yet suddenly, this Slavic Ivan-come-lately is racing up on the outside, bidding for the 2014 Winter Olympics and expanding at a prodigious rate.

So is Bansko the kind of place that a self-respecting skier or snowboarder can be seen in these days?

The estate agency Bulgarian Properties, is avidly marketing Bansko. Its current flagship development is the Redenka Golf & Ski Club, which boasts a spa and sports centre as well as discounted green fees at the nearby course under construction. One-bedroom apartments start at £32,730. For Adrian Musgrave, 58, a Briton who runs the company’s Bansko office, the Olympic bid — backed by the 1980s ski legend Marc Girardelli, the only man to have won five world championships — is a symbol of the resort’s determination to put itself on the map. “These guys don’t put their reputations on the line lightly,” he says. “Bulgaria is very much a country in transition, and the rate of transition is phenomenal.”

The village at the heart of Bansko is a surprisingly pleasant place, with a selection of homely mehanas, traditional Bulgarian restaurants where you can eat — and drink — to your heart’s content in front of a blazing fire for next to nothing, even if the roving bands of gypsy musicians are a little overenthusiastic. Although I spotted a Lions Pub, with draught English beer and Sky Sports, it is clear the resort caters more for families than gangs of young males. Despite the intense British property-buying interest, you are more likely to hear Greek, Russian or Bulgarian than English on the slopes.

Louise Perkins, 34, a fitness trainer from Nottingham, has been pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. She and her husband, Jon, also 34, bought a small one-bedroom flat in a development called the Bell Tower near the centre of the village for £38,000 that they are living in for the season during a career break. They will probably let it out once they return to Britain. “It’s not just because it’s cheap,” says Perkins. “Bansko’s picturesque and a bit like an Austrian village rather than one of these places they just chucked up in the 1970s.”

The infrastructure is coping — for now, at least — although permanent residents complain of the occasional power cut. There is not much traffic compared with some alpine resorts. There are also plans to build a second main ski lift up from the village. The council has yet to decide where it will start from, prompting a frenzy of speculation among people who own plots of development land.

The whole point of a mountain resort is the skiing, so how does Bansko shape up? The first impression on a recent afternoon was favourable: the gondola up from the village is ultra-modern and there was no queue, while both lift pass and equipment hire were about half alpine rates. The chair lifts further up the mountain were equally modern Austrian-made affairs. The slopes were well groomed but not exactly exciting: the small selection of reds and a few blues would be enough to keep beginners and intermediates happy for a few days, but a more advanced skier will get bored quickly and start heading for the ice rink.

Bansko’s two rivals are struggling to keep up: Pamporovo, although the largest and reputedly the sunniest of the three, does not have a lot to offer expert skiers. Borovets is smaller, but is more conveniently located just 40 miles from Sofia. If it is excitement and sophistication you are after, you had better visit Courchevel. But look at the prices, and maybe Bansko is not such a bad deal.

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