Skiing

Currency exchange

Packed lunches

Kid-friendly buffet

Special diet menus (on request)

Restaurant

Dry cleaning*

Daily housekeeping

Laundry*

Ironing service*

Shuttle service (free)

Meeting/banquet facilities*

Fax/photocopying*

Shops (on site)

24-hour front desk

Luggage storage

Swimming Pool

Massage*

Ski storage

Hiking (Off site)

Billiards*

Free public parking

Facilities for disabled guests

Non-smoking throughout

Lift

Spa and wellness centre

Fitness centre

Sauna

Hammam*

Indoor pool

Free WiFi

Safety deposit box*

Hot tub/jacuzzi

Towels

Slippers

Free toiletries

Hairdryer

Coffee house on site 

Steam room 

Private parking*

Additional local charge for these facilities

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Lion Bansko Hotel

Bansko

Blagoevgrad Province

Bulgaria

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Generally our experience was good. Big rooms, very warm. Staff is always happy to help. Asked for different options if lunch and staff took it on board straight away. As well my little one dropped her tablet behind wardrobe maintenance got it without delays and etc..
Just one thing and quit major. I looked at evacuation plan and it was great. However emergency exit was locked. I asked receptionist how does it work as it did not look as magnetic door( but maybe it was). She did not even know it is exit there. So I asked in case of emergency who would lead evacuation, she did know know. Then I asked another receptionist he did not know. Would door open or know in case of fire... Which front hall is at the high risk with 2 open fires and drinking guests in front of it and kitchen behind, that exit I was questioning was only one exit available in case of emergency. But as I said no one knew anything. However staff said they will pass over message to manager which they did but management never contacted us. Then I asked our travel agency and I was told by our agent,,it should open when alarm goes off " which is not very reassuring". After I was told by agent hotel will have meeting regarding these queries. Will it happen or not... However it is clear staff did not have any trainings or drills.

Staff needs training for health and safety

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.


Super hotel for a family week

Bournemouth, Dorset, England

Love this hotel and it's sister hotel lion in borovets. Great facilities, use of spa facilities and treatments are a must and half the price of treatments back home. Bar menu and cost of drinks excellent. Local to bars, restaurants and old town. 10 min walk to gondola, or get the free minibus running throughout the day.

Perfectly placed.

Me, my fiancé and 4 year old boy stayed a week here during the February half term, bearing in mind how the star rating differs from UK I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely it was. 

Room- we were top floor so it got quite hot during the night but we just opened the windows. Clean, tidy, spacious and everything you need. Only negatives I would say is there are no tea/coffee making facilities in the rooms and the mattresses weren’t brilliant. 

Food- for us this was just incredible. We went with the half board option so breakfast and dinner. It was just faultless from the options of cold foods, dips, side dishes to the lovely various hot foods which had a few different cuisines throughout the week. Everything was cooked to perfection which they kept stocked up at all times during the busy half term period. The puddings were delicious and the waiting staff were excellent; very friendly, cleared our plates away quickly, kept everything clean, tidy and running smoothly. Free unlimited local wine and beer at dinner times too which was a bonus! 

Lobby- this part of the hotel was the focal point for a lot of people. It’s a great size with a bar, pool table, lots of chairs/sofas and a lovely big open fire in the middle. The atmosphere was great every night, people playing games, kids having fun and just a genuinely nice place to chill after dinner. 

Pool/spa - again, these pleasantly surprised me. Really nice sized pool with a shallower, smaller pool; loungers to chill out on; couple of really hot showers and the spa downstairs was very tranquil with steam rooms, sauna and the option to buy massages. 

It is a little walk (5ish mins) from the ski shops and gondola but the hotel put on a free shuttle bus quite frequently. We enjoyed the walk too/from most days through the lively town. 

Overall the hotel was friendly, very clean all over, great vibes for young families/younger visitors, great atmosphere and you could tell the staff work really hard. Would love to come back here again!

Really pleasant, would return!

Ryde, Isle of Wight, England

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 the beer and wine on tap included!

Would I come to Bansko again? No, sadly not but it was a unique experience to compare with.

Bansko 🏂 OVERALL review

Somerset, England

The four star LION Hotel Bansko starts December 2005 in one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots of the country - Bansko resort - the newest and most modern ski resort in Bulgaria. Hotel Lion offers a full range of services and amenities to provide you a memorable gateway experience. The hotel has 190 rooms in different room categories: single rooms, double rooms, studios and luxurious apartments, offering comfort and privacy for your stay. Each guest room features private bathroom with a bath-tub and hairdryer, satellite TV, mini bar and direct telephone

3.9/5

Lion Bansko Hotel

3.9/5

Bansko is great for:

The snow is forecast to be

Good

for the next week

Accommodation

Facilities