Bansko Ski Resort Bulgaria

Bansko Will Be Fine for the Coming Ski Season

With the amount of building work going on in Bansko - especially in the town centre - it is easy to see how there could arise a problem with the infrastructure and utilities.

There should be no problems with Bansko’s water or electricity though, according to this article picked up from Bulgarian International News:

Bansko Ski Resort Still Interesting Despite Building Boom

This winter season Bulgaria’s top ski resort Bansko expects more than 800,000 guests, informed Standart news, citing sources from the resort’s municipality.

Square meter land on the municipality territory costs 200 EUR and the price of residential buildings reached 1,200 EUR per sq m.

As long as the town officials keep on top of the growing town, there may well be little problems over the coming months and years. Here’s hoping!

Tags: bansko news, bansko infrastructure, bansko skiing, bansko bulgaria, bansko rental, bansko hotels

Farewell Bansko

I left Bansko yesterday at 9am Bulgarian time to make the long journey back home. The sooner direct flights to Sofia are available in Ireland the better. I didn’t look forward to the two flights I had to get, ie. Sofia - London Luton, London Luton-Belfast and I didn’t enjoy the reality of the trip either.

The increased security at the airports is a pain in the bollox(Excuse my french), especially when you have the added extra stress of a few too many cheap cigarettes For those of you who smoke or know people who are one of this dying breed, you can buy 200 Marlboro and other brands for 32 Leva, which is about £10 sterling.

You can buy cigs at the duty-free for those flying to the EU for around the same price. If you’re flying to a country other than the EU, you can get a 200 box for 8 Euros .

Disclaimer: Please check the customs regulations for your contry as I would in no way encourage you to take more than you are regulated to take home.

I had to also return to checkin to put another bag through, as when I arrived atsecurity they wouldn’t let through my bottles of aftershave and Rakia, because they were over 100ml. Any liquid below 100ml goes in a clear plastic bag. Apparently they thought I was going to drink the bottle of Rakia, blind the pilot with my aftershave and go on a joyride around Eastern Europe

Before I left Bansko I went to the notary in Razlog to give Property Management BG the power to run my account (Minus making withdrawals) from Bansko. This takes around 5 minutes and the notary basically acts as a witness to my signing of the Property Management contract. The notary relieved me of 8 Leva for this privilege.

I also set up a bank account at the first investment bank in Bansko. It is possible to apply for a bank card which you can use in Bulgaria to remove your funds from ATMs. This card requires a 1 Euro desposit. For a 50 Euros deposit you can get a card that will allow you to withdraw your funds from the U.K. I will get the latter card the next time I am in Bansko.

Before I left I also discovered the name of the resort which is right next to Redenka on the road to Bansko. The resort is called Silver Mountain - the info was revealed thanks to the Property Management Rep. who translated the Bulgarian writing on the banners at the front of this new complex. Simple really, but it took me nearly two weeks to find this out!

Having Googled Silver Mountain Bansko I found that it is being built by MRI and includes 866 apartments.

The mind boggles why they believe that there is going to be a market for these properties when there are so many still available in Bansko. Maybe global warming is going to wipe out the snowfall of every other resort in Europe! At the rate they are building in Bansko it will be the only way these apartments will sell in the short-term. Mind you, I hope I have to eat these words at some time in the near future.

Overall my experience and visit to Bansko was very positive. I love the place and can see myself and family enjoying many weeks in this resort. The facilities in our apartment block, including, indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, jacuzzi and gym are due to be opened in early January 2008. So, if nothing else we will have a great place to stay.

I hope to return in January or February of ‘08. I am praying that there are Irish flights at this time.

This winter season will show whether there is potential for making some money back from rentals. This would definitely be a bonus.

Bansko is looking good and will do well long-term providing the developers’ greed desn’t spoil it for everyone concerned.

Tags: bansko, ski, razlog, notary, airport security, winter holidays, property in bansko, silver mountain

Snow On High in Bansko and Somebody Hasn’t Paid Their Electric Bill

There was snow atop the highest peaks in Bansko this morning when I arose. It has certainly been cold enough for it this past couple of days and I have been keeping the fire well stacked.

Last years was a disappointing one for skiers in terms of the snow situation so hopefully this year will bring loads of it, especially since I plan to return with the family in the new year.

That reminds me, I’ve never skied before and we plan to bring our 1 year old with us. Is this feasible? Anyone seen any young children in and around the slopes? What are our options?

I’d appreciate any comments on this.

The electric went out in my apartment block for over an hour today, so this is something to be aware of if you’re coming out here. It has happened 2-3 times since I got here but is usually only out for 10 minutes or so. I presume that this is a Bansko problem and not just confined to Redenka.

It’s curtain day tomorrow. Exciting stuff, eh? Once the curtains are hung then I only need to get some bedding and towels and the entire apartment in finished and ready for rental.

From what I have been told by Property Management Bg they are expecting full occupancy during the high season. We’ll see! I expect at least some rental in this first year.

I just noticed from the Grand Redenka site that the finishing date for that looks to be December ‘08. That has been put back from May ‘08. This must have been changed quite recently as I had checked the site only a week or two ago and it quoted it to be finished in May.

I was thinking that the slowdown in Grand Redenka is due to the massive building going on in the Pirin Golf and Ski. This has probably taken much of the business that would have naturally come to the Grand phase.

Not to worry, the Palace will be finished early ‘08 at the latest and will give us two heated indoor and outdoor pools. I am looking forward to see the complex finally opening.

What I have missed since my stay here is the shuttle bus. Getting taxis in and out of town is no fun. When you don’t speak Bulgarian it can be difficult even ordering one. It’s ok saying ‘Taxi Redenka’ but when they say something back like ‘Ca de Redenka’(I don’t even know what that means or whether it is spelt right. I would guess it means where is Redenka), then I’m lost. That happened yesterday. Thankfully though after my mumbling and fumbling the taxi still arrived.

Onwards ’til tomorrow. It will be interesting to see just how the curtains that I have chosen don’t match anything else in the apartment

Furniture Pack Arrives and Curtains To Go

My furniture items that I bought in Stil Dom in Blagoevgrad arrived the other day. Attached to the furniture were two workers ready to assemble it.

The T.V unit and shoe cabinet - I think thats what it is - came in flat pack and so needed to be put together. This took the two guys around 1 hr in all, that included drill fixing the hall mirror to the wall. Well, one guy actually did all the work while the other - who must have been the driver - sat around trying to look interested.

They were both quite amused that I couldn’t speak Bulgarian. I can only guess at the jokes they were having among themselves at my expense Sure, you would do the same yourself.

The last of the items I needed to complete the furnishing of my apartment - the curtains - were ordered and will be ready and fitted on Monday.

The curtain shop which sells many different designs and materials can be found near the centre of Bansko. Frank, the first foreigner in Bansko guy(See previous post), acted as translator and I agreed to pick the curtain shop girl up the following day to do the measurements and give me a price.

Yesterday I got the price for the whole apartment and it comes in at a massive 530 euros cheaper that what furnish bg quoted me. The price included everything, two sets of curtains, one for the sides and a different set for the middle, plus fitting.

I chose them and they look alright to me :neutral:. Anything would be better than the orange curtains I have seen in some of the chalets here - no offense.

Now, I know not everyone want to be traipsing around Bansko and the Bulgarian countryside looking for furniture but if you are going to come out here you can easily save yourself a lot of money by buying the furniture and fittings while you’re here.

I bought most of my furniture through the above mentioned furniture company but had I bought the lot myself out here I would have literally saved myself a few thousand euros.

Much of the purpose of keeping a record of the furniture buying on this blog is to allow others to see that it is entirely possible to do it yourself. Bear in mind too that I don’t have any transport nor do I speak a word of Bulgarian - well, that’s a lie, I speak around 6 words now that I’ve been here over a week - but you get my drift.

For those interested in getting a price for their own curtains you can find this shop by taking the street on the right hand side of the Lions Pub - as you walk down from the Kempinski hotel - then take the street on the left directly after the Parfe Cafe. The shop is about 4 doors up that street on the left hand side(See pic). Make sure to bring someone with you who speaks Bulgarian and English.

Now that my works done I will probably spend the rest of my time here working online, eating and more eating. The town was pretty empty last night as you would expect this time of year so I will not be venturing in too often unless I’ve things to do or to fill my face.

I leave next wednesday. In the meantime, if I find anything worth posting about I will. I have a couple of things to clear up with the Property Management company that may be worth mentioning.

Tags: bansko furniture, ski bansko, bulgarian furniture, visiting bansko, redenka