We had a long drive from Sofia airport, so when we arrived it was great to find that the buliding supervisor had unlocked the apartment, turned on the heating and hot water, and everything was ready to do whatever we wanted. The property was very clean and welcoming, and quite spacious. A balcony to the rear that overlooks the pine woods and a dead end road at the front, so minimal traffic. The open fire is a great touch and although most blokes think they are great at starting fires, it took my friend a while to get it going (harder than you imagine) , but once it was, it made a wonderful bonus against the chilly evenings.
There is a lovely family restaurant nearby, just 2 minutes walk and i can recommend the local dish of Patanik, very tasty. Although i wasn't convinced by the local spirit, very similar to Genepi and very strong, traditionally drank with a glass of what i can i can only describe as very thin yoghurt, not my best memory.
It wasn't much further to the ski lift, and the mountain was reasonable quiet for saying it was UK schools half term, in France you could be queing for 15/20 minutes on the lifts, but not here, straight on. My friend was a snowboard beginner and the resort was great for him, but a little small for me as i'm quite advanced. Even so, there was enough to fill a week and what with it being uncrowded, it was a joy to take to the pistes, we even managed to find a new run that was almost 5km long and virtually deserted and with a few sections of off piste, that made me very happy. Plus it's possible that a holiday here would cost you half the price you pay in France.
I strongly recommend renting a car, there is a small town nearby called Smolyan that has some great little restaurants and some general shops, and if you want to go to Pamprovo after the ski lifts shut, you'll need a car.
All in all, i had a great time there and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone else.
All bookings are direct with the owner 