Hotel Samokov

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

Felt the need to review this hotel to warn others as our recent stay was substandard. We expected basic in line with the price, however whilst the rooms are basic (broken lights, 1 accessible plug socket, unsealed bath that floods the room when you use it and not well cleaned) they do their job as somewhere to rest your head and this was not the primary issue with the hotel. The breakfast was stone cold, un-replenished and uncleanly. The toaster stopped working on day 2 of our holiday which was the only bit of hot food you could actually get! They have a microwave that you can use to heat up your cold sausages/beans/bacon and even this didn’t work after a 3 minute blitz due to the age of the microwave. The cold cereals, sauces etc on offer had crumbs and remnants of other dishes in and weren’t refreshed throughout the busy breakfast service. The yoghurt on offer was gone off and had separated on the one day I tried a portion. Due to all of this we started buying breakfast out towards the end of the week, as it wasn’t worth wasting time on before skiing. I didn’t manage to connect to the WiFi once so if you are banking on using this then think again! All 4 lifts were slow and unreliable, it was hit and miss as to which floor they would take you down to. The best part of the hotel was the sports bar inside, which was busy with a good atmosphere before and after dinner times. Overall, with the lack of general hygiene and poor breakfast on offer I would not return here.

We recommend the spa area of ​​the Samokov hotel. We were there for a massage and were very satisfied. Extremely attentive and responsive staff. We thank everyone from the hotel and especially Nonka for the professional attitude. We will definitely be back again.

This hotel is old style Soviet Russian in architecture - big rooms, grand restaurants, very wide corridors. The rooms even have original radios (not working) still installed into their bedside cabinets. The hotel is poorly maintained and run down. None of the four lifts work properly leading to some very anxious moments. The plumbing is laughable (no sealant around baths) and leaking taps. The entertainment facilities are good when working. The food is poor (watered down fruit juice for breakfast) and stone cold soup for dinner. They only had 2 wheelchairs (1 with wonky wheel which took an hour to be repaired) for ski injuries. As I was the 3rd injured I had to make do with a wooden chair screwed onto a bellboy suitcase carrier to get me around! Nothing positive to say about this hotel other than the ski hire and ski school which are very good.

A hotel, but not as we know it! Family Group of 8 (4 Twins) booked B&B in Borovets for our Annual Ski Break. Our Samakov Hotel expectations would be reasonable; friendly staff, welcoming, clean, well maintained, basic breakfast, bar and reasonable location. We received a nice welcome, quick check in and made it to the lift. The lifts give you concerns they will break down at any time, the twin rooms are basic, TV, Balcony, WC, Bathroom. Don’t have a shower, if you do (which would be a reasonable expectation), your bathroom will resemble a wet room (more like a paddling pool), the baths are not sealed! Shower heads broken, towels thread bear. Housekeeping; it’s a change of towels; no cleaning and only wipe down. This was witnessed on a few days. Breakfast - free 4 all, buffet style. Any hot drinks taste like the sewers, orange juice is diluted rootbeer. Food served cold (they even give you a microwave to help warm up) and quality was below reasonable. After a few days the rumour around the Borovets chats was a virus was sweeping the village. Now, you dismiss as it never happens to you, but within 48 hours our group got hit, 24 hrs of bed ridden hell! The source, alleged water. Not defined as the Samokov, but the warnings signs were evident in hindsight. On reflection, housekeeping not using cleaning materials, public toilets not maintained with broken doors, air dryers etc; In terms of the hotel, at best it needs to be demolished, at worst a ‘turn key’ restoration. Avoid and research every available platform and make your choice.