Lion Bansko Hotel

The accommodation excels in cleanliness and location, offering diverse breakfast options. Guests praise the attentive staff for providing excellent service. Shuttle services enhance convenience.

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 th

was forced to pay 130 LEV due to fake tan getting on a towel and robe. Although I apologised and explained it will wash out and that it doesn’t cost that much to replace a towel, they still said I have to pay as their laundry company does not wash out fake tan which gives the impression that they don’t properly wash their bed sheets or towels which is very concerning. I respect that I should have been more careful and would have paid to replace but having to pay 130 LEV is ridiculous I’m very disappointed by my experience and I haven’t heard of any other hotel which charges for this.