Rila Hotel Borovets

Ideal location near slopes and resort center, praised for exceptional cleanliness, friendly staff, spacious rooms with mountain views, modern amenities, and a variety of leisure options.

The location of this hotel is amazing and the rooms are well cleaned daily. We had a wonderful experience and I was about to leave a 5 star review with all my heart but something that happened on the last morning got as so mad that I had to write this. First of all, there are two restaurants(Seasons and Les Arcs). Seasons is the best of them two and has better and lots more foods. We went there for breakfast just before leaving and we saw that all the tables were occupied but that didn’t piss us off. The fact that a lot of tables that were supposed to be occupied by 8 people and there was only a single person there was absolutely annoying. Second of all, we went to talk with the guy that was supposed to handle the restaurant and he told us that he can t argue with guests. Of course he can t argue with guests but that doesn’t mean he cannot solve a problem. He just had to politely speak to those guests and explain them that that it s not a great behavior. We came here for almost five years and this never happened to us. I m looking forward to seeing improvements in the behavior of the employees.

Positives: In a perfect location. Ski in and out. Rila slope is just a couple of steps from the main entrance. Breakfast: plenty of options, good quality and coffee & juice were included. The hotel is large, so make sure you walk around and see all it has to offer. We only discovered the Terrace Lounge indoor and outdoor) on the 2nd floor on the last night when they opened up a second floor for dinner. Lovely bar for cocktails with good music. Recommend. Dinner in the a la carte Restaurant Samokovi (not included in the half board) on the ground floor was amazing. We booked a table one of the nights Service, food, ambience - all perfect. The food was high quality. Made a lovely change from the upstairs dining areas included in the half board. Towards the very end of our meal, there was a large group, a few of the children were running around the restaurant, climbing on empty chairs and banging furniture. This didn't seem to be challenged by the waiters, which was a shame, but the blame is with the parents. The sauna, Turkish bath and relaxation spa areas are great. Negatives: This is not a hotel I would recommend for couples without children, if going during school holiday times, because of the dinner and the jacuzzi experiences. If you're going with children, I would say you'll find it perfect, though. There were children's activity areas, large open spaces and plenty of food options to cater for all ages as well. Dinner, in the dining area for the half board (buffet) is loud, bright, busy and not a space we wanted to spend any extra time in beyond eating our food. It's a canteen more than a restaurant. Large open space, high ceilings, so the sound echoes. There was different food options but lacked much change day to day and the quality was mixed. No tables for 2 people. A few tables for 4, but most were 6 / 8 seaters so you were inevitably sharing with other people on busy nights or sitting on an overly large table with just 2 of you at quieter times (suggest having dinner as late as possible for a quieter experience). The same Christmas themed music was played at breakfast and dinner times. Tables cleared away so quickly, it felt rushed. It was not an enjoyable dining experience in the half board Seasons restaurant. Jacuzzis are located in the swimmimg pool area, not the same area as the sauna / Turkish baths. Despite signs saying jacuzzi not suitable for children under 12, there were always children in them - I counted 9 children one of the times. Only used it twice for this reason - kids splashing around and dive bombing in. Again this might be because of the school holidays, but given the location next to the swimming pool and children's pool and the fact that no one was enforcing the age limits each time, id expect it's a regular occurance. It's not the relaxing post-ski jacuzzi experience that you might be expecting. Other: Ski gear can be stored in the hotel store area - this closes at 5pm so be aware if planning apres sk