Name: Apartment in Royal Bansko
Address: Gramadeto area 2770, Bansko, Bulgaria, Bansko, Bansko, Bansko, Bulgaria
Rating: 6

Smoke-free property

General

Laundry

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Outdoor pool

Pool and beach

Conference Hall

Business

Sauna

Beauty and wellness

Location

At the apartament hotel

Bansko-Banderitsa Meadow Ski Lift

Bansko Ski Resort

Apartment in Royal Bansko

Bansko

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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4-beds

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5-beds

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9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Bankso, Bulgaria, Stay Royal Bansko Aparthotel February 11 to 18

I write with regard to a recent visit to the ski resort Bankso, Bulgaria and a stay in a hotel that was at the top of booking.com search list for hotels in the area, boasting very good reviews. It was the Royal Bansko Aparthoteland it was not the cheapest option.  Initially my husband booked for myself and my two children but as time drew near, I realised the logistical issues that I faced having two children at different levels and skii ability. We requested the possibility of adding a guest to our booking  and it was confirmed by email that we  could pay an extra 40 euros a night for the 7 days board for a non skiing friend to come as moral support. We overlooked our initial many dissappointments ie the overall shabbiness of the room and the the bed that was allocated fo r my friend was a, sofabed with a sheet covering it near enough in the kitchen area. We also found a spoon in the cutlery drawer that looked like it had been taken straight out of someone's mouth with teeth marks of chocolate spread on it. There was absolutely nothing in the room  to clean with ie no washing up liquid or sponge and the room was covered in dust.  There were two glasses in the cupboard one shot and the other tall with a crack in it there were two saucers and one plate and one bowl and a couple of coffee mugs. The dissapointment s continued, the mattresses had no protective covering so the sheets which did not fit well went straight down on the mattresses and the duvets were microthin and did not cover the whole bed so all night ones feet kept being uncovered when one person turned over. The pillows were spartan, lumpy and not of  over equal size or shape. The shower room housed a very cheap shower unit which had doors that  did not fit together and didn't slide well which caused water to soak the floor each time one had a shower. The shower didn't appear clean because of its age and poor quality. This was admitted by the management when we reported the faulty function of the doors. There were no hooks to hang your clothes or wet towels. The Hotel is surrounded on three sides by scrubland and a dirt track takes one down  to the town. There were many stray dogs in this scrubland 3 of who barked or howled Intermittently during the night. The food was very basic and mostly always cold. There was minimal vegetarian options. Ie the same mix of tomatoes and cucumbers for both morning and  evenng meals. There were two drinks on offer with the meal, cherry flavoured or apple flavoured diluted sirop. There was no alcohol , coffee or tea unless one bought it.  My friend and I had one gjn and tonic each for 4 out of the 7 days and the children had some cool drinks which we asked to be put on the room bill.
We tried to make the best of it and put on a brave face. We were told that we could hire skis in the hotel and there was a shuttle to take us to the bottom of the ski slopes which ran every morning from 8 to 10 and every afternoon from 3 un til 5pm. There was another mother with her son who managed to get them to transport her at lunch time  as that is when the queues have settled and the daily ski passes get cheaper so we thought they were amenable. We were given few instructions except the times that officially the shuttle would run. I soon realized it was quite tricky  logistically for a single adult and with the two children on very busy pistes. This unfortunately did mean that my friend and I had to  divide duties and child minding. We did find it difficult after the first day to hook up with the shuttle and I often I had to ring through to my friend who was at the hotel to ask to come on the shuttle so that we could swap the children over so each one could ski. On the 4th day we found that despite me agreeing  with the driver that we would meet him again at 5pm after our drop off, that he didn't turn up prompting me to call my friend back at the hotel  to again request they pop out. We were waiting about 45minutes only to be told by other hotel shuttles that after 5.30pm there were no more shuttles but for 10 lev  ie £5 they would drive my daughter and I back to our hotel which w as was less than mile up the hill. I was very upset at being abandoned despite my agreement with the hotel driver but I refrained from complaining. The following day when we tried to arrange a swap over with the children between 3 and 5pm. The receptionist/ manager/ owner told me that my reservation did not include a free shuttle service as we had booked it in October 22  ( it was now February 23) and they had only recently purchased the shuttle and they had been doing us a favour until now  but it was obvious that we were asking too much. I expressed surprise that they had not mentioned this before especially since I would not have elected to hire the skis from the hotel if I had have known. I would have hired skis down in the town near to the piste freeing us up a little to be able to spend some time in the town with out having to look after the skis and wait for the transport to arrive. They welcomed my custom but oddly had insisted on the ski hire being a cash transaction which I felt uncomfortable with as it left me with little spare emergency cash or cash for taxis.  The man became quite aggressive almost instantly when I questioned why he was only bringing it up now and I informed him that I didn't ask anyone to do me any favours. I would have been happy to pay if had have been made aware but there was no information anywhere about this apart from what this man was telling me only 5th day out of a  7 day stay. Hey then proceeded to tell me that my behaviour was not acceptable and said that I could no longer use the shuttle at all in view of this. This left me in a very awkward situation with at least one day of skiing and ski pass left and overt difficulties of arranging taxis In a country in which one doesn't speak the language with a now hostile and unhelpful receptionist/owner. I elected to walk down to the piste the following day but after a days skiing, walking back with 3 sets of skis, in ski iboots up a  dirt track on a hill, nearly killed me and meant I could barely walk that evening. My friend informed me that he had told her that they had overlooked the fact that we had turned up with 4 in our party and not 3 and that we should be grateful for this. This of course embarrassed my friend hugely as she is not used to sponging off anyone and was quite prepared to pay bill had it been presented . We felt enormously threatened and insecure. The children witnessed him shouting at me and were horrified. My friend felt embarrassed. We would have left immediately had we been able to do so as it was now very uncomfortable to remain but we were beholden to the hotel and staff to ensure our safe return to the UK. 
The man came to knock on our room door the evening before we are due to book out and towering over my friend asked when we were leaving and reminding us that we needed to settle the bill before leaving. I am a 54 year old doctor who has worked in the NHS for over 30 years. I have stayed in many hotels and I have never been accosted by hotel staff in this way, intimating that we were going to leave without paying . I am not sure what gave the man this idea apart from his own standards. When we came to settle the room bill, he refused to give us any printout or record of what we had consumed  and  seemed to just pluck a number out of the sky as far as we could tell. He said that it was not the way that they did things at that hotel. I found it very odd and clandestine behaviour. I don't believe this hotel is fit to host people from outside of their country as they obviously have different standards us. As an establishment it is their responsibility  to make people feel comfortable during their stay not to threaten or deny them services as and when they see fit. I am truly appalled and I can only believe that it was because we were women on our own that he felt he could treat us so abysmally.

Appallingly traumatic experience

Stayed here in a large group of friends split between 2 apartments. Our apartment was extremely basic, which was expected due to it being a 3 star place, however there was limited kitchenware (we had 1 fork to share between us 4 of us). The mattresses and sheets on the beds were stained, not to mention solid. It was like sleeping on a pavement each night (not what you need after a long day skiing). I could have a glass of water on the bed, jump, and it not spill. On the last night of the holiday I wanted a decent sleep so actually booked a night in another hotel!Despite the lack of sleep the pool was enjoyable, the bar was handy and there are plenty of funny memories we have taken away!!

Bad beds in bansko

I’ve read previous reviews about this resort and can’t really agree with any of the negative comments.  Looking at it as a 3 star hotel it’s perfect.  It was clean, staff were lovely, welcoming and friendly. The evening buffet was basic but delicious home cooked food. £10 per adult and £5 per child.  You get what you pay for, Not a huge selection of food at all but after a great day skiing we were hungry and our kids (14&11) ate as much as they could with no complaints.  
You can walk to town for bigger selection of food but you will pay more!
There was no shuttle bus to the gondola but it’s only 5 min walk to the ski road so plan your rentals then ski down to the gondola or get a taxi direct to the top avoiding the morning queues. 
If you intend to look for faults in this hotel I’m sure you’ll find something to complain about but if you want GREAT value for money and enjoy the laid back Bulgarian way then this is the place to stay. 
The views from our balcony whilst enjoying our breakfast coffee were priceless!

Wonderful holiday

This hotel has a lot of advantages, location - because it's a 10-minute walk from the cable car; very well equipped studio; nice pool and sauna for relaxation, as well as gym; pool table in the lobby; price...they even offer meals at reasonable price, so it's impossible not to be satisfied.
The only thing I didn't like is the fact that never once was I able to find somebody around the pool who could give me more info about masaages they offer, and the fact that steam bath and another sauna look like they are storage rooms now instead of functioning.

Great choice for families and couples

Тhe hotel is before the collapse. Its 15min walking from the centar but the street is with mud.They dont have Shuttle Bus! The parking is small. Good wifi in D part.
1.ROOMS: The interior in apartments is old and broken.Also is very dirty.The bed and pillows are like a stone,totally uncomfrtable. Dont have the hairdryer,bathrobe,towels and slipers,so you have to ask them to bring you.The windows are old and blowing from them.One heater did not work.There are no dishes in the kitchen. Also the apartments dont have air cordishen.They dont clean the room every day.

2. SPA: The pool is big but very cold.There is two sauna and two steam bath,but only one sauna work,the others were closed. And that sauna that worked was not  working all day,only 3 hours before the spa is closing.

3. FOOD: Poor...The breakfast is this same every day,eggs,sausages,tomatos, cucumber,cheese without taste and samo ugly salami.There is no butter and jam. The there was only with three tips of meals and one tip of salad.The meals were repeated every second night.There was no dessert. Every day we have orange and some pieces of dark banana for dessert for breakfast and dinner. There is no juice,and the water they served was not of a bottle!!!

4.STAFF: Horrible and non-cultural,arogance.There are 7-8 people that work in the hotel and they work more things.The guy in the bar is also the pool cleaner,the girl on reception work in restoran and ect.

Misery

It is not even worth one star but I had to rate it something in order to post.

Do not stay here!  It is full of school children aged 15-17 who have no respect. Having parties all night long until 4am, screaming and running up and down the corridor playing loud music, banging on doors, ringing door bells and simply having no respect for anyone and themselves.

We have moved rooms 3 times and each time there are kids doing exactly the same next to us. We have had no sleep for days and no one cares.

The management say that it happens all the time and there’s nothing they can do. The teacher apparently gets drunk at the bar and does not care what the children get up to. 

We have politely asked them to be quiet but nothing changes. 

It is a disgrace I am appalled.

I have stayed here previously and it was fine but the management have changed and no one cares.  

DON’T STAY HERE!!!!

Disgusting!!!!  Do not stay here!!!

Once again our apartment was wonderful but only because it belongs to our daughter and son-in-law!  Apparently the management changed hands earlier in 2018 and when the family were out in the summer things appeared to be looking up!  However, they have rapidly descended to being as bad as the previous team, if not worse!  The bar had nobody there most of the time and when there was someone to serve they had no wine, only one choice of beer, a couple of soft drinks and coffee!
The facilities in this aparthotel could be excellent but someone needs to apply pressure and get it sorted!  When we first started to go there about 5 or 6 years ago,  the restaurant food was brilliant , the atmosphere welcoming, the staff helpful and the security good...not anymore!  We'd been there for several days without anyone querying our ID - we could have been anyone!!
Come on, Royal Bansko, get your act together - it could be a magical place!

Service awful!

Probably worst hotel in Bansko!!! ...in my 10 years in Bansko...no breakfast, no bread at all, cold spaghetti, hair in the food...bljaaak....never again! Save your money and time, do not go there! Disappointed in Bulgarian hospitality :(

Terrible 

I stayed here with couple of girlfriends last December and the experience wasn't really good. Hence, we stayed at one of the apartments and the cleanliness was terrible to begin with - dust was all over the place and no one bothered to change the sheets! Secondly, the service - there is no room service and once you ask someone from the staff (if you find one) for a simple thing as a hair dryer you get the eye roll first and then the hair dryer. For real?! Lastly, the spa - 1 of the 4 steam rooms was working only in a fully booked hotel (saving electricity was the explanation) and there were no towels or sleepers nor assistance of any kind around. Wasn't certainly expecting this when the hotel looks quite nice.

Apartment in Royal Bansko

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