On first arriving at Malina Villas in the middle of the night, we were greeted by welcoming staff and shown to our chalet. It was lovely and warm even though it was snowing outside! The accomodation was basic and not really as I had pictured it from the travel broucher. It was perfect for skiing though! We had two couples staying and had to pick who was going to have the triple bed and who was going to get the smaller room with twin beds! Upstairs was a lot colder than downstairs and the stairs were the 'half' stairs - the type that allow only one foot on.
We were half board so had a 3 minute walk to the restaurant where we were greeted by lovely, attentive staff and cold food! The choice of food was exactly what you want after skiing - stew, casseroles , pastas, soup etc only it was disappointingly cold but that's the way the Bulgarian's eat their food! The salads were lovely!
The skiing was great! Lots of snow but lots of skiiers too! At the beginning of the week all the beginners are littered over the gentle slopes around the ski/boot centre and start lessons at 10 am. The ski lift to the top gets very busy around this time too! As the week progresses all the beginners start to use the green run which also get very busy. But to be expected during half term week! The price for food can vary depending on how high up the mountain you go! Carry 1 leva coins to pay for the toilets - they are rarely free!
The ski school was good aswell. We had a lovely instructor. It would have been good to have changed groups half way through week as our group had a lot of children and unconfident skiiers. Be warned - be very careful when skiing! I ended up having key hole surgeory on my knee due to nasty fall! You never think it's going to happen to you! I would advise that you carry on you any insurance papers, EU health care card and credit/debit card! The medical aid at the ski centre is all private care so be expected to pay if you do get hurt!
Maria, the Inghams rep, is lovely! She was really helpful and spoke fantastic English!