We are just back from a weeks holiday in the Grand Montana and would say that the rooms are large and always warm with modern decor however this does not disguise the rather worrying diagonal cracks in the walls, lack of hot water and truly awful food. I have stayed half board in many 3 and 4 star hotels all over the world including Bulgaria last year and I can honestly say that I have never experienced food as bad as this before. If you are planning to go to the Grand Montana I would recommend taking the self catering option and eating out as the traditional restaurants in town are excellent.

Positive:
- The room spaces were satisfactory. We've booked a four-person apartment which had one double-bed room and one single-bed room. The living room was big enough to rest in the evening and dry our gear (clothes, gloves etc.) beside the heater. The apartment had two bathrooms, one in the main corridor and the other connected to the double-bed room.
- Lunch (7 euros per person) and dinner (8 euros per person) at the hotel's restaurant were good value for money. Please be aware that drinks are not included in the price.
- The hotel offered a shuttle-bus (for 8 people) to the ski resort for free.
Negative:
- The hotel's management should pay more attention to the cleanliness aspect. It is outrageous that we found dirty blankets when we first entered the apartment. Moreover, the apartment's bathrooms had a bad smell and the cleaners didn't replace the shower's shampoo, every day, as expected.
- The hotel's facilities are an issue to be discussed. The swimming pool is too small (5m length x 2m width, with a 1,3m depth). The jacuzzi is not separated to the pool therefore, it is obvious, that its temperature is the same. The steam bath was out of order and the sauna's thermometer was not working (dangerous for inexperienced people).
- The hote's breakfast was quite poor. We expected more from a four-star hotel which only served sausages, ham, cheese, cereals, cake and jam to cover your bread. At least they could offer fresh orange juice, in order to avoid drinking coffee (filter) of bad quality.
- According to the hote's internet page the distance to the ski resort is 500 metres. Unfortunately, this statement is rather misleading. Unless you get the hotel's free shuttle-bus (according to the timetables) you have to take a 10-15 minute walk so as to reach the ski resort.

Personally I feel that Grand Montana is not a hotel to be recommended and not a place for your future visit in Bansko. You can easily find better quality with the same price (27 euros per person) or better price based on what Grand Montana offers you.

Kind regards,
Nikos

Pros:
The hotel was modern and clean. Staff at reception were professional and spoke some English. Our room was large, warm and well furnished, with usable kitchenette included. The hotel had free wi-fi which sometimes worked. Ski storage facilities were adequate. The location in Bansko was not a problem, everything within walking distance. Useful regular bus service to and from gondola.

Cons:
Our shower leaked and flooded the bathroom. Sometimes the hot water would cut off. The toilet flush would regularly get stuck. Lack of toilet paper provided by the cleaning staff. Room electricity on a key-based system so we couldn't leave anything on to charge during the day. Hotel pool was tiny, cold, and usually full of noisy kids. Hot tub was barely lukewarm. Steam room not working. Hotel restaurant food was abysmal. They even served the same buffet food two days in a row, getting colder each day - quite disgusting. The staff in the restaurant were unfriendly and generally useless. Constant MTV and rap music playing in the restaurant. Hotel wi-fi was unreliable and internet terminals loaded with viruses. The hotel seemed in general to have been half-built to half-finished plans, resulting in vast, echoing hallways, dangerous steps, areas of warm and freezing air, water flooding all the floors around the pool area. I could have slipped on the wet floors at least a dozen times.

Conclusion: just about acceptable accommodation for a ski holiday, but plan to eat out and don't bother with the pool or restaurant. I'm sure there are at least 6 other hotels in Bansko which do the same thing better.

We've got a room near the reception and above the restaurant, it was very noisy until late at night and since very early in the morning. It is not so close to the ski slopes as they describe, this is why they offer a free bus connection. Breakfast very poor. Sauna and swimming pool extremely small. Turkish bath out of order. The room had a kitchen, but everything quite dirty. The bathroom was so small, that the door couldn't completly open, because was slamming against the sink.