BULGARIA - BOROVETS - HOTEL ELA

The Hotel was nice, Clean and relatively modern, and majority of the staff spoke really good english.

There is a bar and social area in the reception, equipped with a log fire, and the restaurant is opposite which has the breakfast and dinner included in the price,  with seatings times between 7-10 and 5.30-7.30 check.

There is ski and snowboard storage at 18lev for the week, as well as a sauna that is free to use between 4 and 6pm, a gym (old and dated, but a gym none the less) and a pool table. 

The overall cliental for the hotel was a mixture of ages, but I'd say majority were quite young (65%). This is based on the amount of noise level we experienced between the hours of 12-2am. But nothing some good ear plugs couldn't fix.

One last thing to point out to be aware of is that the lift doesn't have an internal door! So ensure to stand away from it when entering – and don't do what I kept doing – which was waiting for the door to open automatically after it had stopped! 

The rooms were clean, and well equipped with extra pillows, (which is good as the pillows were really soft) a blanket, plenty of plug sockets – close to mirrors and the bed, and a TV but I couldn't find any english speaking channels. Unfortunately there was no kettle in the room - we did ask for one, and the lady at reception said she'd see what she could do, but one never arrived and I think was because there just weren't enough for every room and it was luck if the draw if you got one of not. Although, all three of our rooms did not have one, so I advise taking your own if you definitely require one. There was a fridge, that states it's a mini bar - however this was empty. And I didn't spot a hair dryer - but to be honest, I didn't look, and I know Neil had one in his room. 

The shower was powerful and hot! as was the radiator in the bathroom - perfect for drying any swimsuits or damp gloves. 

The room I had was on the front of the building and due to the season, there were Christmas lights up - which looked lovely – however, one of them was a flashing white strip light which meant that my room was a very subtle disco at night when all the lights were off. It took two requests but eventually I managed to persuade the hotel staff to turn the top light off over night. Goes to show there's always no harm in asking! 

There was also a little bit of an issue with Andy and John's room booking, as they had been given a double bed rather than two singles. To start with they were saying that there was nothing they could due to the hotel being fully booked, which if you saw the size of Andy and John compared to the size of the bed you'd see why this was not going to be an option! So we stuck our ground and a few more options were eventually put on the table. One of those was to get 'camp style bed' to put on the floor.. now the rooms were of a decent size for what they were, but I've no idea where they thought a camp bed was going to fit!! Anyway, somehow a room upgrade became available that was on the lower floor, with two twin beds, a door to the outside, and an area with a table and sofa perfect for card playing and it was only an extra £25 for the week! No brainer really!

I learnt during this trip that the Bulgarians are big meat eaters! So if you're a meat eater, you'll be fine, and it did look amazing!! But for vegetarians/vegans –  being brutally honest, the hotel restaurant was a bit crap. 

Tea, coffee, juice or water is only available for the breakfast time sitting, if you require a drink for your evening meal, you have to order it from t he bar or discreetly take your own.

Breakfast is pretty good for the meat and dairy eaters, I spied scrambled, fried and boiled egg, baked beans, sausages and bacon, along with toast, jam, cereal and plenty of fruit.

For the evening dinner, there were things like chips, wedges, potatoes, meatballs, chicken nuggets, meatloaf, fried chicken, grilled vegetables, salad, cheeses, cold meats, potato salads, and two soup options (one vegi one not) on everyday.  But the difficult part was making a good hot hearty 'meal' out of the selections offered, as when you've been out snowboarding in minus degrees all day, the last thing you want is a cold salad for tea. 

One day I had cold potato salad, with hot mash potato and grilled veg, followed by potato soup because I was still hungry.  

Another day I had onion rings and potato frittas, 

and then one evening we had a pasta and sauce which looked amazing, but it was served lukewarm so went cold very fast. 

Talking to friends who stayed in other hotels, it seemed to be a similar occurrence that there was plenty of salad or veg options, but not much to make a 'hearty meal' out of for the vegetarians. Also, that a lot of the dishes were either lukewarm or cold with the option of reheating if required in a microwave (fyi - we didn't have a microwave in our restaurant). 

For Neil who was vegan, it was even harder, as staff didn't understand when we asked if something was made with dairy (for example the potatoes or the soup) so he pretty much lived off chips, fruit or toast for the whole week. 

Eating out is fine for vegetarians, as long as you like cheese, or aren't afraid to ask for something without - for example the sausage mash and Yorkshire puddings - without the sausages from Black Tiger were amazing!! (no idea if the gravy was vegetarian, I just turned a blind eye and hoped for the best!) But I think poor Neil survived off chips or the vegan Subway patty for the whole week! 

YES – I'd stay there again, as it was very convenient and the price was really good! However,  I would look around for alternative options nearer the time due to the food situation... (even though friends reviews of their hotels have not filled me with hope!) I'd also make sure I'd pack my ear plugs and eye mask again, and pack a travel kettle and some some food with me, or eat out more than in the hotel