Apart Hotel The Castle

We’re here for a full week and have been very positive about the hotel so far. The rooms are warm and very clean, and the staff are polite. You can step right outside and be practically at the pistes by the lift, with a mini supermarket only about 10 meters away. Breakfast is the same each day, though there's plenty to choose from, and the coffee is good. The sauna and steam bath were clean and hot enough, just right for relaxing sore muscles after skiing or snowboarding. The whirlpool water seemed a little cold.

Good for a place to sleep, but I'd skip the food. The location is handy for skiing and easy to get to, and our room was clean and warm. Service wasn't good: the reception guy was hardly around, didn't speak English, and wasn't helpful when we needed something. Service in the restaurant was poor too, and the food wasn't worth the price they asked.

The location is perfect and the rooms are really clean and warm. But at 200 BGN a night, I expected better quality jam and honey at breakfast than what was shown in the photo. You also have to pay another 8 BGN if you want a bathrobe for the SPA, since there aren't any in the rooms. The service was the biggest letdown. At 9 a.m. during breakfast, tables were still covered in used dishes. Ask staff to clear one or bring bread or knives and they get angry and tell you to wait. After the days we spent there, I got the impression that the staff hate customers. The bar shelves stayed full of dirty glasses and cups from morning until afternoon, even with no customers around. I honestly can't remember lazier, less motivated staff.

Going that far off season has its risks :) We went in August, and the hotel seemed almost empty, yet breakfast was often nearly out of food. Check-in also took longer because they were short staffed. I appreciate the few people working there, who were really trying hard, and we enjoyed the stay. We liked the setting, the rooms, and the location. There was no air conditioning, just two sets of blankets, which could be inconvenient for some. The sauna and steam bath cost extra if you're looking for spa facilities. I expect other hotels are much the same in summer. I just wish more people chose this destination for summer hiking trips.