Thank you for your comments and sit is good news that you enjoyed your stay in Bansko. I think Bansko continues to improve service levels — with fine quality food and customer service now available. There seem to be much fewer complaints on dining out in mehana's. Attitudes in Bansko, and elsewhere in Bulgaria as I recently enjoyed in Sopot, seems to be getting better and better. What else did you enjoy?

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Yes 55 lev (after 5 lv refund of card) is €28 for a one day lift pass. The upside is they put in a nice new quad chair lift last season and they upgraded the Bunderitsa quad to a six person lift. They also put in more snow cannon — and its this last point that possibly the other comparable resorts dont quite compare. Rather controversially I suggest the lift pass increases for weekends, to keep down the queues, and use this to subsidise decreases during the week. I also think they should introduce family early booking tickets and early booking ski season tickets – like the top US resorts do.

I totally agree with you that the price should remain where it is. If new lifts go in then, maybe at some times a little more could be charged. But I think some more variable pricing to keep people coming during the week would be sensible as well as better priced 6 day passes. Cheap 6 day passes encourages longer stays and four day midweek deal passes keep some skiers and boarders in Bansko away from the weekends.

A very good debate here, as the price of a lift pass is absolutely key for some people. It makes or breaks their decision as to whether they will come to Bansko or not. Overall, I think I am happy for budget skiiers to go to Borovets and Pamporovo. I'll pay a little more for quieter slopes and more overall quality in Bansko. Most of all I would like to hope that the return has proved sufficiently profitable for Ulen that one day they will be given permission to extend the area. Environmental concerns cannot also be dismissed and a sustainable tourist industry must also figure in the debate.

I believe Bansko lift price should not exceed €20 or €90 for 6 day pass based on its location and amount of terrain offered. Of course, much like fuel prices, its unlikely the figure will ever decrease, so in my opinion the current price should remain fixed for many years to come until it fall inline with where it should be.

Thank you for your comment. The Pyrenees are superb. I had a most fabulous time in Baqueira Beret in Pyrenees. But to get the sake sort of accommodation from the same distance from the lift was well over double the price of Bansko. Bansko is more than the sum of ots parts, and it does a bit depend what you enjoy. After a good snow fall the off piste through the trees is surprisingly goog. The pisted runs, all snow cannoned, are also particularly pleasing.

But I like change, but I think generally Bansko, with some insider's info, is certainly not a rip off. Hey where else can you enjoy a 1 euos beer just off the pists (Peshterite) and a half decent meal? Or indeed stay in a 5 star hotel, right by the lift, for around £600 per person including flights (from the UK/Ireland)? Or where the nightlife is so varied and affordable? It's not the nest skiing fro sure — but you speak to a family man with two children, and I think Bansko can be a top choice.

This is why more and more people are giving it a go. And then returning the following year.

Beware of a few rip off places, (even subscribe for you free guide here) and ,well, let me know your htoughts. Summer activities are great value too, compare to Chamonix etc.

Thank you for your comment, and further evidence to avoid this one. Your views are helpful.

And a timely reminder that waiters selling alternative items undisclosed on a menu, without disclosing the new item price, is a trick which they only entertain because they get away with it.

Looking ahead — and reminded by a recent ban, albeit temporary, on London's famous Brick Lane's 50 plus Bangladeshi restaurants — I do wish touts would be outlawed in Bansko. I suspect I may be in the majority on this one — but equally resigned the chances of this wish be realised are about the same as pigs flying.

The search for the new ski season's restaurants (including Kempinsky restaurants, Pirin golf club, other hotels, and outlying towns and villages) that offer a quality dining experience will start soon.

Any rips from pricing, tricks, intimidationreaders experience that I am informed about will be posted here!