Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko

We spent three nights at the hotel. There is no doubt that the hotel meets all the standards expected of the Kempinski chain. The hotel manager (Mr. Roger) walks around among the guests all day, is interested in their well-being and gives good recommendations regarding spending time in the city. One of the evenings (on the recommendation of the hotel manager) we ate at the sushi restaurant in the hotel. Excellent food. The chef cooks in front of you and serves not only excellent food but gives a performance. Recommended!!!

Super............

Our visit was out of snow season. Many of the nearby pubs and restaurants were closed but that’s to expected. Breakfast had one of the best buffets ever! Amazing yoghurt, a chef on hand to make you omelettes how you want, and proper barista coffee makers, who don’t mind making you more than 1 coffee. Loads of helpful staff. Staying here with my family, there was a kids club, though my 8 year old was to cool for that. Several pools and some heated. Whilst next door was a massive jumping feature (much more than a castle) kids from 4-11 could have stayed on there all day. The inflatable was meant to cost 10 leva for 20mins but some days there were no one there and when my kids time was up and I tried to pay more they would not take it. Rooms are old, but clean and featured a lot of wood, loads of storage and reasonable size. Restaurants in the hotel, like the hotel itself, are rather expensive. There was a great alternative 10m up and across the road, which served a variety of food. Though I do recommend walking to main village centre and trying a tavern with local cuisine. A few times we went to reception and could not find anyone available and after waiting usually gave up. The most amazing aspect for me, was the spa relaxation zone, Which included a “Shower experience”, multiple sauna’s with differing degrees, a few hot steam boxes again with differing degrees, and an ice box which had ice/snow but wasn’t that cold. I haven’t experience all this before coming from Australia so I thought it was pretty cool to give all these a go and my skin felt wonderful afterwards. Also the toiletries are Salvatore Ferragamo were wonderful. During the warmer months there is plenty of hiking trails and that sort of thing, but next time if I ever get a chance to come back to Bansko it will be in the winter months. I would love to stay at the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko again, but the biggest drawback was cost!

First of all, I must mention the high level of service at the reception - everyone is very kind and pleasant and helpful. The rooms are large, very clean, the air and the view from the balcony is amazing. The beds are comfortable, there is both a shower and a bathtub. The cleaners come twice a day, there is no shortage of toiletries. The spa is excellent. Things to improve: The shower has no handle to hold onto to prevent falls. It would also be nice if there was also a shower that could be pulled out and not just hung. The food is not the most varied for a 5 star hotel. There is no coffee machine and it feels unpleasant to rush the waiters to bring a refill of coffee There are almost no sockets in the room, especially the lack of a socket in the bathroom - not even one. That way, if I brought a hair dryer from home or electrical appliance that I want to use, such as an electric brush or a shaver, it's not possible. And in the room itself there are not enough sockets even if you want to charge electrical appliances and at the same time prepare a drink. Most importantly - on the site it states that there is air conditioning in the rooms. In practice the central air conditioning controlled by the hotel. It was impossible to set the temperature to less than 21 degrees (we checked with the staff), and the hotel offered to open the window as a solution, but then smoke entered the room from the neighboring balconies, so the solution is less suitable.