Bulgaria's Bansko resort was a "rare chance to buy a place in the snow", an article in The Observer said.

Millions of euro had been spent to make Bansko a place Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie might want to visit when in Europe, the article said.

Bansko’s property market was thriving, according to The Observer. Brits were buying up cheap apartments in the resort waiting for it to become 'another Val d'Isere' when Bulgaria joins the EU on January 1 2007, the newspaper said. But they could be wrong, The Observer said.

Still, Bansko's resemblances to Aspen were hard to confirm, The Observer said. “Millions” of potholes in the streets made driving around the resort “far more dangerous than anything that could befall you on the slopes”.

Stray dogs, numerous building sites, and impolite staff also were destroying Bansko's image, the article said.

Bansko was the ideal place for beginner skiers, the article said. The pistes were wide and groomed, but too flat for advanced skiers, it said.