How long has the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko been in existence? How long have you been there? Give me your personal background, and that of the hotel (sq m, rooms, prices, amenities, etc.).
The hotel opened in June 2005, but I’ve been here since December 2004 - I did the pre-openeing, process management and everything. Before that, I was in the Middle East, in UAE, also for Kempinski. (Zeuke has been working for Kempinski for eight years.) I studied hotel management in Germany, went to management school and did an apprentisship for hotel administration in Germany. I started working for Hilton, Marriott, InterContinental, and then moved to Kempinski.
The hotel has 159 rooms, of which 27 are suites; the rest are deluxe standard rooms of 35 sq m to 80 sq m. In the summer, a single goes for 90 euro, and a double, for 130 euro. In the winter, 180 euro for a single, 230 for a double. These prices, of course, all incude service fees, taxes and breakfast.
Prices for apartments are about 250 euro in the summer and 500 euro in the winter.
Why was Bansko chosen as the location (as opposed to Borovets/ Pamporovo/etc.) for the Kempinksi?
Bansko has potential, a future. We had a successful winter. Summer is currently very low, but it will become an all-season resort (especially with the golf courses under construction) in two years, I should think.
Basnko was chosen because Basnko is an upcoming desitination in Bulgaria. There’s a lot of construction going on. We at Kempinski wanted to be pioneers, to get here before all the other (luxury hotels) come. Here, there’s the possibility for luxury tourism, especially in winter. It’s like Austria and Switzerland, especially the ski facilities.
The village itself still has to improve, because the infrastructure is not good. The streets we have at the moment are bad. This has to be improved as soon as possible. But I see improvements everywhere. The streets are improving. Before (the city) was just filling the potholes, and after the winter, the holes were coming back. Now they’re redoing the whole streets. This will last.
What are the attractions of Bansko? Negatives?
The ski facilities are perfect. Brand new lifts, gondolas, the facilites are up to Western European standards. There are 65km of pistes. While it’s more of a ski place, it’s also good for snowboarders. For young people and families. What draws snowboarders is the entertainment at night - parties, DJs, the night life. This is what Bansko has, and it’s happening more and more during the winter. The Balkan Open Cup international ski and snowboard competition occurred here last year and will again take place this year (2006/2007).
Basnko is in winter a little overcrowded. If the infrastructure comes, this will change. It’s overcrowded because of the entertainment that Bansko offers. If you don’t want to be surrounded by tourists, then Borovets and Pamporovo are better. This is not a threat for Bansko; this is positive, this is why people come to Bankso. At the moment, Borovets and Pamporovo don’t have the facilities we have.
If I were to come on vacation to Bulgaria, I would choose Bansko. First, the slopes are outstanding for Eastern Europe, and second, Bansko has a village, a heart, which the other two resorts don’t have. We have an old heritage that people like to explore in the evenings - the traditional Bansko mehanas.
What do you see as the hotel’s selling points?
The hotel is an all-season resort. In winter, the main selling point is skiing; in summer, the 1200m spa centre with nine treatment rooms. We have three outdoor pools, we have jacuzzis and indoor pools. A huge, beautiful spa. And the restaurants. One is fine dining, featuring Mediterranean cuisine, called Cone Prima. The chef cooks in front of you everything fresh. There’s The Gallery, a customary restaurant with both themed buffets and an a la carte menu. We have three different bars.
The service at Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko is very good. We at Kempinski have service standards in each and every hotel worldwide. The service, quality and standards in the guest rooms and the restaurants - we focus on this very firmly. It’s what keeps guests coming back.
In the hotel, we have a special ski equipment-storage room - it’s heated, there’s a machine that cleans your boots automatically, that heats your boots. Three hundred skiiers’-worth of space in hotel ski storage room.
The gondola is 20m from the hotel, and there’s a ski service area near the gondola.
People choose us because they want five-star service. They pay for it as well. The prices reflect this: they’re 30-40 per cent higher. The location in Bansko - opposite the gondola, and the facilites - not every hotel can offer the same.
The guest rooms have a separate bathtub and shower. All our rooms have a huge cupboard where you can store all your ski stuff; there’s free wireless internet, 35 different TV stations, 24-hour room service. All rooms have balconies with a view of the mountains. And, the rooms are large enough for a two-week vacation. There’s also AC in both the summer and the winter, and radiators. We have 24-hour laundry service.
The rooms are appointed in a traditional Alpine style. We used a lot of wood, which makes it very warm and lovely.
We have a kids’ club, and a kids’ pool and kids’ animators, and a babysitter service (16euro/30 leva/hour). People are very happy with this, especially foreigners, and they’re happy to leave their children with someone who speaks their language. We have babysitters who speak Bulgarian, of course, along with Italian, German, French, Spanish, and so on. At the kids’ club, kids don’t just sit around. They get painting and other lessons at the club. They do fun stuff, so they can enjoy it for the whole day. (Children between 1.5 year-12 years are accepted.) There’s table tennis, billiards.
For adults, we have tennis courts, a solarium, a fitness centre with 12 different machines. Mountain bikes are available for rent. We organise horseback riding in the winter and the summer.
What can one do in Bansko in the winter? Besides skiing/snowboarding, what draws people?
There’s no cinema in the city. But there are some discos and nightclubs and bars. Some live entertainment. When we do the ski season opening (in mid-December), there’s live entertainment.
The ski season opening is when the ski season officially starts. We open the gondonla depending on the snow in the beginning of December. We invite famous people to the opening ceremonies, famous winter sports athletes. It’s a big party that starts during the day, and goes on till night-time.
Otherwise, people relax, enjoy good food. My restaurants are very good, and there are a lot of mehanas, but I don’t want to name any in particular - all are of good quality.
What is your preferred winter activity?
I go skiing, maybe that’s why I’m here. I’ve been skiing since I was four. I also snowboard.
