TOURISM BAROMETER: Grand start for Kempinski in Bansko

01:00 Mon 31 Oct 2005 - Ivan Vatahov

PRESIDENTIAL PUSH: President Georgi Purvanov, left, attended the official opening of the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena in the winter resort town of Bansko on October 21. He congratulated Konstantin Zeuce, general manager of the new hotel, centre, and Reto Wittwer, CEO of Kempinski Hotels, on the choice they made by taking over the management of Alpine-style facility.

PRESIDENT Georgi Purvanov cut the ribbon of the new Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena in Bansko on October 21.

Designed in authentic Alpine style, the five-star facility is the first of its category in the popular Bulgarian winter resort. The hotel is built on 4 500 sq m, has 132 rooms and 27 suites, and bars and restaurants offering a variety of cuisines.

Located at the ski slopes and opposite the newly built Gondola lift, the hotel is being marketed as the ideal all-season resort. It also has facilities for other leisure activities like massages, saunas, a solarium, a beauty farm and a fitness centre, as well as tennis courts and indoor and outdoor pools.

The investor in the hotel was the Plovdiv-based company Gehard, and the financing was provided by First Investment Bank, while the building was constructed by Balkanstroi.

Purvanov said at the ceremony that with the opening of its doors, the new hotel had contributed to the European future of the entire resort of Bansko.

The town of Bansko itself is of remarkable cultural and historical importance for Bulgaria. Not only is the view towards the imposing Pirin Mountain impressive, but there is also the completely preserved architecture of its houses, museums, churches, cosy taverns and its authentic folklore.

Purvanov congratulated the investors on the cultivated choices they made, as well as the architectural designers, who, in his words, managed to employ state-of-the-art technologies while preserving and recreating the authentic style of local architecture.

The hotel also has a strategic location because it is between the Bulgarian capital Sofia and the Greek city of Thessaloniki, where the Kempinski chain has hotels. It is also close to the Macedonian capital Skopje. Thus, three international airports can be used by potential guests to Bansko.

Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena in Bansko is the second winter-resort hotel in the entire chain of hotels managed by the German operator Kempinski. The other is Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains in the Swiss resort of Saint Moritz.