Poiana Brasov

...the picturesque, purpose-built resort of Poiana Brasov has a compact lift system and offers an excellent range of skiing, particularly suited to beginners”.

Balkan Holidays: “Poiana Brasov is a purpose-built resort with a good range of hotels, a compact lift system and excellent skiing, mainly for beginners and intermediates. It is a popular resort with British skiers due to the fantastic value for money apres-ski and great ski facilities.”
...The main Romanian ski resort, Poiana Brasov has all the financial incentives (if 40p for a packet for cigarettes and less than 50p for a beer sounds appealing to you), but combines economy and superb tuition with beauty and style, leaving a holiday memory that will linger long after you’re back to the working routine.

A SHORT HISTORY

As you land in Bucharest, the sight of the scarred landscape outside the city is pretty ... more

WHAT THE BROCHURES SAY

Neilson: “Rated top Value For Money by Neilson guests many of whom return year after year. Set amidst the beautiful pine forests of the Carpathian Mountains, the picturesque, purpose-built resort of Poiana Brasov has a compact lift system and offers an excellent range of skiing, particularly suited to beginners”.

Balkan Holidays: “Poiana Brasov is a purpose-built resort with a good range of hotels, a compact lift system and excellent skiing, mainly for beginners and intermediates. It is a popular resort with British skiers due to the fantastic value for money apres-ski and great ski facilities.”

INTRODUCTION

In the last decade, Bulgaria has established itself as the Budget Benidorm of the ski world, but as I recently discovered Romania is another alternative for those looking for an inexpensive winter holiday. The main Romanian ski resort, Poiana Brasov has all the financial incentives (if 40p for a packet for cigarettes and less than 50p for a beer sounds appealing to you), but combines economy and superb tuition with beauty and style, leaving a holiday memory that will linger long after you’re back to the working routine.

A SHORT HISTORY

As you land in Bucharest, the sight of the scarred landscape outside the city is pretty bleak. This was of course the region most affected by Ceausescu’s madman policies, especially that of agricultural systemisation; where rural villages were demolished and inhabitants moved to poor quality tower blocks. This was done in order to create more land for growing crops; the vast majority of which were exported. Meanwhile Romanians went hungry and often had to do without electricity or hot water, as the communist party’s fanatical attempt to wipe out foreign debt.

The country has come a long way since the 1989 revolution, the bloodiest off all the former Soviet bloc countries. Yet, the standard of living is still visibly low compared to Western Europe. Transylvania, where Poiana Brasov is situated, is a comparatively wealthy area and yet there were still almost as many people walking up the mountain as skiing down (many of the locals love skiing, but cannot afford the relatively cheap lift pass, even on a per ride basis when it can be as low as 25p).

However, despite this obvious hardship it is still true that Romanians, after a tough decade post revolution are at last finding their feet in the democratic, capitalist world as the country prepares to join the European Union in 2007 (fat chance I think, but good luck to them!) One point to bear in mind is that while the country is still striving to fully westernise its economy, the Romanian lei cannot be exchanged outside the country. Only take a small amount of money out at a time (hotels exchange even small amounts commission free and even if you go on an excursion you are unlikely to spend more than £100, unless like me you decide to splash out on some bargain priced designer ski gear.

WHAT PEOPLE SAID BEFORE WE WENT

I think part of the reason I fell in love with the place was that my expectations were not too high - I had pretty much been convinced that I risked having the holiday from hell! When I announced to my friends and colleagues that my boyfriend and I had booked a holiday in Romania, many were frankly bemused. I was met with remarks like “make sure you take lots of toilet paper with you”, “I wouldn’t fancy going on dodgy East European ski lifts, bet they break down all the time”, even “you’ll get overcharged and short changed all the time, they’re all out to rip tourists off in places like that” and “prime place for stomach upsets no doubt!”. Since nearly all of my friends are well-travelled, it highlights what common misconceptions and false stereotypes there are about the place.

Rest assured; these stereotypes are, from my experience, totally inaccurate.
The standards of hygiene in the resort were far superior to many holiday resorts I’ve been to in Western Europe, the lifts were smooth and efficient (though I wasn’t too sure at first about the one that looks like a bucket sliding along a rope!), no one I met there suffered any upset stomachs, the food was basic but always perfectly edible and you had 3 choices of main course each night. Moreover, unlike previous trips to Eastern Europe, I did not get ripped off once.

Romanians, though mostly poor are generally very honest. In bars and shops in the resort and nearby Brasov (Romania’s second largest city), my fellow skiers and I frequently mistook the 500,000 lei note (£10) for the 50,000 one (£2). Our mistake was always corrected and the money returned. Romanians are generally very jovial and friendly people; once you get passed their steely reserve.

THE SKIING

Poiana Brasov has a well-deserved reputation for providing excellent instruction on the slopes for beginners. It is in fact probably only really suitable for beginners and lower intermediates since the number of challenging runs are limited. Our instructor Vicky (a man!) inspired great confidence in us all from the start. There were four hours of tuition a day in small groups all for less than £100, including the equipment hire and week’s ski pass! In Western Europe and North America you are likely to get less than half that for twice the price. We started the week on the Bradul beginner’s slope, video taped everyday so we could record our progress. We graduated to the top of the mountain by the second last day of the week, completing a 4.6km blue run, as well as a red run on our last day.

The views from the peak are stunning; the sun was shining brightly and the trees shimmering with white powder. The snow conditions at the time I went (March) were absolutely perfect, (incidentally March has seen heavy snowfall in Romania for the past five years, whereas December has seen very little).

HOTELS

There are three main hotels used for Western European tourists, Hotels Bradul, Poiana and Sport. All are located conveniently next to each other, and guests can use all the leisure facilities in each as they are all part of the same chain. The ski slopes are just behind the hotel, a few minutes walk away. Combined facilities include sauna, massage, jacuzzi, 3 bars, billiards, a nightclub and internet access (30p an hour).

Accommodation is all half board. Breakfast a reasonable buffet – boiled eggs, cold meat, bread, cereal, toast and juice. Lunch is taken on the slopes. Dinner is eaten at the Hotel Sport, even if you’re staying at one of the other hotels, but as they are all next to each other and the Bradul is even connected by a corridor, it’s no real hardship. There’s a choice of 2 or 3 dishes per course (3 courses in all) and it was all basic but perfectly edible. Examples of meals we ate include soup then casserole, pork chops and boiled potatoes or chicken escalope and chips with a bit of limp salad (they seem to love beetroot!). Ice cream or cake was usually served for dessert. Fruit and vegetables are limited since they are still not in ready supply in provincial Romania.

Surprisingly, the number of British tourists visiting Poiana Brasov has actually fallen since the collapse of communism. The locals believe that this is because unlike the communist days when the resort was state run and therefore had a centralised tourism marketing function, it is now owned by a collection of private businessmen who have yet to come together to agree on a systematic promotional drive. That Romania could do with the extra money from tourism there is no doubt, but from a selfish point of view, there is something rather nice about going somewhere that isn’t overrun by mass tourism. Unlike Bansko in Bulgaria, another East European resort, Poiana Brasov doesn’t seem to be planning to expand in size, so it’s character should remain, let’s hope, indefinitely.

FOOD OUTSIDE THE HOTEL

The lunch selection on the Bradul beginner’s slope was rather limited to say the least (helps if you are very keen on ham, salami or cheese!). You could always nip back to the hotel if you fancy something else though, it’s close enough! There was a warm, welcoming pub at the top of mountain where we tucked into a nice warm lunch in front of a glowing fire. Far more selection here with hot dogs, chips, stews and other nice warm food on offer. Again, not cordon bleu, but enough to satisfy the hungry skier’s appetite. There are also a selection of other bars and restaurants around the bottom of the slopes which did good ultra cheap grub in an authentic atmosphere - very cheap too; a meal in any of the resort restaurants should cost you well under a fiver, including a few drinks, unless you really pig out – compare this to what you would pay in France or North America …

ECONOMISING IS EASY HERE SO GET OUT AND ABOUT

You will need very little spending money - I struggled to spend £100 (excluding ski jacket) and that was with buying lots of cigarettes (40p a packet for Malboro lights), alcohol - 50p a pint even in the ski resort, cheaper outside, 2 excursions - Brasov and Dracula's castle which included a traditional Romanian gypsy meal and trip through frozen waterfalls on a horse and cart (wrap up warm!). Tipping is not expected, but much appreciated, I was humbled by the excitement and gratitude of a young Romanian waiter in a cafe in Brasov - when I gave him a £2 tip, it was we were told later, almost a day's wage to him. We received excellent service wherever we went. Young people there all speak English, the older Romanians not so much, perhaps because learning foreign languages was banned under the 30 year + Ceausescu reign. They also love any attempt you make at speaking Romanian - not as difficult as you'd think, Romanian is a Latin language as they will proudly tell you and has little in common with the guttural lingo of their Slavic and Russian neighbours.

The people in Romania are generally so poor they can't afford half the luxuries we can, but that does't stop them trying. I have never seen so many people walking up a mountain in a ski resort before - almost as many as skiing down - the locals can't afford the 20p for a single ski lift pass so they walk up with their skis instead - an hour and a half up for 10 minutes of skiing down! No wonder they are all so fit and healthy looking!

SHOPPING

Ok, bad topic after economising, but you can your £ will go a long way here. The town of Brasov is definitely worth a visit. It’s a 20 minute taxi ride (costing around £2) and the hotel will book it for you free of charge. Brasov is about as historic as a town gets in Romania – so many old buildings in other towns were destroyed during the communist regime, but you can see that they are now starting to modernise as well. The inevitable McDonalds makes an appearance (no Starbucks yet!) and Benetton, a few other European and American chain stores, plus ‘Star’ the Romanian version of Debenhams – sort of. I was unable to find many CDs – Romanians obviously still prefer cassettes. There’s a decent selection of ski equipment to buy though in the resort and in Brasov, so you don’t need to worry if you’ve left anything at home.

APRES SKI

In addition to the hotel facilities, outlined above, there are a number of traditional pubs and restaurants around the resort. There is a swimming pool in the Hotel Alpin which is not one of the ones used for British tourists but is apparently open to non-residents for a small charge. Both Neilson and Balkans arrange a night out in a local ‘gypsy style’ taverna and also an afternoon out (ski instructors make up the 2 hours skiing missed on other days) to Dracula’s castle, with a wander round a local outdoor craft market, plus a meal and mulled wine in a traditional restaurant thrown in. Brasov offers lots more bars and nightclubs but we were warned that these can be dodgy.

I’M NOT SAYING IT’S PERFECT

As with most resorts there are of course downsides which should be highlighted. Firstly, if you have a group of mixed abilities it’s probably not suitable, since the resort has few challenging black runs to test the advanced skier. Likewise, in winter, apart from an excursion to Dracula’s (Bran) castle, a local craft market and nearby Brasov, there would be little for the non-skier to do if they were seeking constant activity. Secondly, the food is hardly cordon bleu, but they are trying their best (the range of food you can buy in Romania is nothing like that you get in Britain) and it is unlikely that you will leave much on your plate after a full day skiing! Lastly, since it is not the highest of resorts you do always run the risk of there not being much snow. We got a great deal, booking last minute for March, it is recommended that you avoid going early in the season when snowfall is usually pretty light. My advice is to book last minute and keep an eye on snow reports for the area.

Although I’ve promised above that the stereotypes of a dirty and backward nation weren’t evident to me on this holiday, I’m not denying that there are no doubt plenty of towns and villages around the Romania that would match these descriptions. You are however, unlikely to come across them on a skiing holiday, unless you do the Bucharest day trip perhaps.

GETTING THERE

We travelled to Romania from London Heathrow with the unexpectedly good Romanian airline, Tarom (as part of a package deal with Neilson). The transfer is long – approximately 3 hours but passes quickly with interesting scenery. If you go with Balkan Holidays instead of Neilson, the return flight is a more civilised evening time so you get the opportunity to visit Bucharest, I hear this is interesting from an historic perspective, but otherwise something of a dump!

Seven nights, half-board at the three-star Hotel Sport, including 24 hours of tuition, lift pass, skis and boot hire, start from £445 or £355 without the ski pass/ hire/ tuition. Last minute deals are often available and this is how you can get a real bargain – we paid £100 less than the brochure price, booking 2 weeks beforehand. For bookings, call 0870-333 3356 or visit the Neilson website. The only other tour operator from Britain going to Romania for skiing is Balkans. I can’t speak from personal experience but people in my school group who came with them seemed perfectly satisfied and I think they paid a bit less.

FINAL POINTS TO REMEMBER BEFORE BOOKING

There are no crèche facilities in the resort. In any case, this is probably not a good resort for non-skiing children, probably not great for non-skiing adults either since it is small.

It isn't the best choice for experienced skiers, with only one black, but quite a few reds and blues. I really recommend it for your first or second time skiing or boarding. It doesn’t seem to be a popular destination with boarders – perhaps a good thing for skiers. They do offer a learn to board package though and skiers can have an afternoon ‘ snowboarding taster’ session if they’re thinking of switching sports.

LAST WORDS

I’m not usually one to return to the same resort twice if I can help it, being a great believer in the ‘been there, done that philosophy’. However, I certainly wouldn’t rule out a return trip to this region It seems I am not alone; many skiers return again and again, including some we met who have been skiing in Poiana for over ten years. Yes, they admit they find the skiing a bit limiting, but come back because it’s such good value and because they have been captivated by the Transylvanian spell.

 

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