MPM Hotel Guinness — Hotel in Bansko

First, the good - this hotel is in an excellent location within ten minutes walk of the main gondola. It's well placed for night time and the rooms are spacious, with adequate storage. The TV had several English channels; the lighting was mixed so you could have full light or dimmed. There was only a shower but, rather annoyingly, never a spare toilet roll left, so if you ran out, you ran out! |The upper area bar man was excellent in both service and manner, as was our room maid - we made a point to reward both as their attitude really did make a difference.|Ski and boot storage was downstairs via the back stairs but, rather disturbingly, this area was unmanned / unlocked and immediately accessible to the street via the back doors. Hence I carried my gear back to my room each evening. |Didn't use the ski shuttle as it was close enough to walk, even in ski boots. ||Now, the rest - it is severely lacking in maintenance and several areas are in need of attention, none more than the pool / 'spa' (used lightly) area where broken tiles and out of order machines are the theme of the day. I really would have appreciated coming off the mountain and enjoying a relaxing swim and perhaps reading, by the pool. The pool is cold and only suitable for laps, not leisure swimming and the sunbeds are pointless as the pool area is freezing and the 'lifeguard' who, when not snoring, is browsing his phone, is equally pointless. The sauna and steam room attached to the pool area are out of order; the hot tub is empty and the therapy pool luke warm with broken tiles and very sharp edges. There are, however, two reclining, tiled and heated loungers which are amazing if you can grab one (difficult in a hotel of this size). |We each had a treatment but the 45 massage and the massage itself was good, but lasted just 31 minutes - we tried to contest and were just shown the time as it was - difficult to argue that you'd been sat waiting and they'd kept you waiting at the start. |The rooms, as mentioned, were spacious. Bed was sufficient for the week, quite worn and soft but without any springs sticking out. However the furniture was generally quite tired and my coffee table had a rough edge along one side, as if previously fit to a wall, which I scraped my leg on. The advertised kitchenette was there, but with a lack of any pans, crockery or cutlery, impossible to use and therefore pointless. |The food - in fairness, we only ate in the restaurant twice, possibly only returning a second time to see if the previous nights meal was a one-off. It wasn't. The food was repetitive and tepid. Breakfast was acceptable and there was an assortment of fruit and cheeses, but the restaurant didn't open until 7:30 am which was too late to eat, change and get to the gondola for the earliest lifts. |Our room was along the front street and it was noisy during the evenings / early hours. Added to that, all the rooms open onto a central atrium and so the noise also magnifies from there. A peaceful night is not something you should expect. |There is a central fireplace which, despite having a chimney, billows smoke and fumes around the atrium and so, every time you open your door, the initial reaction is, "OMG we're on fire". |On check out day, there was no availability for a late check out, but we were told there was secure storage (ours was an evening flight). The storage is NOT secure - anyone can and does freely walk in and out all day, so just be aware and don't leave anything valuable in there. |My honest opinion - I stayed at Casa Karina last year and, although the rooms are also basic, the food and the services (particularly the spa) were fabulous for a comparative price. They are also close to the lift but better situated for the evening activities...

First, the good - this hotel is in an excellent location within ten minutes walk of the main gondola. It's well placed for night time and the rooms are spacious, with adequate storage. The TV had several English channels; the lighting was mixed so you could have full light or dimmed. There was only a shower but, rather annoyingly, never a spare toilet roll left, so if you ran out, you ran out! |The upper area bar man was excellent in both service and manner, as was our room maid - we made a point to reward both as their attitude really did make a difference.|Ski and boot storage was downstairs via the back stairs but, rather disturbingly, this area was unmanned / unlocked and immediately accessible to the street via the back doors. Hence I carried my gear back to my room each evening. |Didn't use the ski shuttle as it was close enough to walk, even in ski boots. ||Now, the rest - it is severely lacking in maintenance and several areas are in need of attention, none more than the pool / 'spa' (used lightly) area where broken tiles and out of order machines are the theme of the day. I really would have appreciated coming off the mountain and enjoying a relaxing swim and perhaps reading, by the pool. The pool is cold and only suitable for laps, not leisure swimming and the sunbeds are pointless as the pool area is freezing and the 'lifeguard' who, when not snoring, is browsing his phone, is equally pointless. The sauna and steam room attached to the pool area are out of order; the hot tub is empty and the therapy pool luke warm with broken tiles and very sharp edges. There are, however, two reclining, tiled and heated loungers which are amazing if you can grab one (difficult in a hotel of this size). |We each had a treatment but the 45 massage and the massage itself was good, but lasted just 31 minutes - we tried to contest and were just shown the time as it was - difficult to argue that you'd been sat waiting and they'd kept you waiting at the start. |The rooms, as mentioned, were spacious. Bed was sufficient for the week, quite worn and soft but without any springs sticking out. However the furniture was generally quite tired and my coffee table had a rough edge along one side, as if previously fit to a wall, which I scraped my leg on. The advertised kitchenette was there, but with a lack of any pans, crockery or cutlery, impossible to use and therefore pointless. |The food - in fairness, we only ate in the restaurant twice, possibly only returning a second time to see if the previous nights meal was a one-off. It wasn't. The food was repetitive and tepid. Breakfast was acceptable and there was an assortment of fruit and cheeses, but the restaurant didn't open until 7:30 am which was too late to eat, change and get to the gondola for the earliest lifts. |Our room was along the front street and it was noisy during the evenings / early hours. Added to that, all the rooms open onto a central atrium and so the noise also magnifies from there. A peaceful night is not something you should expect. |There is a central fireplace which, despite having a chimney, billows smoke and fumes around the atrium and so, every time you open your door, the initial reaction is, "OMG we're on fire". |On check out day, there was no availability for a late check out, but we were told there was secure storage (ours was an evening flight). The storage is NOT secure - anyone can and does freely walk in and out all day, so just be aware and don't leave anything valuable in there. |My honest opinion - I stayed at Casa Karina last year and, although the rooms are also basic, the food and the services (particularly the spa) were fabulous for a comparative price. They are also close to the lift but better situated for the evening activities...

The hotel is certainly not a 4-star one, at most 3, generously speaking. The services are of poor quality, I could almost say non-existent. At 10:00, the coffee/water machines are shut down. They don't even notify you with a 10-minute warning, and if you ask them to open up so you can get a glass of water, the restaurant manager says it's not his problem that you arrived late. On Booking or the official website, it is not mentioned that the top-floor apartments are attic-style, spanning two levels. Additionally, out of the 50 photos, not even one features the staircase. Regarding the staff, they don't help you with anything at all. I requested a room change (immediately after seeing it, even though I repeat, it was not mentioned that it's a two-story apartment) and I was told "maybe tomorrow after check-out." The next day after check-out, I was told the same thing ("maybe tomorrow"). Although there were available rooms, as they were just doing check-ins/check-outs for other groups. The stairs are also dangerous, with very small and narrow steps, and the staircase is not fully equipped with a handrail. In one of the bedrooms, there are stairs inside the room, and the height difference is quite significant. One of the steps has a broken riser, and if you're not careful, you could trip and fall. The second bedroom has the beds placed end to end, without the possibility of joining them. It's more like a children's room, even though we specified that we are 4 pers, and from the provided reservation information/ID cards, it could be seen that we are 2 couples. The sink in the upstairs bathroom is very small. The shower in the same bathroom doesn't have proper drainage, so if you want to take a bath here, the whole bathroom gets flooded. The furniture is very old and damaged. Additionally, for a four-person apartment, there are no glasses, cups, or plates, despite having a kitchen. Furthermore, even though there is a kitchen, you are not allowed to heat up anything, even if you have small children. Also, they only provide one room access card for four people. The only good thing about this hotel is...