Inside the boozy ‘Benidorm of ski resorts’ in Bulgaria with wild drinking games and ‘erotic shows’

2 hours ago 1

ARTICLE AD BOX

FIRE blazes atop my metal helmet as I knock back a shot, before I’m whacked on the head with a bottle.

There are four more of the tipples — and four more bonks on my head shield — to come as the flames continue to burn.

Woman in a helmet with a flaming drink at a bar.

The Sun’s Thea Jacobs doing the ‘flaming helmet’ shot challenge in Borovets, Bulgaria[/caption]

Bartender pouring a drink at a bar.

Party crew Emily dishing out shots at the bar Black Tiger[/caption]

Four young women at a bar in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.

Most of the bar staff work in Bulgarian holiday hotspot Sunny Beach before heading to the mountain town in winter[/caption]

People partying in Borovets, Bulgaria.

Revellers party in the street despite the freezing temperatures[/caption]

I’m also smacked with a hammer, a wrench, a sledgehammer then, finally, an empty beer keg.

I’ve actually paid for the privilege of losing some brain cells and possibly setting myself alight.

Yet I still don’t know what I’ve downed in those five 30ml drinks that were handed to me by bar staff.

As I finish the challenge, the packed bar cheers and punters queue up to try out Black Tiger’s helmet game — all for just 50 lev (£21).

Welcome to Borovets, Bulgaria, where the apres ski will leave you feeling like you’ve been hit on the head — and you probably have been.

It’s not your average ski resort with Aperol on the rocks and champagne at every turn.

Instead, it’s Benidorm On Ice or, as security advisor Daniel, 36, puts it, “the Aldi of ski resorts”.

Outside, at a kiosk, punters are downing “Big Bastard Jagerbombs” — a pint of Red Bull with German liqueur Jagermeister.

And in a bar further down, boozed-up tourists are attempting to hammer a nail into a tree trunk — using the thin end of the tool.

Within hours of arriving in the small ski resort, a British stag has already pulled out his willy to the sound of whoops from his pals.

Snowboarding in bikini

Some 95 per cent of the bar staff here spend the summer working in Bulgarian holiday hotspot Sunny Beach before heading to the mountain town for jobs in the winter.

One is Emily, who worked on a bar crawl in the summer and now spends her nights in Black Tiger.

She told The Sun: “I’ve met friends for life in both Sunny Beach and Borovets.

“The coast has crazy parties, drinking from day to night, and then the mountains have skiing in the day and mad parties at night. Both feel like a second home.”

The mountain town is significantly cheaper than other European ski destinations, setting holidaymakers back around £600 for accommodation, flights and rental, compared to an average £1,500 in most other countries.

A man in a helmet has a beer keg smashed over his head at a bar.

A reveller is clonked with an empty beer keg[/caption]

Woman in a military helmet at a bar with a shovel on her head.

Boozy challenges includes being hit by a shovel[/caption]

A man having a flaming helmet set on fire at a bar.

The ski resort is branded ‘Benidorm On Ice’ or ‘the Aldi of ski resorts’, according to one punter[/caption]

Three women sharing a large cocktail at a bar.

It’s not your average ski resort with Aperol on the rocks and champagne at every turn[/caption]

Group of skiers in a bar, one dressed in a cheerleader costume.

Groom-to-be Jack, of Essex, covers his modesty on stag do with mates[/caption]

Man in a bikini snowboarding.

Reece was dared to snowboard in bikini[/caption]

Skiers and snowboarders at Borovets ski resort in Bulgaria.

The mountain town is significantly cheaper than other ski destinations, setting holidaymakers back around £600[/caption]

Expat Jack Smith, 32, from Grimsby, Lincs, who owns the Cool Runnings bar, said: “Borovets is a crazy place, full of happiness. It’s a bit of a Wild West.

“About 80 per cent of tourists are from the UK or Ireland.

“There is something for everyone in this resort, from wild games to family festival nights and, of course, skiing on the slopes.

“Locals love the energy brought by big groups, and fancy dress is welcome. It helps put everyone in a good mood.

But it’s not a skiing holiday — it’s a holiday on skis.”

Cool Runnings offers festival nights, including a drinking challenge that sees four full shot glasses stuck to a ski, and revellers tasked with rotating the plank to reach their tipple without spilling a drop.

There is also ski pole limbo and other games.

The resort opened in the 1950s, initially with smaller hotels. Since it started attracting a Western crowd, huge hotels and large chalets have sprung up to provide more places to stay.

Despite this, the centre of the resort has remained largely the same and boasts the most bars per square kilometre of all the skiing centres in Europe.

The huge influx of tourists sees coastal cops experienced in dealing with boozy summer revellers drafted in from Sunny Beach, as well as trainees from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to learn on the toughest patch how to handle drunks.

Leeds lads Luke, Liam, Josh and Reece revealed they were having a ball at the resort and hailed the friendly locals.

Comparing the area to another Bulgarian attraction, engineer Liam told me: “Bansko is the Magaluf of ski resorts, Borovets is the Benidorm of ski resorts.

“Borovets is cheaper by a long way. If you compare it to France, it’s a no-brainer to come here.”

‘Have fun and be silly’

The school pals had spent the night in BJ’s Bar, pounding nails into wood with the short end of a hammer at impressive speed.

But Reece, after losing a dare, had to go snowboarding the following day in nothing but a red bikini — and, of course, we joined him.

As he slalomed down the black run in his skimpy outfit, he was met with yells of “alright, sexy?”, wolf whistles and resort workers coming out to have a giggle at him.

He told The Sun “it was a bit chilly”, before wrestling himself back into salopettes (ski trousers to those of us who don’t do winter sports) and thermals to warm up.

Police officers on patrol in Borovets, Bulgaria.

The huge influx of tourists sees coastal cops, who are used to dealing with drinking carnage, brought up from Sunny Beach[/caption]

LED sign advertising an erotic show with hot girls.

While much of the resort is family-friendly, it’s hard to miss the neon signs for ‘erotic shows’[/caption]

Crowded bar scene with people at the bar and standing around.

The resort has been open since the 1950s initially with smaller hotels[/caption]

A man having a flaming helmet set on fire at a bar.

Since it started attracting a Western crowd, huge hotels and chalets have been built to provide more places to stay[/caption]

But there are more than just wild drinking games on offer here.

The Black Cat hosts tribute nights featuring “big names” such as Freddie Mercury and Cher — and dishes up piles of grilled meat.

Manager Kiko is focused on getting as many Brits into the venue as possible, even serving Guinness and Madri to make sure punters don’t miss their local back home.

“I’ll be happy when my client base is 90 per cent British,” he said. “The English bring such a great atmosphere. They’re always up for a laugh and cheerful.

“That’s exactly what we want. Everyone is welcome here, including stag dos. We’d welcome hen dos, but they don’t seem to come.”

Angela Crompton, 39, originally from Conway in Wales, is co-owner of the No1 British Sports Bar and reckons Borovets is a destination hogged by men.

She said of Borovets: “It’s a bit of a secret destination for men in some ways. We’ve always had stags coming, but rarely ever hens.

“But everyone is welcome. Often, guys bring their families here on ski holidays after first coming for a lads’ trip or stag do.

‘Erotic shows’

“Most of the staff work in Sunny Beach during the summer, and while it’s not quite as wild, it’s still a lot of fun.

“Most of us aren’t fussed about stags and people getting rowdy here. We have a man who skis here every year in a mankini, and announces it so people can follow him around.

“The Bulgarians like to have a laugh at the Brits.”

While much of the resort is family-friendly, it’s hard to miss the neon signs for “erotic shows”, where strippers do their thing inside the neon-lit buildings.

One drunken reveller boasts to me that he was offered oral sex for just 20 lev, which equates to £8.50.

Four men in Borovets, Bulgaria, on a stag do.

The resort is full of plenty of stag do’s[/caption]

Portrait of a woman wearing glasses in front of a bar.

Angela Crompton says the mountain town is a ‘secret destination for men’[/caption]

Bartender at a bar in Borovets, Bulgaria.

Manager Kiko is focused on getting as many Brits into the venue as possible, even serving Guinness[/caption]

Woman in Borovets, Bulgaria, overlooking a snowy ski resort.

Thea Jacobs overlooks the mountain town resort in Bulgaria[/caption]

Locals disagree on the price, insisting it would be more like 150 lev.

But the girls offering services set the prices themselves and the more attractive you are, the cheaper it is likely to be. Lap dance costs are also variable.

Doorman Dan admits: “Most punters don’t realise they are walking into a strip bar when they go in, so quickly come back out.”

But he does have one complaint about British stag dos.

“You’re not as fun as you used to be,” he grumbled.

“I’ve been here since 2007 and people don’t do their fancy dress as well as they used to. I’d like to see more of it.

“We’re all here to look after the customer, so if you want to have fun and be silly, that’s fine with us.

“If you’re getting naked where kids are, that’s not OK. But if it’s late at night and children aren’t around, that’s fine.

“Just be polite. You scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours.”

It’s a sound piste of advice . . .

Read Entire Article