Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko

Nobody is about to mistake Bansko, Bulgaria for St. Moritz. But it’s certainly not without its charms. You can actually afford to ski here, for one thing; and if you’re having an increasingly difficult time telling one Alpine resort from another, you’ll find Bansko has an almost comical abundance of character. And the affordability extends to the hotels as well — here’s a top-end luxury hotel, the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, which is located literally right at the bottom of the gondola, charging a nightly rate that might not even get you through the door of the worst hotel in Gstaad.

One look at the Grand Arena’s distinctive exterior and you can tell you’re not in the Alps anymore. The rooms may be a bit on the mild side, but you don’t come to a ski resort to admire the furniture. There’s plenty of character out in the streets as well — this has only been a ski resort for a little more than a decade, so the old town is perhaps quainter than most. Of course, if you’re used to Courchevel or Park City or Whistler, you’ll find the slopes themselves a bit quaint; but that’s sort of the point. Bulgaria is still lovably bizarre, the Grand Arena rolls out the red carpet for cheap, and the ratio of experience to cost is at an all-time high.