Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko

About Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena stands at the foot of the Pirin, right beside Bansko’s gondola station and about 15 minutes’ walk from the old town. Its 1,200 m² spa, Kempinski The Spa, follows the European cycle of the four seasons, and the hotel’s restaurants run from Italian at Come Prima to Japanese at the sushi bar and teppanyaki grill.

Beside the gondola

The Grand Arena sits at the very start of Bansko’s skiing: the gondola station is next door, so you walk out in your boots and ride straight up into the Pirin. The stone old town, with its Revival houses and taverns, is about 15 minutes away on foot. Inside, the alpine design takes its cue from the mountains outside.

Kempinski The Spa

The spa covers 1,200 m² and is organised as a journey through the four seasons. The heat rooms are generous: a Finnish sauna, a herbal sauna, a sanarium, a laconium, an infrared cabin and a tailor-made aroma steam bath, with showers, an ice fountain and a snow room for the cold plunge in between. There is one indoor swimming pool and two outdoor pools, a children’s outdoor pool, and indoor and outdoor jacuzzis, along with a fitness centre and a quiet area for switching off from screens.

An oasis of luxury and comfort in Bansko, in the hotel’s words, at the foot of the Pirin.

The spa is open daily, 09:00–21:00, and its treatment menu changes with the seasons. In summer the La Veranda Bar and Lounge pool is kept for guests over 14.

Rooms

Deluxe rooms measure 38 m² and look either over the town or towards the Pirin; Executive rooms, 40 m² with mountain views, have direct access to the spa. Families can book Connected Family Rooms of 76 m², which sleep up to six, again with town or mountain views.

Eating and drinking

The hotel has five places to eat and drink. Come Prima is the Italian restaurant; the Sushi Bar & Teppanyaki Grill cooks Japanese dishes in front of you; the Gallery Restaurant serves themed buffets. The Lobby Bar is the meeting point after skiing, and the Piano Bar Sing Sing takes over for the evening.

Our advice: ask for a mountain-view room, or an Executive room if the spa is your priority, ski until the light goes, then go straight from the gondola to the sauna circuit and the outdoor jacuzzi. Book Come Prima or the teppanyaki grill ahead on weekends and during the Christmas and New Year weeks.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko before you go.