The building
Fifty apartments, one address
Pirin Lodge was completed as an apartment complex in the Gramadeto district and was originally run partly as an aparthotel. Today it is first of all a residence: fifty apartments, most of them with two bedrooms, owned and used by people from a dozen different countries.
The apartments
One- and two-bedroom apartments, generously laid out, with a living room around a marble fireplace, an open kitchen and a balcony or terrace. Floors are solid beech. Some apartments were furnished in traditional Bulgarian style, others contemporary — the building never imposed a single interior.
- Living room with a marble fireplace
- Fully fitted kitchen, open to the dining area
- One or two bedrooms, most with a balcony or terrace
- A private storage cellar for skis and equipment
- Cable television, internet and telephone connections
Built for a mountain winter
The technical choices made during construction are the reason the building still runs quietly. Heating comes from a central plant in the basement and warms the common areas as well as the apartments, so the corridors are never cold. Hot water is produced inside each apartment by high-capacity flow heaters, which is why the fourth shower in a row is still hot. Windows and balcony doors are multi-chamber insulated units. The elevators are hydraulic and near-silent, and every room has a smoke detector connected to a panel at reception.
Shared spaces
Reception and lobby
The entrance hall with the lobby bar, acoustically insulated from the apartments above it.
Wellness centre
Sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi and a massage room, reservable by residents.
Laundry room
Central washers and dryers for everyone in the building.
Ski cellars
A private lockable cellar per apartment for equipment.
Outdoor lane
Bavarian curling when there is snow, boules when there is not.
Parking and gardens
Free parking on site, landscaped grounds and security around the clock.
The people behind Pirin Lodge
The team that built it
Pirin Lodge was developed by Ardmore Properties between 2004 and 2009. These are the people who were behind it at the time.
-
Valerie Mechev
Managing director, Ardmore Properties
Led the company that developed Pirin Lodge. A long-established estate agent and builder in Bansko, whose knowledge of the town and its infrastructure shaped how the building was put together.
-
Frank Nadler
Quality and services, Ardmore Properties
A German national, responsible for quality and service during the development, after a career in marketing and as a quality consultant for hotel groups in Europe and Asia. Today one of the owners.
-
Michael Cusack
Business development, Ardmore Properties
Irish, resident in Ireland and France, with a long career in the international IT industry across Germany, Ireland, the United States and France.
-
Jim Phelan
Ireland, Ardmore Properties
Based in Ireland, with a background as a senior executive in customer services and later in property development and management.
-
Maria Seizova
Office manager, Ardmore Properties
The on-the-ground presence in Bansko: fully bilingual, with a background in education and office management, and the person newcomers to the town turned to for practical help.
A short history
The complex was developed by Ardmore Properties OOD, a Bulgarian company with Bulgarian and European principals, and was designed by Bulgarian architects with international experience. It was conceived at a time when Bansko was growing fast and was intended to work both as a residence and as an aparthotel. The sales and rental operation belongs to that period and has ended. What remains is what the building was built to be: a place people live in.