Worldwide Ski Resorts • Romania • Sinaia
Overview
Set in the beautiful Prahova Valley, Sinaia used to be the location for the royal family’s summer residence and is now the largest ski area in Romania. The majority of the skiing here is for beginners and intermediates, but there is some challenging skiing off piste. The town is sheltered from strong winds and air currents by the surrounding peaks of the Transylvania Alps, making it a pleasant place to visit. Unfortunately, the resort town itself has little tourist infrastructure and there are obvious signs of poverty and neglect, which is a shame as some of the buildings here are really beautiful. Accommodation is mainly in hotels that are rather basic for Western tastes, but they are clean, friendly and reasonably good value for money.
Profile
The historic town of Sinaia first hosted a ski competition in 1880 and was the venue for the bobsleigh event of the Olympic Winter Games in 1935. The town has some excellent sightseeing opportunities, however, it is rather run down and the resort could do some investment to bring it up to western standards. The skiing here is mainly intermediate, but beginners and experts are also catered for; the local ski instructors are always helpful with friendly advice on techniques.
Mountain Information
Sinaia has the largest ski area, with the biggest ski able vertical in Romania. The resort has 14 ski runs with a total piste length of 40km, served by 2 cable cars and 10 ski lifts. Skiing here is high up on the table topped mountain at 2000m which means that all the slopes need to be accessed from the top two cable cars which unfortunately means queuing in the morning. The majority of the skiing is for beginners and intermediates, however there is a plentiful supply of off piste exploration and a black run to the middle station and from there into the town. Sadly, the pistes are not particularly well marked and the black run closes frequently due to insufficient snow.
Apres Ski
Sinaia offers plenty of sightseeing opportunities; the Sinaia Monastery and Peles Castle are the most popular with splendid architecture but no visit to this region is complete without the must do day trip to the real Dracula’s Castle. Sport is the dominant theme of activities here; there is a sports and fitness centre offering an indoor swimming pool, sauna, tennis, football, basketball, table tennis and minigolf. The Sinaia Casino Palace is also a popular attraction with a large pool and billiards room and the inevitable gambling games. The bars, clubs and restaurants are predominantly Romanian and German but they are lively places and good value for money. Customer service is not the best, but be patient and the locals will reward the gesture with friendliness and enthusiasm.
Romanian Resort Guide
Resort Information • Sinaia
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Resort Height | 850m |
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Top Station | 1999m |
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Bottom Station | 850m |
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Vertical Descent | 1151m |
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Drag Lifts | 0 |
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Chair Lifts | 4 |
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High Capacity | 2 |
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Opening Dates | Dec - March |
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Rating Expert | 4 |
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Rating Intermediate | 5 |
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Rating Beginner | 7 |
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Apres Ski Rating | 6 |
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Snow Reliability | 5 |
