 Poster: A snowHead
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I did use the search - didn't find much!
We usually drive to Andorra and self-cater for a week (El Tarter). I'm tempted to try another Pyrenean resort and these two come up (Baqueira sounds a bit busy for me). Good enough for a week and we are intermidiots. Not sure if I need English ski school as I'm trying to convince myself to go to Canada for two weeks at Easter too 
Ideally one-bed apartment for a week, covered parking, walking distance from the slopes. Hopefully a supermarket nearby for evening food, and decent hot food on the mountain (please not just pizza and burgers). We have no interest in nightlife.
There doesn't seem to be much left on booking.com, certainly with covered parking, and nothing within walking distance. Should I get something 3-5km away and drive in every day? Or is there a reliable bus service? (ugh...)
I also haven't found somewhere to rent kit! Must be somewhere, but I don't see it.
It will be Carnival week (Feb half term) so I know it will be pretty busy for the first days then calm down after.
Any thoughts? Including guidance that says "They don't normally do that, look for X instead"...
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi!
Both resorts are fine for intermediates. The truth is that Cerler is a smaller resort, although personally I prefer it. For walking distance to the pistes, you would have to be either in Formigal village (purpose-built, I believe, but agreeable enough), or in Cerler village (not Benasque).
For Cerler, Benasque village is where the (low-key but welcoming) bar- and restaurant-life is. It has a nice atmosphere; it's the "Chamonix of the Pyrenees", being more famous for mountaineering than for skiing, what with it being the gateway to the two highest mountains of the entire range. It is full of mountain-oriented shops that are well worth exploring, and has a lovely old village centre to get lost in. Personally I would choose to stay down there in Benasque and drive up to resort (10-15 minutes) rather than stay in Cerler, where I guess there might be a corner-shop kind of thing but no real supermarket, and little in the way of evening activities. There is indeed also a bus service from Benasque, as well as plenty of hire shops (though there are hire shops in Cerler, and the resort certainly has one). If you end up choosing this part of the Pyrenees, and if you have chains/snowtyres and the road is relatively clear, you should also drive up for a drink and a snack at Hospital de Benasque one afternoon. (Hospital as in hospitality, not medical emergencies!) Highly recommended.
Formigal is larger and more uniformly intermediate-level, although the ski area itself feels somehow less mountainous than Grandvalira (and certainly less mountainous than Cerler). I don't know it well, but it seemed a decent enough place when I visited. I have to confess a bias though: I'm a mountain-oriented person rather than an out-and-out skier, and Formigal leaves me a bit underwhelmed. It has a bus link to another resort, Panticosa, which is included in your lift pass; I like Panticosa more, and although it is small, it is charming and beautiful. I highly recommend a day or two there if you opt for the Formigal plan. You can also drive there of course... to be honest, driving is completely normal in the Spanish Pyrenees, and indeed it gives you the freedom to explore the valley a little bit and find the viewpoints... the views are spectacular in this area. Thinking about it, Panticosa village could also be an option for you; the lift starts right in the village itself. So you could do the plan in reverse, going over to Formigal on some days. Panticosa is small though.
I think Formigal-Panticosa would give you more to do for a week than Cerler, although personally I think the whole Cerler experience is more authentic. If really your only focus is the skiing, and you will stay in the apartment every evening, then choose Formigal-Panticosa. I hope you'll be able to try Cerler+Benasque at some point though! If you're a mountain lover (rather than "just" a ski lover) then it's a great place to spend time.
Check out the following post for Panticosa: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=113077&start=160#2689184 and in the rest of that Pyrenees 2014/15 Snow Report there are plenty of photos of Benasque and Cerler since I was based in Benasque that season. It seems I didn't post any photos of Formigal from my one day there, so here are a couple:
I don't think the fact that it's carnival week makes any difference really, except perhaps for the weekend. Spain doesn't do half-term holidays, and Cerler is pretty much impossible to reach from France. (I'm don't know whether Formigal would receive more French skiers that week.)
Baqueira's no more busy than Grandvalira, btw.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks Mr P! I'm just struggling for accommodation at the moment, all the booking.com offers where you can reserve and cancel a week before if you change your mind have gone, and I'm not prepared to commit right now. But also, where does one park, either in accommodation or at the slopes? The accommodation I've seen doesn't seem to have covered parking; for the slopes, I'm used to walking past the big El Tarter car park and seeing it full by 9.15am, or seeing people spending 20 mins digging their cars out of snow in order to leave. While I have a 4x4, I won't have snow tyres and that really doesn't appeal to me. About the only thing I liked about Sierra Nevada was the massive underground car park at resort (even if it had some pretty dodgy characters walking around it). We did drive to La Covatilla every day, but that barely gets enough snow to worry about.
Now elder daughter (11) is asking to go back to ET because she knows it already so won't get lost  ...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Enjoy the change! I don't see any great value - trying to put myself in your family's position - in returning to ET. Obviously I can't help with accommodation, but given that the Pyrenees are not the Alps and Spain is not France/Austria, it's hard to imagine that there aren't places to stay (albeit perhaps not on booking.com). Have a look at esquiades.com, uniski.es, etc. (No personal interest to declare; I'm merely an occasional customer.)
Underground parking is a special request, and honestly I don't see that it's the most important thing. One thing is that you live there and your normal everyday life gets disrupted; another thing is that you're on a ski holiday and an unexpected heavy snowfall buries your car but your kids are over the moon about the experience... if it take 20 minutes to free the car, who cares? (Do carry snow chains/socks though... you go often enough to the mountains that it's a non-negotiable cost!) As for parking at resort, all Spanish resorts have ample open-air parking; it's not an issue. Even in ET, although I completely recognise what you say, it's not really full at 9:15 or even at 11.... there will always be a space somewhere.
But if underground parking is a must, then consider Baqueira. But in the Val d'Aran I personally wouldn't choose to stay in Baqueira resort but instead I'd stay down the valley and drive to resort each day.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Simply the value is that I know it all when I arrive, so stress-free; and last time was the first time we ever got out of Soldeu/ET sector as my youngest was finally good enough. So we can at last explore the whole terrain.
I'll keep looking 
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