 Poster: A snowHead
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New member here!
Having managed to get the other half to catch the snow bug, she's gone head over heels and even suggested a skiing honeymoon. She's a beginner-intermediate and I'm Intermediate+ (haven't skied a huge amount in recent years but comfortable on all red and most blacks) so we like the idea of Grandvalira, it seems plenty of long easy runs for us to do together and a few blacks for when I want to nip off. Also still a fair bit cheaper than the Alps for living costs, even if pass prices aren't so good.
Given this, we've booked a penthouse apartment with a lovely open fire in El Tarter for 10nights over Christmas this year (my family are all over the world and often only back in the UK for Christmas, so it makes sense to get married in December, also we met on Christmas Eve so it's a special time of year for us.)
So first, to aid with the budget I'm drawing up, can anyone tell me general costs to be expected? e.g. Price of a beer, price of a self-service meal on the slopes, price range of the better options on the slopes, price ranges for dinner options? Also as we are staying in an apartment we have no pool/sauna/hot tub, will the hotels generally let non-residents for a fee (and if so how much)? I know there is a couple of spas in Soldeu but looking for something a bit cheaper than Euro40/3hr session...
Second, any hints and tips for staying in El Tartar, Soldeu and Grandvalira in general? I've already seen from one post on this forum that the Husky sledding is recommended.
Thanking you all in advance...
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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 Whagwen, I learned to ski in Soldeu because the ski school had a great reputation and I still consider that to be the main attraction of the place, its great value as well as you said the lift pass is not the cheapest at around £200 but for about £70 more you get area pass, ski+boot hire and 5 days of 3 hour of ski school.
El tarter is a bit smaller than soldeu and pas and not much going on at night, the only good apres place I can think of is a fairly new bar near the El Tarter gondola by the car park ( which also serves a decent burger) the cafe right at the gondola under the ski hire shop does a decent pizza for about 10 euros but the restaurants on the mountain are not the best and the huge self service ones get very busy as everyone seems to head towards those. The ski hire shop is also a great place to leave your skis as it has a huge locker area below it behind the cafe as alot of the places to stay are a little work from the slope. I cant quite remember the mountain prices for food and drink but its not the bargain you might expect it to be when compared to the cost of accommodation.
Also cant think of many restaurants in the village either, everytime on the chalet night off we caught the bus to soldeu, but I have heard the steak restaurant farther down the valley is very nice( its right by a shop that sells the most amazing statues) also next to that restaurant is a the biggest supermarket in El Tarter and booze is amazingly cheap, decent bottles of wine were 5 euros and whiskey was about 20 euros for 3 liters.
Also right at the bottom of the gondola is Hotel Nordic which is the only hotel I can think of with a pool, not sure about non residents using it though.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Tue 19-01-16 14:20; edited 2 times in total
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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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@Whagwan, Welcome to snowHeads! been too long since I went to Andorra to offer any useful advice, but I hope everything goes well for you
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Cheers guys,
Vintageryan, who can you book the whole equipment, lessons, pass packages from? Can't find anything on the Grandvalira website.
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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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http://www.soldeu.com/ have the package for area pass, ski+boots and ski school for 340 euros so about £260 or you can upgrade your skis for an extra 15 euros.
Edit thats for 5 days, 6 days lift pass + ski/boot hire is 385 euros.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Cheers mate, We're there for 11 days so combining that with shop hire and pass for the rest of the days pretty much means the lessons are free.
We're anticipating spending a fair bit of time up the road in Soldeu as would rather travel to the party than have the party near us if you see what I mean.
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@Whagwan, I love Grandvalira, and we try to get there once a year - we tend to stay in Pas, but I know a little bit about El Tarter and Soldeu from having skied down to there for beers at the end of the day and got the bus back to Pas.
Prices wise, you'll be looking at:
Beer: €2-3 at happy hour, €4-5 at normal times (for a pint) - similar prices for a glass of wine, a gin&tonic (or gin & Fanta Lemon as the locals seem to drink)
Food on the hill - there are lots of cafes that do sandwich, chips and a drink for about €10, or there are self-serves which, depending upon the quality of the place, charge somewhere between €16 and €25 for a two course meal with a drink (every mountain restaurant and cafe is owned by the lift company, but they don't take the mick)
Dinner - never eaten in Soldeu or El Tarter, but on the assumption a meal at night would cost roughly the same as in Pas, we have had lovely 3 course meals with a bottle of wine for about €60-€70 for a couple before, and I would say that's about standard for the nicer restaurants. Again, there are cheaper options.
As someone above has said, there is the L'Aberset bar / restaurant in the El Tarter car park - it is owned by the lift company, again, but is a great place for Apres, they have DJs on there too from about 4 or 5pm.
With regards to swimming pools etc, I don't know about hotels and non-residents, but there is the big spa in Andorra la Vella, or you could get the 15 minute bus over to Pas de la Casa where there is a municipal swimming pool - I've never been in, but it looks quite nice from the leaflets, and seems to have spa, sauna, pool, hot tubs etc.
If it's your honeymoon, it might be cool to look into staying at the igloo hotel in the Grau Roig sector for a night. They hadn't had a chance to build it when I was there the other week as the snowfall hadn't been great at the start of the year.
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There are some nice places to eat 'Lac du Pessons' over at Grau, the burgers at Soldeu from the BBQ and the pasta, pizza places do a job. Taittinger for 39 euros a bottle up the mountain. Some really good atmosphere on the decks as well, especially Soldeu.
As said, El Tarter a little quiet. But Soldeu has Hotel Bruxelles, excellent food(25 euros for 11oz fillet steak). Fat Alberts, good food, good bar(15 - 20 euros a head). The Tapas next to Fat Alberts is excellent as well(30 - 40 euros a head, try the squid). Aspen bar is good for football and a beer, food is cheap and cheerful. Can't comment on other places as we're always quite happy in these. Beers, wine, alcohol are cheap everywhere, it's tax free.
If you have your own boots and skis, look at lift pass with lunch vouchers, for the cost it's worth having them in your pocket. The whole lift system is very modern and the ski area is a lot of fun. Both of you on a 10 dayer, might be a good time to take your own gear.
We've booked an apartment in Soldeu for the same time, we love the atmosphere there. All the locals are friendly and seem to be really happy with their lot, not like some other places, this seems to just add to the good feeling up there.
Andorra La Vella has a huge spa, worth visiting. Lots of good shopping there and very modern.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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+1 on Hotel Bruxelles in Soldeu that is a great little place for lunch as it has a side deck and does great food and the restaurant in Fat Alberts does some fantastic ribs, good for dinner. The Sol i Neu restaurant by the soldeu gondola is in a great spot was good a couple of years ago but seen a few bad reviews last year and didnt go in but its location is the best spot on the resort.
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@Vintageryan, Is the Sol i Neu the one which has a big decking area that looks out over the slopes, just to the left after you come over the bridge?
If so, went there a couple of times the other week. If I'm being honest, there was something about it that felt a bit pretentious - can't put my finger on what it was (might have been the clientelle who all seemed to be preening themselves to take the best selfies) but it's undeniably a great spot, as it has fantastic views, some decent food, and some quite good music.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Kingofthec wrote: |
@Vintageryan, Is the Sol i Neu the one which has a big decking area that looks out over the slopes, just to the left after you come over the bridge?
If so, went there a couple of times the other week. If I'm being honest, there was something about it that felt a bit pretentious - can't put my finger on what it was (might have been the clientelle who all seemed to be preening themselves to take the best selfies) but it's undeniably a great spot, as it has fantastic views, some decent food, and some quite good music. |
Yeah thats the one, as I said not been for a couple of years but it used to be nice but noticed last year it looked like it had gone a bit more upmarket and some of the new reviews for it seemed to suggest the place had changed for the worse, the service was always pretty bad but the decent food and the location made up for it.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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We almost invariably had lunch at the Italian restaurant just above the El Tarter beginners area, there was enough variety for our 5-6 days (different pizzas, pastas and the odd steak). The trick was, when the ski school finishes at 12.45, move fast to get to the queue. After 1300 the entire resort starts queuing, and half the time it's one person "reserving" a table for five friends, you can queue for 30 mins. I couldn't tell you the price as wife and I don't drink alcohol and two young daughters tend to split a meal between them, but I thought it was reasonable as we always went back! Maybe €15-18 per adult? There is a similar place by the Soldeu learner area (and another one somewhere further up and over the back) but as we always had the girls in ET ski school we always went there.
We also booked everything by the website above, very happy with it. Note, if you book a locker and it's in peak season, get there as early as possible to claim it. We arrived one Saturday evening at Feb half term (carnival), decided only to get the skis at 10am Sunday morning, and there was a massive queue, by which time the last locker key had gone 10 mins before.
Oh, and if she's beginner/inter, consider downloading at the end of the day rather than taking the blue down (esquirol) which has a couple of steep bits that can get nasty for beginners when the whole world passes by. I came a cropper the first two years assisting my beginner daughters, then helped someone who did the same in my third year. Loads of crashing. The longer run (gall de bosc) is shallower but it is narrow (it's a single track road in summer I believe) so great if she can parallel stop; probably get major thigh burn snow-ploughing all the way down there!
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Thanks for all the tips guys, very much appreciated.
Does anyone know what time the lessons start? The reason I'm asking is that our first night is on the Monday, but we will be getting the overnight train from Paris to l'Hospitalet and then the bus. According to the timetable we should arrive in El Tarter around 8:30am, would this be enough time to get kitted up (with resort hire gear) and get to the lesson? I can't remember why but in my head the lessons start at 10 but you are advised to be 30mins early, is the meeting point at the gondola station or on top of the mountain?
Also on this point, does anyone know if the ski lockers are big enough to fit luggage as well, as that's pretty much necessary for this plan.
It's not the end of the world, as we can get in a few lessons the following week, however would rather to do them at the start!
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm sure the first morning you want to go to the orange wooden building to the right of the gondola exit at El Tarter, you can see it on the webcam, there you check in. We always get up there at 9 first morning to get half hour of easy ski before the lessons. It's either 9:30 or 10 for lesson starting, but they will do a check on everyones abilities and then group you up. The lessons we've had always started on the Monday, but others were slotted in on other days.
I know the lockers at Soldeu could fit luggage, depending on shape, but don't know about El Tarter.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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It's not the orange building, it's just past that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bloody hell things *have* changed, I stayed at Hotel Bruxelles and while "unremittingly awful" might be an overstatement, I can't say it was the best place I've ever stayed in...
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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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@nbt, I think the comment above regarding Hotel Bruxelles was more about the food than the hotel. I've stayed there before and it was 'cheap and cheerful' at best, which suited us perfectly at the time. The food on the half board deal was good if not spectactular, but apparently the food for the paying customers has got a very good reputation.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Morning lessons start at 10am and I think afternoon lessons are at 1pm. First day is a bit of a mess where you spend the first 90 minutes getting graded and put into groups, so first day is morning lessons 10-11.30 then 1- 2.30 and afternoon lessons are 11.30-1 then 2.30 until 4pm after the first day its 10-1pm for morning and 1pm until 4 for afternoons.
So if you don't quite make it you might just get put into afternoon lessons.
Lockers by the gondola in el tarter are a very tight fit for 4 skis and boots, a no for suitcases but maybe more flexible bags might go in.
Always got my gear on the day we arrived on the Sunday, the queue on the Monday morning can be huge I think your be pushing to make it.
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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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Sorry OP for hijackign your post, but there is some good info here and I want to pick peoples brains.
How much is a ski wax/service at the el tarter lockers station shop?
I ask , as I wonder if I get them servided their they might chuck in the lockers for free 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks again guys, lots of good info here.
I didn't realise there was an afternoon session for the lessons, will go for them and not stress about timings!
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As @Vintageryan says, day 1 has different timings to others as they're grading the groups. If you get in the "wrong" group on Day 1, they'll still move you by Day 2, no sweat. You go up either by chair or gondola, get off, turn right. Note that the English speaking ski school is in a different building to the main one that is marked ski school. You'll go 200m from the lift/gondola down to the main ski school, then be told to walk 30m back up the hill to the small building you'd passed that you then find out is the English speaking ski school.
Do you mean lockers by the gondola, or the chairlift? I'm used to the latter, under the shop. They are tall and thin, agree 4 is possible but sometimes you need to be creative. We got 2 adults and 2 children's skis in.
Another warning - if you download via gondola and your lockers are at the base of the chair, you actually have to walk 5 mins on a gentle uphill slope to get back to the chair. This can be a trudge at the end of a long day, walking in ski boots and carrying skis. The last 50m ramp up to the shop can be treacherous.
Do you know where you are staying and how close it is to the chair/gondola? As I found the first time that El Tarter is on the side of a steep hill, so the apartment I booked relying on the map from Booking.Com, which made it look "right near the chair", turned out to be several roads up a steep hill. And with an exhausted 4 and 6 yr old at the end of the day, that wasn't fun.
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We've booked this apartment: https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/el-tarter/5161676
It gives an area, I've checked on google maps streetview and doesn't seem too far. As we're both active, sporty types who hike etc and don't have any children in tow we should be ok.
I haven't e-mailed the owner yet to ask this question, as it is still a long way away and things may change. Say if the owner wouldn't let us check-in early or store our luggage, does anyone have any ideas where we could store bags?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Whagwan Your apartment is about 700m from the Tarter Gondola and also 60m vertical down hill. Its 2.5Km and 120m uphill to the Harp Bar, in the centre of Soldeu. Buses run 2 or 3 times an hour but only till about 2100 here is a link for this year. http://visitandorra.com/en/winter/the-country/transport-in-andorra/around-andorra-by-bus/. Taxis cost a fortune because they all originate in Andorra la Vella.I can confirm that the Ski School in El Tarter is excellent. Nearest hotel with a pool is Euro Ski but its very basic. Piolets Park and Spa at entrance to Soldeu has better facilities but I don't know if either let non residents use them. Caldea Spa in the capital is excellent but expensive. http://www.caldea.com/fr you will need to use google translate!!! Its cheap and easy to get to by bus.
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That looks close to my first one, a bit of a trudge but as you say, fit and without children should be fine.
@kevinraine, Hotel Nordic and Hotel Llop Gris in El Tarter have pools. No idea if non-guests can use them though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bump from back in Jan, very excited to be heading out on Sunday, oh yeah and the wedding!
Anyone else with any handy info, restaurant recommendations etc?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Excellent, I hope you have the time of your lives!
Grandvalira gets better by the year.. All the recommendations above are sound. Lunch at Pessons in Grou Roig, and a tipple..or even an overnight stay.. in the igloo. DJ apres in Abarset (El Tarter carpark) on Thur/Fri/Sat. Soldeu nightlife on Fri/Sat. Soldeu on-mountain apres..again, best at the weekend. (In the Pyrenees, the majority of skiers are local and weekend trips are the norm.)
Relax, enjoy, do what seems best at time. It's not Ibiza.. You're not missing out on something better elsewhere. Oh, and in El Tarter (nicest place for a honeymoon IMO), you need to find Dylans bar for post-apres fun.
Don't forget to ski the Canillo sector even though it seems like a random outpost.. It's one of the nicest parts.
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FAQ
