Poster: A snowHead
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I've never been to Andorra or the Pyrenees.
But this season we may have to go and try it.
The group is Me (granddad), Grandma, Daughter, Hubby + Elodie (the 6 year old princess who can ski)
Its a crazy idea because our offspring live in Zurich
But the weeks has to be 9th Feb for a week.
This makes the sensible idea of just skiing in Switzerland just impossibly expensive.
We could go with a tour operator, but as we will be coming in from different directions it may be better to take scheduled flights to Barcelona and rent a car.
But which resort to head for, I'm on here to get the combined wisdom of the Snowheads to point me to the correct town.
What do we ski like?
We're all intermediates but grandma is rather partial to Blue and a hint of any other colour on the piste posts will make her shriek.
What else?
We do like to party.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've been to Grandvalira a couple of times and it's an intermediates paradise - lots of cruisy blues, and even the reds are more like blues in other resorts. It's a huge ski area so you won't get bored and can clock up lots of mileage if you like! You might get a few disparaging comments about Andorra on here, but personally I think it's fantastic. Great area, great snow-making if the weather doesn't provide, and good sun (Soldeu means Sun-God!)
I stayed in Soldeu which I think is in the perfect spot for ski access as you can get across to all areas of the mountain fairly easily. It's not a big party town but there's a few lively bars which are open late, plus one late night club/bar (Fat Alberts) which is open to the early hours with DJ's and live band, which we partied in a couple of times. Probably not to the level of Pas de la Casa, a resort down the road - I've not been so can't really comment but Soldeu was lively enough for us. There's also quite a few outdoor bars on the slopes with DJ's especially at the top of the mountain from El Tarter.
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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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Went to Andorra in March and thought the area was amazing. Slopes were just great. We stayed in Pas and it was ok but nothing outstanding, 95% men and bars didn't really start until midnight which was too late for me. When I spoke to the Andorra people at the last Ski and Snowboard show they also raved about Soldeu and I liked the town when I popped in for a short walk.
The way the Andorra travel service described the two towns was Apres in Soldeu starts at 5 and finishes at 12, Pas starts at 12 and goes on. This seems to hold true with my experience of Pas anyhow.
So if it was me with the Family I'd be looking a Soldeu.
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Good description @djf. I think Fat Alberts is also open to the early hours IIRC. Thursday nights from 6pm were also lively as the ski instructors band plays.
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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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Personally, I thought the Andorra piste grading was quite flattering when comparing with the French mega resorts, so reds and possibly blacks will be options. They're also generally quieter than the blues. If you're after off piste, this is little used as Grandvalira is generally seen as a beginners area.
As for apres ski, I'd go for Soldeu. El Tarter is fairly quiet. Not been to Pas so can't comment if its reputation of Magaluf in the mountains is valid, although I've experienced an increase in young, fast out of control skiers towards the Pas end of Grandvalira.
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+1 for Soldeu over Pas. Grandvalira is a good resort with generally modern lift system. It's also a lot cheaper to eat and drink out that in the average French resort.
The transfer from Tolouse is as easy as from Barcelona, so also consider that as an alternative airport.
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