 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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Was there last week on our annual girls trip, third time. Great resort, feels really Spanish too which is a nice change from other resorts. There is currently great snow coverage but the off piste is not really happening until the next dump, so its currently a mix of grippy and bullet proof. Our first trip a few years ago was unlimited powder, in fact we had to visit again because we never saw the amazing views as we required snorkels for our whole stay! On that trip we didn't even need to consider going far from the piste it was waist deep all over...
But if you get lucky the area is kind of like a blend of N. America and Europe with plenty of big safe freeride zones and some marked off piste areas which sounds exactly what you need. You shouldn't need to go out of the controlled areas anyway but if you are tempted don't go without equipment or local knowledge. If conditions/budget/principals allows treat yourselves to heli-skiing as this is one of the few areas where it is still permitted. There are few pinch points on busy days but start early and head for the resort extremities until the crowds disperse. After 2pm its quiet again. A couple of areas can only be accessed by drag lifts and feature mostly reds/blacks/double diamond blacks - this mostly keeps these areas uncrowded too, but the drags are quite long and slow... the areas they access is generally worth the effort and where you'll find more untracked areas.
Val dÁran is the gourmet paradise of Spain and food is generally exceptional except for committed vegans/veggies who might find the selection a bit limited  , all the mountain bars/eateries are managed by the lift company and they offer a mix from cafeteria, tapas, champagne bar and an excellent restaurant (booking essential) called 5 Jotas. Most restaurants are limited in capacity so always book at the weekends, but some will only do walk in. For a really authentic, but also basic experience, try the roadside restaurant in Bonaigua called Cap del Port - you have to traverse in from the piste - looks like a church but actually an old hydro electric building. Another lunch option is to pop into Baqueira 1700 (access by a really old, slow 2 man chair) here is a choice with some excellent village restaurants. While it is expensive by Spanish standards, compared to France you'll find the best restaurants really good value.
The villages below the resort and Vielha itself are where you'll spend your evenings and it is a very food orientated experience but you'll find everyone runs on Spanish time: Lifts open at 9am but not many people on the hill before 10/1030 - avoid this time to get on the mountain, it is when the main access points are busy. Week days are generally quiet - it's a weekend destination for the Spanish. There isn't much on hill/bottom of hill for apres ski, the audi and moet bars have live music in the afternoon but its not raving apres ski as you find in most resorts. Late lunch and siesta after skiing is the protocole then most people head out for dinner about 9.30pm and the party starts at midnight. We didn't visit Vielha but did eat in Garros (Peruvian, sublime) and Arties, Vielha is the liveliest base so your apres ski is likely to start there anyway.
We stayed in Baqueria itself, but we did notice car parks getting pretty full at the weekends, also heading down the hill at the end of the day the traffic can be pretty busy. You'll probably need plenty of suntan lotion too 
I hope you love it as much as us, it isn't a 300km+ ski circus but it is very special and, if you get great conditions you'll have an exceptional stay there. Enjoy.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Can I jump in here on this thread - are there any tips for lunch? What time do the restaurants start serving food? 12pm?
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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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Ok Lunch.......
Relaxing sit down bottle of wine type lunch the Cinco Jotas is a must. Situated right beside the TSD Pla de Baqueira chair lift. Definitely need to book.
Quick tapas lunch in Baqueira Bar 2200. Halfway down under the same chair lift. Good Sun bathing on the terrace.
Best tapas lunch Bar El Refugi at the base of Bonaigua. Tapas menu is excellent. Squid is always a favourite.
Beret at the top of the Blanhiblar chair lift. Barralh Blanhiblar great views over the whole of the ski area.
Moet Winter Lounge - if you like watch the beautiful people updating their Instas. 
On the other scale The Restaurant Free Flow at Bosque 1800. Big selection. Does get busy at peak times as used a lot by the ski schools.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thank you. Definitely after a quick easy meal for us and the kids so it sounds like the bosque at 1800 would be good - do they serve lunch at 12pm?
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@Elsie80, Shouldn't be a problem getting lunch at 12:00 at Bosque.
@hudds7, Off Piste - loads and loads of options for skiing off piste in Baqueira, but as @frogslegs, says at the moment everything easy to access is skied out or closed due to the icy conditions. The weather looks like its set to be clear for another week. Hopefully, we should have some more snow during Feb.
Also just to say the options for veggie/vegans are improving in the area - Both Cafeteria Kuki's in Vielha and in Baqueira itself PirenAsian are excellent.
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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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Hi @mortonia, have you bumped into the Ormskirk (Liverpool) gang yet.
They have been there about a month now, staying in Vielha.
Keith is a fluent Spanish speaker and naturally enjoys the region.
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You are far more polite about the dining options than I would be. The skiing was good with, in good conditions, lots of accessible off piste. Lunch was disappointing and relatively expensive compared with the other pyrrenean french/spanish resorts i visited on that trip and not a patch on eg Austria or Switzerland in quality. No doubt a result of the lift company having a monopoly. The place at the top of the Bonagua pass definitely the pick. A couple of bars for immediate apres at the bottom of the slopes but died very quickly in terms of customers and life if you skied until towards lift close
Absolutely correct not to stay in Baqueira itself - midweek a miserable place with no life whatsoever. Full of apartment blocks - presumably for the weekenders.
I wished I had stayed in Vielha and my view of the resort would probably not be as poisoned as it is.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Rogerdodger, Nope not yet - I'll keep an ear out and ask anyone with the suitable accent are you Keith ? 
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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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Wow, you work for the tourist office?
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Ha ha, no, but I do work in the industry, but Baqueira is not (yet) in my professional remit which is mainly orientated towards France.
On ski hire. I didn't rent, most of the other girls went to SkiSet but that is only because I can harness my contacts for a small additional discount. For sure I'd suggest prebooking and you can make the price comparison but probably out of Baqueira resort for better rates. Quality seemed pretty good all over. I think the going rate for lockers at the bottom of the Baqueria 1500 gondola is 20EUR, ours came with our accommodation, but would fit 5 pairs easily. If the Ski Set at the mid station have ski storage there you can use, and that's where you intend to park, (sorry, can't help if that's practical in your situation) then I'd say that is worth it for minimising the faff factor.
Sorry to hear your accommodation is causing you extra pre-holiday admin.
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You know it makes sense.
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| frogslegs wrote: |
| Quote: |
Wow, you work for the tourist office?
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Ha ha, no, but I do work in the industry, but Baqueira is not (yet) in my professional remit which is mainly orientated towards France.
On ski hire. I didn't rent, most of the other girls went to SkiSet but that is only because I can harness my contacts for a small additional discount. For sure I'd suggest prebooking and you can make the price comparison but probably out of Baqueira resort for better rates. Quality seemed pretty good all over. I think the going rate for lockers at the bottom of the Baqueria 1500 gondola is 20EUR, ours came with our accommodation, but would fit 5 pairs easily. If the Ski Set at the mid station have ski storage there you can use, and that's where you intend to park, (sorry, can't help if that's practical in your situation) then I'd say that is worth it for minimising the faff factor.
Sorry to hear your accommodation is causing you extra pre-holiday admin. |
For ski hire another Baquiera Snowhead post recommended Moga which also does lessons, free ski locker and is on the way to/from parking lot. Otherwise same price as Skiset at the bottom station. Might give Moga a whirl then update whether they met expectaions when we get back!
Will see exactly how far the walk to/from gondola then make an executive decision about paying extra for a locker at bottom station. The ladies are getting lessons at the top of the gondola so we'll all be going from this bottom station each morning so might make sense especially if I have to carry 2 sets of skis for very far 
Our new acommodation seems nicer than the original airbnb; closer to slopes plus sauna (woop woop). 4 Pintxos bars shown on village map so whilst not Veilha maybe good enough. If not we have the Toyota for a trip to the bright lights of Veilha. Being Brits we will certainly get to the restaurant before it gets crowded with Spanish night owls!
Bit of snow is forecast, temperature hovering around freezing, it's a ski holiday and only 10 more sleeps. Life is good. 
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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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Our recent trip to Baqueira certainly met expectations.
Extensive skiing both on and off piste. It’s the Pyrenees so the mountains are mellower than the Alps; more rounded slopes, less craggy so extensive area to ski when there is snow cover. Accessible couloirs are available for expert freeriders. Exposed slopes get scoured by the wind so Baqueira can have a bit of a Scottish flavour without all the walking to access these chutes.
Not too many Brits (!) so ski school group lessons are limited to Baqueira only. Private English sessions for all abilities are available across the resort though. BB Ski was good for us and the 2 beginners made excellent progress. Moga Sports gave us good quality boots and skis so that worked out well for us too.
Beginner slopes were better IMHO over in Beret; more consistent gradient, less steep sections or narrow connecting trails and less busy. Intermediates would have no difficulty skiing slopes from one end of the resort to the other. Advanced skiers could tackle some proper blacks, unpisted itineraries and trees.
2022 UK half term the resort was busy(ish) but no particularly long lift queues or dangerously busy pistes. Home runs were obviously busy late in the day but nervous skiers could avoid this (and the “spring snow”) by taking the gondola back down. However this year European HT is a week later so next year it might be packed at HT!
The Val d’Aran area has been opened up as a tourist destination by a long tunnel. As a result what was once a rural backwater has been massively expanded. Architecturally it looks better than a lot of French moonscapes but it’s mostly all new nevertheless. Much of the accommodation is family holiday homes. The pro is that this accommodation is much superior to the not-enough-room-to-kick-Zuma’s-cat sorts of places I’ve ended up in France. The con is that IF everybody (Spanish) went on holiday at the same time it would be like Waterloo Station. Obviously I’m speculating on this, many apartments might only get used in summer?
What is a fact is that although there is a ski bus from Veilha (best place for ambience and night time entertainment options) the resort is dominated by cars. Travel is slow at peak times and parking is expensive in the multilevels (but very convenient for the gondola). The free car park outside Baqueira is a hike to the gondola/chair. The free road train has been axed due to Covid, i.e. to save money with no plans to restart. Free carparks at Beret and Bonaigua are much more convenient for lifts but an extra 10 minute drive.
Mountain restaurants. Not cheap (not extortionate either) but reasonable food, adequate capacity to sit down and no harassing people if they dared to take a bar of chocolate out of their pocket to eat with their coffee/lunch. Resort staff (incl hospital ) were friendly and polite.
Baqueira is the best resort in the Pyrenees that I’ve been to anyway. Good skiing, good uplift capacity, nice food and accommodation. Although poor people undoubtedly exist (somebody has to do the work) they are not very visible either. All the accommodation looks high rent and all the cars are big SUVs! Not a poor ski bums in sight... And definitely yes, I would recommend it to others but if you want ski-in ski-out, dancing on tables, litres of beer, dirndls and lederhosen you’ll need to head a bit further east...
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FAQ
so we (grown family) are now going to Baqueira Beret instead of Sestriere. Never been to BB before only Molina but we have booked some nice accommodation near Veilha and will be driving in from Barca so that bit of the trip is sorted.
