 Poster: A snowHead
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Some pretty good deals from Belfast, so is it any good?
Never been to Andorra before, so how does it compare with the Alps?
I like reds and blues, good lunches, Apres drinks.
Will it be very busy on the pistes?
Is the snow usually OK at Christmas?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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hello
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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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johnboy, hello !! Sorry not been to Andorra. Smokin Joe is a fan I think.
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I went to Soldeu in January this year. Pretty good snow and great lift infrastructure (but you do pay £220 for the 6 day ski pass...).
There didn't seem as much consistent vertical as parts of the Alps, so some runs would kind of peter out just as you got going. Definitely a big enough domain though.
On the plus side we got a beer for €1.50 and ski hire and lessons were cheap. Some good bars in Soldeu too.
Someone who's been more often may know about Christmas, but I would have thought if the deal is good enough you'd have a great time.
HTH
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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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Bout ye Johnboy
I'm more than biased about Andorra - had & still having some of the best seasons of my life there. It's got a different, more laid-back vibe than the Alps, in my experience.
There's nothing within the ski areas that really competes with the Alps in terms of high-end blacks & off-piste, but since its blues & reds you're looking for, then Andorra will definitely tick the cruising with a grin on your bake box. Likewise for apres drinks, although places for good lunches need a bit more seeking out, but then, don't all good things?
Christmas last 2 years was mega snow wise, but even if the natural stuff decides not to come out to play early this year, practically all of the main blues & reds in all of the Andorran ski areas are covered by snow cannons and you can rely on them to be laid down & groomed ready for Christmas.
It will be busy enough to be animated, but the pistes aren't usually overly busy at Christmas, certainly nothing as bad as half term weeks.
Also, between myself and the other Andorra-friendly snowHeads, I'm sure someone will be able to give you an experienced yay or nay as to the best hotels/apartments to go for in any of the deals you've seen, or at least those to avoid!
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michael stocking, Snow Beard,
Cheers folks:
These are the prices so far, incl flight, transfers, H/B and lift pass for 2 persons
Magic Pas £1348.00
Hotel Himilaia (Pas de la Casa) £1444.00
Hotel Himalaia (Soldeu) £1404.00
All seem quite reasonable
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Hotel Crest Arinsal £1050.00!!!
Slopeside, lift is within spitting distance!!!!!
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johnboy, Arinsal not connected to the rest of grand Valira ski area and only has about 90ks of piste. I would opt for Hotel Himalaia (Soldeu).
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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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johnboy I have twice been to Pas De La Casa. Once in March 1996 when the snow was excellent and once in March 1998 when the snow was dire. I guess, like anywhere else, snow is one of those longed-for but unpredictable things.
The ski area is excellent and more so now the link with Soldeu is fully established. It was possible back then but both areas were not on the same lift pass and the joint area pass is now one of the most expensive in Europe.
Soldeu itself is the nicer resort of the two. Pas is a large, ugly, tacky border town but with plenty of different accommodation/eating out/après options and generally a bit cheaper than French resorts (although comparable with French Pyrenees resorts). Soldeu is more of a village, generally nicer to look at and a bit quieter and more family-orientated.
The whole of Andorra was very much a building site when I visited so hopefully that has calmed down a bit now.
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Yup, I second JWs thumbs up for the Himalaia Soldeu - decent quality, good central position in resort, and just a couple of hundred metres from the main access gondola.
The Himalaia in Pas is part of the same chain, but the Hotel Magic is a newer hotel and closer to the pistes, so if you fancy Pas that's the one to go for there.
Soldeu & Pas de la Casa are both linked sectors of the Grandvalira domain - Andorra's biggest ski area.
Arinsal is part of Andorra's smaller Vallnord ski domain, which includes Pal & Arinsal (linked) and Arcalis (separate area, 40mins ski-bus ride away); nice blues & reds at Pal & Arcalis.
The Crest at Arinsal is a nice enough hotel, and it is just next to a chairlift at the finish of a blue piste, but that piste's not always open (low altitude). Arinsal is a great little village, really friendly & good craic, but the Crest is about 750m away from the centre of the village, and it's a steep walk back after a few fizzy ones.
Still, the Arinsal deal you've seen is up to 400 quid cheaper than the other ones! That would pay for quite a few fizzies and for a return taxi ride + day passes for a day out to Grandvalira too if you wanted!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Snow Beard,
Cheers, Himalaia in Soldeu is front runner, but Crest is tempting at that price. Even if there was no snow at the Crest, I take it the lift would operate for up and down loading?
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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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Usually, yes.
It's a new 6-seater, and they normally keep it running even if they have to shovel machine-made snow around the get-on area and/or if high winds close the gondola. It arrives at the same altitude as the gondola too.
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Snow Beard,
So, what do you reckon. Is The Creat worth a punt considering the saving? Could do a day at Arcalis on the ski bus and as you say get a taxi to Pas de la Casa if I was getting bored. How good is the link between Arinsal/ Pal. Does it get very busy?
Many thanks for you help here.
John
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You know it makes sense.
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The Crest's certainly worth a punt, considering the saving.
The link between Arinsal & Pal is pretty good: 2 fast(ish) chairs on from the top of that first chair takes you to the top of the Arinsal sector, then there's a cable car linking down to the Seturia Valley in the Pal sector. There's no linking pistes, so you also have to use the cable car to get back to Arinsal; queues do build up sometimes, but usually only around the last couple of links in the afternoon, and you only need to use the cable car once each way if you plan your day right.
The only other thing to consider is that the area around the Crest is a bit dead at night. There's a couple of bars/restaurants within strolling distance, but the main focus for craic is 15 minutes walk away down in the centre of Arinsal village.
In contrast, the Himalaia is bang in the middle of Soldeu, so it's a lot more animated. Just a thought!
Hope that helps
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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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johnboy, diyed to Soldeu '08, 11 days, last seven spent in the Himalaia, which is a decent hotel not too far from the gondola, so gets my thumbs up. Although if you get a room at the "back", there is a bar behind that turns out late and will keep you awake if you have an early one.
The food generally was ok, nothing more, drinks two for one a lot of places 5-7pm (IIRC), but on the whole the apres was a bit puerile for my tastes, which is actually saying something. God knows what Pas was like..............
It was busy when we went (Feb), the Spaniards on the whole were fine, if a little lacking in lift queue manners. The snow was poor, but that was the luck of the draw.
So to the reason I'm unlikely to go back.......................
The Grandvalira area, which is quite expansive, is singularly the most souless place I've ever slid in my life. It is barren, and monotonous. If the moon had snow on it, and you could get a rocket there it would most likely resemble Andorra.
JMO, but as valid as anyones. Vallnord, by all accounts is much of the same, though Arcalis was rated by some we spoke to, for terrain.
Sorry, but it just doesn't compare to the Alps.
John.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We went to Andorra for Christmas 2001. Snow wasn't brilliant with runs back to the resort a bit mushy (but skiable) by the end of the day - the upper slopes were fine. Apparently the Arinsal area was dire at the time.
They've improved the lifts somewhat since then and linked up the Grandvalira area.
I don't agree with John above - Andorra doesn't have Mont Blanc or the Matterhorn, for sure, but it does have its own charm. The slopes above Canillo are quite pretty.
We stayed at the Hotel del Clos in El Tarter. The food was very good and the only minor drawback was the short but steep path back up from the lift. The Nordic would be more convenient (and more expensive) if you stayed in El Tarter.
In a nutshell Andorra is no longer in the bargain basement with Bulgaria - as you'll have realised hotels and lift passes are pretty much at Alpine levels.
As for the skiing - if it's cruisey blues and reds you're after you'll be fine.
Booze and eating out is still relatively cheap and the ski school apparently still has a lot of native English speakers. Private lessons were good value a few years ago - don't know if they still are.
Plus you can pop down to Andorra La Vella for some duty free shopping if the mood takes you.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hang on - I think the Crest is at the top end of Arinsal away from the main village and bars etc- if you fancy some apres its a fair old walk back up - just a pointer!
I love Arinsal but a reasonable skier can do it all in a day
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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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Thought the Crest was worth a punt so booked it with Travel Agent and got a bit of discount too. £550.00 each, H/B, Ski Hire and Lift pass.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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johnboy, the OH and I stayed in Arinsal 3.5 years ago. I hope the snow's good! It wasn't when we went and I was bored mindless within a day - there were four runs open only from the top of the lift. If the snow's good and the link to Pal is open, the options are much improved - as became evident after a couple of days of reasonable snow-fall, although it still wasn't terrific.
You might like to consider renting a car if things look a little light. Arcalis is well worth a visit or two in that case, and driving into Andorra la Vella (sp?) is quick and easy - plenty of duty free shops!
If you fancy an authentic night's cuisine, there is a (well sign-posted and advertised) charming and romantic restaurant on the left as you drive into Arinsal - great, traditional food and atmosphere. The Argentinian restaurant is also good value IMO (by the lift station). Huge, huge portions of meat!
If the conditions are good, that might well prove to be a great deal - good luck 
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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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Chasseur,
Cheers, this will either be aa great value deal or a bit boring, but there are other options and I was will to take the risk. Actually quite curious about Arinsal.
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How many Km is there in
a) Arinsal
b) Pal
c) Arcalis
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johnboy, happy days. Crackin' deal that, especially considering it includes Norn Iron flt supp (I assume), H/B, ski hire & lift pass too!
All of the other posters' points, positive & negative, are valid (naturally) in my experience too, but, as I said at the start, I'm more than biased about Andorra so I think you'll enjoy it; fingers crossed for you that the snow gods play ball.
Re extent of ski areas: there's 42 pistes (63km ranging over 1747 acres) at Pal-Arinsal, plus 26 pistes (ranging over 1092 acres) at Arcalis; sorry, don't know Arcalis km total. Here's a link to last season's interactive Vallnord piste map; the Hotel Crest is located at the area marked 'Cota 1550m', just to the right of Arinsal village on the map.
Best wishes for a great trip
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Glad to hear you're coming to Arinsal - fingers crossed for another great snow season!!! Already had snow high up 
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