El Tarter Jan 2011

A snowHead

Hi Folks

Having been to El tarter I thought I would write a Quick Review of my experiences which may be of help to anybody thinking of Visting Andorra.

We Booked with Neilson and opted to stay at the Aparts Del Clos which are linked to the Nordic Hotel.
Not to be confused with the Hotel Del Clos which is across the road about 250 meters away. Funny enough Neilson actually used the pictures of the Hotel del clos in their brochure for the del clos apartments!

The location of the del clos aparts was ideal and it was the only Ski in Ski out accommation in El Tarter.
We opted for half board and took our meals in the Nordic Hotel. We were very pleased with the meals and there was always plenty of choice and as it was buffet style you could eat as much as you wanted. The food was always well cooked and the staff were superb and very helpful.
There was entertainment on everynight in the hotel and this was usually quite good.
Bar prices were comparable to the UK.

There is not a lot of nightlife in El Tarter but thats why we chose it as we did not want Discos blasting out music until 3.00am

The apartment was very spacious with a twin/double Bedroom and two folding beds in the Sitting room/dinning room/kitchen area and the Bathroom was also large. There was a TV in the Sitting area and also one in the Bedroom and they were both modern large screen LCD type TV`s. The only English channels though were CNN and BBC World Service news. The aparts were serviced every day they changed the towels etc.
There was a kettle and two ring hob and a oven. The oven doubled as a grill but the shelf was missing so it was not possible to grill anything. There was also a lack of crockery and a few other items so it would not be ideal for self catering. The hotel spa and pool was also a hit with the wife and this was free access and open between 12MD and 8pm - it was generally very quiet up to 4pm - well worth a visit.

On the end of the aparts del clos is the Nordic sport shop for ski/boot hire etc. again this was very convenient and it only took us about 15 mins to get sorted with our hire gear.
From the nordic sports you could ski a few metres to the Chair lift or a little further to the telecabins again this was very convenient and took you to the El Tarter beginners area.
If you are a confident Blue ski you should be able to ski back down to Nordic sports/Aparts del clos but the only run actually going down to this area got quite icy (probably due to lack of Snowfall) by the afternoon and could be a bit tricky. The other option was to take the Telecabin back down and it was then about a 10 minute walk back to the Aparts.

We found the Granvalira ski area to be very good. It covers nearly 200kms of piste and you can actually ski into France. There was a good variety of runs and freestyle areas etc. Also loads of mountian cafes for a brew and bite to eat and plenty of tree lined runs etc.

We booked on a couple of events inc. El tarter by night and snowmobiling.
All the holiday companys sell the El tarter by night which is pushed as a Family event but I would say it is more suited to kids up to the age of about 15. It consisted of going up to the beginners area on the Telecabins after the pistes has shut ( About 5pm) and sliding about 20 - 30 mtrs on Rubber inner tubes and a similar thing on a couple of other types of Sledges. Myself and my son (aged 19) were expecting something like the toboggan run at Val Thorens but this was very slow/tame and we were dissapointed. Also in the package was a Hot Dog and chips and drink at one of the cafes in the beginner area. But we had food at the hotel if we wanted it although the food was quite good. Overall at 28 euro each I would not book this knowing what is included.
On a positive note everyone who booked was entered into a free draw and my son won second prize Dog Sledging which he booked for the Friday.

The Snow Mobiling was great and will worth the money 55 Euro for the Mobile and this was either on your own or you could take a passenger for 30 mins or 90 Euro for 1 Hour.
We were collected from the hotel promptly and taken to Grau Roig Area and dropped back off after also promptly.
Very impressed with this activity.

My son loved the Dog sledging although it was only about 40 mins but he said it would be worth the cost which I think would have been about 30 euro.

Just down the road from the Aparts is a supermarket/ shop called Caves Manacor which is an amazing place selling all sorts of wierd and wonderful stuff. There is some really cheap Booze such as Scottich brewed whisky from around 5 Euro, peach whisky from around 3 Euro. Cigarettes for benson and Hedges around 26 euro for 200 and lots of other brands from around 16 Euro.
The shop also had loads of samples of cooked meats, cheeses etc and various beverages that you could try before you buy. We called in most evenings just to have a look around.
Next door is a perfumiere and they have lots of stuff in there such as pot pourri scented candles etc. as well as the home made perfumes - a good shop to buy pressies for home!

Just across the road from Caves Manacor is a three storey sports shop which has tons of skiing/boarding stuff at reasonable prices again well worth a look in.

My wife took the bus to the capital Andorra La Vella which is about 30 mins away and cost about 3 Euro each way.
She said there was a lot of designer type shops and a lot of electrical type shops. She says well worth a day trip but not everything is cheap!

Overall we we very impressed with the holiday and would like to go back sometime.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer.

Cheers

Paul

A snowHead

Either the hotel really has changed the buffet and quality of the food, or your version of a decent dinner is different to mine Smile

Hopefully it is option A, and things really have improved since our trip there in January.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hi

Before we went we asked for some info on this Forum and I think a couple of people were not happy with the food.
I can only speak from what we found but as I said the staff were really nice and friendly and very helpful, the food was good and hot and some of it cooked in front of you. There was loads of variety including Lobsters, Fish, Beef, Pork, various stews and Chips, Potatoes etc. Not all on the same night but at least 4 or 5 mains to choose from. Good choice of Starters and good choice of Sweets. We did not have to wait any evening and were promptly allocated a table.

I`m certainly not gourmet but the wife and son also both thought the food was good.

Cheers

Paul

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El Tarter Jan 2011

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