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  5 of 5, "An AWESOME holiday!! 5-12 feb 06" 14/02/2006 @ 15:42:48 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 5 of 5 |
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| Revision #2 (Last edited: 14/02/2006 @ 16:10:42) |
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| Price Paid |
| £439 H/B + 200 for tuition and board hire and liftpass!! |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
first of all we were a group of five 21yr old lads, this is an ideal resort for us!!
i have no hesitation in giving this holiday a full 5 out of 5! this holiday was incredible and i would certainly consider Arinsal again!!
ok im going to start with one of the bad points! after a great (delay free) flight we were sat on the transfer coach for 2 hours waiting for a Glasgow flight to come in plus a 3.5 hr transfer plus half hour break. so in total the coach transfer was 6 hours, which also meant we missed the Inghams welcome meeting (this is the first bad impression of inghams). its just a good job we got our lift pass on the coach!!! one other thing, there is a stop about halfway on the route, theres some toilets and some dodgy looking sandwich building but the chip buttie was a nice sight! (no toilets on coach!)
the hotel:
we stayed at the hotel st gothard, when we walked in the first impressions were very good! we were the third room down on the left on the river side of the hotel, i have read on another review that the river was too loud, i want to argue with this, the river is NOT loud at all, and we were the lowest floor! the bar has a weird ordering system but no big deal, also some cold food was ready prepared for us which was good to say we had been sat on a coach for 6 hours!! the rooms were absolutely SPOTLESS and towels were changed everyday, except wed, there was no maid that day! the breakfast wasn't anything special, it wasnt bad but nothing special, i just had toast but there were small pepperami style sausages and fatty bacon, scrambled eggs and beans! the dinners were great, plenty of choice and there was something different every night (chips everynight of course)
the bad part of this hotel was the location, it was about 7 mins walk up to the gondola and 5 mins to the nearest bar, this isnt a big issue if you get a locker for your boards / skis.
the main problem was inghams, we didnt get a welcome meeting and therefore missed booking ourselves on the sledging night and the bar crawl night (although having said that we managed to locate the bar crawl ourselves and tagged along for free), we ended up missing the sledging night. there was no real rep presence and we didnt see her much at all. add that to the coach transfer and u have a pain of a travel company (HOWEVER - this could have been a one off for the week we were there, i wont be going with inghams next year)
slopes / school:
we got the inghams board, liftpass and tuition pack for 200 quid, i think we got a good deal on that, its the same for all companies though. the board hire was a bit of a disaster the first morning because of no welcome meeting we didnt know how long to allow for gettin kitted up. MAKE SURE you give an hour and a half to queue up for your boots and board, we were there at 8.45 til 10.15.
this made us late for ski school, however it was probably the best thing that ever happened to us!!!, we turned up late as a group of 5 of us and managed to land a groups with 5 of us plus one other guy and THE BEST INSTRUCTOR on the slopes: DAVE. an absolute awesome teacher!! the slopes were great, this was the first time i had touched a board and we learnt so much in the week!!
just a note about the guy that wrote the last comment, there was a half pipe in the freestyle area near the top of the 6 man lift!
i want to stress one thing about the slopes: DONT EAT UP THERE, the food is appauling, like school dinners, its expensive and there are small portions. check out the italian opposite the gondola and a small place opposite the st moritz ski hire shop, and the burgers at Quo Vadis are amazing!!
any questions PM me!! :) |
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| Strengths |
Dave at board school
slopes for begginers (i would go back for a 2nd time)
Apres ski
food |
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| Hot Spots |
Quo Vadis (strait from the slopes)
BarSolana
70s night at el cow |
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| Weaknesses |
Distance of hotel from bars / gondola
INGHAMS
Transfer from airport to resort (again inghams) |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| none |
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| Reviews: 1 |
| Worcestershire |
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 4.5 of 5, "Well worth a look for any beginners" 07/02/2006 @ 17:18:53 |
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| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 4.5 of 5 |
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| Revision #2 (Last edited: 07/02/2006 @ 17:23:33) |
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| Price Paid |
| £340 Half board p/p for a group of 4 sharing 2 twin rooms |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| First Choice |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
This holiday was booked 3-4 weeks in advance and at the price paid I think we got a real bargain.
HOTEL
We stayed at the Hotel Princessa Parc which is one of the higher 4* ranking hotels in Andorra. The Hotel has lots of extra facilities such as a bowling alley but does charge extra for the use of them including the Wellness centre which is like a health centre offering all sorts of treatments and massages for the bruised boarder or skier.
The rooms were fine, great power showers and a separate bath. Only thing missing was a kettle. I could have killed for a cup of tea when back off the slopes but no facilities are provided in the room for refreshments other than a minibar. We had a nightmare trying to settle the bill for use of the minibar as the cleaner had totalled up what we had drunk and then added that to the bill we ourselves bought down on the morning we had to check out. It took ages to sort out.
The buffet set-up in the hotel meant that sometimes the meals always felt similar but I found that the fact none of the food was labelled made it difficult to know quite what you were eating. The food was nothing to write home about but nevertheless I never felt it was gonna make me ill in anyway which was good.
RESORT
Overall the resort is well laid out with the bars all aligning the main street and surrounding the main gondola up onto the mountain. The lift pass system used in Arinsal is on a chip card system so the lift pass always stays in your left hand pocket so on the way through the turnstiles you rubbed your leg around a sensor until it let you through. The lifts work very well and are quite efficient in the resort.
The lift pass known as the Vallnord lift pass enables the use of the Pal resort linked to Arinsal by a Cable Car and to the less well known resort called Arcalis. Unfortunately we did not have time to go and explore Arcalis as to reach it requires a 20 minute bus ride but by all accounts there are some very nice runs to be had on the highest resort in Andorra.
APRES-SKI
After coming down on the gondola from a days boarding, you are descended on by reps for all the pubs and bars and offered all sorts of freebies. Quo Vadis was our usual first port of call after coming down as they were giving away free 1/2 pints of lager whilst the other bars were all trying to tempt you in other ways with a free toastie when u buy a drink etc.. All the bars were good and worth a visit.
At the Princessa Parc I would thoroughly reccommend seeing the live band on in Bogarts Bar called Noise 'R' Us. They sound cheesy and look like a hillbilly western band but boy can those boys play, their lead guitarist was awesome. If anyone fancies themselves as a vocalist or can play any instruments then the band are willing to allow guest appearances!! Two of our group got pointed out and asked to get up and sing..it was class. The band were on from Monday to Thursday from 9.30 till about 1am.
For anyone fancying something different or more relaxing then the other 2 main bars in the hotel had a piano player doing requests and a small vocal band in the Diana Parc Louvre bar
I thouroughly enjoyed the Monday night bar crawl through the resort which was organised by the reps and would reccommend nobody misses that night. |
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| Strengths |
- Booking late meant we got a bargain price for flights accomodation and transfers.
- Good Apres-ski and entertainment to be had if you go looking for it.
- Friendly people, relaxed atmosphere - good times
- Efficient ski lifts keep queing to a minimum
- large wide runs in Arinsal, ideal for carving out your turns
- Spectacular views from Pal and nice treelined runs.
- A board park with good jumps but no half pipe.
- plenty of schools and instructors for beginners
- Measures of Spirits are not measured. Order a vodka and coke and you get more like a quadrouple vodka and coke, you have been warned.. bring on the good times!!!! |
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| Hot Spots |
- The Surf Bar (near the gondola) after about 11pm
- Bogarts Bar in the Princessa Parc Hotel after 9.30pm Monday to Thursday.
- Quo Vadis immediately after coming off the mountain (grab a free drink token from the boys at the bottom of the ramp near the gondola). |
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| Weaknesses |
- Food in the hotel.
- Runs in Arinsal are limited and not that testing. Plenty of opportunity for beginners to hone their skills and improve. I know I certainly did!!! |
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| 5 of 5 24/03/2005 @ 15:30:03 |
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| Price Paid |
| £550 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
I really don't know where to start with this review, I guess the most important thing to get across is I've just come back from Arinsal in Andorra and it was EXCELLENT!!! Snowboarding is so addictive, I can't wait to get on a board again.
We stayed at the hotel Solana, great location, v.nice people, v.good cleaners, nice comfy seats in the bar BUT the food is disgusting! Once the meat was very questionable.
The slopes are so great, had some very good runs. Obv was my first time so mainly fell down the slopes but still got some turns in there. Me and my friend was so worried about those damm ski lifts BUT we conquered them on our last day. There's someone that stands at the top ready to push a button encase something bad goes, everytime we were about to jump sorry I mean fall off we prayed they would push the button, instead they stood and laughed :)
We were on the slopes from 9:30am till 5 and I still feel like I was on there more.
The bars out there are cool, I do like a good atmoshphere and good music in a bar. The surf bar really gets going around 11pm and the El Coi is an excllent bar all round, music, bar staff, decor gets 10/10 (plus they get an extra point due to they do free taostie between 3-6)
I couldnt tell you if it's expensive out there or not but put it this way I took £500 and came back with £200. I was out everynight, drunk and ate alot during the day. I could go on forever but I think I'll leave it there......my advice if you wanna learn boarding then go to Arinsal, they have the best teachers in Europe (FACT) |
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| Strengths |
The teachers
The Bars
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| Hot Spots |
El Coi
The Surf bar |
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| Weaknesses |
| FOOD |
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| 5 of 5 30/05/2003 @ 14:47:30 |
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| Price Paid |
| Too much, about £500, got done I feel |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Neilson and Holiday Hypermarket |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
The best holiday i've had. A long drive from the airport to Hotel Solana, where we were given what can only be described as a box of a room. We complained & the manager was very helpful & gave us a room at the sister hotel just down the hill which was 10 times better. The snowboard instructors were all great and really helpful. The slopes were great when you'd learnt the basics, theres plenty of room to weave in out of people. At the beginning of the week it looks like the whole world is gonna be on the slopes but when you get on the slopes and get your first day out the way, it doesnt seem like theres a quater of the people you saw the first day.Goggles are needed by the way! I tried bombing it down a powder slope without and bailed bigtime and couldnt see for about 10mins. Tip = dont use your camcorder when snowboarding down the slope. I took a skier out bigtime and came off worse, made a great you've been framed clip though. Nightlife is crackin too, very large measure given! El Cau is probably the best bar in my opinion, and try and get on the bar crawls if you can, drinking games, prizes, free booze etc!
Get a locker at the beginning of the week. Get goggles. Get sunglasses. Wear suncream (i didnt cos I thought id be cool, i was mistaken!) Get wristguards if you're a beginner. I didnt want them at first cos I thought theyd be a bit poofty but after your first day when your hands are hanging off & your arse is numb you'll be wanting some! |
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| Strengths |
| Great weather. Great slopes. Great nightlife. Great instructors. Great holiday! go! |
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| Weaknesses |
The food isnt anything special.
Loads of french wizzkids put you to shame on the slopes. |
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 4 of 5 13/03/2003 @ 13:22:32 |
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| Price Paid |
| Around #400, inc food/drink etc |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Put together with friends |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
I went to Arinsal from the 4th to the 10th of March. It was very warm, the thermometer in one of the piste cafes said 22 degrees! Not sure if it was correct, but there were plenty of people boarding in t-shirts. The snow was pretty good on the whole, although some of the steeper runs were quite icy. The main blue run that ends at the top of the gondola had no ice at all and was well groomed at night. It did get choppy at the bottom towards the afternoon, but this was great for popping ollies off the bumps. The runs weren't too busy either, apart from the areas where people were having lessons.
The chairlifts were mostly the older type that don't slow down at the top and bottom. There is one of these on the main slope, and it takes ages to get all the way up, a more modern lift would make things much more efficient.
It's possible to take a cable car down the other side of the mountain to Seturia and Pal, which have some great off-piste tree runs, which were very enjoyable and challenging. Unfortunately there was no fresh powder, which would have made these runs truly awesome. It's well worth exploring the mountain, most of the better runs are in these sectors.
There are apparently two black runs in the resort, but I couldn't find either. Perhaps they were unmarked off-piste? In general, the runs were quite easy, so an advanced rider looking for a challenge would probably get bored quickly.
I visited the board park on the last day, and tried out the jumps. This was my first time doing anything bigger than bumps in the snow, and I got the hang of it very quickly. The jumps are great for learning on, because the landings are nice and soft, no nasty ice! This gave me the confidence to try them. There are two 5 - 6 foot high jumps at the top and bottom, and a larger (9ft?) half way down. While I was there, a 20ft monster was also built. There's a half-pipe and boardercross course, but no rails. The poma lift did get quite busy, lots of random people who weren't using the park went up it for some reason.
A word of warning though, we had a bad experience with the hotel. We stayed in the Hostal Poblado, one of the budget places. The room was adequate and the general staff (all seasonaires) very friendly and helpful. However, the management/owners threw us out on the last night despite the fact that we'd booked in advance, because they'd booked other people in for the next week. They only bothered to tell me when I got in off the piste, and I had to grab a shower and pack all my things straight away. To make matters worse, my two friends were in Soldeu for the day and not due back for a few hours, so I had to hurriedly pack their stuff too. Very rude and thoroughly unprofessional, I would not recommend the place to anyone. If you have a hire car, there are some much nicer hotels in Andorra la Vella, for the same budget price.
Food/drink prices were very good for a resort. A decent meal can be had for around 7 or 8 euros, and a pint of beer was around 3 euros. The supermarkets were very cheap too, so probably a good place for self-catering. The main town, Andorra la Vella, is around 20 minutes drive from Arinsal. It's packed with shops, selling all kinds of stuff from flick knives to digital camcorders, all tax free! It makes you realise how much tax we pay on spirits in particular, a litre of JD was around half the UK price, and that was one of the most expensive drinks there.
Overall I had a great time, slightly marred by the hotel incident. Well worth going! |
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| Strengths |
| Some good runs with nice scenery, good board park, cheap food/drink. |
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| Weaknesses |
| The treatment we received at the hotel. |
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