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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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| 4 of 5 25/02/2003 @ 21:02:12 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 5 of 5 |
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| Price Paid |
| £275 1 week HB |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Crystal |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Transfer from Toulouse airport is painful taking at least 4 hours, and you can't use the toilets on the coaches 'because of the altitude". Eh?
Pick a morning flight when possible, then you can get an early night as school starts at 10.00am and equipment hire can be manic on Monday morning before school starts - get there early.
Snowboard class was quite big, at least 15 in my group. Nursery slope was packed, we were up on the regular slopes within an hour of starting our first lesson to get away from the ski classes.
At the end of the day there are reps from the bars handing out free drink/food vouchers at the bottom of the Gondola.
Get to the bars around 4.30pm if you want a table, they get packed when the lifts close for the day, then empty out around 6.30pm.
Hire a ski/board locker at the gondola area early in the week (21 Euros I think), this saves you lugging board and boots up and down hills every day. They sell out later in the week so you need to get in early.
Check out the Rocky Mountain, its a bar at the top of the hill by the Hotel Cresta, next to the Mexican restaurant, it has pool, table football, air hockey and a DJ, the free bus runs up there from town and back down again each 20 minutes.
Good for young people, loads to do at night, all sorts of special events going on in the bars each night. Most places are a short walk from the gondola and bars, no need for taxis at night really.
If you think any of your equipment isn't quite right take it back and ask them to change it for you, its not a problem and its your money so you should be comfortable with your stuff.
Can't tell you how much the drinks were in the bars, I just kept handing over money and getting booze in return.
Be aware of the cigarette and alcohol limit from Andorra into France, you might get stopped at French customs. |
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| Strengths |
The gondola is right amongst the bars and accomodation in Arinsal, handy for pre-slope breakfast and a quick drink or two on the way home.
Very cheap booze and cigarettes in the supermarkets, there's also an English shop called Ev's Deli which sold pot noodle and all sorts of English groceries.
Lively bars in town full of English people dancing to cheesy party music.
Lift pass gets you on the gondola, all the charilifts, the cable car to the other runs at Pal and the lifts there (no photo needed). |
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| Weaknesses |
English people tend to stick to certain bars, more effort should be made to explore the other bars and clubs in the town.
"A Free Shot" means peach schnapps, 3.20 Euros a bottle in the shops, yuck.
Get a map of the area and check out where the accomodation is positioned, you might be quite an uphill walk to the gondola and the bars, or even a bus ride, especially if you are in Erts and La Massana.
They plug Andorra as tax free and dirt cheap, but the good shops are mainly in Andorra La Vella and the ones in town are expensive because you are a captive audience and they can charge what they like. The supermarkets are well cheap though.
Gondola gets packed around 9.45am, get there just before then if you need to be at school by 10.00am. The queue moves pretty quickly when you're in it. |
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 3 of 5 27/12/2002 @ 12:13:59 |
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| Price Paid |
| £400 for a week |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
| Nice resort but not many runs. Level is beginner to intermediate. Ski/Boarding schools speak good English but the class numbers can get very big in high season. |
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| Strengths |
| Good snow cover and easy for beginners. It is linked to the neighbouring resort Pal by cable car which allows for more varied runs. |
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| Weaknesses |
| No challenging runs. Limited. The nursery slopes are very packed at high season. |
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| Featured Websites |
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| More Mountain : Luxury Chalets in Morzine, France. |
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