| Reviews: 1 |
| Northamptonshire |
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  4 of 5, "Bottrop AlpineCentre" 23/05/2009 @ 18:31 |
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| 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Price Per Hour |
| 40 euros for all inclusive |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
I will start of by saying that those who visit Bottrop often make a full day of it. It is ridiculously cheap if you can afford to spend all day in the resort.
My friends and I arrived at approx midday Saturday and paid 40 euros for a full day's boarding, all you can eat buffet and all you can drink including alchohol. The price also included full equipment hire (either board or skis) however you could switch your equipment as much as you wanted. So you could try skiing for an hour and return to boarding, or switch a goofy board for a regular or even request a much shorter board etc etc.
The slope itself is as big as you can possibly get indoors - 640 metres, of which 75% is relatively steep with the top 25% reserved for beginners. The slope ends with a large sweeping left hand turn but other than that it is relatively straight. The bar/resteraunt is approximately 1/4 of the way down the slope so you can board down, head inside, grab a drink and a bite then strap in and continue on your way.
There is no real park obstacles however the centre are currently in the process of building one and several kids had shaped some of the excess snow at the base of the slope into a few mini-kickers. There is a very small slalom area and a selection of cones and markers which you can shape accordingly. There is also a nice flat at the bottom of the beginners slope which you can practise your ollies etc etc before moving onto the main slope and doing butters etc etc.
At the bottom boarders unstrap themselves completely and carry their board onto the escalator and walk off at the top of the slope. No skating whatsoever, which actually keeps things running smoothly.
Lastly the resort also has a (wicked!) toboggan run on the outside of the complex and a 'Go Ape' style jungle jim bolted onto the side as well.
Within the resort itself is 1 resteraunt, 1 inside bar, 1 outside bar and 1 nightclub which the locals refer to as 'apres ski' but it is really just a cheap club offering all you can drink alchohol for 40 euros on a weekend.
The prices come down accordingly during the week.
All in all Bottrop is excellent for practising technique and having a laugh with your mates but that is about all. We got our money's worth by boarding for 10 hours (+ 1 hour skiing), having 4 meals and as much cola as I could drink although most of my mates opted for the super strength german beer.
Great day out. |
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| Strengths |
Length of the slope
All you can eat food and drink
Interchangeable equipment
Board as long as you want from opening to closing |
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| Weaknesses |
Slope itself is very icy
Lots of newbie skiers doing HUGE plough turns
Lengthy escalator ride back to the top |
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