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  4 of 5, "Surprised and really impressed - 31.1.10 - 7.2.10" 12/02/2010 @ 16:21:15 |
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| Price Paid |
| £260 B&B |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Teletxt (but ultimately Inghams) |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Decided to book Andorra as needed to keep the costs down as cheap as possible. My mate and I had reservations about Andorra as I'd read the conditions often get icy and him for this reason aswell but also he prefers the traditional resorts like Austria.
We were both suprised and impressed on how good Andorra is. As the last poster put when the snow is good its a great resort.
The pistes were well groomed, the lifts very good and bar the "Pas Rush Hour" (as we called it), when everyone is catching the last lifts back from Grau Roig, the queues are quiet too. We liked the way that you could find powder and tree runs just off the main pistes so you didn't have to trek or go really out the way to feel in "backcountry". Its also a good day out when boarding over to Soldeu/El Tarter.
Ok, the resort is not a chocolate box village but I'm not bothered about that. A hotel is for sleeping and a bar for drinking not debating its architecture (Tignes was voted the best snowboarding resort in the world and thats a bit of an eyesore really). I guess the one (for me) thing I disliked the most was there is no smoking ban there so bars and restaurants can get pretty smokey. Paddys Irish Bar is the only non-smoking bar so we spent a fair time in there..great place.
Its got a rep as "Ibiza/Essex on ice" and there are lots of young people here but still a lot of French and Spanish and the restaurants do good food. I recommend La Borda (at the bottom left of the main lifts in Pas) for A: Happy Hour (4 pints and 2 bowls of chips for 6.50 Euros !) and B: for an evening meal...great pizzas, steaks and fondue.
The transfer from Toulouse wasn't as bad as we were expecting. Ok, its a good 3+ hours but its either smooth motorway or fantastic Mtn scenery to look at.
Overall we both think that we'd definitely go back. Maybe next time I would possibly consider staying in Soldeu. Its not as big as Pas but being in the centre of the Granvalira resort its easier to get to the outer sides then having to start at one side (in Pas) and work your way across to get to the other sectors.
Somebody put in a post below that a weakness was "too many people going slow at the end of the day". I sort of agree with this and I would say that this could be one of the few little things wrong with Pas. We were all beginners once so we shouldn't moan at people but there is no Green/Blue for beginners from the top of the Mtn back to resort so if your lesson takes you over then you have to come back down the Red so maybe this is something they should consider for future ??
Don't be put off by lack of black runs and it no being a pretty Swiss Alpine village....this really is a great place to come. |
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| Strengths |
A lot cheaper than Alpine resorts (max 4 Euros for a 1litre glass of beer for example)
Personally I thought the pistes were great
Fun runs to be found in the trees in Grau Roig and down to Soldeu
Everyone friendly |
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| Hot Spots |
La Borda - for happy hour and evening meal
Paddys Bar - if you're a non smoker
Pique Negre - good shop |
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| Weaknesses |
| As mentioned on other posts a bit of dog crap round the edge of the lifts area |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
Tignes
Camp Fortune (Ontario Canada)
Banff / LL |
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| 4 of 5, "when its good, it's really good" 04/02/2010 @ 13:34:21 |
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| 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Price Paid |
| 300pp |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams I think |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
If you get a good price and good snow, this resort is a winner. I visited March '09 when the snow was amazing.
5 people of varying skill went, and all had a great time. Slopes weren't too busy.
Varied piste runs (though not as much for experts). |
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| Strengths |
Fast lifts and few queues
Large ski area for the price
Very very cheap (particularly the booze) |
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| Hot Spots |
Natural half-pipe blue run on the other side of Pas gondola.
The 'Underground' bar |
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| Weaknesses |
Expensive lift pass
Accom can be very basic (but they do have 4 and 5* options) |
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| Reviews: 14 |
| North Yorkshire |
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| 4 of 5 16/02/2004 @ 15:06:38 |
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| 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Revision #1 (Last edited: 16/02/2004 @ 17:18:38) |
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| Price Paid |
| £175 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Airtours |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Guess this review's going to be of most interest to newbies - save for a few spins at Castleford I sure was when I went. But I'm a quick learner and got round a lot of the area... First up, conditions - v v sunny. Although the place is covered in snow cannons, lack of decent cover made it at times a little on the icy side. OK for the experienced, a nightmare for a learner trying to go down a red early in the day!
Slopes - loads of em - around 90km available with the right pass. Nice blues and reds for the inexperienced, maybe lacking a bit for more experienced riders. It's basically three resorts linked together so there's lots to explore.
The town... Essex on ice is probably a fair description, but it's such fantastic value for money you'll forgive it most things, especially if you're apres-ski intersets include cigs, booze, clothes or kit - the other role of Pas is to provide a tax-free shopping mecca to the neighbouring French, a role it clearly takes v v seriously, tho how many hi-fi shops survive in one place is beyond me.
The nightlife...Wild! Bar prices are pretty commaparable with the UK, tho beer comes in half litre glasses, happy hours go on for ever and free shots are always the order of the day. Plush is not a word you'll use to describe any of it. However, KYU (Underground) is a stunning example of how a sparse venue can become one of the best party places I've ever visited through brilliant staff, a genius dj (anyone for "The A Team" theme?), free shots at every opportunity and a totally up for it crowd.
The reps... All seem to work in Ibiza over summer - 'nuff said??!
If you're a posh home counties familly looking for style and sophisitication you ain't gonna like it... But if you love the snow, know how to party and don't have your head up your ass then get yer bags packed and get on over! |
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| Strengths |
Big area with lots of runs
Loads of instructors available
Dirt cheap - don't buy anything before you arrive (unless you're a Burton devotee - there ain't much of it)
Lots of snow cannons
Great english scene (with added bemused but ammused spaniards and froggies)
Incredibly friendly
No attitude |
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| Weaknesses |
Got V icy at times (but ain't that god's fault?)
Too many learners snaking down the mountains, especially at the end of the day as groups return from neighbouring valleys
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 3 of 5 14/01/2004 @ 22:08:38 |
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| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: |
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| Price Paid |
| £341 HB |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
| Hmmm... what can I say. Pas is not by any stretch of the imagination the prettiest resort in the world!! In fact, if I were truthful, it's downright hideous!! However, that's not to say it's without merit. The boarding area (especially now that it's linked with Soldeu) is pretty good and snow cover is generally reliable. Hotels range from decent to horrible. This is not a place for families. If you're after a holiday as a group of young people looking to board all day and booze all night for not too much money this is the place for you. Free shots left, right and centre!!! Be warned, it does get fairly crowded and the lift queues at the base of the mountain can at times get enormous!! Lastly, I'm not sure what why but there seemed to be dogs everywhere!?! This means dog poo in the snow at the base of the mountain. If you're gonna catch an edge and stack it, don't do it at the bottom!!! |
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| Strengths |
Good boarding terrain
Good snow cover with fairly extensive snowmaking
Fairly cheap, especially if you want to bring back fags and spirits!! |
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| Weaknesses |
It's hideous to look at!!
Dog poo everywhere!?! |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Yllas, Finland; Lake Louise & Sunshine Village, Canada |
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| Reviews: 15 |
| UK - Scotland |
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| 4 of 5 21/11/2003 @ 16:30:43 |
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| Revision #1 (Last edited: 03/03/2004 @ 11:56:04) |
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| Price Paid |
| £300?? |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Inghams? |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
I have been to Pas three times in total. Twice for boarding and once as part of a summer trip round Europe, and I'm a big fan of the place.
It's where I first learnt to board, and for beginners, I would highly recomend it; for me, the tuition was good, the snow was good, the prices were cheap, and it was a brilliant week.
I probably wouldn't want to go back now was I think I would get bored with the limited terrain, but then again I'm sure if you knew where to go, you could find some decent powder in the backcountry. Also, I believe they have finally linked Pas with one of the other areas of Andorra (after years of talking about it), so the total skiable area maybe much bigger now than when I first went (1997 and 1998).
The slopes are generally wide and not super steep, what I refer to as "motorway runs". There are some blacks, and a few tree runs in Grau Roig. An intermediate can cover the terrain in Pas/Grau in a few days, and most likely get a little bored within a week. When I went the so called fun park was nothing but an icey very poorly maintained small pipe, and a couple of humps.. but this is likely to be better these days. You have to make your own fun, find interesting jumps and drops to keep yourself entertained.
The bars and clubs are plentiful, cheap, but cheesy, then again most bars in ski resorts are cheesy, but not normally cheap, so Pas wins in that respect. Many bars give you a free shot just for walking though the door, and we got talking with some waiters who are serving us, and they took us out on the town and paid for our drinks, so I'd have to say the locals are friendly.
Beware with some of the accomodation, we stayed in the Sandi V appartments, which were fine, but the second time we stayed in some appartments (the name escapes me now) which were right above a club that started at about 3am and the noise came straight through, which was annoying to say the least.
Overall, I'd recomend Pas for those on a tight budget, or those who are beginners or early intermediates. Saying that, with the new links to Soldeu?, the extra terrain could keep you entertained for well over a week.
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| Strengths |
Cheap booze, fags, electrical goods
Fun lively place
Excellent value, good for beginners/intermediates. |
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| Weaknesses |
Small limited terrain
The town isn't exactly eye candy, lacks "Alpine Charm"
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Whislter, Val Thorens, Innsbruck, Mt Hutt (NZ), Coronet Peak (NZ), Les Arcs, |
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