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  4 of 5 29/03/2004 @ 22:21 |
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| Revision #2 (Last edited: 29/03/2004 @ 22:25) |
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| Price Paid |
| £180 Hotel/Flight/Transfer + £120 Lift Pass |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Neilson (Co-Op Direct) |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
I went to Arabba as it was dirt cheap for a last minute holiday, but the lift passes soon made up for that at 168 euro's for 6 days. I stopped at the Baita Antlia which is a fantastic self catering hotel. Situated at the top of the town you can board down to the lifts but be warned the walk back up after a day on the slopes is a killer !!!!!
The snow while I was there was fantastic, but it was in most places this year, and it was never ice, each night got at least a dusting of snow. Once out of the town of Arabba there are a massive variation of long and winding slopes so you will never get bored. There is loads of off piste but be careful as some is close to edges :o( It is also part of the Sella Ronda circuit which can be done in both directions and takes the best part of a day. It is possible to get lost with the number of slopes and be warned a Taxi back can cost as much as your holiday as some people found, so plan carefully. At times he runs seem a little bit manufactured and lack that real cuting edge, but then it does offerloads of options which would keep you happy for a month.
You will notice when there that the majority of people are skiers at a ratio of about 100:1.
The town itself is busy in the day and dead at night. Nightlife is none existant but there are a couple of chill out bars which are friendly. Food was OK but I was disappointed when compared to other areas in Italy.
All in all Arabba is worth a visit but maybe not a venue I would return to for a while but if you get a cheap offer, especially at the Baita Antlia then it is well worth spending a week there. |
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| Strengths |
Loads of Variation.
Good Snow.
Good Chair Lifts (Generally) |
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| Weaknesses |
Busy with big queues.
Bad for beginners.
Expensive Passes.
No Nightlife.
Nearly all skiers.
Long button lifts !!!! |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Macagnaga - Italy, Cortina - Italy, Lentz - Austria |
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| 4 of 5 03/02/2004 @ 12:08 |
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| Price Paid |
| £320 - flight/accom/pass |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Nielson |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
After organising our last two boarding trips to Tignes and Mayrhoffen, I let my brother deal with this one. He arrived home and mentioned Arabba. Having never heard of it I wandered where the hell it was! After checking the brochures and some p*ss poor webcams I agreed to go as it did actually look pretty sweet, and I’d never really been to Italy before.
The town is small but up & coming. We stayed in the Baita Antlia which itself is very new and the room seemed unused – very nice indeed. There’s a couple of good bars (Stube and la Triena) and a couple of bad ones, lots of reasonably priced eateries – Bar Table a particular fave. There’s also an outdoor ice rink but not much else than this. (Head to Corvara for a good night out)
Arabba is situated on the Sellaronda circuit which is a huge circular pisted run which can be tackled both clockwise & anticlockwise (takes around 4 hours for a full circuit). It also connects to many other resorts and would be absolutely impossible to board in a week let alone two. The scenery is breath taking and beats anything in the alps that I’ve seen. There is a board park and boarder-cross run which are quite a lot of fun – though not as extensive as the one in Tignes. There is a lot of off-piste to be had in the area, we hired a guide and had a great day in the fresh stuff.
The lift passes are a little irritating and require posting in EVERY lift you get on. Though they are in the process of changing to electronic passes, these should be in place for 2005. There is also going to be extensive lift refurbishment which will see a single link replace the mammoth 3x gondola/1x elevator link to the top of the Marmolada glacier.
I got stuck on a few patches around the Dolomites where I had to skate but on the whole it’s quite boarder friendly – though there aren’t many boarders there – I’d say 1 in 200 are boarders! No Green runs and a top heavy mix of red ‘n blues and a few blacks makes this a resort not for beginners. Plenty runs will have you on yer toes (or heels!!).
We were very lucky to get good weather as I understand that snow can be unreliable in the dolomites – they do have around 75% snowmaking facilities though I’d make Arabba a resort that you book last minute knowing there is good snow. Saying that, we had 3 nights of snow which made for absolutely superb conditions all week.
Also of note, the resort of Cortina is reacheable but I recommend getting transport there and back in order to get a full day in as this is without doubt the nicest place I’ve boarded. You’ll also see the very mountain where the opening scene of Cliffhanger was filmed and get to go to the top of the Tofana lift as seen in James Bond – For your eyes only.
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| Strengths |
Scenery is awesome,
Excellent variety of terrain (off piste/tree runs/wide open bowls etc),
Very reasonable food and drink prices
Few schools - so no pesky ski-snakes !!!
Not too crowded |
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| Weaknesses |
Snow record not the most impressive,
Lift system up until 2005 a little out dated,
Town needs a few more hotels and another great bar/club |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Mayrhoffen, Zillertal valley, Tignes, Val D'isere, Cortina |
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