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  4 of 5, "Cauterets, quite a surprise" 27/01/2011 @ 20:29 |
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| Revision #2 (Last edited: 27/01/2011 @ 20:51) |
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| Price Paid |
| £200 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Independently thorugh Owners Direct and drove there. |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Cautertets is part of a Group of resorts known as "La Nouvelle Des Chaine Des Pyrenees" or NPY for short. It is served by Pau and Lourdes Airports. We decided to drive there as we wanted to visit neighbouring resorts however trasnfers from Pau cost 170 euros for up to 4 people.
It is located just South of Lourdes – a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of alleged miraculous healings. (A possible visit on a rest day perhaps)
The town itself was surprising large and has quite a nice “old town” feel about it with the many narrow backstreets and alleys which held many bars and restaurants.
The town is also known for its many thermal springs and the very impressive “main” thermal baths, Thermes Cesar, which were opened in 1843 still offer treatments today.
This is not a Ski in/Out resort and so the main Gondola is accessed from within the town within easy walking distance from many of the Hotels and apartments. The Cirque du Lys Ski area (Peak @ 2415m) is located at the top of this Gondola and provides access to around 25 slopes served by as many modern lift systems. There is also another linked Ski Area – Pont d'Espagne (Peak @ 1730m) which has another 10 runs.
There are runs to suit most abilities with main focus being on nice Cruisy Blues to Fast and technical reds with a couple of blacks thrown in for good measure.
The Cirque du Lys Ski area was very well managed with electronic piste marker boards and nicely marked out runs including a very large park area. The Pistes were maintained meticulously which made for a fairly good snow quality (even with the lack of any recent snow). It also had many off piste options although these were accessed by two red runs which were closed due to unstable snow.
The Snowpark has a good range of small to large kickers together with wall rides, boxes and other transition obstacles.
There is a children’s snow club area with the usual “Disney” theme with English speaking instructor’s. This also included a well equipped creche. This Resort would be good for families either just starting out or for established Snowboarders and Skiiers who now have children who are venturing into snow sports.
The nightlife was typically French with nothing really to shout about however, there was live music in clubs, bars and restuarants.
In summary this resort provides a nice atmosphere in a typical old style French town with good Snowboarding and skiing suitable for Beginners to Good Intermediates. Although slightly more family focused, the resort still had an element of a party atmosphere with the younger boarders and skiiers. |
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| Strengths |
Very well maintained pistes.
Good resort managment and infrastructure.
Good Snow Parks
Lots of Cruisy Blue and Red Runs
Nice town and Thermal Baths to chill out in after a hard day on the pistes. |
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| Hot Spots |
The Snow Parks
The various techincally challenging reds
The Gentiane Blue run |
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| Weaknesses |
| Could probably do with some more bars and restuarants on the hill |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Les Gets, France but with more Charm. |
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