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  3 of 5, "I would go back." 29/03/2011 @ 16:03 |
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| Revision #2 (Last edited: 29/03/2011 @ 16:08) |
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| Price Paid |
| £300 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Crystal |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
I'm back from my week in Andorra and now back in work at my desk, GRIM TIMES.
Pas De La Casa is the part of Andorra we stayed, its not a pretty little village but what paid we couldn't of cared. Our hotel was called the Llac Negre and was owned by an Australian called Pat and he was a good guy as well sorted us out with beers at any time be it at 3am (Cheers Pat). The reviews we read before leaving the UK about Pas De La Casa said it was the "The Ibiza on ice", maybe we went at the wrong time, but that wasnt the case for us, after all the shops and slopes had closed it was basically a ghost town. It also lived up to its name "MANDORRA" the only females around were the ones trying to sell you something. So a lot of sausage around but like i said we may have gone at the wrong time of year. The 3 main bars and clubs in Pas were Paddy's Irish Bar, Milwaukee and Bilbord nightclub all of these had Happy Hours and Paddys even had a Crazy Hour so this helped saved the euros. If even on a tighter budget bottled alcohol like vodka or JD was buttons, a good size bottle of absolute vodka (So not paint stripper) was 8 euros, so drinking before we went out was a good idea.
Now to the boarding, the great thing about Andorra is where else can you ride a whole country! There are 6 areas to ride:
* Pas De La Case
* Grau Roig
* Soldeu
* El Tarter
* Canillo
* Encamp
Its 200 Euros for a 6day pass with access to all the areas.
The boarding was great, the runs were long and wide, it even snowed for two days and if your just getting into freestyle like myself, theres big and little parks scattered everywhere with loads of beginner features, as well as loads of natural kickers to hit on side the runs.
One good thing about the time of year we went, was that the slopes were dead! So lots of room to ride and hardly any waiting at the parks. The only issue i had about the mountain, the lifts were the slowest iv ever been on! You'd be on some for a good 25 minutes, which was a killer. Patience is a virtue is guess!
When riding from area to area its a real adventure and you never really have to do the same run twice, there always alternative route to take which i really enjoyed, like a true sense of freedom.
So if your strapped for cash next season get yourself to Andorra for a week. Snow, cheap riding and cheap beer, not much else to ask for! |
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| Strengths |
Most things really cheap
Good choice of runs
Good for learners |
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| Hot Spots |
Paddys Bar
BilBord
Milwaukee
Pas 83
KSB |
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| Weaknesses |
Dog Poop
No females |
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 4 of 5, "Surprised and really impressed - 31.1.10 - 7.2.10" 12/02/2010 @ 16:21 |
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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 |
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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: 15 |
| North Yorkshire |
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| 4 of 5 16/02/2004 @ 15:06 |
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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) |
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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 |
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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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