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Meribel (France)
by claireelizabeth
Oh Merbiel! What a fabulous ski resort! We have been to this resort on two holidays and also we have done a 6 month ski season out there, so it feels like a second home when we revisit! This resort is a really great family resort. It has something for everyone, from the old to the young and the skiers to the non skiers! Quite often ... in a group there are one or two people who dont want to ski, this is the resort for you. Meribel is located in the middle of the three vallees, in France, therefore it is between the ever popular with the celebrities, Courchevel and the purpose built Val thorens. Therefore all the non-skiers can get a lift pass and walk into Courchevel to celeb watch and shop and also shop, eat and spa in Meribel itself the prettiest of the three. Meribels skiing is fantastic, there are a variety of ski schools. The resort isnt very spread out so most chalets/hotels are close to the lifts. There are plenty nursery slopes, plenty of narly off-piste and harder black and red runs and great apres ski at the rond-point or 'ronnie' as its known! Stay with Snowline in Chalet Isba a great 10 bed chalet which is one of the closest chalets to the lifts and to town and Snowline are a fanastic company, who pick you up from the slopes each day and drop off, the accommodation has cinema and hot tub looking down valley and sauna, oh is fantastic!
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Morzine in general (France)
by claireelizabeth
We visited Morzine in about 2006, with family. We have all done ski seasons in other French Ski resorts before, including Meribel, which is part of the three vallees and is a fantastic resort, so therefore our expectations were rather high! We had friends who had done seasons there and loved it, so off we went. We stayed with a very ... good ski company called 'Snowline VIP' who have the best service, bus to the chalet door, bags to your rooms, in chalet ski/boot fitting service etc. Sadly the week we visited Morzine there wasnt much snow, therefore there were a limited number of runs open. The slopes were picturesque and there is a good variety of runs for begginers through to hardened black run/off piste loonies! The resort is pretty has alot of savoyard charm, but is quite small, there are however a good enough number of restaurants and bars to amuse you for a week and plenty of nice shops for souveniers etc
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Arinsal (Andorra)
by daog
Where?
Unless you're reading this because you're thinking of booking a holiday there, you'll probably be wondering where Andorra even is- I was before I went. No it's not in Eastern Europe; it's on the France/Spain border in the Pyrenees Mountains. It's a small country with a small country, and its economy almost entirely centres on ... the ski industry.
Arinsal is in the north west of the country approx three miles from the Spanish border. It is located in the Vallnord region along with Pal and Arcalis, one of which is reachable via gondola and the other via a short bus ride.
Boarding in Arinsal
I've visited Arinsal twice now, once in January 2008 and again in march 2009, both times as a snowboarder. Both times I have flown from Manchester airport to Toulouse. The flight itself is fine, it's only a couple of hours down and you leave fairly early on Sunday morning, meaning you don't arrive too late in the afternoon/early evening.
The ride from Toulouse to Arinsal however is heavy going. Its roughly four hours which after being up since the early morning can be a hard trek, however it does afford you chance to take a nap. I'd recommend trying to sleep in the first half of the journey (you will always stop at the same truck stop cafe place about half way). The first bit if through France and is mainly flat farmland and Citroën after Citroën. The second part is up through the mountains and unless you're likely to be scared by the heights, take in the amazing views.
Arinsal is always the final drop off but you should arrive by late afternoon. If you can check in quickly, this give you time to get to the rental shops before closing and collect your gear- saving one hell of a headache on Monday. Plus you can play about on your board on the bottom of the slopes.
Prior to my first trip I had never boarded before and so on the first day we had a 2 hour lesson with a chap called Julio. Despite not speaking the best English, he was a fantastic teacher and got all three of us doing slow turns by the end of the lesson. The ski school in Arinsal is supposedly one of the best in Europe and you can see why, the instructors really seem to know what they're doing and take care of their groups.
Although not the biggest resort by far, Arinsal does offer a number of good runs of all colours and its nursery slope feature an excellent magic carpet lift for the beginners. It would take too long to go through every run so I wont, but I will say, if you're lucky enough to be there when it's open try the Les Merrandes blue run. It wasn't open the first year but this winding run takes you back down through the trees through a series of S bends to a hotel down in the village where you get a dedicated chair back up. It really is far more fun than most other runs, especially after fresh powder as you can cut the corners and go 'off piste' a bit.
Pal and Arcalis
From the very top of Arinsal you can take a gondola over to its sister village, Pal. This is a much more spread out resort than Arinsal but again offers the same mixture of runs with some terrific blues and blacks. Be warned though, the gondola over is a scary one. It's far higher than any other I've been on and leaves you with shear drop views down to the valley a few hundred feet below.
Arcalis, the third Vallnord resort, is reached by a short bus ride from the bottom of the main Arinsal gondola. Because this resort doesn't have any hotels it is far quieter than the other two, especially during the week. The resort feels larger than the previous two due its long runs and equally long chairlifts. Arcalis is definitely worth a trip whilst staying in Andorra, if anything just to give you a chance at some fresh runs.
Andorra La Vella
Andorra's capital and largest city/town, La Vella is also worth a trip if you can break from the slopes for an afternoon. During my second trip the slopes closed due to the weather and so we took a 30 minute bus ride to the capital for some shopping. In the past Andorra has been a tax free country, I'm not sure whether that is still the case but there are bargains to be had in La Vella. It's much like a northern Spanish city and the river running through the centre sets it perfectly.
Hotels and bars
Ok, so the hotels. I've stayed in a different one each time, firstly the Saint Andrew and then the Poblado Apartments. The Saint Andrew is further up the main street from the gondola and can be a bit of an annoying walk with your kit after a full day boarding, but it offers great views down over the valley so it's worth it. We stayed half board and the food was great. Each night we were offered a selection of dishes and each was far better than the bargain deal we paid for the trip suggested. The rooms were a nice size and easily slept the six of us, they were cleaned regularly and the cooking facilities were more than enough- considering we were all inclusive.
The Poblado couldn't be any closer to the gondola. Literally 2 hundred yards from the bottom of the main gondola and with views of the cars heading up, the Poblado is a pleasant little apartment block based above the Quo Vadis bar. Our room had one bedroom, a fairly large living area with full kitchen and a bathroom with room to swing a cat.
Based under the Poblado is the Quo Vadis bar. Owned by the same people who run the hotel, guests get special offers for staying in the apartments and there aren't many better bars in the village. The Quo is always fairly busy, especially at apres time when people pile in for the drinks deals. The pub also has a good selection of sky sports footy games on throughout the week.
Just across from the main gondola entrance is a small paved lane on which you will find Cisco's, my personal favourite bar in Arinsal. Behind a fairly unassuming door, up a small staircase, Cisco's is built into the rocks of the mountain and feels like an old pirate hangout. The bar has a good selection of beers and spirits as well as a big screen, fusball table and a great hammer and nail game popular in ski resorts. The bar never gets overly busy and makes for a nice place to hang out and just chill after a hard day boarding. Its also worth noting that upstairs in Cisco's is a quality little tex mex restaurant that is well worth a visit for anyone not staying all inclusive.
Costs
Although the prices we paid are completely contextual, I feel I should note that Arinsal, Andorra one the whole, is one of the best value resorts you could visit. My first trip was an absolute steal at £150 for a half board week including flights and transfer and my second £175(ish) for a self-catering apartment.
Lift passes and gear rental is also very reasonable. Passes for the 09/10 season are going for just EUR 145 high season and 118 low.
Summary
As you can perhaps tell from my review, I would certainly recommend Arinsal and Andorra to anyone. Whilst the village might be a little quieter than the more popular French or Austrian resorts, in terms of up an coming destinations, it makes a much more attractive proposition than Bulgaria and eastern Europe hands down.
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