Just returned from a weeks stay at the Princesa Parc, Arinsal and just wanted to let everyone know we had a great holiday! Arinsal is such a quaint and friendly village and very unpretentious, unlike some other other ski resorts we have visited.
The hotel was nice, great facilities, good location, food was edible but a bit bland and not up to usual 4* standard.
Arinsal ski area is mostly targeted at beginners, however has some moderately challenging runs which will keep intermediates occupied for a day or two, however the Vallnord lift pass also covers the areas of Pal and Arcalis which are far more varied and much quieter than Arinsal. You can reach Pal via the tele-cabin that runs from the top of Arinsal mountain directly to Pal. We took an excursion to Arcalis as it is about a 30 minute drive from Arinsal, but it was well worth it, great variety of runs, some good challenging reds, was such a pleasure to ski, there are no hotels in Arcalis and no village anywhere near, it was sooooo quiet and seemed like mostly just locals skiing.
The only downside of the skiing was the quality of the snow, it was very slushy (particularly in Arinsal) due to the temperatures being so high, however on the plus side, we experienced sunshine and blue skies all week and came home with a great tan!!! Although according to the weather forecast on this site there is snow due in Arinsal next week, so if you are heading out soon you may be lucky
We took a trip to Caldea thermal spa in Andorra La Vella which was fab.
We also did the Arinsal bar crawl and the 70's night. Arinsal has some great bars (Cisco's was a personal fave with a fab mexican restaurant upstairs), 70's night was a good laugh, if you like cheesy nights out you will love it, there were lots of people who had been to Arinsal before who brought their own 70's outfits with them, so pack some flares, it seemed like everyone from the whole village was there, so I expect the rest of Arinsal is pretty dead on a Friday night.
All in all, Arinsal is a lovely little village with plenty to keep you occupied on and off the slopes, would definately recommend a holiday there.
Maybe we'll see you in Arinsal some time in the future!!
The hotel was nice, great facilities, good location, food was edible but a bit bland and not up to usual 4* standard.
Arinsal ski area is mostly targeted at beginners, however has some moderately challenging runs which will keep intermediates occupied for a day or two, however the Vallnord lift pass also covers the areas of Pal and Arcalis which are far more varied and much quieter than Arinsal. You can reach Pal via the tele-cabin that runs from the top of Arinsal mountain directly to Pal. We took an excursion to Arcalis as it is about a 30 minute drive from Arinsal, but it was well worth it, great variety of runs, some good challenging reds, was such a pleasure to ski, there are no hotels in Arcalis and no village anywhere near, it was sooooo quiet and seemed like mostly just locals skiing.
The only downside of the skiing was the quality of the snow, it was very slushy (particularly in Arinsal) due to the temperatures being so high, however on the plus side, we experienced sunshine and blue skies all week and came home with a great tan!!! Although according to the weather forecast on this site there is snow due in Arinsal next week, so if you are heading out soon you may be lucky
We took a trip to Caldea thermal spa in Andorra La Vella which was fab.
We also did the Arinsal bar crawl and the 70's night. Arinsal has some great bars (Cisco's was a personal fave with a fab mexican restaurant upstairs), 70's night was a good laugh, if you like cheesy nights out you will love it, there were lots of people who had been to Arinsal before who brought their own 70's outfits with them, so pack some flares, it seemed like everyone from the whole village was there, so I expect the rest of Arinsal is pretty dead on a Friday night.
All in all, Arinsal is a lovely little village with plenty to keep you occupied on and off the slopes, would definately recommend a holiday there.
Maybe we'll see you in Arinsal some time in the future!!
(You know who you are)
