SKI TRIP IN ANDORRA: GRANDVALIRA RESORT

I spend every winter exploring new ski resorts and searching for the perfect one to return to. On this occasion, I travelled to Andorra for a 4 day-long snowy holiday. Learn all about my adventure on the Andorran slopes and what would have made the experience even better.

I got the call that I was going to Andorra two days before leaving, so I didn’t have much time to pack or to prepare. Despite the stress-packing, I kind of enjoyed the spontaneity of it all!

We drove to Barcelona airport to collect my friend, who had flown in from Manchester, then we made our way to our hotel. We were on the road for about 3.5 hours, plus 3 hours to get to the airport, and we arrived at the hotel pretty late at night. Although I was pretty exhausted, I caught a glimpse of the lounge area and it was really nice!

The next day I was able to explore every corner of the Piolets Centre Hotel, and oh my goodness! It was so amazing. It even had a jacuzzi, a sauna and an indoor pool! The service was outstanding too. Plus, it is so close to the slopes that you could sit by the fireplace in the lounge and watch people ski down the mountain.

When we set off on our first ski-day, I was surprised to find that the ski lift was even closer than I initially thought: literally a two minute walk! Four buildings to the left of the hotel, so very convenient, especially because I was carrying heavy skis!

We were lucky enough to have great weather during our stay. Sunny skies and no wind at all, so the snow was amazing. Not icy at all… on one side of the mountain! The sun shone on one side of the mountain (luckily the side with the best pistes) and the other side remained in the shade for most of the day. We stayed on the sunny side most of the time, because icy slopes are dangerous, especially if they’re steep and shady.

Over our 4 day trip, we tackled all of the red runs, most of the blue ones and a few of the black ones (I have intense vertigo, so sometimes I’d have to split up from my friends while they did a black run, and meet them at the bottom). Click here for the map of the Grandvalira ski resort.

I can confidently say that in general, the pistes were great. I enjoyed all of them except for the super steep ones (because of my vertigo), but I think that if I didn’t have vertigo, I would have loved them. My friend was super thrilled with them, then again she’s an adrenaline junkie and loves fast and steep runs. The blue runs were good as well, although I’d argue that some of them are a little too flat. Finally, the off-piste sections were also great. Actually, some of the best (if not the best) off-pistes I’ve been on.

The last element I will comment on is the food at different stops. For ski station food, it was actually quite nice! My favourite meal was a sandwich called the Club Sandwich: three levels of bread, filled with salad, ham, egg and cheese. I can still taste it now… Overall, my rating for the various meals is 6.5/10, because there weren’t many options to choose from, and because our on-the-go meals alone cost us (a party of three) 50 euros a day!

For those interested, there were a few vegetarian and vegan options, although I can't rate them because I didn't try them.

Overall, the slopes were so fun to ski down, and I’d definitely go back there, so long as the weather is just as nice. Soldeu, where I stayed, was beautiful as well. If I go back, I'll spend more time exploring the town. I’d rate my experience on these slopes a solid 7/10.

P.S. I will be writing chapters on my experiences at both French and Spanish (La Masella & La Molina) ski resorts, so if you can't decide what country to ski in, stay tuned!

For now, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you come back and visit soon!