Soldeu ski resort has is set in the villages of Soldeu and Sant Pere del Tarter in north eastern Andorra, on a busy road running from Andorra la Vella to the French boarder. There are lots of hotels and apartment complexes, lots of traffic and a few shops.
This ski resort is predominantly suited to beginners, with a limited number of ski runs to keep intermediates and advanced skiers happy. There are, however, some great red and black descents through the powder fields below Pic d'Encampadana (accessed by a snowcat that only operates in 'normal' conditions), which broadens its appeal. In addition, many competitions are organised each season and there are some first rate mogul slopes.
Snowboarding is very popular at soldeu ski resort, and there are great opportunities to learn freestyle, flips, tricks. There is a terrain park and half pipe on-mountain. There is also an inter-resort lift between Soldeu and Pas de la Casa / Grau Roig.
Its one big downside is that it is 190 or 220km from the nearest airports (Barcelona in Spain or Toulouse in France), so expect a 4 hour transfer. Car / motion sickness would be a definite disadvantage.
Resort ratings summary (out of 10):
Overall: 8
Skiing: 7
Snow: 7
Apres Ski: 7
Suitable for: beginner / intermediate
Not suitable for: expert / non skiers
Resort Summary:
Population: 3000
Currency: Euro
Language: Catalan, with French and Spanish spoken
Resort Altitude: 1800m (5905ft)
Winter Season: December to April
Number of beds: 1500
Nearest Airport: Toulouse (France) 190km, Barcelona (Spain)
Nearest Town: Andorra la Vella
Nearest rail station: Hospitalet-Pres-L'Andorre, 25km.
Getting there by road: easy
Snow:
Snow reliability: good (plus snowmaking covers 32 km of ski runs with 244 snowguns)
Current snow conditions: snow conditions from the BBC
About the ski runs:
Total piste length: 92km
Vertical Drop: 850m (2789ft)
Number of ski runs: 52 (10 green, 19 blue, 13 red, 10 black runs plus 2 slalom slopes)
Longest Run: 8.2km (5 miles)
Beginner %: 56
Intermediate %: 25
Advanced %: 19
Snowboard parks: 2
Ski School: 250 instructors at 2 schools with a kindergarten at both
About the ski lifts:
Highest Lift: 2560m (8399ft)
Lowest Lift: 1710m (5610ft)
Number of Lifts: 63
Lift capacity: 45000 per hour
The cost of ski passes (2004 / 05):
Adult 1 day: 35 Euro
Adult 6 days: 168 Euro
Child 1 day: 27 Euro
Child 6 days: 129 Euro
Restaurants, Apres ski and non skiers:
There is not much to do in Soldeu, apart from ice-skating and tennis. The restaurants are of a mixed bunch, on the mountain there is a reasonable choice of restaurants, in Soldeu ski resort the quality rises and there are still plenty of inexpensive pizza and pasta places. Rustic restaurants can be found nearer El Tarter. In Soldeu there are also 8 bars and 5 discos.
Resort contact details:
Telephone: 376 890 500
Fax: 376 890 501
Email: soldeu@soldeu.ad
Website: www.soldeu.ad
