The Official 2012 Snow Calendar

Visitor reviews for Geilo Ski Resort

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• January 07, 2012
  Judy from United Kingdom
  

  Positive: plenty of things to do other than downhill skiing such as cross-country skiing, skating, dogsledding ; no lift queues or crowded slopes (during New Year's week), attractive resort with many trees, pretty cabins and houses - no concrete blocks of flats like some resorts in the Alps

  Negative: transportation between the two main ski areas is limited except in the morning and just after the lifts close. Outside of these times you need to call a taxi and they are not always reliable.
  Staff in hotels and ski shops not very familiar with the area as they tend not to be locals. Best tip is to plan in advance what activities you want to do using the internet then go to Tourist Info office in the centre of Geilo to book and find out exactly where things are. Geilo is quite spread out and transportation can be an issue.
  Though we had several snowfalls during our visit quite a few runs were closed. There are snow cannons but we only saw them used once. As is stood there were only enough runs open on the two sides of the valley to provide interesting skiing for 3-4 days. The skiing is good for intermediates - plenty of wide motorway type pistes, no mogels. The pistes with slalom courses and ski jumps were very popular with our young teens.

• Geilo Ratings

  Based on 3 votes. Vote

  Access: 2.3 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Geilo.	Public Transport: 4.0 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Geilo, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 4.0 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.	Accommodation: 4.0 (1) No places to stay in/near Geilo, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 2.5 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 4.3 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Geilo.
  Ski in/Ski out: 3.3 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.	Childcare: 3.0 (1) There are no child care facilities at Geilo, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 4.0 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Geilo is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 4.0 (1) Geilo relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 4.3 (1) There are no snow groomers at Geilo, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Geilo are groomed daily.	Shelter: 3.7 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Geilo is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 2.0 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Geilo, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.	Regional rating: 4.0 (1) Geilo usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
  Lift Staff: 4.3 (1) The staff at Geilo are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Geilo are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 4.0 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
  Ski Schools: 4.0 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.	Hire and Repairs: 3.0 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
  Variety of pistes: 2.7 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Geilo has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 4.5 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
  Intermediates: 3.3 (1) No intermediate terrain at Geilo, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 2.0 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
  Snow Park: 4.5 (1) Not even a kicker at Geilo, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 2.0 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
  Cross-country: 4.7 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Geilo, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 3.0 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Geilo has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 3.0 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.	Eating: 3.5 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
  Apres-Ski: 1.7 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.	Other Sports: 2.0 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
  Entertainment: 3.3 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.	Winter Walks: 4.5 (1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
  Ski Pass Value: 3.3 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 5.0 (1) Overall, Geilo is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 3.3 (1) Overall, Geilo is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Based on 3 votes. Vote

• February 11, 2011
  Lynn from United Kingdom
  

  We've skied in Geilo four times and have been very happy there. We've found it no more expensive than the Alps when we've arranged it ourselves (very easy - fly to Bergen or Oslo and take the train), especially when traveling with children as there are good discounts in the hotels and on the trains. Alcohol is eye-wateringly expensive though, so if this plays a big part in your holiday the price will go up a lot. We stay at the Ustedalen hotel, which is convenient for the slopes, relatively inexpensive and very friendly. The skiing is fine for beginners and unambitious intermediates, although we've found a 5 day break (hotels are less expensive Sunday - Thursday) enough in the past. What it lacks in long slopes it makes up for in uncrowdedness, especially mid-week. The Geilolia side is probably better for complete beginners, while the Geilo side has a better variety of runs (buses between the two are included in the lift pass). My kids are snowboarders and they love it because of the good snowparks and jumps - they've preferred it to the Alpine resorts we've visited. It's also a great resort for allowing older children and young teenagers independence as soon as they can handle the slopes, as they're unlikely to get lost.

• December 08, 2005
  Mark from United Kingdom
  

  What a fab resort - excellent for beginners, skiers wanting to improve, and of course children learning to ski at the troll club, we're going back for our 3rd year in the same hytte on the Vestlia side. Definitely not a resort for wild party animals looking for nightlife or even those chasing difficult runs - better off in Chamonix or 3-Valleys for that. Its no more expensive than the high altitude french resorts (esp. Courcheval), but soooo much more friendly!

• February 18, 2005
  Mike from United Kingdom
  

  The nearest airport is Fagernes which is about a 1hr 45 min coach trip from the resort. Geilo is a small town with a good variety of slopes on both sides including a couple of longish cruising greens/blues on the north side and two board parks on the south side. Also on the south side you can drop over the back from the top of the express lift and access a nice long run on the plateau. Off piste is very limited but you can use the tree breaks between pistes for a bit of variety.
  As for apres-ski, check out Recepten in the Dr Holms hotel and Lille Blu, they start late (about 11 or 12) cos alcohol seems to have about the same per ounce value as platinum! You get 0.4 of a litre for between £5 and £8 depending on the bar you're in so DO take advantage of your duty free allowance on the way out. There are at least 3 mini supermarkets and a couple of good ski/board shops. The standard of accomodation is very good and the locals are friendly.

• February 03, 2005
  John from Norway
  

  Geilo is a nice place for beginners and to some extent intermediates.

  Having spent most of my childhood holidays here I know the place quite well. The slopes are wide and fairly well prepared. The quality of the accomodation is high and the after ski are suitable for the not so hip set.

  There are no off piste to speak of and the advanced skiers does not have a lot of choices.

  Bottom line if you are a beginner or mediocre on skis and are looking for a nice place with high quality on the hotels and restaurants Geilo is perfect. My personal favorite among the hotels are Dr. Holms albeit that the hotel these days are an aging beauty.

  Me ? I prefer Chamonix.

• March 12, 2004
  Tim from United Kingdom
  

  Geilo is great for beginers or people with young kids. Our daughter is 15 months loved the creshe where they were very welcoming. We cryed when we left her for the day but she had a great time. We are first time skiers and left a week latter confident on blue runs and managing reds. We are going back in April to fine tune our new found skills. If you into wild night life go somewhere else. We stayed in the Vestlia hotel which we are staying in on our next visit. Convenient for child care, ski lifs, ski school and good food. What more could you want. I suspect advanced skiers would find Geilo not challenging enough on the slopes but for us it was just great. Roll on April