Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa, Andorra

Visitor reviews for Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa

• March 01, 2008
  warren from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Pas de la Casa; only 1 bar rocks. There is an underground bar. Get yourself in and, for sure, the staff will look after you with free drinks and shots.

• January 28, 2008
  Victor from LEBANON
  

  Hi, I'm Vick from Mount Lebanon. I spent a week in Pas between the 19 and 27 of January 2008. Although Grandvalira is a big resort, relatively, I can clearly say that the quality of snow was poor. Snow is frozen in many places so it was more like ice skating, and it was weird not to find more than 10 cm of snow depth at 2300m during January! Most of the runs below 1900m were almost without snow...
  About the night life; there are a lot of pubs and clubs, but it was weird to find an average of 10 guys to 1 girl in most of the pubs and clubs! So, guys, if you are looking for girls there, it's not the right place to be ...

• January 22, 2008
  Tim Hawkins from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Just spent a week in Pas - fabulous location. The town itself is a little grim - typical tourist resort. Something for everyone whether you want to learn, just ski all day or for the night life. Worst points of the holiday were getting up at 3am to go and 4am to leave.
  Excellent ski instructors too - thank Gilles :-)

• September 08, 2006
  bungle from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Anyone who says that you shouldn't go to Pas or they wouldn't go back is mad. Yes, fair enough I have had better snow, alot better, but I have not met better people or had a better ski holiday in my life. There are plenty of runs now it's linked with other resorts, with something for everyone mainly beginners - intermidiates. The bars, restaurants and nightclubs are not to be argued with. They are amazing, with free beer and cocktails coming out of our ears and cheap tabs after a beautiful bit of grub.
  I have been skiing since I was twelve and Andorra was my first stop. I am now a 21 year old ski instructor and have been to Pas every year and don't intend on stopping. As a matter of fact I can't wait till March when I head back out there.
  Andorra ........ highly recommended

• March 06, 2006
  carina from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Just got back from a one week's snowboarding holiday (6 March) in Pas de La Casa. Great runs and a cool snow park. Had a good time, made a difference all areas being linked together. Had good snow as it snowed the day we got there.
  The nightlife is good. Go to the underground, good music and great bar staff.
  All in all had a great week, would recommend Andorra to anyone.

• February 28, 2006
  matt from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Just did a week staying in Pas. On day two, without pushing it at all I got to El Tarter, covered several of the runs over Soldeu and the blues down to Pla de Les Pedres and was back to Pas by 2pm. You can tell there is only a 500m vertical drop as the runs (specially at Pas and down to Cubil) are pretty short. Longer runs can be found from Llosada down to El Tarter.
  The Grand Villara is a big area and for a beginner and novice snowboarder it is great, the blues over Soldeu and Pla de les Pedres are perfect for practising your turns and the runs through the trees are great fun, which is why I would recommend staying in Soldeu rather than Pas, if access to the best pistes is what you want.
  A lot of the runs are over graded and would be rated lower if they were in a French resort. I would say a decent skier or snowboarder with good light and lifts on his side could do every run within three days easily. Anyone who is advanced will be bored within a few days.
  It is a great place to learn or improve you skills, spend a couple of days riding switch or use the park in Pas to get to grips with some rails and jumps.
  It is cheaper than France, especially for beer and food. But the lift pass is not much cheaper, 180euro for Grand Vallira compared to 190euro for Tignes/Val d'Isere.
  Would I go back? Probably not.
  Would I recommend Andorra? Yes if you are still learning and aren't looking for challenging piste.

• February 06, 2006
  Brendan from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  We couldn’t have been luckier. It dumped a massive 80cm of snow the weekend before arrival on the 30th Jan. The weather was sunny for the rest of the week and we had lots of powder to play with.
  When I left on the 5th Feb the off-piste stuff was pretty much tracked out but the groomers were doing an excellent job keeping the slopes fresh each morning. The runs on the Pas and Grau side are long, wide and not over crowded. Grandvalira is huge but you can do the whole thing in a day.
  In a nutshell Pas was awesome! I am an intermediate snowboarder and I thoroughly recommend coming here. The lessons I had were cheap and very rewarding. Definitely go.

• February 02, 2006
  ' SMITHMEISTER ' from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I have just returned from Pas(29th Jan)and what a wonderful time I had . The snowboarding was awesome; there are so many good runs. Managed to go over to Soldoeu and El Tarter. There were some good blacks too!!!
  The nightlife is fantastic and cheap too!!
  I can see why its called Mandorra though, men to women ratio is about six to one I reckon, so make sure you get on the pull early!!!!!
  Make sure you visit the Millwakee bar and the Underground club. Also, Kyu and Billboard clubs are well worth the visit .
  I stayed at THE HIMILAIA hotel. It was fantastic there and it's right on the slopes. Lovely lounge bar with large settees too!!!
  Food in Andorra is cheap and good. A decent steak is around 9 euros so no need for half board. May as well eat out. There is a Burger King and Macdonalds too!!!!
  Have fun, I'll be back next year.

• January 26, 2006
  Kathie Phelps from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Stay somewhere else and ski Pas from there! Access from Encamp by Funicamp cable car is the best. The night life is great all over Andorra. However, the Skiing is fabulous in Pas, Grau, all over to Soldeu, Canillo -a wicked Black - and El Tarter aka Piccadilly Circus. Bet you can't do every run in the Grand Valira in a week. Also, for a romantic lunch, the gourmet restaurant by the lake in the trees on the Grau side is lovely.

• November 15, 2005
  Melanie from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Please don't be put off Andorra by the tales of cheap booze and easy slopes. Although it does have these in abundance there is a whole side to Andorra that few reviews every mention.
  Yes, Pas is rather ugly... however if you don't want the package tour area and electrical hardware stores then head over to Canillo or Encamp. There are also some great hotels in Andorra La Vella or Escaldes and access to the slopes is either by the little white bus/train or by your hire car. There are some great runs in the Grand Valira area and a great deal more off-piste or blacks than usually mentioned.
  Andorra has invested so much money into their skiing/boarding that the lifts now easily outstrip those in many of the 'top class' resorts such as Verbier and their attention to service is utterly 5 star. It is a great place to visit with excellent boarding and skiing.

• August 30, 2005
  Charlotte Wray from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Went to Pass de la Casa in April 04 and it was the best ever ski holiday...ever. Lovely people, great , and I mean GREAT food and loadsa nice bars and clubs open, even in April. Although it was late in the season there was pleanty of snow. Amazing, a must see must SKI resort.

• February 16, 2005
  Louise from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I just had to return to pas last week to see if I had dreamt the most hedonisitc, fabulous previous holiday the year before. I hadn't it was even better! Wide, well groomed, speedy pistes, abundance of free alcohol, and a 12:1 ratio men to women. HEAVEN.

• January 20, 2005
  laura mckillop from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  5 gals on a boarding holiday jan05. Was by far the best holiday we'v ever had. Gorgoeus sunny weather everyday, yet slopes managed to stay well groomed. No ice! We went with Inghams and although we were moaning about the prices before we left, we were all in agreement that it was more than worth it. Great cheap clothes,drink,grub. Great people great atmosphere! Inghams(G.I. JOE,ALISON AND EMMA) had something organised everynight of the week from bar crawls to tex mex nights to shopping and even bum boarding.Was great.
  Would happily recommend the resort to anyone. What more could you ask for.

  Thanks Inghams for a great holiday!!!!

• November 18, 2004
  paul from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Went to Pas de la casa feb/march 04.As mentioned in previous posts,the skiing area of the three other nearest resorts is all now combined.You pay about £20 extra for 'gran valiera' lift pass that covers the whole area.You would have to be serious to get it done in 3 days! Pas town itself is pretty ugly and reminds you of an inner city center.But the nightlife is very lively (ibiza stylee),a stark contrast to swiss/austrian resorts,you make your mind up what type of holiday you want! Usually very good late season snow cover,was still rideable at the end of march with nearly all lifts open.

• December 30, 2003
  Mark Vincent from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Pas, Grau Roig, Soldeu and El Tarter are now all linked! it costs ?22 or so for the week for the extra magnetic pass, but well worth the money. The soldeu side has lots and lots of nice easy, wide runs for beginners and intermediates, whilst there's a whole load of off piste stuff available too. Well worth the extra coin. I went (2nd time this year) with 2 skiers, and they had almost as much fun as me. This is an excellent resort for all but the most advanced and adventurous skiers/boarders, and with the new linked resort pass, youve got to really have a short attention span to get bored in a week.

• September 24, 2003
  David Hayes from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I was in pas de la casa last December over the christmas period. Fantastic place.. cheap booze... loads of party's... and the skiin is pretty good too. the terrain is not in itself that big.. 100kms... but def worth going to.. they say pas is geared towards intermediates and beginners but i wouldnt completely agree... The back country is excellent... the week i was there last year the snow was excellent and the back country was great.. for an advanced skiier is a good week... i didnt seem to get bored as i constantly hiked for better off-piste and powder..
  Some of the blacks are pretty decent too.. the black mogul field on the pas mountain is excellent and will challange even the top skiiers. Grau Roig hosts some pretty good powder up in the tree's both right and left of the base and can be accessed by a number of lifts very easily.

  Def a good resort for anyone.. whether you are looking for a skiing hol or a partying one.. its got it all...

• September 01, 2003
  Sinbad from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I have been snowboarding twice in Pas. The first time was in 1997, and that was my first ever time snowbaording. The second time was in 1998, late season. I would highly recomend Pas for beginners, or those on a tight budget; the instruciton was excellent, and the conditions were pretty good. The town itself isn't exactly eye candy, but if you're after cheap booze, fags, or electrical goods, then Andorra is the place to go. The nightlife is fairly vibrant due to the nature of the cheap booze; most bars will give you a free shot just for walking through the door. The clubs and bars are cheesy though, so if you're a serious clubber/vinly spotter then don't get too excited; this town is pure cheddar.

  Overall, Pas is an excellent 'cheap and cheerful' ski area, its downsides are the smallish area of terrain, and I wouldn't go back there now beacuase after sampling some of the greatest resorts on the planet, I think I would get bored within a couple of days. Saying that, I think Pas was going to be eventually linked to another resort in Andorra (Soldeu?, Pal?) so the terrain may well be alot more sizable these days, plus I sure there is some decent back country to be had if you know the area.

  Definatley a place worth checking out if you are new to snow sports.

• 
  anjith from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Went to Pas March 2007 and the snow was pants, but then it was all over that time last year.... can't blame the place for that! What snow they had was well maintained and they did their best to keep all the links up and running. I've never been to Pas before. It was all linked up so can't comment on the improvement. What I can say is that I'd love to go in better conditions as there is some great skiing to be had. Poor snow didn't stop us enjoying the runs, not the prettiest, but not the ugliest either. Shopping & drinking is cheap compared to Italy & France so that's always a bonus.
  Overall, good, I'd go back.