Visitor reviews for Vallnord-Pal Ski Resort

Vallnord-Pal Ratings

Overall: 4.0. Based on 3 votes and 4 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 4.3

(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) Vallnord-Pal is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 4.3

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Vallnord-Pal has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 3.7

(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.

Scenery: 4.7

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 3.0

(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 Vallnord-Pal.

Public Transport: 4.3

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Vallnord-Pal, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 4.7

(1) No places to stay in/near Vallnord-Pal, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 4.7

(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 Vallnord-Pal.

Ski in/Ski out: 4.3

(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: 4.3

(1) There are no child care facilities at Vallnord-Pal, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 4.7

(1) Vallnord-Pal relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 4.7

(1) There are no snow groomers at Vallnord-Pal, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Vallnord-Pal are groomed daily.

Shelter: 4.3

(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) Vallnord-Pal is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 4.7

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Vallnord-Pal, 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: 3.7

(1) Vallnord-Pal 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 Vallnord-Pal are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Vallnord-Pal 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: 3.7

(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: 3.3

(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.

Beginners: 4.7

(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: 4.3

(1) No intermediate terrain at Vallnord-Pal, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 3.7

(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: 4.3

(1) Not even a kicker at Vallnord-Pal, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 3.3

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Vallnord-Pal, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 1.7

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Vallnord-Pal has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 4.0

(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: 4.3

(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: 4.0

(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: 3.7

(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: 3.7

(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: 3.7

(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: 3.7

(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): 3.3

(1) Overall, Vallnord-Pal 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): 4.3

(1) Overall, Vallnord-Pal 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.

Show all 35 ratings

January 23, 2018
Jesús from Ski Spain Spain
Siento mucho el desgraciado accidente que sufriste. Yo me plantearía demandar judicialmente al "loco de la vida" que lo provocó, si consideras que él fue el responsable. Te deseo una pronta recuperación.
January 22, 2009
Stephen Darragh from Ski Ireland Ireland
Stayed in Magic hotel, La Massana (Pal) 11-18 January 2009. Great hotel with small but adequate leisure facilities. Clean with friendly staff and good food. Convenient to slopes of Pal with gondola less than 100m away. Totally hassle-free with no queues. Great snow on piste, lovely weather (only felt the cold when we returned home.) Hire a locker at the ski centre for 9 euro per day so that you can relax and get those horrid ski boots off prior to returning to your hotel each day. Make a point of visiting Andorra La Vella (10 mins on bus) to see how the other half lives.
March 23, 2006
Kathie Phelps from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Pal is by far the prettiest resort in Andorra. It can suffer from poor or soft snow as it is also the lowest. Fantastic ski school however, and although the cafes are busy, you get through in no time - unless you try to buck the system! There is also a proper restaurant upstairs at La Caubella station, the main meeting point. Intermediates can have a ball, skimming all over the mountain and building confidence. The views from the top are spectacular as you ski down a flatish ridge, you are skiing the border with Spain. With a new cable car from La Massana and a land train from the carparks, it's never been easier. Don't worry that there's no holiday companies mentioned on this site. If you go to Arinsal, Pal is on the same lift pass and linked from the top of the mountain in Arinsal to the lovely area of Col de La Botella in Pal, away from most ski schools and lots of opportunity to ski though trees on safe off-piste. Take a rest from your skis here and enjoy the sunny cafe or take a dog-sled ride - exhilerating! Although there are places to stay in the quaint Andorran village of Pal, they are a long way - more than a walk, from the main apres ski venues in Arinsal or La Massana. Good bars and food at Xixerella which is a camp site in the summer. Self-catering cabins are available, 2 are wheelchair accessible. As one of the best ways to enjoy Andorra for Brits is to get to Barcelona by Easyjet and hire a car, you could do Pal, Arinsal and Arcalis as well as all the Grand Valira resorts during a week's holiday. If you need help getting organized for Andorra, try katalantravels.com. Although they mostly arrange holidays for disabled people they can help arrange Andorra skiing or summer activites as there's lots to do at Pal.

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