The attraction of this resort is its accessibility to southern Spain and Portugal. It is less of a credible alternative to the Alps or Pyranees to those who are travelling long distances. It is a high mountain with decent cold snow during the season, tending to become a good late winter resort. The resort itself requires lots of uphill walking unless you are staying close to the lifts. It doesn't have the apres-ski vibe experienced in the Alps. Whilst the ski area can be covered in a day by experienced skiers, the runs are fairly decent. The gondola takes you to a mid station from where you progressive climb from green to blue to red runs. The reds are quite steep. Therefore, it is good for families or mixed ability groups. It lacks the charm of other European counterparts, but is a great facility to have so close to to the med. Granada is 45 mins away and a great town to visit. The sea is 90 minutes away. Avoid weekends and holidays.
Lo que he vivido en esta estación, no lo he visto nunca...Lunes 17 febrero, muchísima gente, pocas pistas abiertas. Pero lo que no es normal, los fallos de mantenimiento de tanto telesillas, como mantas (parones constantes, rearme continuamente sin éxito...). Si con solo decir que de 9.30 a 13h tiempo efectivo de desplazamiento no llegaría no a la media hora. Mucha espera. Manana ultimo dia y aqui no me ven mas. Mil veces mejor Formigal Vielha y Andorra. Forfait muy caro para el pésimo.servicio.
Forfait expensive, only green and blue slopes. Only one ski lift for beginners. The other one (Borreguiles) closed. Incredible! A lot of line!
Not recommended. 28th dec 2024
Been to Sierra Nevada a few times and am returning in March.
For someone from Britain that loves to snowboard, it's a good resort to get to, cheap flights to Malaga, cheap car hire and accommodation available for reasonable price. You can go for a weekend.
It's not a big resort, you can get around most of it in a day if you are a good skier or boarder.
It's a little run down but it's friendly. Don't expect big French resort quality lifts, some are a little slow although I know they have spent money in recent years to improve things.
It's high up so a little more snowsure late in the season, but also risk of higher winds.
Went to ski there on 23 December. Only 14km of piste open and they charged 40-45 euros for a ski pass.
Food and drinks completely over priced. Waiters were openly rude and unhelpful.
Pistes had little snow and we were told that seldom if ever are all the runs open.
Great views but pretty average skiing.
Very good ski resort. I have friends in Granada, and often fly there to meet them and ski. Very long slopes, up to 6 kms; very wide and safe slopes. Snow from November to May, though it must be said that climate change is making things more difficult: I have always liked to go there at the end of April and beginning of May, when snow showers provide a few centimetres of new snow on slopes where you don´t find many skiers, as it is the end of the season; but, unfortunately, it is becoming less and less frequent due to the increasing temperatures because of climate change.
For Spain, this resort has the best snowsure (personal opinion). But for Europe, not so much. That doesn't change much for me, though. Even though it doesn't always snow a whole lot (due to the drier climate of Spain), when it does snow, it tends to stick around for a good bit. But if they are having a snow troubled year, they have a fleet of snowmaking guns to save the day. Its biggest problem (personal opinion) is its lifts. Its lifts tend to be slightly in the slower end of things, and the queues can get very backed up. The staff at Sierra are mostly nice. That's a big mostly, though. When I visited Sierra, I met a few staff who didn't seem happy. One was complaining about how long she has been at work 15 minutes after her shift started. But none the less, if you are visiting, beware, sometimes the resort suddenly closes early in the morning. So if you are traveling hours to get to Sierra, make sure to have a backup plan just in case. But if you are a local, it is a perfect resort.
Stayed at the Melia hotel many years ago on a UK package that did not work out too well. High winds, white out snow, few lifts open and icy conditions. Hotel at best described as mediocre. Roll forward 30 years and the ski area is extensive, the hotels expensive but cost of ski hire and passes much cheaper than France or USA. Biggest difference is access to the resort. From Nerja we can check the snow report, leave at 7am, park in the underground car park all day for €20 and be on the first lift skiing at 9.30am. Ski all day, jump back in the car and enjoy a restaurant meal overlooking Burriana beach back in Nerja at 8pm. Go midweek outside school holidays and you will have the resort to yourself, often in glorious sunshine. Maybe for a holiday visit book a hotel in Granada, get a hire car and check out the weather forecast. Resort is not a great place to be in bad weather but on a sunny day it really can be quite superb...
I have mixed feelings about this resort. I have managed about 20 - 30 days in total this season.
Pros
- Easy to get there.
- Good variety of terrain for beginner and intermediates on-piste.
- If it has snowed a lot, there is a fair amount of off/side piste and back-country to explore with terrain to suit all.
- Some of the most extensive snow blowing equipment I have ever seen.
- Very long ski season.
- Can be very quiet mid-week and often feels like you have the resort to yourself with absolutely no queues for the lifts.
Cons
- Slow lifts serving the main beginner bowl.
- On busy weekend, peak-season days, it has possibly the worst queues I have ever experienced in a resort. I’m talking 30-45 mins per lift, and when compared to the Alps the runs are often a lot shorter (cars were backed-up halfway down the mountain waiting to get into the resort on one day).
- Very poor communication from the resort management with regards to opening and shutting lifts and the resort. It occurred to us twice, after waiting in the main gondola queue for 2 hrs to be then told the resort was not going to open.
- Hotels need a major face lift and revamp.
My absolute main issue with the resort is how they look after and maintain the slopes once you get out into Laguna. The underlying ground is often very loose rock/packed soil. Its not uncommon for the stones to get kicked up when snow levels are low and then trash your skis.
In conclusion, a great place for a short break at the start and end of a season with enough skiing to keep you entertained. Don’t go peak season at weekends / half-terms as you will spend half the time standing in a queue. Don’t bring your favourite pair of skis, you will regret it. Keep an eye on the weather as high winds will close the resort. If it has had a big dump it can provide some of the best skiing I have had.
Resort is unprofessional. They have closed it several times this season as late as 11am in the day, meaning lots of people traveled there to find it was closed. Not worth booking a holiday to, but if you live locally, it's worth it.
When it has been open, it's been quite busy; at the weekend the lift queues are 10-15 minutes in the busy areas. However, the pistes are wide and never felt very busy.
It is a good resort for beginners, intermediates and families and the snow park looked great. However, there's not much for advance skiers.
My advice, for serious skiers, would be to stick to the Alps.