Ski Beginners (2)

Learn to ski with Spice and open up a whole new world of holidays!

The lift-connected ski holiday resorts of Arinsal and Pal, known as the Vallnord ski area, have received a great deal of investment recently, resulting in great improvements to both their slopes and facilities, ensuring they remain a favourite ski holiday destination in Andorra. Arinsal offers swift gondola access to a well-planned ski base ideal for learning and improving while you are on your skiing holiday. Pal’s network of tree-lined runs contrasts to Arinsal’s wide, open slopes, providing varied terrain for ski holiday beginners and improvers to explore. For more challenging runs and great off-piste, we recommend the local’s secret, nearby Arcalis - covered on the same lift pass for the duration of your skiing holiday.

Arinsal is an attractive, compact resort and at the end of the day its small, friendly village centre offers a good choice of restaurants, a few shops and several lively bars and discos. Arinsal also offers some of the friendliest English-speaking instructors we have ever come across. The gentle nursery slopes are set high enough to enjoy excellent snow conditions throughout the season, and for getting a great sun tan!

Beginners - Both Arinsal and Pal are perfect areas to learn to ski or snowboard. Situated at the top of the gondola, Arinsal’s beginner area has doubled in size after €7million of investment. Pal also has a gentle nursery area situated next to the ski centre base. Both areas have excellent ski schools with many native English speaking instructors and there is never a shortage of easy runs to progress onto.

Intermediates - In Arinsal, intermediates will enjoy several gentle blue and red runs from Cota 2100m leading back down to the ski base. Higher up, from Pic Negre, there are some rather more demanding red runs. Over in Pal, there is a good choice of tree-lined runs, providing a good contrast to Arinsal.

Advanced - There is little to stretch the advanced skier in Arinsal or Pal, apart from a steep, unpisted black run descending from Pic Alt de la Capa to the bottom of the Port Negre trails. However, Arcalis, 25km away and accessible by a daily bus service from La Massana, provides more demanding runs and some great off-piste opportunities.

Snowboarding - For beginner and intermediate boarders there is plenty of varied terrain to enjoy in Arinsal and Pal, plus a fantastic 40000m2 freestyle area including a half-pipe, jumps, fun boxes, quarter-pipe, boarder-cross and chill-out area.

Hotel Princesa Park (4 star local rating)
The Princesa Parc luxury resort hotel is Arinsal’s flagship property complete with excellent spa facilities, good food, large and comfortable public areas, evening entertainment and a perfect location 100m from the main gondola and village centre. All rooms and suites offer bath with shower, satellite TV, phone, minibar and hairdryer, in-room safe (extra charge)

Meals: Extensive hot and cold buffet breakfast and 4 course buffet dinner.

Overview of facilities: Comfortable lounges with free Wi-Fi internet access, piano bar, disco/pub, internet café, games room, bowling alley, lift and free use of fitness room. The ‘Wellness Relax Centre’ (approx. €12 for 2hrs for adults over 13 years) includes large hydro-therapy pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzis, and spa treatments (at extra cost)

Facilities: Bar, Breakfast restaurant, Dinner restaurant, Fitness room, Jacuzzi - indoor, Safe deposit boxes, Sauna, Ski room (extra charge), Sterling currency exchange, Swimming pool - indoor, Swimming pool - outdoor heated.

Spice UK Skiing Ability Scale
Level 1~5- Arinsal is ideally suited to those new to skiing and is a great place to learn.
1) First time skier, totally new to the sport (Beginner)
2) Second week skier OR has had lessons at snow dome and/or dry ski slopes (Beginner Plus)
3) Skied a few weeks and happy on green and blue runs (Lower Intermediate)
4) Skiing parallel on blues and starting to tackle reds (Intermediate)
5) Okay on reds and starting to tackle blacks (Upper Intermediate)
Level 6~10 – Arinsal is a fairly easy resort with not much interest for the lower advanced upwards
6) Can get down blacks, but struggles on bumps (Lower Advanced)
7) Happy on most groomed blacks and easy bumps, but finds steep bumps and off piste tricky (Advanced)
8) Can ski all bar steepest bumps and ski off piste with style except with deep powder and in poor snow conditions (Upper Advanced)
9) No problems: can ski everywhere in all manner of snow conditions (Expert)
10) Professional skier, instructor, freerider etc