Andorra heaven or hell

Advantages: cheap good mountains
Disadvantages: too many people shopping

...Andorra is a small principality of 180.6 sq miles in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. We chose to go there for the day as it was between where we were staying in Spain and where we were going to in France, and we thought we would pick up some cheap booze. Andorra has a different tax system that is what makes wine cigarettes and luxury items so cheap Andorra is a long thin country with one main road going the length of it with a few miner roads into mountains, mountain villages and ski stations .T he country side is beautiful majestic mountains sparsely covered in grass a few fir trees and an occasional flower with mountain streams tumbling and trickling down the mountainside. Rocky contours with bare rock peaks rising into the blue cloudless sky it is a sunny day the sunlight picking out the snow on the permanent snow fields...

mumsymary 01.06.2003 · Read review
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Review of General: Andorra

TAKE A TOURA OF ANDORRA

Advantages: Scenery, perfect for a winter holiday
Disadvantages: Longevity is low due to small size of country and lack of alternative activities

...towns only have one main road going through the centre. --- ACCOMODATION --- There is a wide range of accommodation available from apartments, hotels, hostels to campsites and 5star deluxe residences. It was strange to see people camping when it was snowing and their tents were covered in it. Most places usually always have facilities and a view nearby (shops, restaurants etc) --- ACTIVITIES --- Snow activities are the overwhelming reason most people go to Andorra and they are certainly well equipped for it. They have numerous high quality slopes served by excellent facilities which cater for all tastes and abilities. Other snow activities include snowmobiles, trekking (by foot or horse) and climbing. Went I visited, there was a Spanish Bank holiday and I certainly noticed a large increase in the number of visitors, but usually...

Puma1000 11.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Andorra

Get the most from ski-ing Andorra.

Advantages: cheap everything, great nightlife.
Disadvantages: not such good snow or terrain as the Alps.

...The individual resorts in Andorra, to my mind, are not big enough to have the necessary terrain to entertain a good skier/snowboarder for a week. Most people have covered the resort where they are staying in a couple of days, and from this point on, unless the snow conditions are exceptional, the world-beating apres-ski comes to play an increasingly large part in the trip. And so what if it does? ;-) Well, there is an alternative, which is to stay in the centrally-located capital, Andorra La Vella, and hire a car to drive to the resorts. Sure, it's more expensive to buy day passes than weekly ones, but if you decide to take a couple of days away from the slopes (no great loss if the weather is bad) you will be onto a winner. Car hire is cheap in Andorra, it is probably one of the cheapest places in Europe to hire the 4wd you will need...

jimh1 07.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Andorra: General

Andorra - not just Pas de la Casa

Advantages: cheaper and quieter than the Alps
Disadvantages: long transfer

...in Andorra.. A car is recommended as we experienced long waits for the ski bus. Last year we stayed at the bottom of the red bubble in La Massana - Hotel Magic - can definitely recommend it - lovely 4* star hotel, large rooms with free broadband, really good choice of food and a handy location. Pal is on your doorstep, it's a short drive to both Arcalis and Andorra la Vella. With the right conditions Pal is a great resort with decent runs, loads of mad off piste, trees etc.. but then there is Arcalis.. it's about a 15 minute drive away, Arcalis is the highest resort in Andorra and as there are no hotels there it is mostly local people in the know who go there, or those brave enough to wait for a ski bus. It can be busy with lots of Spanish at weekends, go during the week and you will have untouched powder on every run ! The piste's are...

girlscanboard 30.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of General: Andorra

Andorra - High Altitude, Low Cost

Advantages: Cheap, friendly plenty of huge shops
Disadvantages: Traffic pollution hangs over the place like a blanket during the summer

...on things like tobacco and alcohol and other foods etc. Going over the mountains from France, you descend into Andorra city, Andorra. One downfall to the place is the constant smog, which sits over the place during the summer months. The air is thin and traffic fumes hang heavy in the air. When I visited, there seemed to be a lot of development going on – new buildings, specifically hotel type places: All the more to accommodate the next season of skiers. Parking can also be a problem as there is nowhere really to park in the streets. They are either full or you’re not allowed to park there. There was a high presence of police. Well the Andorran equivalent anyway. We eventually found a multi-storey after traipsing round the one-way systems a few times. (Yes they even have those little ‘remind you of home’ type...

joannavos 07.06.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Andorra

Andorra, Paradize Lost

Advantages: Nature and sport activities
Disadvantages: crowds and heavy traffic in the town centre (I don't recommend you stay there)

...People who have lived in Andorra for a long time can’t but nostalgically remember the green fields just in the centre of town, mountain tracks, some of those are now unavailable for nature lovers, and the whole of the village atmosphere they once enjoyed. Most of them complain just for the fun of it; the new economy and duty-free shopping made most of them unbearably rich. But what do we care? We visitors are poor and the central shopping streets offer no landscape. You can actually enjoy the sensation of having the forest all over the place, in the centre of town the mountains seem walls covered with trees and that make them similar to what you always imagined to be hanging gardens, hanging forests. But if you do not raise the head it’s all people shopping, cars in traffic jams, shops and shops and shops and us trying to...

happy_hamster 24.03.2001 (21.05.2001) · Read review
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Review of General: Andorra

Hotel International

Advantages: Location, breakfasts
Disadvantages: Poor rooms

...I recently went on a cultural girlie trip with a friend to Paris. I was left to do all the booking. I was looking for a reasonable hotel, near a metro stop, which included breakfast. I came across the Hotel International on various travel sites and it seemed fairly highly rated so I booked us in for three nights. LOCATION: The hotel is located 6 Rue Auguste Barbier in the 11th Arrondissement. The nearest Metro stop is Garcourt which was a two minute walk away and it was a five minute walk to Republique which gives good links to other lines. It's not really central enough to avoid the Metro and walk to the attractions but it was located so close to a stop that it seemed ideal. PRICE: Prices vary depending on size of room and season. There are singles, doubles and triples available. We paid Euro254 for the whole time...

tartlette83 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel International, Paris

The Strand Palace Hotel

Advantages: Central location, clean
Disadvantages: Food, rooms

...We stayed at this hotel in London a little over a month ago now for two nights, we chose this hotel mainly because of the central location and because it was only a ten minuite walk from the show we had booked to go too. Check in was very quick - About ten minuites and the staff at the reception seemed very friendly. My first thoughts on the hotel was that it looked really clean and that it was nicely decorated and it looked modern. I was a little dissapointed with our room as it was very small and basic, our room had a double bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a tv with satellite and a small, basic en suite bathroom with a shower. The views from our room very very poor - A block of offices which made our room dark as they were so close. The hotel has two bars and two resturaunts, the bars were again nicely decorated...

kate44 03.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Strand Palace Hotel, London

First time boarding in Andorra

Advantages: Cheap, excellent snowboard school
Disadvantages: Transport

...After planning to go snowboarding with my best friend for 4 years, we got our act together and booked to go this January. It had to be cheap, and we were absolute beginner boarders. Both competent skiers mind. Getting there. We home at 3 in the morning to get a 7.30 flight out of gatwick to toulouse, followed by a 3 hour bus journey up to the tiny village of soldeu in Andorra - El tarter is the next village over on Andorras only road. We arrived at our hotel at around 2 in the afternoon, unpacked, and then reached the first and only major problem of the holiday. The only public transport is buses, and they are infrequent, and manned by drivers with little English. Still, we eventually found one and got down to the kit shop in the village (two kilometers away) to hire our boots and boards. The next 5 days passed in no time...

robachamings1 28.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Soldeu El Tartar (Andorra)

sachas hotel

Advantages: good price,great location
Disadvantages: no window

...****Sachas hotel- Manchester**** I booked this hotel last minute as i had a job interview in Manchester and needed somewhere quite cheap ,that was also near the centre. **Location/Getting there** This hotel is located in Tibb street which is a 2 minute walk from Piccadily Gardens or 10 minutes away from Chorlton street bus station.The Train station is a little bit further away say maybe a twenty minute walk but i don't think that this is that bad .You can also get a tram from Piccadily gardens and this goes to quite a few places.You could also get a taxi to the hotel but i am not sure what parking is like if you were to take your own car. **Reception/staff** Since i had never been to Manchester before i phoned and asked the staff for directions -they were very nice and helped me out.When i got there i think i got the same...

katie22008m 04.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Britannia Sachas Hotel, Manchester