The Sol y Nieve (sun and snow) resort is situated about 40 minutes drive from Granada and 2.5 hours from Malaga airport. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is high (3470m), which it needs to be considering its position in Europe. It has the most southerly ski slopes in Western Europe and the sunniest. It is an easy drive on a good toll-free motorway in a hire car and is well signposted when you reach the outskirts of Granada. Granada has a small airport.
The resort itself is quite small compared to most in France and Switzerland and there are only about 3 good hotels, although most people use the multitude of apartments, or stay in Granada overnight.
Restaurants are ok, but as in many other ski resorts often pricey. Here though, there are few gastronomic choices. There is one, masquerading as Swiss, which is best to AVOID.
Nightlife is relaxed and totally informal. Bars and restaurants stay open late, but have no experience of the discos. All are reasonably priced. Beers cost about €3.00 - 4.00 and a meal for 2 in town would be about €40.00 with wine.
The ski area is small (about 40 miles of runs) and good for beginners and intermediates, but only worth a day out for an advanced skier. There are plenty of lifts, but since it the only ski area in Spain (Andorra is not Spain), it attracts all the skiers living south of Madrid and Valencia and others too no doubt, as well as tourists from other countries. During the week, queues are virtually non-existent, but at weekends the position is reversed. The area is averse to high winds, so sometimes many of the lifts are closed. With its high temperatures, the slopes are often icy in the early morning and slushy in the late afternoon. The resort boasts more snow making machines than any other resort in Europe. It needs them all. However, rainfall in spring is not usually a problem in the Andalucia region and there has still been snow to ski on until late April in the last 2 seasons. This year may be the first one for a few years to not have much rain/snow.
Ski passes are reasonable compared with France etc. Prices as follows: Adult ½ day pass from €19.60 - €28.00. Children: ½ day pass from €11.80 – 16.80. Adult day pass from€23.10 – 33.00. Children day pass from €13.90 – 19.80. Adult 1 week pass from €137.40 – 196.30. Children 1 week pass from €82.50 – 117.80. Seniors and handicapped charged at children’s prices.
I have skied here for anything from a day trip to one week. I first went there in 1983 when it was little more than a village with only one good hotel and no more than 10 lifts. Subsequently and since I live close-by, I have been on numerous occasions, mainly for 1 or 2 day breaks during the week. The skiing has varied from the sublime, with crisp powder snow in hot weather to slush on a nasty and cold day in January last year, when we all had to go to the nearest mountain restaurant to thaw out. Generally, it is very pleasant for all the season, with few bad days.
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I've never been to Sierra Nevada so I cannot tell... Anyway we have many other ski stations in Spain. The most important ones are Baqueira Beret in Catalunya and Astun, Candanchú and Formigal in Huesca. Baqueira Beret is much bigger than Sierra Nevada and has a lot more snow. It is also better than Andorra. I usually go to Astun as it is closer to my city. Thx for the review though. pepis xxx
flickpugh 26.02.2004 14:42
I visited this place last summer, so obviously didn't ski. It looked similar to Andorra. I've been to Romania and Bulgaria recently, they're good choices for a cheap skiing hol.
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Advantages: Great place if you like desrts and heat. Good as part of a circular tour with CA Disadvantages: A lot of driving. Nowhere is very near anywhere else
BNibbles 18.12.2000 (18.12.2000)
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