If you’re planning to visit Andorra to ski or snowboard, chances are you’ve looked at accommodation in Soldeu and El Tarter. Well, we stayed in El Tarter and found it perfectly placed to access the excellent Grandvalira ski area. But how about our accommodation?
We stayed at two hotels in El Tarter. The first was the Pierre et Vacances Alba Residences in El Tarter itself.
As part of a self catering package, with lift passes included, the price was very attractive. But was the actual apartment any good?
Checking-in to our apartments at Residences Alba
We arrived in El Tarter via the AND Bus from Barcelona Airport, which dropped us right outside the reception for the Pierre et Vacances accommodations. Be aware that many of the apartments in El Tarter, and most of the Andorra ski resorts, are run by Pierre et Vacances, which means they have a central reception which isn’t necessarily in the same building.
In the case of the Pierre et Vacances apartments in El Tarter, they share a common reception which is right on the main road just up the road slightly from the bus stop. It’s not immediately obvious, and there is a tourist office which looks like it’s the reception, but the actual check-in office is literally 30 seconds around the corner.
So in we go, no queue, the friendly staff sort us out with our keys in a matter of minutes and we’re heading up the hill to get settled in.
Be warned that El Tarter is basically built on a steep slope, so wherever you’re staying in the village is probably going to require a walk up the slope. It’s not a massive hill to be fair, so it won’t be much of a strain. But if you have kids in tow or you’ve busted your leg during your stay in Andorra, you might find the walk up the hill slightly arduous.
Anyway. We checked in, headed up the hill and found the apartments very easily.
First impressions of El-Tarter are that the entire village is quite quaint in a built for purpose ski resort kinda vibe. Think identikit wood panelled buildings which are kinda inoffensive but mostly pretty soulless.
A review of Residences Alba in El Tarter
Arriving at Residences Alba, we were on the second floor with a 2 bed self catering apartment. This meant that we had a fold out sofa bed and a smaller single bed, basically a double and a single. The room was totally open plan, with a sort of picnic table as the dining area, a well stocked kitchen and an en-suite bathroom. There was also a TV, which we didn’t actually use, and the wifi signal was decent and fast.
While the actual accommodation was definitely on the basic side, it was more than adequate for two guys sharing an apartment. In fact after a hard day scraping down the mountains of Andorra’s Grandvalira ski area, the apartment was comfortable and warm.
We also had a view down the valley, which was nice too. Not the best view I’ve ever had from a ski apartment, but totally good enough to gaze at the snowcapped peaks across the roofs of nearby apartment buildings.
As for the beds. I bagged the sofa bed which was easy enough to set up and fold out. The double sofa bed was quite comfy but also kinda creaky. My buddy bagged the single bed and said it was pretty good and he slept soundly.
I was not on the ball with videos at the time, but here you go…
So basically, we both found the Residences Alba in El Tarter were ideal for our needs.
Any downsides to the Residences Alba?
Ski lockers
One of the shortcomings of the Residences Alba in El Tarter was the basic ski lockers. There is no proper boot room of sorts, with just a bunch of lockers in the ground floor car parking area and in the corridor/foyer area. These were also unheated and there was no bench to sit on and pull your boots off after a hard day on the mountain.
This basically meant that anything you left in your lockers was still damp the next morning, which wasn’t ideal, of course.
We took to bringing our boots back up to our room to dry them out on the radiators in our room. Obviously that also meant we had that fragrant boot locker scent in our apartment for the last couple of days. Yum.
Parking
We didn’t drive to Andorra, but we did see that the parking in the apartment was tight af. To say the least. One particularly highly strung French guy was grumbling about how tight the spaces were. But to be fair the apartments did at least have free parking included.
Maybe not a deal breaker for many, but if you’re planning on parking at the Residences Alba in El Tarter with a bigger vehicle such as an SUV or 4×4, you might want to bear this in mind.
Are Residences Alba close to the ski lift?
Most of El Tarter, including Residences Alba, are just across the road from the two main ski lifts in the town. From Residences Alba it was a 5 to 10 minute walk down the hill, across the road and up to the lifts.
The main ski lift for El Tarter is just across the road, through the huge car park. This is the central office for tickets, as well as a complex with cafes, offices and tourist info. This is where the gondola leaves from, which is obviously quite a crush first thing in the morning. But we always found the experience pretty smooth and efficient with no issues getting into the gondola.
The gondola takes you up onto the Pi de Migdia intersection high up on the mountain.
However there is another option, which is a 4 man chair lift slightly up the hill from the main ticket office. This is obviously the option if you want to get straight onto the snow once you get up top.
Are Residences Alba well located in El Tarter?
We actually found Residences Alba to be well placed, at the entrance to the village, and on the main drag. You’re just a few minutes walk from the shops, bars and restaurants, but also a few minutes from the ski lift.
The shops are kinda basic, but there is a well stocked petrol station down the road for reasonably priced self catering supplies. This is just opposite the Manacor Centre which is a total tourist trap, but ideal for getting booze, souvenirs, high priced dried pasta and meat and all manner of traditional Andorran and Catalan supplies.
We did get a ton of stuff from Manacor, but then also opted for cheaper self catering stuff like cheese, pasta and meat from the Shell station across the road.
In Summary
Residences Alba in El Tarter is ideally placed for access to both the village of El Tarter in Andorra, and access to the Grandvalira ski area. The apartments are also well priced and despite being kinda basic, we thought they were fine for our needs. If you want a luxury apartment or an all-inclusive experience then you’ll need to look somewhere else.
But I would happily book into Residences Alba again.
Book Residences Alba at SnowTrex
