I will be meeting a tour in San Sebastin in late March and am considering going over early to ski in the Pyrenees. The likely resorts that fit my travel schedule are Formigal, Astun & Candanchu. Any suggestions as to comparison, hotels etc. I am a senior traveling single. Can communicate in Spanish but just barely. Used to travelling & skiing in Europe.

it is snowing as i write in northern spain so i hope you have a good ski when you come.<BR>astun is quite a bit smaller than formigal and candanchu.<BR>i haven't skiied those two resorts for years but i believe formigal has put in a lot of new chairs ... they might have websites.. we usually ski baquiera beret. <BR>i am sure you will enjoy it wherever you go if you have good snow.<BR> sorry i don't know any hotels personally.

John,<BR>My favorite ski resort is Baqueira-Beret, further east in Catalonia, but we go for hiking in summer, not skiing in winter. The infrastructure there, arguably, is the *best* that Spain has, but you'll probably find the skiiing just fine in the Aragonese side, although it's a little less &quot;upmarket&quot; (and less exp. too). <BR>As far as the 3 resorts you mention, I like the lodging choices in Sallent de Gallego, near Formigal. The small Almud is really cute, has lots of charm (warm and homey) and it's moderately priced, quite a bit less than the 4 star Villa de Sallent and as nice except no indoor pool. <BR>www.hotelalumud.com<BR><BR>Also check out the Bocale and the Casa Socotor in Sallent de Gallego. See them here:<BR>www.valledetena.com<BR>Then click on &quot;alojamientos&quot;.<BR><BR>Another B&amp;B type to consider next door to Sallent is the Hotel Mingo in tiny Escarrilla, another small and cozy place that's nicely done.<BR>www.rusticae.com<BR>All the above are very reasonably priced, and for my money, are lots better than the kind of blah aparthotels around there, which can be pretty basic. <BR>As for the skiing itself, look at <BR>www.astun.com<BR>www.formigal.com<BR>ww.candan chu.com <BR>

Hi John,<BR>usually I have gone to Astun, but in the last years we prefer Formigal. The slopes are wider, and there aren´t so many &quot;cool snowboarders&quot; (sorry guys, but I have snowboarders friends who hate it in Astun, those kids seem to think that the slopes are theirs, and can get really dangerous). But if you go during the week things are not so bad. My dad (70) only skies during the week and comes back to Bilbao on weekends.<BR>Candanchu was one of the first places where people went skiing in Spain, at the beginning of the twentieth century, but it can be icy, and it has some bad black slopes.<BR>About the prices, it costs around 30 to 25 Euros a day. The french side is cheaper. <BR>We usually stay in Jaca, the region capital. It has plenty of things to do, some good restaurants ( Lilium, Serrablo and La Cocina Aragonesa come to mind), pastry shops and tapas bars (Chez Claudine in front of the cathedral) and the first romanic cathedral in Spain. Maribel likes the Conde Aznar hotel, and it is a good bet for a person alone.<BR>You could rent a car and stay in Jaca for a couple of days. So you could try both Astun and Formigal, and on your way back to San Sebastian, do a small detour and go to Sos del Rey Catolico and Leyre.<BR>Check http://www.jaca.com<BR>Rgds, Cova

John, <BR>I´ve skied the three resorts and my favourite among them is Formigal. The possible locations for a hotel are villages like Sallent de Gallego as Angel suggested or a hotel in Formigal Pueblo, closer to the resort. I have not been to any of them but here are the names: Hotel Formigal 4*, Hotel Saliecho 4*, Hotel Villa de Sallent 4*, Hotel Eguzki-lore 3* and Hotel Nieve Sol3*. March is not considered high season, so prices should be between 57-70? per night and room (breakfast inc.)<BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR><BR>Cristina

Hi John,<BR>the following website is in spanish, but it has great information about Pirineos, and great pictures. For the spanish-speaking Pirineos lovers, a must :<BR>http://www.lospirineos.info/<BR>Rgds, Cova<BR>

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