St Gothard Hotel

Hi I have just returned from a week in Arinsal with my Wife staying at the St Gothard Hotel. Like the previous reviewer I was very sceptical about what to expect, but am pleased to say I was more than pleasantly surprised. If you are expecting a luxurious 4 star hotel with michelin star catering then yes you will be disapointed. If on the other hand like me you want somewhere that is clean, friendly and well located then you won't be disapointed at all. The hotel has an excellent atmosphere, and is a great place to meet other people and discuss the days events on the slopes etc. Staff are extremely friendly (contrary to previous reviewers. the rooms are perfectly equipped and very clean (maids every day). We had a front facing room without a balcony - ok the view was of the road but who cares I was out most of the time or sleeping, besides it was too cold to sit on a balcony anyway. There is a very nice open plan bar, drinks are cheaper here than other places in the resort, there is (basic but fun) english entertainment, pool tables, arcade games for the kids, and a pleasant seating area away from the bar where you can take your drinks. Most clientelle in this hotel and indeed in the resort are either British or Irish. There are lot of spaniards but they tend to be in the minority. The food in the restaurant was varied and of very good quality. Ok no michelin stars here, but the food was the stuff you would eat at home, lasagna, salmon, pasta, various roasts, salads, cold meats, pies, meatballs, chilli etc etc all good stuff and it was hot (not cold or tepid - it was hot!!). Desserts were good too. Breakfast was also great. Onto the resort itself - excellent skiing (for beginners and intermediates), plenty of food options in the village, drinking establishments plentiful and great fun. You must go on the monday night pub crawl, and the friday night 70's night is a hoot. The one downside, apart from skiing, eating and drinking there wasnt much else to do in the village. So if you decide to take a day off from the slopes I would recommend a trip to Andorra la vella (20 mins away and free on the bus if you have your lift pass) Also the transfer from Barcelona (Girona) was torturous 5 hrs of twisty mountain roads - not nice if you have been travelling all day. We arrived in the hotel on the sunday at 10pm (our flight landed at 3pm!) However All in all a fantastic holiday and I wouldnt hesitate to go back.

I've just come back from a week at the St Gothard having been very stressed about it further to reviews on this site. I don't know what I was worried about. Firstly, you need to remember that hotels on skiing holidays are NOT like hotels in other parts of the world. Very often they are basic and little more than glorified chalets. Secondly - why go to an all-singing all-dancing property with amazing facilities when you're there for the snow and the scenery??? The truth is this. The food was OK. Not great but not bad either. Sometimes it was a bit on the tepid side but there was plenty of it and there was something for everyone (not just fish & veal, I would know as I eat neither!) Roomwise we got lucky. We were given a large room with separate living room on the top floor of the building. No road noise and couldn't hear infamous stream either. Large balcony which was enclosed like a conservatory provided stunning views over the mountain behind whilst being warm enough to sit out on. I could go on for a few more paragraphs about the incredibly cheap bar, great standards of cleanliness, enormous bathroom (with powerful shower!), free ski bus etc but I will instead say this. I spent a lot of time in the Hotel due to a bad accident on the slopes on day 3 :( I can genuinely say I am glad we picked this hotel as the service I received was outstanding. The restaurant staff were just fantastic, helping me up and down stairs, bringing me food (bear in mind it was a buffet) and just talking to me. Let me suggest something if you find waiting staff 'surly' - say hello and ask how they are. They will respond and treat you like royalty - these waiters are people too and should be treated as such. As for Arinsal it is fab - my husband is an experienced skier but really enjoyed a blast down the wide open slopes. The atmosphere in the town is remarkably friendly and no visit should be without a few drinks in Quo Vadis and Red X Bar (say hi to Tony and Shaun!) We have no doubt that we will return - like nearly everone else I spoke to. This is a fantastic gem of a resort with excellent facilities and wonderful snow. If you're looking for a luxury 5 star holiday don't go to Arinsal. You won't appreciate it for what it is. If, on the other hand, you want a warm, genuine and welcoming ski holiday give it a try - and don't hesitate to stay at the St Gothard Hotel

We have just returned from a weeks stay at the St. Gothard in Arinsal, we travelled 26th Dec to 2nd Jan 06. In a nutshell we were not impressed. We paid £2,000 for half board and only £300 of this was on ski/board hire, lift passes and lessons. Where do we start? The food was just awful, we ended up eating out most nights, as some of the other reviews have said the hot food that is available was always cold and you are very restricted. If you like fish and veal you will be fine, this was even served at the New Years Eve gala dinner. If you are there for New Year do not stay for the "entertainment", every night was the same and it did not change for New Year. It is a man and his guitar who sings all night and his wife who plays a keyboard. If you like line dancing and Irish jig music you will be in heaven, oh and not to mention doing the okey cokey at midnight. However, he let the New Year in twice as his watch was wrong and did the first one at 11:50pm, even though we told him a number of times he still had 10 minutes. The only good thing to happen that evening was it snowed for the first time on our trip! As for the rooms, they are very basic and after talking to a couple in the honeymoon suite we found out we had paid the same price and ended up in a bog standard room. The room was very small but did have a balcony. The beds were two single ones pushed together and the view from our balcony was of a large crane next to half built apartments. Luckily they were not being worked on but i can imagine it will be awful when they start back to work. The bathroom was clean and our room was cleaned every day and the towels were changed daily as well. The shower was at waist height so showering was a little difficult but as for cleanliness it was faultless. At the back of a hotel is a stream and while it didn't affect us on the 4th floor i can imagine that if you get a room on the first floor that the noise would keep you awake. The one thing in the hotel that was amazing was the massage that we paid for after a hard days boarding, i would reccommend booking one of these, it also took away the concerns of the hotel for half an hour! One last thing, don't expect much from you rep. Ours gave us our lift pass but only after taking a 6 Euro deposit from us and she told us at the end of the week we'd get it back. After our last day we went to her and gave back the lift pass, only for her to tell us we should have given it in at the desk by the cable cars! So we kept the lift passes as a souvenir! Overall we feel that we were very overcharged for our holiday and that the St. Gothard should not be advertised as a 4 star hotel. A couple that had the same holiday as us only paid £700 compared to our £2,000! As you can imagine we were a little upset. As a resort Arinsal is beautiful just don't ruin it by staying at the St. Gothard!! As for the snowboarding and ski-ing it was fantastic and the instructors have very good English. Sorry to have written an essay but we felt that other travellers should know what we went through in the hope of others not having to go through what we did. If we'd have have known then what we know now we'd have booked a different hotel. Happy travelling!!

No way is this a 4 star hotel ! I know skiing hotels can be basic, but this is a bit like student accomodation ! Not being able to charge to your room was a nuisance, but..on the plus side..drinks were really cheap and food was fine..the surly waiters get better as you get to know them ! You can hire lockers up at the slopes ( we realised this from an earlier tripadvisor review ), and that was fab. Despite my initial disappointment with the hotel, we had a fab time..cheap and cheerful !!

I disagree with an earlier review that stated a balcony regardless of room..we were in a road side and there are no balcony's that side at all..not that you would want one as the noise is terrible and the road does not stop being a race track all night. Food good quantity, though hot meals all cold or tepid. 2 members in party were ill from food on last night which was not any pleasure on the 4hr coach trip back to airport. Beer,drinks excellent value for money though not being able to charge to room is not what I would expect from 4 star hotel, also sheets only changed twice in a week again not 4 star. I would not rush back to stay here.

Stayed at St Gothard March 20th 2005. Hotel on very noisy road and double glazing doesnt help much. Bathroom not great, no lock on door, no fitting to hold shower head so showering not easy. Bar prices very reasonable 2.5euro for a pint, 1.20 for coffee. Great selection for breakfast and dinner, only the food was never hot enough. Wine very reasonable but you cant charge to your room, have to pay cash at the time of order. Ski bus right outside door, was on time 4 out of 6 days, a good 10 min walk to gondola. Can recommend the St Moritz hire shop, very helpful. You can hire a locker in here for 27euros a week, we managed to get 3 sets of skis and a board in there (just). A couple of mins from the gondola. The package companies offered a 'cage' to house skis & boards up the mountain for 7 euros each but ONLY skis & boards..wearing boots up the hill from the hotel not recommended if you miss the bus.

We have just returned from a week at the St Gothard. The hotel staff were very helpful and friendly. The food was plentiful, varied and enjoyable. Rooms were comfortable and clean, but could do with a little updating. The entertainment provided in the bar was ok. Just a note about the disco - it is only open on Saturdays. If you are on a skiing holiday, it is about a ten minute walk to the Gondola, but we didn't find this a problem as it offers an opportunity to warm up your muscles. However it is a good idea to store skis and boots in lockers by the Gondola.

This Hotel is fab for a relaxed ski-ing holiday the FOOD was sensational and the staff very obliging. We have booked to go back again asap Highly recommend- but dont book with First Choice Holidays-

Stayed at the Hotel St Gothard 3times before very dissapointed with my last stay wont go again last stayed in 2002 march the food was very poor its a shame i had to eat out every night and my cousin had food poisening and spent 4 days in the hotel room in bed. After receiving excellent service previously its a big shame they couldnt keep there act together,and im not that fussy but this stay was unexceptable

I have just returned from a weeks stay at the Saint Gothard Hotel (28th December-4th January 2004).The hotel itself is an excellent base for skiing and there is plenty for all age groups to do in the hotel. despite the Hotel being just outside of Arinsal there is a regular Ski bus that takes you to the slopes so you don't have to worry about trudging up the hill towards the Gondola. However, if you are venturing out at night (in the freezing cold) expect a 10-15 minute walk to the centre. The Hotel food was to a good standard and my only complaint would be that it could have been slightly hotter (just being picky). The new years eve gala meal was supberb. The staff were excellent and the hotel laid on free drink and party packs for the guests thus creating a very warm atmosphere. This in itself would persuade me to go back to this hotel. Overalll an excellent holiday for those seeking a comfotable stay without looking to venture out of the hotel.