St Gothard is a reasonably sized hotel 10 mins walk from the Gondola. First thing we noticed when getting into the room was how clean it was. Spotless. The bathroom (with bath) in particular which my wife always notices. Room was a good size, plenty of space for bags and snow-clothes. It was very important for us to have a clean, comfortable room on our holiday and we were not disappointed.

We had a double bed, and a balcony overlooking the pool at the rear. Spent one evening wrapped up sat on the balcony with a coffee and hot chocolate... (which we had to buy from a local coffee shop as there is no coffee making stuff in the room. An easy win would be to at least put a kettle in. But no big deal.)

The food was absolutely fine, lots of choice for breakfast and evening meal and as it was half board it was a real bargain. The buffet changes every evening so there was always something new. For fussy eaters there is always a pasta option which you cant go wrong with. Drinks were a bit overpriced but as someone else recommended if you buy a large water you can take it to your room later.

On about 2 occasions, we heard music from the entertainment downstairs. But this stopped before 11, and didn't really cause any issues.

The only down points were that there were noisy Irish people there when we stayed and we could often hear them banging doors and shouting in the middle of the night. This is not the fault of the hotel, just inconsiderate people which you can get anywhere. Also you do need to walk 10 mins up hill to the gondola which is fine for us young'uns but if you are a bit older you might want to take the free bus. To be honest what you save in the price due to it being a 10 minute walk away from the gondola is still worth it. Also at the beginning of our stay the room was very hot at night but someone must have complained as towards the end of the week it got cooler.

The resort itself is lovely, perfect for couples, friends and families (no inbetweener-type people, they can stay at Pas de la Casa). lots of friendly places to have a drink or something to eat. The drinks were a real bargain. If you have lessons they film them and you can ask them to be played at El Cau pub which give free toasties with every drink. Great fun after a day on the slopes.

The slopes are great for beginners and intermediates (we're both snowboarders and was great), advanced skiiers might get a bit bored. The only major disappointment regarding the resort is that you can smoke in public places (not in the restaurant at the hotel though which was really nice!) but in the resort you could. I had forgotten what it was like to go out in the evening and have to breathe 2nd hand smoke in all night. For non skiiers there is a lovely hot spa in the city around 15 min bus ride.

Overall pleasantly surprised with the hotel after reading some previous reviews, I now think that they are a little exaggerated and extremely picky and fussy. If you want a very clean, comfy, friendly half board hotel which is not too far from the slopes at a good price then you will be more than happy with St Gothard.

I would recommend this hotel.

(we didnt use the fitness centre)

stayed at this hotel last week and was pleasently suprised at the value for money easy booking in at the reception , with a welcome smile . the breakfast and evening meals had a great selection which cater for all tastes. the bar staff are also friendly and spoke good english. best of all was the evening entertainment a very profesional couple peck peck , they are excellent musicans , singers.with a great sense of humour who also do quizzes etc. through the week. unfortunately as the bars close by had cheeper beer some people voted with their wallets and went out for some evenings , they loss.. but after all it is a recession.. all in a good family hotel which i am happy to recommend

we stayed from jan 02-jan08 and enjoyed out stay. as we were there for a ski holiday, as long as we had a comfy bed we didn`t mind.
the rooms were small but very cosy and was well furnished . the staff spoke good english and were easy to understand. the freebus to the gondola is good for going up to the gondola but i didnt mind walking back as it is downhill. there is free wifi in the reception which didnt connect most of the time but if you take it up to the reception they will refresh it for you.
the food was OK some of the food was lovley and others were rubbery, still, the nice food was actually pretty good.
they do frequent buses to andorra la vella and if your going there i would recommend the caleda spa it was the best spa i have ever been to , also everything id tax free there so things (especially alcohol,cigarettes and electronics) are cheap there .
if you are going there on a ski trip go to the derby irish pub they film people while skiing and is fun to watch.
overall i thought it was a great trip and a great hotel and i would definetley recommend it.

We skied Arinsal from 2/1/12 to 8/1/12 and stayed at the St Gothard.

It claims to be a 4 star but doesn't compare to a similar in town i.e. the Princessa Parc where our friends stayed at the same time. No issues with cleanliness, size of family room and quality of the buffet food but general comparison must state that it was not as up market. Food is basic family food not a la carte and some will not like it but we found it great with really hungry kids. No tea/ coffee in the room and not available without paying extra. The supply of a kettle and cups would be a great advantage even if guests bought their own tea, milk etc.
Points to be aware of as family ski accomodation:
1) RESTAURANT: Food was awesome for families, with a good selection each morning and evening. Dinner time is not until 7.30pm each evening. This was way too late as the slopes closed at 5pm. Our children found this very difficult and we ended up feeding them elsewhere some evenings which cost us more than we intended. This time also then affected our evening as we didn't finish eating until 8.30ish and the kids wanted to play! We would have fed them earlier at 6pm, played and then bed in preparation for the next day at 9pm in an ideal world. It ended up a struggle to get them up in the morning, fed and then onto the lessons for 9am.
Also the evening meal did not include any drinks at all and they had to be purchased with cash on the spot in the restaurant. Prices were: 2.30 euros for a bottle of1ltr water, can of orange/coke etc. Equal to 2 pounds each which is too much. With a family this the added up over the week. No coffee or tea provided again.
2)The Bar Football and other games room activities were 1euro a game and the Spa was 6 euro for 30 minutes. The entertainment in the evening was corny and the bar sparsely populated.
3) The reception area was clean but uninviting, however the reception were very knowledgeable and very helpful.
4)The garage downstairs was free to store your equipment which was an advantage as other hotels charged.
5)The free bus was regular during the day but stopped in the early evening. It took 15mins to do the walk up to the center.
6)The Derby Irish Bar, as with some others, video the events on the slopes and play it back in the evening. It was fun to watch!!!
Overall as our first family ski holiday it was a success. A few changes would make it more family friendly.