We have just returned for a week long ski trip to Soldeu, our second visit to this resort. It won't be our last visit! We were a party of four, husband wife and two sons in early 20's. We had a one bed apartment.

The bedroom was a good size with a full wardrobe and drawers for storage. The room opened on to a balcony. The sofa beds in the living room were already made up for our arrival, which was a nice touch. This room also opened on the the south facing balcony, looking directly over the slopes.

The kitchen, off the living room, was stocked with everything you could need, including a toaster and kettle (not always provided elsewhere!). Unlike previous reviewers, we did have tea towels provided and full cleaning kit. The bins were emptied mid-week.

The bathroom was a good size with a shower in bath arrangement. Towels were changed midweek.

Heating was very efficient and could be adjusted by a dial on the wall. TV and DVD player were provided. There were two English speaking channels.

The standard of furniture was good and we all found the beds, both sofa and conventional, to be comfortable. We all slept well and there was little of the intrusive noise that sometime accompanies ski apartments, although it was a quiet week in the resort.

Breakfast was continental, of a good standard with a wide variety of choice. A cooked breakfast was available at a supplement but we didn't avail so I cannot comment.

Staff were friendly and helpful. Check-in and check-out were smooth and efficient.

Two suggested minor improvements. One is a set of wall hooks to hang coats and the second would be the addition of a bench in the ski locker area.

Overall, we really liked this apartment. We were on the third floor. We would certainly return without hesitation.

Although my review says Jan 2010 I've actually stayed quite a few times at the amazing Aparthotel De Popaire booking through my good friends at ATS (No not the tyre people - Andorran Travel Services).

Lets get this straight from the start, I've travellled the world and have stayed in some great (and bad) places, so I can firmly place this Hotel as a 3 star +. However, the friendliness of the staff and the quality of the service and food firmly "add" another Star to this in my oppinion making this a 4 star + on my ratings system.

The Rooms are warm, clean, and well fitted; and all have fantastic views of the slopes. A typical room has a Kitchen Diner, Living area with Sofa Bed, separate bedroom, and a lovely bathroom ith Bath and Shower attachment. There is a TV (but not many English channels) and a large dining table with 4 chairs. A georgous wooden Cabinet holds plates, dishes, cuttlery etc. Floors are tiled, as one other reveiwer said, "take some slippers!". All in all its a very nice enviroment for your stay.

Nothing is too much trouble for Bruce (The Chef) or Host Emma (his long-suffering partner!). The Breakfast is fantastic but in the Evenings the breakfast area becomes the Merlot Restaurant which is open to the public too. Book your table in the mornings; the Restaurant gets busy as the meals are AWESOME. The menu is fairly limited, but Bruce will go out of his way to accomodate anything within reason eg. Chicken nuggets etc for the kids (even though they are not on the menu). You don't need a big menu, what is there is always amazing. Specialist nights are also popular like Sunday Dinner, or Indian Night. Bruce is a crap Holiday Rep (he's been on Holidays from Hell and several other travel programs on TV where I've laughed my socks off), and he can't handle his drink; so thank God he's a Brilliant Chef!

The Hotel is only 200m from the main Gondola at Soldeu and is often over-looked by locals and tourist alike, as it is up a hill then down a small dead-end road (alleyway). Its 25m from a Supermarket, 50m from the town centre and shops, and 20m from the ATS office.

Tips:
ATS can organise your Rooms, Meals, Lift Tickets, Airport Transfer and even flights for that matter. Ian, Gemma and Carla are all English or English speaking and will go out of their way to plan as much or as little of your trip as you desire. (I will add their website address to this review asap).

Soldeu is in my oppinion, now a major player in Europe. With over 192 km of Pistes, massive Snow making coverage, and an ultra modern lift system with very few drag lifts and contactless passes that you keep in your pocket. Once again, the friendliness of the resort, the staff, the instructors and the local people put this resort a class above much larger resorts.

Awesome

We booked two apts direct through Andorra Travel Services and got a very good deal as we booked in advance and got an early bird discount. We flew Easy jet into Tolouse and Andorra Travel Services arranged the transfer for us. There were 6 of us in the party - 4 adults and two kids age 6 and 4 - The family had one apt, two adults had the adjoining one.

The apts are clean , warm and the beds very comfortable. The breakfast was adequate - boiled eggs , ham , cheeses, rolls etc etc - there was a cooked breakfast for an additional charge if you wanted it. The apts are situated a 5 minwalk from the main Gondola - they do have their own ski lockers but we chose to take the lockers at the bottom of the Gondola to avoid traipsing up and down with small kids and skis/boots. The 50 euro charge, between six of us for one locker , was worth every penny.

We didn;t eat in the hotel restaurant - we cooked in most nights as we had the two little ones and found plenty of stuff in the local supermarkets.

The view from the apts is stupendous - you couldn't get any better - and every apt has a view. The apts could do with some hooks to hang ski gear on - and - take tea towels and oven gloves as they don't supply them . They are cleaned and linen change once a week.
The music in the dining room at breakfast was a bit of a nuiscance - heavy rock at 0800 ! but it was turned down on request. Apart from that I can thouroughly reccomend these apts and Andorra travel service - great value if you book early !!

Each apartment has a good sized bedroom witha well-equipped lounge/diner/kitchen and generous hall area. Bathrooms have a good shower & bath and are roomy. The lounge is spacious with a settee that converts into two single beds.You will find plenty of storage space in all rooms. The term ApartHotel is genuine as you will find many hotel conveniences in your aprtment: electronic door keys, good towels changed every few days, a wide range of toiletries, hair driers, excellent electronic safe, etc. All the building has been equipped traditionally with high quality fittings (eg granite work top in kitchen, solid wooden cupboards, doors etc). You will find good facilities to self cater but will be tempted by the excellent on-site restaurant (The Merlot) serving some of the best food we have eaten - and at very fair prices. The inclusive breakfast satisfied our three young adults: cereal, ham & eggs, croissants, chocolate or custard filled pastries, toast, rolls, yoghurt, and tea coffee and orange juice (all help yourself to as much as you want). The view from the apartment balconies & restaurant is stunning and available to all apartment lounges and most bedrooms. Downstairs there is a basement room with a locker for each apartment for your ski gear - however we did prefer to use the lockers in the gondola station to avoid walking through the town with skis & boots (this was money well spent, 1o euros each for the five of us for the week).

Bruce (the chef) and Emma (your host) run a superb operation and the small size (12 apartments) helps to provide a friendly and intimate atmosphere. Only a few level steps from your front door (about 50m) gets you to the surpsingly weel stockled lttle supermarket and the excellent ATS (Andorra Travel Service) where Carla (with superb English) will tend to all your travell & tourist needs. Mke sure you visit Slim Jim's when you come off piste (like a quality internet cafe) and Fat Alberts for a pizza/drink.

Our experienced party of 5 adulst all rated this as the best value ski accommodation we had encountered. It is daft to nit pick when somewhere is so good but the limited nature of our grouses will illustrate how good Hort de Popaire is. The Wi-fi could only really be accessed in the restaurant & foyer and we lacked a bread knife with serrated edge. Take some soft soled slippers as the lovely tiled floors will be noisy otherwise, especially for those in the apartment below you.