We stayed in La Pleta on a skiing trip in January 2012. Our travel agent recommended Baqueira as an alternative destination to the busier and more well known resort in Alps. Our experience did not disappoints us.

The hotel is very comfortable and lives up to its five-start tag: the rooms are stylish, modern looking, clean and well looked after; the staff is friendly and helpful; the hotel restaurants offer a wide choice of dishes from the French, Spanish and Japanese cuisine; and the spa and gym facilities are a useful bonus too.

With the benefit of a hindsight we would consider the following when booking a trip to Baqueira:

a) a car is a must for going out or exploring the area, . The hotel offers a taxi service but a weekly taxi bill would not be cheap.

b) only one of the ski lift routes is a cabin type lift with the rest being predominantly chair lifts. The hotel is 100 meters away from the closest ski lift which is of a chair type category. If you have a small child and want to take them up to the skiing area, you will most likely have to travel to the centre of Baqueira to use the ski cabin service as we found chair lifts unsafe for a three-year old.

c) there are very few activities for small children in this area. Our three-year old son was too young for skiing. We were hoping that we could use sledges instead. It turned out that the only area where we could take him to was a snow park in Beret which required a 10 minute car journey.

d) for those who have to fly there it is much easier to reach this resort via Toulouse compared with Barcelona as the car journey is shorter by an hour.

e) we noticed that the overwhelming majority of the people on the resort was from Spain. At times it was very difficult get by. Our knowledge of English, French, Russian and German was often not enough even to buy a cup of tea or get a napkin. The hotel staff fares much better although not all of them speak basic English.

f) I disagree with what was said by other reviewers about the hotel food in terms of its quality and variety. We were on a half-board plan and enjoyed every single meal that we had there. For moderate drinkers the restaurant keeps unfinished bottles of wine for the next evening. Unfortunately we found out about this during our last dinner.

g) the resort is more suitable for beginners and intermediate skiiers who will find a good mix of red and blue runs. It is further south compared with the Alps and therefore one can therefore enjoy more sunshine.

we enjoyed our stay at the hotel, always felt comfortable with two children evn in the most formal of the three restaurants. the swimming pool is beutiful. ths staff very helpful partcularly the ski service. we found that many of the staff spoke english. breakfast is great but we ound dinners just ok.

We booked via Scott Dunn in London who have never let us down. This was a family hols to celebrate my wife's 70th birthday on the 31st Dec 2011. Skiiing for the children, 5/10/12 plus three adults. Great ski resort if a bit busy after Christmas. Hotel staff very good at helping with ski gear. All very well organized putting/ taking on/ off and putting away. All staff especially helpfully. Valet car parking, Underground car parking at a cost if required. Super breakfast inc in rate. Great rooms, cosy beds, super linen. Good choice of restaurants for all tastes. Excellent restaurants in Bequeira also Artiese, especially the pinotage run by Aouth African chap African.
All in all of thecheapest but you do get what u pay for. Would we return, YES.

We stayed for a long weekend before the ski season so sampled the delights of the spa & restaurant & thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our stay!