Åre Reviews

I've been to Whistler, to Andorra, to Meribel but we went to Åre last year and this was my favourite. We stayed at the Hotel Renen in Duved in end of Jan 09 where the breakfast (especially if you like waffles) was great and we packed a great lunch from it too! The snow was good and the free ski buses very fast taking us into the main part of Åre. A lot of the lifts are Drag lifts and take a bit of work on snowboards. It looked easier on skis than our snowboards, but we soon picked it up and we were rewarded with pristine slopes that felt deserted compared with any other ski resort we'd been too. We snowboarded Duved & Tegefjäll more than the main part of Åre, but if we were in a large group Åre center is where it's all at if you want the Apres Ski. Every meal we ate in Åre and Duved was fairly expensive, but no more than I've paid in many English restaurants. The quality of food was superb with awesome service; reindeer to fresh fish to burgers to pizza was of really high quality & service. They even used top quality fillet steak on a pizza I ate at the Hotel Renen. By the way they loved putting on béarnaise sauce with all the steaks and all the other great red meats, which tasted wonderful. If you get a self catering chalet or shared apartment they're plenty of supermarkets that sell good priced food. All booze in the supermarkets is low alcohol content(around 3%) but a 10min walk from the Åre train station is a Liquor store with all the familiar full strength wines, spirits & beers as well as plenty good Scandinavian drinks . Åre resort is deadly cold in January, it hit -21 C when were there but it doesn't matter when your all wrapped up. Also lying at the top and bottom of slopes are these fantastic fire pits where you can warm yourselves as well as openly barbecue any food you pack. We saw groups of people cook sausages and steaks every where in the most beautiful mountain top scenery. The whole place has great cross country skiing if you’re into to that so snowboarders be careful not to drift onto these tracks like I did, though I did enjoy the amazing scenery during my walk! This place offers amazing excursions for non skiers/boarders from dog sledding to ice fishing to snowmobiling to taking a trip to frozen waterfalls and ice caves. There's plenty of fantastic night skiing, which is very useful during the short hours of daylight in January. One other gondola opens in February though there is plenty of lifts to fill your needs before that. Beware drifting off piste it can be very quiet as I was falling through and in deep snow while seeing no other people for some time in Tegefjäll slopes, with the night closing in quick! Luckily I found my way back on track to the best stop in Tegefjäll, a beautiful Tipi sits at the top of a lift with hot drinks and snacks and a chunky wood fire stove to heat me up. Though some people may not find Åre to be challenging enough I found this location exhilarating with deep powdery snow and looming tree runs, unique and very welcoming. If sitting on a mountain high up by fire, watching the sunrise and sunset or bulleting down quiet wide open slopes until your face aches with the cold. Day or nights you should love it! It has tranquillity and great snow blew us away. Björnen was further over and is known to be one of the best for families, this area was easily accessible and included in are ski pass and I wish we went over. We were told the skiing was fun there. It's known to be great for kids & beginners, as we don't have any kids we skipped it but next time Ill go. Åre caters for people who want a new feel of ski holiday, breath taking scenery especially at sunrise here. It might not be for everyone, especially people who need crazy night life every night. However at the weekends it is lively with the Swedish taking the train up to Åre from Stockholm. I 've got to say the Swedish people look beautiful! So all you single guys and girls would really enjoy this resort! Just remember wrap up warm, really warm.... I love this resort

Matthew Thompson

We went to Are with 3 children aged 6-12yrs on 26th Dec 2010 for a week and stayed at the Aregarden apartments behind the Diplomat hotel. It was cold: take one or two base layers for everyone: minus 10-25 is common. It's colder when windy, and it is often windy at this time of year. There is 4-5 hrs of light every day so you tend to ski after breakfast and stop for regular coffees rather than long lunch until 3pm when lifts shut. There is an old furnicular about 5-10 mins walk from apartment which runs into the main slopes. There are free warm huts at many " junctions": they have microwaves/ loos/basins/cafe and many tables and chairs etc for everyone to use and to warm up. Are is very Swedish and pretty as a village: there is smart shopping and dining and partying. The piste map is poor but the reps are great. There are thre ski areas: Bjornen for families; Duved for quieter red runs; Are for busier and world cup run. Lots of blue and red slopes generally. From Are you get ski bus at 8.20am to Rodkullen for ski school 9.30-11am. There are alot of T bar lifts which the 6 yr old struggled with at first. The ski school is 90 mins a day for 5 of the 6 days and is excellent. Good quality tuition and very approachable instructors. None of the French poseurs who tell you they could have been skiing for France if they weren't teaching you! The appartments are Ikea quality; no kettle or hairdryer but dishwasher and coffee machine? The apartment did not match description as we had 4 bunks in one room for children and 2 bunks off main room for us (husband is over 6 foot!). It was a bit noisy over New Year. However a fabulous and good value supermarket is over the road and lots of great restaurants are within 5 mins walk. You have use of the spa pool and sauna (very swish pool is hotel size, not swimming pool size). Spa is expensive. As days are shorter, we found it better to have an apartment to chill out in when there are 5 of you, rather than being cramped in a chalet with others or in a hotel room. There is Swedish TV which often has films/Simpsons etc in English with sub titles.

Apres-Ski 4/5

Katharine Horton

I have been to this resort twice, once at New Year and once at February Half term. Would not go at New Year again, the resort (or at least the part we were in) was over-run by rude holidaymakers. This is a pity because the town and the locals are really nice. Also it can be quite cold and dark in January, a lot of ice on the piste and very windy. A much better experience in February, still no real lift queues by Alpine standards and the piste conditions were much better Very high standard fun park if you are good enough - some outstanding locals! It feels like several resorts you can get buses between. Nice town, great shops and places to eat, ice karting on the lake. Bottom end of the main piste (VM8) gets heavy going by the end of the day. Some very good accommodation right by the VM8.

Andy Rothwell

This resort is excellent for intermediate skiers like me. There are friendly people and the instructions given are in English. The holiday club resort is exciting and there is good vegetarian food available. I enjoyed here allot.

namrata gor

Best apres ski is at the Diplomat Bar - check out local band Marmalade. Get there early or you won't get in. Good nightlife is also to be found at the Arefjallby apartment complex. An excellent range of activities available including dog sledding, ice climbing and reindeer safaris. Ask your rep or at the tourist office for information about the sauna located adjacent to an underground stream. Generally speaking the Swedish service is the best we have experienced in a ski resort for many years. Are is very friendly and welcoming with lots of non skiing activities to do including skating, huskie sleighs, skidoo. It is great place for families, couples who want a quiet alternative to the Alps and action types who want lots of alternative winter activities.

Apres-Ski 3/5

Jackson
Iglu Staff