Hotel Merino, Pas de la Casa

Set high on the border into France, Pas de la Casa really does feel like a frontier town. Loads of French and British descend, looking for tax-free bargains and plenty of cheap booze, and this makes the après-ski extremely lively. It's not exactly charming, but serves a purpose, while the snow record in the Grandvalira ski area is excellent. Pas de la Casa is an ideal winter package holiday for those on a tight budget. The skiing itself, which covers the linked areas of Grau Roig and Soldeu, is the largest in the Pyrenees, with 150km of pistes. It caters mostly to easy cruising, while boarders are much in evidence on the slopes.

There are all sorts of accommodation, from apartments to hotels, most of which you can ski to. These serve the various clientele, the young in the former, families in the latter. On-piste restaurants are better in Grau Roig, but most are no more than snack bars. The resort eateries are generally Spanish in cuisine and are largely cheap and cheerful.

Pas de la Casa is easy to knock if you are looking for bags of Alpine charm. But, if you want to have effortless skiing and lots of nightlife, it makes a cheap and understandably popular destination.