Host
- Bernard is a very genial, expert, helpful and responsive host. Nothing was too much trouble. He speaks many languages, including good English, which was very helpful as we speak hardly any Spanish.
- He gave good advice in advance of arriving, eg, bringing provisions from the city. And he offered to add value and useful contacts, eg, ski hire, ski teacher, transfer, ski cards for loading with ski passes, details of local offers for Visa customers.
Location
- Together the resorts of La Parva, Valle Nevado and El Colorado offer the largest ski centre in the Southern Hemisphere - so unrivalled for the novelty of skiing during the northern hemisphere’s summer months.
- It’s a real bonus to be situated so close to such a large capital city, for easy international connections then short local transfer plus the opportunity to combine skiing with a cultural / city break. Standard options for transfer from Santiago up the 41 mountain hairpin bends to La Parva can be expensive (over 100GBP), but you can shop around.
- The 2019 ski season had just begun when we visited and was proving a difficult year for snow so far, owing to this year’s El Niño event. But La Parva was proving more resilient than other resorts near Santiago, which were bussing people over to La Parva.
- The resort of La Parva is well laid-out, with accommodation and facilities lining a zig-zag route up the mountain.
- It has a small minimart, main ski centre (with restaurants and tourist information), and ski school/hire (for kids and adults) all in walking distance from Bernard’s apartment. And there is also a friendly and regular shuttle service (every 10 mins from 0800-2000 in peak season) up and down the zig-zag to make it easy on your legs, especially if carrying ski kit.
Apartment
- Bernard’s apartment is brilliantly located, being ski-in/ski-out as well as walking distance from all the key facilities.
- The size is compact but Bernard has been absolutely ingenious in fitting in storage space plus all the essentials and more, eg, a real bonus to have a dishwasher (to which the plates had been perfectly matched in size).
- The apartment is light and airy with big windows and balcony overlooking the piste and the valley to Santiago. It was also quiet and easy to keep warm.
- The family enjoyed relaxing with the wi-fi and TV service (DirecTV) after a day’s skiing.
- The carbon monoxide monitor was reassuring to have and Bernard gave a clear introduction to it.