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Cauterets Resort Reviews



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Visitor reviews for Cauterets Ski Resort

Cauterets Ratings

Overall: 3.9. Based on 30 votes and 9 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 4.1

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Cauterets is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.6

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Cauterets has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.6

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.6

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.7

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Cauterets

Public Transport: 3.8

  • There are no buses or taxis to Cauterets
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 4.5

  • No places to stay in/near Cauterets
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.8

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 3.2

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Cauterets

Ski in/Ski out: 3.5

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.6

  • There are no child care facilities at Cauterets
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.3

  • Cauterets relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.5

  • There are no snow groomers at Cauterets
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Cauterets are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.1

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Cauterets is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.8

  • If snow conditions are poor at Cauterets, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.7

  • Cauterets usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.5

  • The staff at Cauterets are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Cauterets are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.5

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.7

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.5

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.6

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.3

  • No intermediate terrain at Cauterets
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.6

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.5

  • Not even a kicker at Cauterets
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 3.9

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Cauterets
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.5

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Cauterets has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.5

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 4.3

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.5

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 4.1

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 3.9

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 4.5

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 3.9

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 4.3

  • Overall, Cauterets is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 4.2

  • Overall, Cauterets is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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January 30, 2024
Amal Pilendiram from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Cauterets is a family resort. We have been skiing here with our kids and extended family for 20 years. It’s an annual pilgrimage for generations of French families grand parents, parents, kids and toddlers. There’s not a lot to entertain teens/advanced alpine skiers either on or off piste unless you’re into the particularly superb cuisine of south west France, spa time, ice skating, snow shoeing, ski de fond or walking. Come to teach your kids or friends how to ski or board and you won’t be disappointed. If someone in your party can’t or doesn’t want to ski (?) neither will they, as this pretty Napoleonic spa town has plenty to keep them busy. Cauterets is a beautiful village (views over the Pyrenees up the mountain are stunning as well), no ugly concrete ski hotels here, for brutalist but stunning concrete and advanced skiing checkout Bond themed snow sure Piau Engalay. For a week, as a family holiday it’s a hidden gem!
February 24, 2015
Andy Eastham from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I really like Cauterets. We've been on three separate occasions and skied two days of a week mixed with Luz-Ardiden, Bareges/La Mongie and Piau Engaly. What I particularly like about Cauterets (apart from the great snow) is that the bowl offers loads of in-bounds off-piste options without ever getting that far away from everyone. You can jump off the top ridge in many different places and choose lots of different routes down before joining marked runs. I think it's a great place to get into relatively safe off-piste skiing and learning how to set off into steeps.
January 10, 2015
John Kelly
We come here every couple of years and thoroughly enjoy it. We stay in a self contained apartment which is spacious at 70m2 and quite cheap (500 euro per week) by international standards. Plenty of good skiing, we have been here 3 times over 6 years and have not been disappointed with the snow. We come in the first weeks of Jan when it's school holidays in Australia and is "low" season here. It's like having your own ski resort! Skiing is as good as anywhere in Australia at a fraction of the cost with almost guaranteed snow. Small local cafes, restaurants and brasseries are quite good. No night life though. Not many people speak English so brush up on your French before you come. Ski lifts are quite cheap at A$50 per day which is a fraction of the cost in Australia. Will definitely come again and again. Suitable for kids at learner/intermediate level.
December 05, 2012
Tony Tollinton from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Cauterets is a great little resort ideal for a few days skiing, and when you want a change there are resorts such as Bareges/La Mongie and Luz Ardiden that are no more than 45 minutes drive away. Cauterets has not been discovered by the Brits yet, but it is great to visit at all times of the year. It has a good snow record and this probably explains why there is a longer skiing season than most resorts in the Alps. In the summer it becomes one of the premier mountaineering centres of the Pyrenees and has some fabulous walking on its doorstep. Cauterets itself is at under 1000m, but the main skiing area is served by a gondola that goes up to 1850m. There are a good mix of blue and red runs and some blacks. There is also a small skiing area that is a short bus-ride/drive away at Pont d'Espagne, but this is more suited to cross-country skiing. The appeal of Cauterets is not just the skiing but the resort itself. It developed as a spa town where people came to take the waters, and it retains a charm that is missing in most French Alpine resorts. Lots of restaurants and bars, but probably not much to appeal to anyone looking for exciting nightlife.
December 10, 2009
Patxi from Ski Spain Spain
70 KM of skiing tracks in Gourette? Are you joking? There are only 30, man. Nowadays, in Cauterets 40 KM.
November 27, 2008
Derek from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Yep, Cauterets is a small resort, mainly for families who are beginners/intermediates. It's very French, and is popular with the French themselves, rather than the Brits. Despite that, we've been twice and always found everyone to be very friendly. There are also some nice little bars and restaurants, ranging from a Pizza takeaway, to some places with seriously good cuisine. There's also a great market where you can buy local cheese, bread and wine, as well as gourmet takeaway to microwave back at your apartment. Quite inexpensive, and easy to reach from Pau, Lourdes, Toulouse and even Carcassonne airports. We love it.
October 31, 2008
Rob from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Skied here for the last couple of years, beautiful village, quite good run's, although not really that challenging. Good for beginners and intermediates, very friendly place with good selection of restaurants and bars. Very family orientated place, nice not to be 'herded' around, just left to your own devices. Mountain has snow making on, so there's usually something to ski on! Very reasonably priced, and recently modernised lifts and cable car. All in all, a great place to go!
March 05, 2008
Alan from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Small, compact ski area reached by gondola from the village. Skied there for 2 days in Feb 2007 whilst in the area. Preferred the skiing at Luz Ardiden, but the bowl at Cauterets holds snow well and would be good for families with kids. Cheap compared with the Alps as well and the Pyrenees do have a charm of their own!
July 09, 2005
Eric Bastie from Ski France France
Cauteret is a little village,and the skiing resort is small, but very "alpin". This place is very snowy,and you can ski from November to May. The view all over the French Pyrenees from the top of Cauteret is incredible. Good little restaurants with famous french south westerner food, nice prices; it's not Val d'Isere or Megève, but skiing is cheap and cool. Near Cauteret, try to visit a very sportive ski resort named Gourette, 50 KM south of Pau and its "low costed airline companies airport". In Gourette,70 KM of skiing tracks, red, black, blue and green slopes from 1400 metres to 2400! Very snowy place from November to end of April.