After considering a visit to the longest ski slope in the Benelux for sometime, we finally decided to give it a trial visit for a bit of pre-season warm up.
Overview
Landgraaf is in the south east of the Netherlands, it hosts and 400 meter blue and 400 meter red indoor slopes along with a 50 meter blue and 50 meter red trainer slopes. The main slopes are serviced by two Poma button lifts to the side and a six person chair lift in between the two slopes. They offer a range of lift passes from a couple of hours to a full day (8 hours). The center is open from 9am to 10pm. They also have numerous onsite restaurants as well as a hotel if you want to make the most of your visit.
Our visit was only short this being a test run, we arrived on a Tuesday and departed on the Thursday. Depending on the the time of day you travel there is the opportunity to ski after arriving and before leaving, but this didn't pan out for me being too tired after the train travel on the Tuesday and me overdoing it on the Wednesday.
Getting There
We originally planned to take Eurostar from London St. Pancras to Amsterdam, as there is a direct train from Amsterdam to Heerlen the nearest station to Landgraaf. Due to issues with Eurostar and getting more and more delayed we decided to disembark at Rotterdam, from here you can take the NS trains first to Eindhoven and then on to Heerlen. Once in Heerlen there is a short bus journey to SnowWorld. There is also an alternative route of taking Eurostar to Brussels Midi and then regional trains to Heerlen. I didn't bring my own skis, but my mate did and there were no issues on Eurostar or regional trains with their carriage.
The main reason for going to Amsterdam was being able to use OV Pay for the regional train journeys, where you just need to tap in and out with a debit card and the amount being taken out of your account (this is also the same for the buses and trams), similar to London's transport network.
Alternatively you can drive there, SnowWorld has a large car park, but there is a charge for using it.
Apline Hotel
As part of the complex there is a hotel, which is reasonably priced, with comfortable rooms, they even have some family rooms. We decided to add the breakfast option, which was a vast selection of continental items as well as hot items, some are cooked to order. We had a really nice stay which was quiet and peaceful. It is worth noting that you are not allowed to wear ski boots in the area leading to the rooms, but there is a large changing room with lockers (charged per day) near the slope.
Ski Rental
I decided to hire skis, which is an additional cost on top of your lift pass. I was a bit disappointed as the ski length was chosen for me, considerably short than my Völkl's and the DIN setting is very low and you are not able to change the setting. So for me this was a bit of a disappointment and I will bring my own skis in future.
Lift Passes & Skiing
To get to the slope, you need to go down the stairs opposite the reception area, there is a changing room with lockers, you go through to ski hire area and then on to the barriers where you scan your lift pass. Lift passes work on time, based on when you scan in and out, the clock stops when you leave for a break if you are having one and restart when you head back to the slopes. You are given a five minute grace period (for example if you book a two hour lift pass you ski two hours and five minutes on the slope by the scan on your lift pass there is no charge) if you go over this you are charged by the minute and must pay before your are allowed to exit.
It was a bit of a surprise to find it quiet in the middle of November, but I guess if you live so close to the real thing then you are going to use that. The only busy time we saw was Tuesday evening. The snow feels much more like the real thing and seems more slippy than the snow at The Snow Center, Hemel Hempstead. We did managed to get lots of skiing in and could get in the flow more. I even tried the red slope to see how I could deal with it. It was also good to get more practice on the chair lift having done it only once before in Loser, Austria. I think the skis affected my skiing as it wasn't my best, but it was enjoyable even if I did over do it.
Restaurants
The website said there were a number of restaurants to chose from, but during our visit only one was open, probably as it was so quiet. There was a good selection of food on offer and it was a table service. I liked the fact you could scan a QR code and order and pay for your meal and drinks online, the first time was tricky trying to find the Apple Pay option but once we figured it out it was a breeze ordering a pit stop coffee or hot chocolate to our evening meal.
Conclusion
It was definitely worth the visit and we are planning to make an annual trip to Landgraaf, the prices were reasonable for everything from the hotel to lift passes and food and drinks. It is worth noting that SnowWorld is a cashless location. For our next visit I will take my own skis to make the most of slope and we will be taking Eurostar to Rotterdam. If you are wanting a slope which is longer than we currently have to offer in the U.K. it is definitely worth a visit.
Add comment
Comments