A huge plus point here is the relatively low-cost heli-skiing with Pyrenees Heliski (00 34 655 012 393; pyreneesheliski.com), based eight miles away in the ancient valley town of Vielha. A day with six drops costs €900 (£750), but prices are usually lower for a short day of just two drops when booked through the local British BB ski school (01903 233323; bbskischool.co.uk). Incidentally, having a first-class British ski school in my perfect resort is an important extra bonus, particularly when it comes to teaching children.
The terrain is in three areas linked across six main peaks, with main access from Baqueira itself by a gondola from the village centre. The hamlet of Beret is little more than a lift station and a terrain park at 1,800m that can be reached on skis or by car from Baqueira. It’s the starting point for some easy blue runs as well as a few much more demanding ones on the Tuc deth Dossau, one of the highest points of the ski area.
The on-piste Moët Winter Lounge (+34 682 737 679) serves champagne by the glass or the magnum, but even in this exalted lunch spot the food is good value by Alpine standards. A potato omelette costs €10.45 (£8.70) and Thai soup €12 (£10). A glass of local wine costs €9 (£7.50).
Now, the resort itself. No, it’s not the prettiest. Like Tignes, the main base at 1,500m dates from the Sixties ski boom when architectural beauty played second fiddle to bed numbers. The more recent development of more sympathetic four- and five-star hotels is housed in a mall at the bottom of the lift system in Val de Ruda. Purpose-built, these owe more to North American notions of convenience than to our European ideal. But Tanau at 1,700m, where the Spanish royal family resides, is unquestionably cool. This collection of traditional mountain homes, including the five-star Hotel Pleta (www.lapleta.com), blends with the beauty of its surroundings.
What attracts me to Baqueira is the location in more general terms. You don’t have to base yourself in the resort, but alternatively in the ancient town of Vielha eight miles away, or in one of the half-dozen medieval hillside villages such as Arties, below Baqueira. Don’t miss out on a visit to Tauèrna Urtau (+34 973 640 926) here, famous for its extraordinary variety of tapas. Order enough rounds of drinks and you won’t need dinner.
Along with Arties, the villages of Salardu and Tredòs offer a variety of accommodation and fine restaurants tucked away down cobbled alleyways. A government-subsidised bus service links the villages between Vielha and Baqueira. But unless staying in the resort itself, a car is essential. Parking is not a problem.
