El Lodge

El Lodge

At El Lodge, guests come off the Maribel run and walk straight into the hotel, skis still strapped on, without a shuttle bus or a long walk across a car park in ski boots. The hotel sits at 2,100 metres in Pradollano, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada slopes, Europe's southernmost ski resort, and its 20 rooms keep it feeling intimate rather than sprawling, even in high season. What sets it apart from the bigger resorts down the valley is its outdoor pool: the only heated, open-air pool in the Sierra Nevada, with the sun on your back and the mountains as a backdrop. There's a proper spa too, with an indoor pool, two treatment rooms, a Finnish hot tub and a sauna lit by natural light, so a day can end in warm water rather than in a queue for a lift pass. Come evening, the Sun Deck fills with people back from the slopes, drinking cocktails at wood-burning fire tables while the light drops over the mountains, and the Grill and Lounge serve food built around local, seasonal ingredients rather than a laminated all-day menu. Families get a kids' club and playground, so adults can ski or soak while children are looked after; solo travellers and couples chasing quiet slopes over party scenes will feel more at home here than groups after nightlife, since Pradollano's centre and its bars are a short trip away rather than right outside the door. The pull, in the end, is simple: ski down, walk in, be in the pool by four. El Lodge sits at 2,100 metres in Pradollano, with ski-in access to the Maribel run and the only heated open-air pool in the Sierra Nevada. Its 20 rooms and quiet spa suit skiers and couples more than groups chasing nightlife, with Pradollano's centre a short trip, not a walk, away.