Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa, Andorra's luxury at the foot of the slopes

When someone asks me for Andorra’s luxury ski hotel, the short answer is the Hermitage. Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa is in Soldeu, at 1,850 metres, and its group presents it as the country’s only five-star at the foot of the Grandvalira slopes. What it publishes about itself is enough to see why it’s the benchmark splurge. A simpler alternative in the same village is the Hotel Soldeu Maistre.

A five-star within a complex

The Hermitage is part of Sport Hotels Resort & Spa, a group of three hotels in Soldeu. The other two are four-stars, the Sport Hotel Village, with 148 rooms and a gondola to the slopes from inside the building, and the Sport Hotel, with a garden and heated outdoor pool. The Hermitage sits at the top of the range, with décor blending contemporary design and rustic high-mountain style.

The group also runs nine Hermitage Mountain Residences, from 120 to 250 m², with five-star services, a ski-in chalet at 1,700 metres with chef and butler, and Borda Mangautxa, a suite in a stone house in the Incles valley.

What’s special about the spa?

Size and access. The Sport Wellness Mountain Spa covers 5,000 m², and from the Hermitage rooms you go straight down to it without crossing the street. The hydrotherapy circuit is for over-13s. If the spa is the point of the trip, compare it with the others in Andorra’s spa hotels; what I’d confirm when booking is which part of the spa your rate covers.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa, Soldeu on Booking.com and filter by area before price.

Two restaurants with a name

Koy Hermitage is the Japanese fine-dining offer, advised by chef Hideki Matsuhisa of Koy Shunka in Barcelona, with three tasting menus and a selection of sakes and wines. It carries a Michelin Guide mention and takes diners from age 8. Sol i Neu Club Hermitage goes another way, with mountain cooking, hearty stews, grilled meats, fish and rice dishes, a panoramic terrace over the Soldeu valley and a private room for 20.

Who it’s for

A special ski or summer trip in the upper part of the country. In winter the advantage is skiing from the door; in summer the group offers guided walks, via ferrata or cycling, and dinner at Koy, listed in the Michelin Guide, after a stroll in the Incles valley. To compare it with the rest of Andorra’s luxury, see luxury hotels in Andorra, and for the village, hotels in Soldeu. There’s a national bus to the village, the L3, though for a hotel like this most guests arrive by car or transfer. For a family that skis all day and rarely uses a spa, I’d say the price only makes sense if you’ll actually spend your afternoons in it. For a special occasion, on the other hand, a winter stay that combines ski-in access with the spa is what it does best.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Sport Hotel Hermitage & Spa, Soldeu on Expedia and filter by area before price.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Soldeu and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Andorra la Vella before you arrive rather than at the desk.

If you still need a way in, check the best ticket deals to Andorra la Vella from where you are.