Xanadu is a huge 185,000 square-metre shopping & leisure complex recently opened near Madrid. It's very easy to get to by car, from Marid, just head south down the NV to km. 23. (Buses run from Pr�ncipe Pio)
To enter the ski centre you go through the shopping centre, which is a little strange! When we went (August) it was pretty quiet with no queues to get in. Entrance fee was 12� per hour (10� on weekdays). If you need any equipment you can hire it, Skis, Boots 3� each or everything for 8� (Skis/snowboard, boots, jacket, pants & gloves).
Inside there's the main 250 metre run and a small beginners run to the left. To get to the top of the piste there are two lifts, a button lift on the left and a real, yes real, 4 seater chair lift to the right so there shouldn't be too big of a queue when busy!
The day we went, there were a couple of 'table top' type things half way down the piste, a couple of 'rails' for the boarders(or brave skiers!) and a couple of small jumps, one off the end of the table. If you're a good skiier the jumps were all they had to challenge you and I'm not talking backflips here! otherwise it took about five seconds to get down the piste. We resorted to the 'see how many boarders you can knock off'* game to make it more amusing.
There was also a bar next to the piste which was typically Spanish and reasonably priced. It was strange to mix with people in shorts and t-shirts in the bar while we all had ski gear on! You use a swipe card to get onto the piste and only the time you're on the piste is counted so you could take as long as you like for a break, even go shopping etc.
They'll never beat the real thing but if you're a beginner or a bit rusty or like us, who just can't wait until winter, it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a saturday afternoon!
*It's a legit sport, Honest!
ps Sorry I didn't get many photos! There's a few here but they're mainly of us and not the snow park!!
OMG when Roland sees this Xanadu thing he's gonna flip
Probably more than anything in this world (except maybe me, maybe), he loves to ski and thinks about snow and winter most of the time. I'm sure we'll check it out very soon.
Close enough to go on vacation, but not a skiing vacation. I've been to the Guadarramas to ski, it's kinda like skiing near LA, too many people, not enough room, and usually not enough snow. Solynieve near Granada is pretty nice, as are some resorts in the Piraneos.
I sure wish they still had the night train from Madrid to/from Granada. It was great for weekend ski trips to Solynieve.
"An honest man is always a child" - Socrates ...no wonder I'm so immature!
And u can rent a car at Avis to get there...they have weekend specials on renting, 3 days for 73 euros!! Avis ps. this is where u can find me most weekends in the winter!!!!
There is also a ski bus route that runs between Granada and the resort(s). I took it several times.
"An honest man is always a child" - Socrates ...no wonder I'm so immature!
Re:Xanadu!! A friend has just come back from a 4 day trip to Madrid and went to Xanadu! she said the website does not do it justice and that it was fantastic! For her ten year old son it cost just 44� for the whole kit, plus one hours one to one instruction. People had told her that she could not get there without a car from Madrid, but she did by Metro and bus and it took approx 40 mins. She was staying at the Hostal Alcala (43� per triple room - anyone else been there?) One thing she said was that you have to make reservations for Xanadu, which she didn�t realise, so she was not allowed in whilst her son had his lesson, as there were no instructors available for her, so she had to just watch him thru a window!.
________________________________________ Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional
), just wondering if anyone has been to 
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It was great for weekend ski trips to Solynieve.
