Big air and big beats hit the slopes as Snowboxx festival opens for business |
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| By adamrowden, 11 Oct '12 at 13:19 |
Thrill-seekers who want to ski or snowboard by day and party hard at night are being invited to hit the slopes at the continent’s newest, freshest and most exciting winter festival.
Launched this month, the Snowboxx Ski Festival will deliver an adrenaline-pumping mix of altitude and attitude when it takes over the legendary ski resort of Arinsal, in Andorra, for a whole week in March next year. Dubbed Ibiza on Ice, Arinsal is a hedonist’s winter paradise, thanks to its ski runs, awesome nightlife and bars which takes advantage of Andorra’s duty-free status to sell spirits and beer at rock bottom prices.
Snowboxx’s organisers are promising a week of unforgettable events to complement the action, including a night-time DJ set on an open-air mountain terrace, a Snowboxx-only night at the 1,500-venue Surf nightclub, pub crawls and barbecues and more music during the day.
They are now working with promoters in Ibiza, Mallorca and Andorra, as well as UK promoters such as Gottwood Festival, to finalise a line-up of resident DJs that is as fresh as Arinsall’s late spring snowfall, with a blend of big-name favourites and up-and-coming talent.
What’s more, prices start at just £199.99, with five day lift passes to Arinsal, as well as the neighbouring resorts of Pal and Arcalis, and a wrist band granting free entry to all events thrown in.
Snowboxx is being staged by Mainstage Travel, the independent travel firm behind this summer’s Magaluf Takeover, which saw hundreds of young people pay as little as £199.99 for a week of pub crawls, live music and DJ sets from the biggest names in the business on Mallorca, the Mediterranean’s foremost party island.
Registered with ABTOT and founded by graduates Aden Levin and Rob Tominey, Mainstage sold out all four weeks of Magaluf Takeover, helped by an affiliate sales scheme which saw customers earn money off their holidays by using social media sites such as Facebook to get their friends to book too.
Aden said: “We had an amazing first summer doing Magaluf Takeover. Our customers just bought into what we were doing and we proved that it is possible to offer a cheap holiday with all the sun, partying and music that anyone would want.
“Now all we‘re doing is taking what we did on the beach and putting it on at 2,560 metres above sea level in the middle of the Pyrenees.
“Arinsal is the perfect venue for Snowboxx. Rob and I have negotiated hard but fair to get the best deals, we haven’t paid over the odds for DJing talent and the drink prices in Andorra are the best in the whole of Europe. What more could anyone want?”
“If someone had offered us this type of holiday when we’d just graduated, we would have snapped their hands off,” said Rob. “It’s been done before but we know that we can do it a lot, lot better because we know instinctively what the demographic we cater for want.
“Just because they’re not paying top dollar, it doesn’t mean they want an experience that’s cheap and tacky. At the same time, they’ll probably be surprised that a skiing holiday, which most people think is quite expensive, can actually be affordable, let alone with all the extras we are putting in. It’s going to be one hell of a party.”
While the £199 package buys six nights’ accommodation in one of a number of three star hotels, as well as the wristband and lift pass, those with a larger budget can pay up to £329.99 for a four-star, half board, stay. All Snowboxx’s chosen hotels are close to the resort and the lift – many are within a one or two minute walk. The Snowboxx package does not include flights, but its site links through to Skyscanner, where flights from the UK to Barcelona, Girona or Toulouse can be booked for as little as £60, and it is offering discounted return transfers from £50.
Alternatively Mainstage is also laying on a coach for those who want to travel by road – the cost is £140 – while groups are also being invited to join the Boxxcar Rally – its name for the 14-hour drive from the UK to Arinsal. Deals are available for group bookings while customers who advertise the festival through Facebook can earn commission on every sale they generate – with people who sell 15 holidays getting their own break free.
First established as a ski resort in the 1970s, Arinsal is a perfect venue for novice skiers and snowboarders, while experts are well served too with a variety of on and off-piste runs.
Skiing lessons for beginners cost £72 for 15 hours – significantly less than in the Alps – while the five-day hire of poles, skis and boots costs from £50 upwards. And, for those who want to do something other than ski or snowboard, there is also the chance to ride skidoos and even high altitude ice-diving – plunging into a chilly mountain lake and exploring life beneath the surface.
Snowboxx takes place from March 22 to 28 and for more information visit
www.snowboxx.com For more details of group discounts and affiliate sales, contact
info@snowboxx.com or call 0843 289 6728.
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