Las Lenas Facilities
Las Lenas has a reasonably sized village and it covers most services and facilities that skiers and snowboarders would seek.
The
Las Lenas Ski Resort doesn’t cater well to English speaking children, with no group ski/snowboard lessons in English, and no child care with English speaking staff. Head to
Valle Nevado or
Portillo if this is what you’re looking for.
Eating On Mountain
Ahhh the fun you will have exploring the many lunch spots at Las Lenas. There are a couple of mid-mountain eateries that afford amazing views, and there are several slope-side restaurants to choose from at the base of the ski resort. These restaurants have big decks and are fantastic on fine days to soak up the rays and do some people watching.
Innsbruck is good for a reasonably quick lunch and it’s not too expensive despite there being table service.
UFO is a much more formal restaurant, it has great food, and is the place to be seen.
The Trapiche restaurant is small inside, it has average food, and the service is even averager (if that’s even a word)!
A little further down the slope is an area with outdoor tables and chairs, a crepe van, and other fast food vans. Great for cheap eats!
There is no day lodge for brown baggers to eat indoors.
Facilities for Children
Las Lenas Ski Resort runs a child care service in a building that’s conveniently located near the slopes. The Baby Lenas program is run by kindergarten teachers and caters for babies 60 days old to 18 months, yet the day care hours are only 9:45 to 12:30 and 14:15 to 15:00, so hopefully you want a very long lunch!
Kids 1.5 to 3 years old can join the Mini Lenas program, to which you can add a lunch time care option.
Guests of the Piscis Hotel can utilise the kids club program during après-ski hours, which includes games, movies and entertainment. The kids can also have dinner there if you want to have adult conversation in the restaurant.
The Las Lenas hotels can also arrange babysitting services.
Las Lenas Ski and Snowboard School
Kids from the age of 3 can have group ski lessons which are a full day program (or 3 or 6 days). There is a magic carpet and fantastic kids specific learning area. The big catch is that your child will need to speak fluent Spanish to participate in group lessons, otherwise you’ll have to pay the premium for a private lesson. Ditto for adult lessons.
The Las Lenas ski school also runs an adaptive program, cat skiing tours, and a fantastic guiding service for those who want to revel in the joys of the off-piste and backcountry terrain.
Las Lenas Ski and Snowboard Rental
Hopefully you’ve got your own equipment to take to Las Lenas because the rental equipment is really crap to say the least. I saw one poor beginner who had rental skis where the full tip of the ski down to the binding was delaminated and had a massive snow pile up!
There is one ski and snowboard rental shop near the entrance to the ski area, and there are also 2 rental outlets in the Piscis Hotel and the Aires Hotel.
Equipment Repairs
Las Lenas is a pretty rocky ski resort, so chances are you’ll have to get your bases repaired during your stay. Your best bet is to head into the Hemisphere ski shop at La Pirámide where they do great repairs and have staff that speak English. The only downside is that you have to pay cash for equipment tuning and repairs.
Banking Facilities
La Pirámide plaza has a bank and cash machine upstairs, however good luck in getting it to work if you have an international card (or a wallet full of different international cards!). This can be a bit of a pain considering that there are a few services around the village that only accept cash, so cash up before you arrive.
Alternatively the supermarket will exchange US dollars, although as to be expected, this service attracts a pretty poor exchange rate.