Resort height: 800m
The mountains
Don't get your hopes up - there are only 32km of downhill pistes in Geilo. Anyone who loves to ski or snowboard is going to get through them all in a day, so competent intermediates and experts should rule this place out in an instant.
Beginners, both young and old, should have a ball here, however. There are beginners slopes on either side of the valley, and the lack of crowds, combined with the excellent English of the ski instructors provide a relaxed and confidence-boosting environment. By the end of the week, most newcomers will be happily skiing the easy 'blues' (the easiest kind of intermediate piste) set between the trees on both sides of the valley.
Geilo is also home to an excellent terrain park - the Scandinavians love their freestyle skiing and snowboarding - but it's way beyond the reach of beginners and early intermediates. Far better to experiment with cross-country skiing up on the Hardangervidda platau, where there's a massive 220km network of cross-country trails.
Getting there
Most tour operators fly their guests into Fagernes airport, which is a two-hour transfer from the resort. The railway line links to both Oslo and Bergen, which are both served by flights from the UK, though the transfer is twice as long.
Rating: 
3/10
Après-ski
The price of drink in Norway, coupled with the family-friendly style of the resort mean that Geilo is not the place for a wigged-out week of partying. However, Geilo is livelier at the weekend, when the locals come out to play, and pubs, such as the Recepten in Dr Holms Hotel have DJs on hand to liven up the “after ski” (as après is known in Norway). Most Brits who come here are with their children, and will be happier to try some bowling, a trip to their hotel's pool, or some floodlit skiing. For posh nosh, try the French-style Brasserie at Dr Holms.
Rating: 
8/10
Non-skiers
Provided you're after snowy activities rather than shopping, Geilo is superb. We've already mentioned the cross-country, which is in fact more important to the resort than the downhill variety, and on top of that there's dog-sleeding, sleigh rides, skidooing, ice-climbing, kite-skiing and lots of tobogganing. For a day out, jump on the train that runs through the centre of town to Bergen, for a taste of the fjords.
Rating: 
5/10
Cost of living
Some prices are high - especially for alcohol. By contrast, accommodation in Geilo, compared with the Alps, is spacious and good value.
Rating: 
6/10
Attractiveness of the resort
Geilo is cute and cosy, rather than mountainous and dramatic. The sense of being on the edge of a great snowy wilderness is very unusual for most Brits though, and adds an air of adventure to the holiday.
