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Andy

Skiing is my passion; if I had my way I'd hit the slopes all day, every day, but sadly real life gets in the way. When I'm not barrelling down a mountain at a million miles an hour, i'm installing shiny new functionality into Dealchecker to help people find great deals and programming an army of computers to scour the internet for the best prices on flights, holidays, hotels and car hire to make sure we have some of the best deals around!

Expertise

SKIING

I am a veteran of over 25 trips to the mountains and have been responsible for organising a number of ski holidays for groups of friends, usually numbering between 12 and 20, over the last few years. In that time I have skiied most of the top resorts in Europe, starting at the bottom in Andorra and working my way through Italy, Alpes D'Huez, l'Espace Killy and The Three Valleys before finding St Anton which in my opinion is probably the best place to ski on the continent.

SPANISH CITIES

I think I have spent time in most of the major cities in Spain, I love the food, people, beer and culture. I especially like the seeing the different architectural influences in the buildings in places like Granada.

UK WEEKEND BREAKS

Having grown up in the countryside before moving to the 'big smoke' I like to use my weekends to get back to the UK's rolling green hills, recently I have been to the Cotswolds, Peak District, Chilterns and of course the Lake District, usually staying in self catering and going walking and generally exploring the vast history which is all around us in the UK. I especially like the fact that when I am away walking it gives me a good excuse to have a good old fashioned fry up in the morning.

FOOD

I love eating and in the last few years I have been lucky enough to have eaten in some of the top restaurants in Europe becoming something of a food tourist. You may not think of this as travel as such but I have been to a number of places purely because I wanted to eat at a restaurant there.

TRAVEL TIP - "There is so much information out there which is so easy to find, so make sure you do your research to find out how to make the most out of your trips."

Holiday quiz

LAST HOLIDAY

A week away in Kenya, split between Diani beach and a Safari in Tsavo East. I think waking up and opening the curtains to be greeted by a view of watering hole full of various different animals in their natural habitat was a memory that will stay with me for a long time to come.

BEST HOLIDAY

Surprisingly this wasn't skiing (although I have had a lot of great ski holidays). Me and my girlfriend booked into an old chateaux in the Loire valley for a long weekend wine tasting and seeing the sights of Samur and Chinon. The Chateaux itself was beautiful and we had a four course dinner with matching wine every night from a chef who would was capable of outdoing several the Michelin starred places I have eaten at.

DREAM HOLIDAY

Is a tough one but I'd probably go for 2 weeks in Whistler, in winter with a lot of fresh powder. I have been meaning to go skiing there for a long time but still haven't got round to it yet. If I could get a couple of days ski guiding or heliskiing thrown in as well, that would be ideal.

TRAVEL NIGHTMARE

I hate making a spectacle of myself, so it was probably when, as part of my role as best man, I organised a ski trip for my friends stag do. My friends decided to dress us up as Batman and Robin for the flight out to Munich. The groom got to wear the new style padded "Dark Knight" batman outfit while I was stuck wearing a very 1960's lycra Robin costume (which was a size too small), luckily customs and passport control in Germany had a surprisingly good sense of humour!

TRAVEL COMPANIONS

I usually go with my girlfriend on city breaks and sunshine holidays, but when I am skiing it has to be my friend Duncan, he's pulled me out of a couple of tight skiing spots over the years.

SUNLOUNGER OR ALWAYS ON THE GO?

Always on the go, sitting in the same place for more than a day bores me, even if I have a good book.

WHAT'S A GREAT DEAL FOR YOU?

Something that is value for money, not necessarily the cheapest but that is good quality with a money off or extras thrown in for free.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE BEST FOOD?

I think that the best food in the world can be found in San Sebastian, it isn't just the Michelin starred places, every restaurant I tried there was really good, in both quality and value, however the best places for food in the world can be found in London. The sheer diversity in cuisine is second to none, from a curry at Tayyabs to some very fine dining at Hibiscus, London caters for most people's budget and taste.