My wife loved it, but I thought it was just okay. This was the first holiday my wife has ever been…read moreon, so she has nothing to compare it to. I have traveled extensively all over the world, so my standards are a little higher.
It rained the first three days we were there (Tuesday to Thursday). I do not blame this on the hotel or knock down there rating because of the weather. What I do criticize them for is how they handled it. The entertainment team was nowhere to be found when it was raining. The lobby bar was packed all day with people playing card to stay dry. Why couldn't the entertainment team organize some inside activities like a poker tournament or darts or billiards or anything? On Friday when it cleared up, it was their day off. On Saturday, they finally started to organize some things to do. At least 3 out of 7 days we got some entertainment.
In addition, the roofs leaked badly everywhere. They had to shut down the main buffet because of leaks and the halls were flooded. I understand this rain wasn't normal, but it indicated the quality of the buildings. If you walk around the outside of the hotel, it is falling apart. It looks nice from the inside and around the pool, but little things were wrong all around like the drying line in our bath being too short to use. And our sliding door to our balcony being extremely hard to open and our front door lock not working half the time unless you hit it with your fist.
The sunbeds were terrible. They do not lay flat so when you try to lie on your stomach to tan your back it is very uncomfortable and hurts your back and neck. I am only 39 by the way and not a pensioner. Also, bring your own towel or you have to pay a deposit. One pool was warmed and was nice. All the others including the Jacuzzi were ice cold. Why would you have a cold Jacuzzi?
I loved the pour your own drinks. Beer, wine, and sangria are on tap and serve yourself everywhere. They put out bottles of spirits at night to make your own cocktails, but they are of normal low quality for all inclusive (unless you go to a Voyage Hotel in Turkey where they have premium all inclusive spirits). The bar tenders will make you some free cocktails or you can pay for premium cocktails. Also, I like that they put out 2 different serve yourself cocktails at night like mojitos or sex-on-the-beach. I think the beer is San Miguel because of the taps, but it lacked any labels.
The buffet food was very repetitive and not of high quality. The first breakfast we had crepes that were so hard we couldn't eat them. They wouldn't even cut with a knife. Who eats tuna lasagna? Well they offered it 3 nights in a row because apparently nobody does. I guess they made to much to start with. If you just like boring English food like a fry-up and a crappy full English every morning, you will probably like it. But of you have higher standards, you will be stuck eating salad and might find the occasional dish to eat.
The a la carte restaurants were better than the buffet, but not great. We had the Canarian, Asian, and Mexican. The Canarian was fair, the Asian was good, and the Mexican was best but nowhere near the Mexican you can get in California or the United States. My biggest complaint is the starter and deserts are buffet style with the same selections as the main buffet. I think they should be a la carte also and be special selections not the same boring stuff from the buffet that all taste the same. Also, the wine is the same wine as the rest of the resort. It is of low quality and hard to choke down.
The entertainment at night was average. Some nights were terrible (Cuban) and some nights were good (magic and musicals). The kids club was bad. While the girl running it was nice (Santa), there was a real lack of activities to keep our daughter entertained. My daughter did love the mini disco for kids at night though.
Overall, we had a nice time in the few days of sun we got. I would rather go to a better hotel next time or go to Turkey were they are nicer and cheaper, but this is the only place to go for winter sun. If the entertainment team was better and there was better food variety and quality, it would have been a much better stay. I recommend the Voyage Hotel chain in Turkey for anyone that wants a truly wonderful holiday that is about the same price as Tenerife. The only problem is it will ruin all other holidays because they are so much better than all the others I have been to in Europe. Maybe Mexico or the Caribbean is a better option for my now high standards.
