Old fashioned-mostly in a very good way!

Just back from a week in this hotel which gave us a very relaxing holiday. The staff really made our stay and were consistently excellent throughout-other hotels should send their staff here to get taught how it is done. Everyone is friendly and they go out of their way to respond to requests and to anticipate them. We arrived late in the evening but the reception staff were brilliant and we were made to feel very welcome and were up in our room quickly with our luggage delivered seamlessly and one of the restaurants held open a little late so we could eat. The reception staff are the heart of this hotel and were consistently excellent-for example they sorted us out with a place to park at Loro Parque which is owned by the same company as the hotel. However the excellence of the staff extends across the hotel. For example, we had breakfast on the terrace by the pool each morning and not once did we have to ask to have a parasol put up to shield our baby girl from the sun-as soon as it appeared one of the waiters was on it right away. Both my wife and daughter had a birthday fall during our stay and, without being asked, the hotel noted this and arranged flowers, cake, cava, a little present for our daughter and birthday wishes for both. Our room, a junior suite, had great space and separate dressing and bathroom area with bath and shower. Like the rest of the hotel with the exception of the Spa, the style is fairly old fashioned, comfortable rather than slick, which suits the fairly relaxed vibe of the hotel. There are some things which probably do need updating-for example the bed was a little soft for our liking and see below in relation to the main pool. The outside of the building is a little 70s concrete style but do not be put off by this. Inside is very pleasant as above and the gardens are beautiful. Breakfast is in the ground floor restaurant which offers indoor and outdoor seating. This is a good quality buffet. The same restaurant offers a good lunch menu. We were half-board and had dinner in one of the three other restaurants in the hotel each night apart from one night when we arranged to eat in our room. Our favourite was the Italian where most of the tables are on a beautiful ocean view terrace which is a great sundown spot. The food there was consistently excellent and this was also the case with the Thai and Spanish restaurants (the latter was only open for part of our stay). We did not feel at all short changed by having dinner in the hotel as the food was consistently excellent restaurant standard but it was also ideal for us as there was always a high chair for our daughter as well as the very good children's menu available. The Spa is really lovely with a decent gym, proper thermal circuit, indoor and outdoor pools and a grotto style whirlpool. Children are not allowed in the Spa area which does make sense as it is an area mainly for relaxation. However, the separate main pool which has a very small kids' pool to the side, does feel a little tired and in need of updating. Ideally, this would involve extending it or creating two pools as the present pool does not have the shallow end space to comfortably fit in those wanting to swim, kids wanting to play and those wanting to relax without heading off to the Spa. The area around the pool is concrete hard paving which was a bit uneven and could be a little dangerous for younger guests if not closely supervised. Towel service could also be a little slow around the main pool. The area around the hotel is pleasant for walking around including the botanical gardens themselves which are worth a visit for an hour or so. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes, two supermarkets and a pharmacy within easy walk. The hotel has sufficient parking for those with cars and operates its own shuttle bus down to the beach which is black sand. The wifi in the hotel is ok for non- download heavy use but does appear to need regular re-logging on rather than automatically recognising devices. Overall, we loved our stay at the hotel and such niggles as I have mentioned did not detract from this. We would highly recommend a holiday here. We would come back ourselves for sure but only hesitate as to whether there will be enough to keep our daughter occupied as she gets a bit older.