Hotel Perfecto

After 10-day stay here in October, I couldn't recommend the Hotel Botanico & Oriental Spa Gardens more highly. It's not ultra-modern and it’s not too big and not too small (252 rooms), but it is extremely comfortable, exceptionally well presented and brilliantly run. For me, the key qualities that elevate it from an exceptional hotel to a stellar one are its warm and welcoming culture and the standards it employs. Pride is everywhere. For example, it has the smartest, most friendly and accommodating staff I've ever encountered: fresh flowers are placed on every table every day; rooms, floors, carpets and seating are spotlessly clean; its gardens are beautifully manicured; there’s water and fresh fruit in the gym, and the breakfast buffet is to die for. In addition, it has three high-class restaurants, a well stocked library with books in Spanish, English and German, satellite TV in every room, a lounge with pool tables and a huge TV showing a wide choice of European sport, plus tennis courts and an 18 hole putting green. What is so impressive is the attention to detail - such as a choice of 9 different types of pillows of varying softness and density. Fresh bottled water is also provided daily, but you’ll need to ask if you want a shower mat or beverage-making facilities in the room. That said, whatever you ask for tends to be attended to promptly. So if you don’t see something you require, just ask. The staff are brilliant. Indeed, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a great deal in my 66 years and have stayed in more than 1,000 hotels worldwide - and for me, the Hotel Botanico is among the very best. Perhaps that explains why guests have included, former US President Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Julio Iglasias and the current King and Queen of Spain. So if it’s good enough for them, it should satisfy anyone. No wonder some guests (who can afford to stay anywhere) book rooms or suites for months in winter. We were also impressed by the 6 acres of superbly kept tropical gardens, which, together with the oriental-style ponds, statues and bridges, gives a visual impression that you’re in the Far East. Decoration throughout the building and gardens has an overtly Thai theme, with ornaments, figurines and animals placed to create that effect – an effect reinforced by a genuine Thai pavilion in the Spa and orchid gardens in the hotel entrance. Art lovers will be interested to know that the hotel owner champions artists from the Canaries, so there are lots of original paintings on display, turning corridors and public areas into fascinating picture galleries. A really useful service is the daily newsletter containing news stories on one side and a weather forecast and “what’s on today at the hotel” on the other. Among the activities listed are daily short talks by the bar staff (around 6pm) which include: how to make a top cocktail, how to make the best gin & tonic, how to make sangria, wine tasting, cheese tasting and tasting fortified wines – all of which are free to guests. Additionally, a hotel tour is on offer, professionally presented by the hotel’s own PR Manager, Rosana. And if you stay a week or more, you’ll be invited to a cocktail party hosted by the hotel’s urbane manager, Gustavo Escobar. Unusually, the spa facilities (which are all new additions) are included in the room rate. So if you fancy relaxing in a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam room or ice room, or on a water-bed or you like to use the gym – just don your toweling dressing gown and slippers, walk in, sign for you towels and take your pick. Indoor and outdoor swimming pools complete the facilities and provide a pleasant alternative to the hotel’s main pool. Free exercise sessions are also held daily, from stretching and mobility to Tai Chi and aquarobics Only therapies and treatments are extra. The hotel complex is situated on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz (just a 15-minute walk into town) but, conveniently, there are lots of restaurants, bars and boutiques close to the hotel entrance. We can recommend Ariana’s, an Italian restaurant just over the road from the hotel entrance and, if you like real tapas and sangria, you must try Sabor Iberico – around 250 metres down the hill from the hotel, close to a Farmacia. This tiny little restaurant is very basic – metal tables, plastic chairs and a concrete floor – and run by a husband and wife. The husband does the cooking and has the touch of a magician. His tapas variablas, which we had on three different evenings, was sensational – and cooked just for us. His wife handles the drinks and mixes a wonderful sangria. Frankly, tapas and sangria doesn’t get any better. Another recommendation would be the Orchid Garden – around half a mile down the hill from the hotel, on the right, at the end of a small cul-de-sac. It’s not only beautiful but a truly tranquil place to sit and enjoy a coffee and cake.