Outstanding stay

We have just returned from two weeks stay at Hotel Botanico and had a brilliant holiday, although it came about quite by chance.... We were originally due to stay in a villa for our holidays, but we were badly let down on arrival on the island and so checked in to Hotel Botanico late on a Sunday evening after a long flight for one night to decide what to do. Right from the start, the staff were superb and we found the hotel to be a haven. Once it became clear that our villa situation would not be resolved, I spoke to the reception manager about whether they had interconnecting rooms for the two weeks we needed. She was extremely helpful and spent nearly an hour touring us through the hotel showing us different options and combinations of rooms and suites and helped us get what we needed. Great service. Once settled, we really enjoyed our stay and what initially looked like a holiday nightmare became a lovely experience. We found the facilities throughout the hotel to be excellent and the standard of upkeep and cleanliness is first rate. Despite the hotel being relatively large, the staff almost without exception were friendly and personable, meaning it had the feel of a smaller hotel. There were some nice touches as well - it was my daughter's 14th birthday during our stay. When our room was cleaned on her birthday, the room was decorated with balloons and the hotel also arranged a birthday cake and drinks during the afternoon to celebrate. The hotel sits in extensive grounds and these are well maintained and very nicely illuminated at night, offering a chance for a pleasant post dinner stroll. The outdoor pool was lovely, never crowded and heated to around 30 degrees, with plenty of sun loungers. The spa was fantastic (although only open to over 16s) with a good selection of steam and sauna rooms (and even an ice temple for the brave!). In terms of food, the absolute highlight of the day was breakfast, which was a very extensive buffet. Fresh fruit (c.10 different fruits ranging from oranges, grapefruits to papaya and pineapple), cold meats (different selection daily), cheeses (different selection daily), breads, pastries, cakes, plus English breakfast if you really wanted it. Great start to the day. The poolside bar serves snacks and lunch throughout the day and had a very nice selection. We tried two of the restaurants in the evening - the Oriental and the Italian. Both were very good. We preferred the Italian and particularly enjoyed sitting out on the terrace watching sunset as we ate. If we had one suggestion to make, it is that it would be good for the hotel to have a Spanish restaurant offering for the evening. We understand there may have been one previously, but this has now been replaced with a slimming restaurant (Not tried, although might have been a good idea to balance breakfast!). What a great holiday and thanks to the care and service of all of the staff, our initial holiday problems were soon forgotten and we had a great, relaxing time.