There are good things and not so good .....

The hotel claims to be a leading hotel of the world. I have stayed at plenty of these hotels and this hotel definitely does not fall within this category. It may well be a leading hotel of Tenerife and it is certainly expensive. It is a throw back in time. We had an Ambassador Suite, a large room from the 1980's with red carpet and drapes, cream sofas, and large dressing area and bathroom. However, whilst it is comfortable it is tired and updates have been done as cheap add-ons. As an example the marble shower floor has been taken out and replaced with a cheap white plastic and very flexible shower tray. I addition, there is a hand shower on a runner which is worse than the shower I have at home for my dogs, Definitely not 5 star let alone leading the world in elegance and quality. We did look at another room which was apparently an upgrade which had a rainfall shower with body jets but the room itself was dark and dingy and clearly was not an upgrade on what we had and we decided to make do with a terrible shower. There are 2 pools, one being adults only at the spa which is where we sat every day. The pool is lovely but did not appear to have its bottom cleaned at all during our 8 day stay leading to a build up of dirt. Additionally, and for some inexplicable reason although the pool area is full of adults every day there is no bar and no pool service meaning that drinks and food need to be taken at the main pool area which is some distance away. I would call this a missed business opportunity but others might think this is simply short sighted. We did see one couple who had ordered room service drinks be told that they could not consume them at the spa pool area. A further example is the evening meal whereby a buffet is offered as well as one of the restaurants - either Italian or Oriental. The Italian is Ok - we ate there 3 times but despite being 5 star prices we were never that impressed. However, the ambience on the terrace is nice. The Italian on the main road at the hotel entrance is far superior and half the price but the ambience is not so good. The menu for the Oriental did not really appeal to us. There is a lovely poolside terrace restaurant offering a la carte lunch which would be a much better dinner setting and offering especially if like us you do not do buffets. The spa is nice although my wife had a Lomi Lomi massage which they insisted was carried out on plastic sheeting and which she did not enjoy at all. The spa manager did offer a further treatment which was much better. Room service appeared non existent after waiting an hour for some hot water and cold milk for tea. The bar staff were very accommodating is providing pots of hot water. However, you do not expect to have to do self service in a leading hotel of the world and a small kettle in the room would be expected alongside the coffee machine. Overall it was comfortable and a well needed rest after 20 months of not being abroad but needs some thought and improvement if it is to compete with other more modern offerings.