Reports about Resorts on Tenerife

Sunset Bay - Playa Las Americas

I was a "wee" bit worried our last visit to Sunset Bay was in 1998/99 and it was real run down and we were very disappointed.. Well we got shown to our apartment which Marion had phoned to request on the Tuesday when they were being allocated..

We got what we asked for a roof top one which got the sun from 10am till it went down around 8pm and was a real suntrap.. We had a one bed unit and it took us by surprize as was just lovely much smaller than our elite at Santa Barbara but Nick actually said he preferred it as was nice and cosy and furnishings were super nice comfy sofa again big enough for anything amorous you may want to partake in (Yes tried that out as well).

The kitchen was a bit small but as we have never ever cooked in any of the kitchens while on holiday it made no difference to us and the fridge was real cool which was the main thing

The bedroom was small but again nice but bed way too hard for me don`t know who supplies Sunterra with their bedding must be some Orthapedic company as they are all the same !!!

Bathroom was tiny though and our shower kept going hot and cold seemed to be having probs with the water pressure

Balcony was very large had nice sunbeds with backs that altered and chairs to sit and read in and a nice large table to eat at as well

We were right above the small heated upper pool which turned out to be where we sunbathed every day from 9am-7pm and found everyone at the pool bar there very friendly and the food and drinks very reasonably priced.

It was a real busy pool but it was the Easter Holidays and there was no problem from anyone just kids having fun.. Nick did give a couple of scowls when he say how busy and noisy it was but luckily he had taken his Ipod with him and lived in his own world of music for the week while relaxing but must admit he only went into the pool once !!!

Do wish there were decent sunbeds round the pool though none of them had backs that moved so was very awkward to read your book while sunbathing this really surprised me as the sunbeds in the apartments were perfect so wish they had these round the pool as well

The very first day we went to the bottom pool as Marion and Mike were in A block which was a shame as they had asked to be nearest reception for Mike not having to walk far and to be near us and got the furthest away but they were moved a couple of days later to above the Monster Club and got a lovely studio there and meant they were nearer to us again and as we have a saying here which is "Come into the body o the Kirk" and were no longer on the outskirts Plus it was to long a walk to the bottom pool and we chose the wrong place to sunbathe next to the kiddies pool big mistake so we didnt do that again ...

Now that was all the nice news of Sunset Bay and we would return but the downside was there were a couple of Breakins while we were there A family sunbathing behind us had a real unsettling experience where they had shut but not locked their Patio Doors gone to bed at 1am and someone had broken in and stolen a handbag from living room but the worst of this was this all happened while their children were asleep in there which is an awful thought as to what else could have happened and then they messed in the balcony this was in A block near the road there was another incident the same week I would advise anyone going to be extra vigilant with security and lock doors at all times...

Nick was real disappointed that as soon as you went outside the resort everything seems so dingy and rundown with timeshare touts everywhere this is why he does not like this side of Tenerife and he is not keen on a lot of the restaurants as got a couple of bad meals and thinks it is just too commercial for him.. Me I am quite happy so long so long as I have nice company I did miss my walk along the sea for my daily paper like I do at Santa Barbara though.. I had a few bad meals but this is normal for me if anything goes wrong with food it is usually with mine so I just end up leaving it as it is such a common occurance that I dont expect anything else now

Stevie G my final meal was just awful at Pablos had Garlic Chicken which was swimming in fat so left most of it and should have said something but didnt as hate any fuss Nick is the same as me he had a Pizza which was c%$p but again he is too laid back to say anything just moaned at me once we returned to the room instead Mike is not so laid back and had a Pizza which wasnt cooked properly which he pointed out and it was taken off the bill Mike is 6ft4in so think that may have swayed their decision..

The company was great though and we were actually asked to leave about 12.30am as they were tidying up the Geordies with us could not believe that ..

Like Helen said the food we had at Harleys American Bar was real good bit like Hard Rock Cafe but take a jumper with you as air con made it very cool in there and Marion was freezing... Portions way too big for me I got a smaller one instead..

We also had a super meal at a very pitueresque restaurant at Molino Blanco in real nice surroundings but they were real slow at serving but was worth waiting for and had some nice Champagne Sangria complimentary with the Bill Nick said to get over the shock of it!!

So Yes I would return to Sunset Bay as think it is great value point wise we could have had nearly 3 weeks there for our one week at the Santa Barbara and looking at it that way it is very tempting, specially if friends were staying there and we could get the same apartment would be a real bonus ...

It was lovely to meet up with Sandra Mike and Tasha who have never ending energy staying out to Kareoke Bars with Tasha every night till 2am think they deserve a medal for that feat... It was real nice of them to join us for the Chinese Meal which was a lovely social evening ..

Was also super to meet up with David Lyn and Girls who came over from RTCC for the meal as was Lyn`s 50th B/Day so we had a joint celebration and took over the inside of the restaurant and were last to leave after a real laugh and Yes I behaved myself (I think)

Nick is a bit more reluctant to return as really does not like the area and wishes it was not in the situation it is in ... Specially with us not having children and we are not "Do`ers" we don`t need the same things as other families with children such as the parks etc just a nice place to stay nice place to sunbathe and decent eating places Jeff we needed you with us on that score!!

So all in all we had another super 12 day holiday with glorious weather which made up for our last trip away when it was freezing.

Lots of Love Mo

Santa Barbara - Golf Del Sur

Having just returned from being "wind blasted" in Tenerifi at The Santa Barbara Resort I thought it time for my report.. A "Wee" bit later than normal as wasn`t sure which site to put it on as will be a chatty one giving this warning early on just in case!!

We set off as you know to see REM on Tuesday 22nd but sadly the concert was cancelled so that was a bit of a downer to start off our holiday as we only booked BA from the Wednesday as could not get with anyone else we could have flown on the Tuesday if we had known about cancellation with My Travel for about £200 cheaper...

Never mind we had a super flight on the Wednesday with BA from Glasgow wish it was direct though as had to go via Gatwick so took 7 hours instead of 4.5 but the food was real good seats real comfy and plenty of leg room .. Downside was that there was no entertainment the steward told me there was a dispute and it was embarassing to keep telling folk.. Nick was fine as he had his portable DVD and watched some real nice Violent Movie Hell Raisers or Kill Bill 2 or Acoplypse Now !!!

We arrived in the middle of a thunderstorm and got absolutely soaked on way to apartment which of course could not be inside the main complex ...Oh No that would have been way too simple it had to be a Villa 17 opposite the Sea as far away as we could get... Nick got into the apartment and then realised he had lost all his Euros dropped them in the taxi he thinks when paying about 70 of them so that was his Pocket Money gone in one foul swoop!! We had then to go and get provisions so no point in getting changed just to get soaked all over again so we went to shop and were like 2 drooked rats soaked to the skin and it was freezing.. On return to Villa I got into a nice hot bath to warm up again and luckily Nick had taken one soppy DVD for me to watch which I did..

Woke up next Morning to lovely sunshine GREAT I went for my early morning walk around 7.45 and got papers and was only person on the walkway and as I had to battle with Hurrican Force Winds I understood why and that it is me who is completley MAD ... I found a nice wee sheltered spot and persevered with reading my book which was Jane Austins Book Club shall report on that later...

The weather was real changable and wind chilly it would be sunny all morning then cloudy for a couple of hours in afternoon or other way round you just didnt know what way it was going to go and we had real bad rain on the Sunday but sun came out for final 3 hours..

On saying all this within 2 days when we ate in The Restaurant on the Friday night the Lady taking the bookings asked how long I had been there as was so brown the wind just makes me Golden and then she asked if Nick had joined me later as he was so pale I told her I had hired him from an escort agency and she looked stunned that made me laugh!!

I think it is the last time I shall eat there to be honest as the meal was mediocre we had Chateau Bruin (spelling I know) and it was meant to be Meduim and when he took it over to the table it almost ran off was so rare so took it away to cook it more but left us with the veg which was then cold by the time steak returned !!! Mind you the next table had same prob and Lady sent it back and it never returned till after her hubby had finished his meal !!!

Our other meals out were the usual chaos that follows me around went to Gullivers one night and they took our order and the 3 tables of 2 next to us and after 45 mins nothing they started complaining and got their starters we had ordered first still nothing to us !! Meanwhile the table behind me asked if our meal had been nice I said we hadnt had ANYTHING TO EAT YET!! The bloke then felt guilty as they had ordered after us so he called over the waiter and told him as Nick never ever complains about anything as hates a fuss ... Well the waiter then got in a panic as our maincourse was ready there had been a mix up in the kitchen SURPRIZE we just laughed to be honest and then the next minute owner was over asking what we wanted to drink so Nick asked for glass of red wine but got a bottle and I had Southern Comfort ..

All`s well that ends well though our meal turned out to be just lovely the nicest of the week to be truthful and we had a good banter with the other 3 tables well 2 of them the 3rd one had a real miserable couple on it didn`t crack a smile all night and as I did my hostess bit pouring them some of our excess wine they wouldn`t have any think they were a bit put out we got some and they didnt. I did warn these tables of where we would be eating the following night just incase they wanted to avoid us ...

When we paid the bill the bloke serving us said he to use all his inner strength to smile at them and be polite while they moaned non stop and pointed out we had waited twice as long and hadn`t made any fuss and if they had not been so miserable he would have given them a bottle as well Nick just laughed ... We also had a lovely meal in La Strada which was as nice as ever..

We went to the place in Sunset View as well (Tapas) with Mikey and Sandra on the Monday night and there called they had a group playing Abba which sadly gave Nick a headache as he felt poorly half way through evening think he was allergic to something in the food but apart from that another lovely evening . I had forgotten my glasses so Colin who does the entertaining gave me his to read menu with and he took a fancy to Nick which gave Mikey a good laugh .. Even though we had this Blip I would return and just share a meal with Nick as far too much food for me to eat..

Mikey and Sandra were lovely company and we went back to their POSH apartment on the Rooftop for a nightcap on 3 out of the 4 nights so they need a medal for allowing me to monopolise their holiday and are likely recovering as I type..

I had asked for apartment 461 or above with a nice balcony to get evening sun if poss and we got Villa 17 on ground floor this was nice enough decent size overlooking the Sea but it did not have any balcony and got no sun at all this made me laugh as was the opposite to all our requests but the positives were its in a real good position for easy access to the pool and for first time ever I didnt get lost once going to and fro usually I need Marion to navigate.

We paid for one night on Monday and had to move to Villa 10 it was not so nice beside the sewage plant and someone had their dishwasher on at 1am for a couple of hours so didnt sleep much the night before coming home still such is life eh!!

Even though the weather was the worst we have encountered on any holiday I am browner than usual don`t know how that happened must have been the wind off the sea that did it ...

I only managed to make one posting to the chat group on the Thursday night cause as soon as I pressed post the computer crashed and was never repaired or perhaps it was beyond repair???

The reception staff were lovely and helpful and when I told him we were returning in 4 weeks time to an Elite on 27th March he told me which one to ask for but for some reason I doubt we will get it !!!

The sauna came in handy as used it every day when weather got chilly so my skin has never been so nice and soft (ask Nick) there are 2 small Jacuzzi`s and 2 sauna`s the only thing missing is an indoor pool and steam room like in Marriott Marbella now that would make all the difference when the weather is poor and you dont have a car to go elsewhere so are stuck really..

TV Channels were poor just BBC1 and ITV and CBBC and SKY News I think but the signal kept coming and going with the poor weather ..

Lots of Love Mo

Pearly Grey - Callao Salvaje

We stayed here 13/10/06 till 20/10/06. Lovely 2 bed/2 bath apartment, spacious and well fitted out - couldn't have been closer to the sea. (It has to be said, however, that it was one of the apartments that had been recently renovated. Not everyone was as happy with their apartment as we were. Some were said to be very small and pokey. ) Cleanliness was spot on throughout the resort. All the staff were extremely friendly and the resort is run by the owners. We were made to feel very welcome and had a fantastic week.

We took the option of halfboard breakfast which was a great decision as they only charged us for 1 of the children (instead of all 3) and meant that we all have a full cooked breakfast every morning which set us up for the day. We ate in the restaurant one evening and the food was great. For self catering - the little shop opposite was very comprehensive plus there was a large Mercadona supermarket 5 mins drive away at Adeje.

Entertainment good but was a little late. It was billed to start at 10 but most nights started after 10:30. There was not much for the kids to do early evening so they tended to play havoc in the playground which caused some problems on a couple of evenings. I felt this could have been avoided with a little disco and the main entertainment starting at 9.

There is no beach at the resort but the beaches at Del Duque, Fanabe and Playa de las Americas are only a short drive away.

Pippa