Latest Reviews for Santa Cruz

Myself and my husband have just come back from a week here, it was absolutley fine
rooms cleaned daily not only was the bed linen changed they also gave us complete new actual beds! Its a large complex dating back to the seventies but it has been refurbished, perfectly clean as well. We went all inclusive always plenty of choice fresh omlettes cooked to order for breakfast, plenty of choice. If you are looking for a home from home this resort is not for you its is very unspoilt here.

Staff always friendly and helpful, dont forget to have a massage while you are there 12 Euros its really great. The entertainment did have a slight bias toward the Spanish but it wasnt a problem as the entertainment team speak four languages anyway. While you are there get the bus to Candelaria a lovely little town with a Basilica that has The Black Madonna
well worth a visit, also in the opposite direction is Santa Cruz the capital, some good shops there. Good times!

We had a wonderful holiday at this hotel at the end of March.

The staff were extremely helpful.The rooms were spotless and were cleaned and linens changed daily. There was a fanatastic selection of food at every meal and it was all hot and freshly cooked!A chef even made omlettes on the grill while you waited at breakfast.Food was available all day outside meal times and you could book a BBQ for lunch if you chose.The pools were cleaned regularly and there was a pool attendant there if needed.The entertainment was different each evening and then a disco was available from midnight.If you want a relaxing family holiday this is the place to go!We had planned to go out for a few days but the children were so happy with the entertainment in the hotel we stayed there all week.
Thank you bookable holidays for a great week!

Worse holiday ever from 19/03/07 to 28/03/07. Not exaggerating.

Wanted reasonably relaxing holiday! We were placed under noisy lift/air conditioning mechanism even though we had requested a quite room. Impossible to sleep even after a few drinks! Asked to move and finally a couple of days later we were put on a floor full of extremely Noisy unsupervised school children as punishment! Walls paper thin. Could hardly escape them (noisy kids) anywhere in the hotel including poolside or dinner as three bus loads had arrived. They laughed, slammed doors, shouted and screamed until sunrise. They even had races up and down the corridors. Be warned it's a regular occurance we were told from Spanish friend. No escape from them even in the Niteclub. Complained to kids, staff and management. Nothing done. Security man just hid. We were told manager was busy and would contact us later. He never bothered himself. We were fobbed off by staff after many attempts and eventually resigned ourselves to our faith.

View of nearby powerplant with fumes very nice! Can't mention what was floating in the pool. Bed sheets were not changed once in nine nights either. Food muck. Disgusting! We have stayed in many places throughout the world and are actually really easy going people. Catalonia Punta Del Rey and it's staff is a dump that does not deserve one star. People in the local town were generally really nice and friendly. Alpaharooms never let us down before but be warned!

Although the Staff were mostly quite friendly,the hotel itself was a bit dated and the rooms definately need some refurbishment.The hotel food was pretty bad,mostly cold and rubbery.Not a great choice of food either,although it seemed to keep the German guests happy because they were usually going back for seconds.(It didn't seem to put a smile on their faces though, does anything?)

The resort itself was pretty much dead.There were hardly any bars,no clubs and just a few small shops,although if you don't mind walking there are a few half decent cafe/bars along the sea front. Luckily the buses are very cheap and reliable (usually every 15 mins). A trip to the Capital Santa Cruz (approx 10 miles) cost 3.20 euros for two of us,alternatively a trip to Playa De Las Americas (approx 65 miles) cost 14.60 euros for the two of us.

All in all we won't be going back to this hotel (or Las Caletillas), but we'll definately go back to Tenerife, although we'll do a bit more research before we book.

when i first read the reviews for this hotel i was very worried but i did not need to be.

the hotel was clean, the food was ok and the staff were helpful. there is no much else to do in punta del ray apart from a few spanish bars about 15 minutes walk away.

please do not all the bad reviews put you off if you have already booked but i would not class the hotel as a 4 star

I read the reviews on this site and panicked! I need not have done so as we had a really nice time.

The resort itself is not all that brilliant - there is a power station fairly close by and the beach is naff. However there are a few nice restaurants in the resort and a promenade along the seafront which was nice for a walk in the evenings. The hotel has a large selection of facilities which is what has earned its 4* rating and I found the sea water pool really lovely (although there was some noisy building work nearby and it was totally unsuitable for a toddler - there is another pool which was fine).

Las Calletillas is a residential area with 2 hotels with staff that are really doing their best to please, particularly if you try to speak spanish! Food was fine - always available and we had not problems in getting served alcohol or food. Most of the guests were Spanish so we were able to escape the ";lager louts"; you might find elsewhere. Bus travel is very easy didn't bother hiring a car. Enjoyed a day trip to La Laguna which is a fairly quaint town further north - if you like old buildings you should enjoy it.

Overall we had a really nice quiet holiday but if you have very high expectations or if are looking for real luxury you may be disappointed.

We actually booked Sunset Bay, but were switched at the last minute, our loss as it turned out, Tegueste bungalows which are not even bungalows, they are well equiped with all mod cons, and some have good access as they are right on the street (we were in 12) handy if you dont like hills, but this didn't mean they were too noisy or unsafe as the security was good i thought, ours had a caged front door that we locked at night and the whole complex was locked 24-7 so no unwanted people wandering around, one of our bedrooms was like a prison cell and the whole bungalow was pretty shabby, the 2nd bathroom stunk of something horid or dead, and the beds and furniture felt damp, but some of the other bungalows looked okay,

the pool far too deep for younger children and was really cold as it was not heated, but we did go in Feb, it did look nice though if you wanted to sit by it to be photographed, we had a real problem with cockroaches, they were in every room and even in the drawers, and even after fumigation they still came, cleaning and bed linen were at extra cost, as we found out once there, they changed the towels once in a week, there are plenty of places to eat and drink nearby, Tenerife is all a bit samey, but the breakfast at JACKS was good, it you want to sit by the pool all day in relative peace and security, you would be okay here, but if you have kids, dont bother, nothing for them to do except bother you,

beach looked nice but never used it(raining) the cab was 20-25 euros from the airport, weather is not as good in Feb as it was 10 years ago, so think carefully before spending your hard earned pennies, all in all pretty rubbish break what with the grotty weather and grottier apartment.

Think of Tenerife and visions of masses of high rise hotels and apartments come to mind.
But Tenerife is a Spanish island. Playa las Americas and Los Cristianos can hardly claim to be Spanish. The southern coast of the island is a vast multi-national swathe of mass tourism. If that's your idea of heaven, good luck to you. Even Puerto de la Cruz in the north is giving way to the hoards of visitors from northern Europe.
If you'd like a flavour of Spanish life on a Spanish island there are places away from the hotspots to enjoy a more tranquil sojourn.
15 minutes from Reina Sofia airport is Los Cristianos, but also in the same time the charming town of San Miguel can be reached. A request for the Finca Vista Bonita to the taxi driver brought a shrug of shoulders and a blank look. But contact with his colleagues elicited the location.

The road from the airport zig-zagged its way uphill for the 7 kilometres to the town followed by another kilometre round more bends to arrive at the Finca.

A finca is really a traditional Spanish farmhouse or country dwelling. Vista Bonita is actually a small complex of 14 apartments built in the traditional style - 11 one-bedroomed plus three two-bedroomed. Not as isolated as some fincas we were on the edge of the town and soon discovered a short cut to the centre down a steep street - that's OK but coming back up is not for the less agile.

All the apartments have large terraces with stunning views over the farmland, town, airport and down to the coast. In the distance can be seen the outline of Gran Canaria. The siting of the terraces means the sun is captured for most of the day. Breakfast on the terrace under the blue skies and morning sun will remain in our memories for many a year. Sitting by the roadside outside the Finca is an elderly gentleman and his dog - a bronze sculpture - with a further statue in the grounds.

Facilities at the Finca include a small indoor heated pool; a massage room, gymnasium, a meditation room, and a launderette. The small lounge area gives the appearance of being the original finca but with the inclusion of a pool table. The furniture and fittings throughout are of the rustic type in keeping with the buildings. The kitchens are fitted with all appliances: microwaves, cookers, kettle, even an electric juicer.
For those wishing to integrate into the local life there are weekly Spanish lessons.
The Finca seems to be the only accommodation in the town for visitors. Thus a sprinkling of Spanish is useful in the bars and shops. However, most bartenders and check-out staff have a sprinkling of English.
Being about 1500 metres up from the coast means the temperature can be colder than the coastal resorts - disadvantage in winter, but probably an advantage in the summer.

On arrival from the southern air port which took 45 minutes by taxi, and cost 55 Euros for 5 passengers, the hotel looks ok when entering, the receptionist who was the duty manager sent us all straight into the restaurant for evening meal as this closes at 10 o'clock so we only had 30 minutes before this closed. The food was cold and un-enjoyable with this we all thought that this was due to us checking in late.

We then asked for our keys and help with luggage after seeing a 100 or more steps down to our adjoining rooms and were told that there is a ramp at the other side so no help was given which I was surprised at as we had a friend with us who is 72 years of age so myself and my partner struggled down with 4 cases and 2 tired children.
Morning broke and we all climbed the steps for breakfast I really thought that myself and my friend were going to have a heart attack, I am a fit person but a had come on holiday for a rest and not to climb steps twice or some times three times a day. So if you don't do steps don't come to this hotel.

As we were here for 2 weeks we would only do the climb twice a day, as the days went on we enjoyed coming back to Tenerife as this is our fourth trip and we always stay on the south coast at Costa adeje so the change was a nice one, but with regards to the hotel I would never recommend any one to this hotel as the food stayed cold for the 2 weeks I even complained and got the chef to cook my children some hot food but after that evening the food was still cold the following morning. The food is out at 7:30pm and is never replaced or turned and the only time you see any staff near the food is when they take it away dead on 10 o'clock.

Really, this hotel is not for tourists as there is no entertainment day or evening and is miles from any where, no beach apart from a small man made cove which is full of rubbish really not safe for children, the whole of the hotel needs a revamp to bring it in line for a 3 star hotel including the management which we found very rude and unhelpful, to the point that we had a storm one evening and one of the rooms started leaking from the light fitting and then the ceiling, at least 6 cracks appeared, I phoned the reception and was told that there is nothing they could do apart from move rooms. I asked for a bucket and was told ";no buckets can not help you"; the room by then was flooding I went up to reception and asked again can some one help us to move clothes, belongings and cases and was told again ";no one here to help you"; so as you can see if you want a nice holiday in Tenerife do not stay at the Tenerife Tour as this would be your holiday from hell.
Sharon 42 rob 43 Mary 72 Jack 10 and Harry 9

the hotel is sold as a 4 star all inclusive,what you get is at best a poor 2 star,the hotel is old and looks tired the rooms are shaby but clean.

all food is served look warm and there is no variation not in any way up to 4 star,if not at a meal early expect to wait for more food to be brought out up to 20 minutes and then its not hot,the bar service is very slow usualy one girl serving and a 15/20 minute wait for a drink.

there is nightly entertainment from 2200 lasts about 45 mins and finish usualy in spanish including all music.
the hotel ofers three pools one 1.2mtrs deep quite large but no diving allowed clean and resonable,one diving pool 2mtrs deep but no diving allowed now small about 4mtrsx4mtrs .there is allso a featured sea water swimming pool not worth the efort of walking across the main road to its on the bottom of the cliffs and about 4mtrs diameter.
the hotel grounds consist of a winding walkway around the pool area through the 2mtr gap behind the hotel and a rock face and in to the dinning room .

local area there are a couple of local shops and a mini mart all locals were very friendly and happy to talk and help in any way as the spanish do.
in total this holiday is not value for money is in a small remote town on the north of the island and you will need transport 1hr to los americas by car,
think and check before you book