Great October Holiday break
It has been several years since I was last in Tenerife, so I was really looking forward to returning. My wife and I flew out from Belfast with one of the low-cost airlines where I had pre-paid for luggage and priority boarding so the whole process from bag-drop to boarding went smoothly with little fuss or queuing. On arrival at Tenerife airport I made my way to the transfer desk where I had booked a private transfer to our first hotel. Again, without any queues we were escorted right away to our private transfer which was a 20-seater coach – just for the two of us!
Very quickly we were at our “home” for the first three nights of our holiday – the beautiful Royal Hideaway Corales Beach. This beautiful five-star hotel has two separate parts – the family friendly Royal Hideaway Corales Suites and the adult only Royal Hideaway Corales Beach. After a quick check-in we were shown to our amazing room, a Junior Suite Sea Front Panoramic View which was beautiful with wonderful views to the sea over the village of La Caleta.
After unpacking we walked the short walk into La Caleta for our dinner that evening – this is a lovely little village with a good choice of restaurants around a small bay. We found a nice waterside restaurant to have a relaxing meal. Whilst walking afterwards we met another couple who recommended some of the other restaurants for our stay. The next day we just wanted to relax and used the rooftop pool (there are two pools to choose from in the adult only Corales Beach). A very relaxing day was followed by another great meal in La Caleta recommended by the couple we met. The next day feeling a bit more energetic we took a walk along the coastal path (it is possible to walk all the way from La Caleta to Los Cristianos via Costa Adeje and Playa de las Americas). It was a great walk and after a stop for a spot of lunch we then took a taxi back to our hotel for around €13. I really enjoyed my stay at Royal Hideaway Corales Beach, we received excellent service, an amazing breakfast every morning and a real opportunity to unwind in the peace and quiet offered by the hotel and La Caleta village. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a quiet lovely resort to relax, but also handy enough for the busier parts of the Costa Adeje (if required).
All too soon it was time to move on for our next stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife. I had been so looking forward to my stay here as I had some clients who had stayed earlier in the year and really enjoyed it. Following our short taxi ride from La Caleta to Playa Paraiso we were soon at the hotel where a VIP check-in had been arranged along with a room upgrade. On check-in we were given our ‘smart’ bracelets, which not only act as your room key but also allow you to charge meals and drinks to your room. You keep a tally on your bill using your interactive TV.
The Hard Rock Hotel has two towers, the Oasis and Nirvana and our beautiful sea-view room was on the 15th floor of the Oasis looking towards the sea and the Nirvana tower. We had a late lunch after our arrival in one of the many restaurants in Playa Paraiso and then made our way to the 16th floor (the rooftop bar on the Nirvana tower) for the spectacular sunset over La Gomera and the entertainment that accompanied this. The biggest difference between the Hard Rock Hotel and our previous hotel was the amount of entertainment provided at the Hard Rock Hotel, with music throughout the hotel and live acts performing every night.
The hotel has three pools, the Oasis and the Beach Club (for families) the Nirvana (adults only) all with great sun loungers and a super bar and snack service.
The next morning after a superb breakfast I walked along the coastal path to the nearby village of Callao Salvaje which is only about 15 minutes away, before returning to another day of relaxing and enjoying the great music by the pool at our hotel. The following day we decided to do a little more exploring and took the local bus from right outside our hotel all the way to the end of the route at Los Cristianos and then walked part of the way back through Playa de las Americas. Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas are of course more commercialised and busier resorts, but so convenient to visit if you would like to do some shopping or to have a change of scenery. The rest of our holiday followed a similar pattern with relaxing by the pool interspersed with short trips to other parts of the Coast Adeje. Most evenings after dinner we would spend time in the lobby bar listening to the great musical acts that entertained us each night.
Unfortunately, soon it was time to return home. Our per-arranged private transfer (again a large coach) whisked us back to the airport where we returned on a different low-cost airline to a cold Belfast. We had a wonderful time in Tenerife and the weather was excellent – at a time when sunshine cannot be guaranteed around the Mediterranean, it was hot for our entire visit. We did have some cloudy days but most of the time glorious sunshine!
I loved returning to Tenerife and if you would like to visit, do give me a call and we can have a chat about planning your ideal Tenerife experience.