Trying to find some sunshine not too far away from England in December isn't easy. We'd never been to the Canary Islands and thought we'd give it a try.

The hotel is lovely and, having driven all over the island during our stay, we definitely think it has the best location of any hotel on Fuerteventura. The beach is just gorgeous and it is a pleasure to walk along the beautiful sand beside the blue and azure sea, or even swim in it (a spot chilly in December, but not too bad). The hotel is excellent: spotlessly clean, well designed and decorated, with friendly and efficient staff. A wonderful place to stay for rest and relaxation.

Our room was beautifully decorated and we had a great balcony (with two chairs) overlooking the sea. I have to say, however, that I do hate the European habit of a "double" room being two single beds pushed together! Having to untangle two separate sets of single bed linen and blankets in order to have a cuddle is annoying.

As mentioned in other reviews, the majority of the guests are older, but, being in my fifties, I found this an advantage as it was calmer and more peaceful without too many children around.

The quality and variety of food is good, but, in my opinion, not up to the standard of Club Med. It was also a shame that the pool bar doesn't serve lunchtime food - you have to eat in the restaurant. It would have been better to have the ability to buy something less substantial. Being able to take your breakfast onto the terrace, rather than inside the large buffet restaurant, is great - but you either have to be punctual or lucky to get a table there.

This hotel is nowhere near the town, which in this case is good because it adds to the beauty of the location, and the town of Corralejo is pretty tacky.

We hired a car from the car hire facility in the hotel foyer and drove around most of the island. It is fascinating, with a kind of barren lunar landscape and some great hillside views - the town of Betancuria was our favourite place and we lunched at a wonderful restaurant called Casa Santa Maria there. Wherever we went, we found the Fuerteventurian people were smiling, friendly and hard-working. The roads everywhere were amazingly good.

Having gone to Fuerteventura in search of some warmer weather in December, the weather was not that wonderful ... the sunshine was warm, but the wind was very strong for at least half the week, making it too cold to swim. It also rained a bit. However, arriving back at Gatwick in a particularly cold and frosty spell just prior to Christmas, we realised it had been great to be able to walk around in t-shirts for a few days.