This was our fifth visit to this hotel in three years and its just great! The last review on 'domestics' is excellent and covers lots of detail - all of which is quite correct, anyone interested should read it.
The main advantage over its competitors is the value for money provided by the half board rate and the free taxi service if you book online and stay at least a week. This is worth 100 Euro !
Bar and wine prices are creeping up - we buy drinks at the nearby supermarket and bring them in. They have also done away with the pool bar 'happy hour' in the afternoon which is a shame, no one bothers with the 6.30 to 7.30 one in the dingy express bar as you cannot take your drinks out.
We can't wait to go back as soon as we can !!
Highly recommended

I agree with all the positive comments about this hotel – it’s a great place to stay. So my review covers all the domestics you may be interested in – and to act as a reminder for me when I return next year!

Coach transfer takes around 50 minutes. There can be a significant number of coaches in the airport car-park so make sure you get clear directions from your rep of where your coach is!

On arrival you get a card to open your room and the hotel back gate, cards to exchange for pool towels from a kiosk by the pool slide, a key for the minibar/fridge in your room and a card to show at the restaurant at mealtimes. For an extra 2 euros per day you can get a card to operate the safe in the wardrobe in your room. For once there are enough hangers in the wardrobe!

The room itself is large – ours had a doublebed and a sofabed for a child. The TV channels included BBC1, ITV1, BBC3, CBBC, BBC World & Sky News so you can keep up to date with your soaps! There are plenty of plug sockets but no kettle. There is air conditioning with 3 speed settings. The bathroom has a bath with shower attachment and a separate shower cubicle. Incidentally, the toilets around the hotel were very clean and didn’t smell at all – the sign of a well kept hotel!

Breakfast and dinner is in the main restaurant. You show your card at the entrance and they tick your name off a list of room numbers. A waiter usually shows you to a table and takes your drinks order. Throughout the hotel the waiters have blackberry’s to make the orders of drinks and snacks which seems to work efficiently (although some are better at working them than others!). Your drinks arrive and you are given a receipt. After your meal you hand over your drinks receipt at the main entrance to the restaurant and either sign the cost to you room or pay cash. Each evening buffet meal has a theme of a country – Italian, Mexican, American, Indian etc. They were all good apart from perhaps the Canaryian – nobody quite fancied the rabbit stew! You can help yourself to whatever you like. There is no separate children’s section but there is usually enough for them to find something – chips, pasta, bolognaise sauce, bread and salad are there every night. There are 3 different ice cream flavours each night too.

Breakfast is a similar arrangement. Tea and coffee is from a machine but the coffee is surprisingly good. It’s the same food every day however there is a lot to choose form – 3 different types of eggs, 2 different bacons, 3 sausages etc. The chef will cook you an omelette to order if you can be bothered to queue.

Lunch is by the pool bar. You can get burger, hot dog, chicken fingers, fish fingers all with chips for around 3-4 euros. There are also toasties, pizza, spag bols, salad and a variety of local dishes too. The food arrives surprisingly quickly and is not always hot so they must make some in advance. If you can eat more then there is a cut-down version of the evening buffet for 15 euros per person.

The pool bar also has a counter where you can order drinks, coffee, pre-packed sandwiches, ice cream and slush puppies to take away.

Throughout the hotel there are plenty of vending machines that dispense bottled water & pop (2 euros), ice cream (2 euros) and chocolate bars (1.3 euros).

There are 2 pools – one heated that allows ball games & inflatables – the other doesn’t. Hence the youngsters are all in the heated pool leaving the other pool area quieter for those without kids. The heated pool is a constant 1.3m deep (chest high on an adult) all the way round so kids will always be out of their depth. There were sunbeds available all day when we were there – the only issue was whether you could bag one umbrella or two. An LED display shows the time, air temperature and the temperature of both pools which helps you decide how hot it is and when you should take some shade or jump in the pool.

Minigolf was free (5 euro refundable deposit), tennis was free if you had equipment otherwise it cost 9.5 euros to borrow rackets and balls.

There is a kids games room hidden behind the piano bar with air hockey and other stuff. There are a number of pool tables around the hotel costing 2 euros per game inside and 1 euro outside.

There is a book exchange cupboard which is open at certain times each day to allow people to exchange their holiday novels and magazines free of charge. The gift shop sold the usual beach toys, newspapers and souvenirs but rarely seemed to be open.

Outside the hotel the closest shops are to the left along the coast road. There are a number of souvenir shops, electrical shops selling suspiciously cheap cameras and phones, and small supermarkets. The best supermarket is Netto – the furthest walk but it is like a large Tesco Metro inside. Bottled water is quite expensive in the shops ranging from 0.6 to 2 euros per bottle depending where you shop. There is also an amusement arcade with a number of dated arcade games inside – but good for a rainy afternoon. To the right is a steep walk uphill – but if you follow the road for around 25 mins you reach a nice little arcade of around a dozen touristy type shops – well worth a morning stroll.

The beach is smaller than it looks in photos and there is a flag system telling you how safe it is to swim as there are strong currents which aren’t visible from the shore. This doesn’t seem to be the usual scaremongering – I was aware of one family having to be dragged to safety whilst we were there.

That’s about all I can remember for now. Roll on next year!

This hotel is the best 4 star hotel I have stayed in Europe. The food is absolutely superb. If you are half board you are in for a treat....the food very varied each night and superbly cooked...the fillet steak is as good as any fillet steak in a top London hotel. Breakfasts are also excellent. There is just so much choice it is unbelievable...and not repetitive each night....we were there for a week between 11th and 18th April...the food may repeat after a week do not know?. The hotel grounds and pool areas are immaculate and nicely manicured and there is a water slide for the kids...the pools are super clean. There are two pool areas...the top one geared up mostly for families...with a separate dunk pool for the water slide.....and another pool overlooking the ocean and La Gomera Island....perfect for couples and older folks...very peaceful everywhere...no load irritating music...plently of quiet areas to sunbathe. The communal areas of the hotel are very impressive...huge with a very upmarket feel. We had two interconnecting rooms and the rooms are huge and very nicely furnished. The staff are very friendly and aware...very good service. Use the glass elevators by the second pool and waterfalls to go down to the beach and small resort....much quicker than using the hotel main entrance.

The evening shows in the hotel were superb and varied and in a separate show lounge with drinks service to your table.

The town is small and very quiet....the beach is small with black sand and lovely gardens to the rear of beach...the beach is not suitable for children as the waves are quite aggressive.

If I had to put in negatives...and I am nit picking...as follows:

1) Restaurent was very large and not intimate...i.e. not ideal if you want a romantic meal if you are a young couple...the restaurent is really geared up for families and older folks...very functional and easy.

2) Both the locks to the patio doors to the balconies were broken on arrival...but were fixed within an hour after reporting the fault.

3) The bathrooms although nice and large...separate bath and shower cubicle...tiling could have been done a little better and shower enclosure door a little dated...but nice and clean though.

I am booking today with one of their other sister hotels..we were that impressed.

Hi all

Spent 10 days over Easter 2008 in Playa La Arena with my Husband, two kids, aged 6 and 3 and my mum over 70, had a lovely holiday. Generally happy with hotel. Found it to be very clean, spacious and comfortable. Booked half board which I wouldn't do again as I found after night 4 evenings meals so boring. If you enjoy warm food this is not the hotel to visit !! thankfully I found a microwave which I had to use each night..
Whilst there is a kids club in the Hotel its a long distance from the pool area so if you have young kids (under 6) there is no way you would leave your kids there, this I found a major inconvenience. Staff in the club were lovely especially the young Polish girl, she was so hard working and so interested in all the kids.
I didn't find the staff very friendly, I sensed they were quite bored of tourists !
we will return