| Product: |
Bahia Principe Costa Adeje Hotel (Tenerife, Canary Islands) |
| Date: |
23/08/09 (89 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Luxury Hotel, Lovely Location, Great Food
Disadvantages: None
I last visited the Bahia Principe Costa Adeje in June 2009. It was the second time we had visited this hotel, the last time being in 2007, and we returned because we had such a good holiday first time, and because we wanted somewhere familiar for our first holiday with a baby!! We flew from Gatwick which took just over 4 hours, and the transfer from the airport took less than 30 minutes.
The Bahia Principe hotel chain has 19 Hotels, spread across Spain, Mexico and the Caribbean. All except the three hotels in Mallorca are either 4 star superior or 5 star hotels. The Bahia Principe is a 4 star superior hotel, as is the hotel next door Bahia Tenerife. As a guest you can use the facilities at both hotels.
Check In
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As you pull up to the hotel, you see well maintained gardens, and a glass front with automatic doors leading to reception. Inside is a huge lobby, with marble floors, floral displays and a double sweeping staircase leading down to the rest of the hotel. There is a large reception desk in the corner which seemed to be well staffed at all times. The staff on the desk are very friendly and helpful.
At check in the Reception staff will take a copy of your passport, and fit your wrist bands which allows you access to the bars and restaurants. The colours seemed to vary dependant on nationality, and all the British guests seemed to have dark blue ones. The baby didn't have a wrist band, although the guy on reception joked that if we wanted to send him to the bar he could fit him with one!! You are also given a key to your room which comes on a neck strap, which is very handy, and your room is circled on a map so you can find it easily.
You are also given stickers with your room numbers on them to put on your suitcases so that you don't have to lug them to your room if you do not want to - ours arrived at our room 5 minutes after we did!
While you are at reception you can also purchase towel cards for 10 Euros per person, which is fully refunded when you leave. For this you get a large Blue Fluffy beach towel, collectable from the gym which you can exchange each day for a new one. I found this a god send as our little man didn't get his own baggage allowance, it saved packing big bulky towels.
You can also get your safe key at check in at a cost of 2.50 Euros a day.
The Rooms
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There are two sides to the Bahia Principe Costa Adeje. On the right of the hotel is the main accommodation building, which is multicoloured and vibrant, and on the left of the pool are low rise hacienda buildings which house the Jacuzzi suites.
We booked a Jacuzzi Suite, which really isn't a suite but a larger room with a whirlpool bath. We were in block 9, which is above the main buffet restaurant. The room was huge, and very light and airy!! It had a huge super king size bed which was very comfortable. We also had a travel cot for our little man, which was spotless.
There is a large desk and stool dividing the room, which housed the TV and fridge, and on the other side is a sofa and table & chairs. There was also a large wardrobe with plenty of hangers and hanging space, which housed the safe. Beyond this was the bathroom, which had two sinks, a basket full of toiletries, our whirlpool bath, and a swing door leading to the toilet and bidet!!
The fridge contained 2 large bottles of mineral water, 2 beers, and a can each of diet Coke, Coke and Fanta. This is refilled every day, so if you have anything left over then it is worth hiding in a drawer!! We had no trouble getting extra water for the baby's bottles; we either asked at reception if we were passing or called housekeeping.
You do not get a kettle in the room, and we bought our own to make bottles, but we did notice people hiring them at reception, although I do not know how much this cost.
Hubbies only complaint was the lack of English channels on the TV - only CNN and Sky news, although MTV and Eurosports show some programmes in English. We took a portable DVD player as we knew we wouldn't be going out much in the evenings!!
We had a ground floor room in block 9, which was near reception. We had a little garden with table chairs and parasol, plus two sun loungers, which was lovely to sit out in the evening. We could hear the music from the bar when we were in the garden, but the room was well insulated, and we heard no noise once the patio doors were closed.
The rooms all had huge ceiling fans and air conditioning.
The Food
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As an all inclusive resort the Bahia Principe Costa Adeje has one main buffet restaurant and 3 a la carte restaurants (Spanish, Italian and Seafood) You can also book the a la carte restaurants at the Bahia Principe Tenerife, although we did not do this but heard good things about the Mexican restaurant.
We stuck to the buffet restaurant as it was easier to eat there with a baby. We found the food to be of a good standard, and that there was a good variety of food and we were never bored.
Breakfast was a selection of cooked breakfast items, cereals, salads, fresh fruits and pastries. You could also get omelettes freshly made. I personally loved the pastries, especially the chocolate croissants and doughnuts!!
Dinner had lots of hot options. There was a grill with a different meat and fish option freshly cooked in front of you. There was another section with fresh pastas, sauces and pizzas, with a roast meat joint in the middle. In the centre of the food area was all the hot options - meats in sauces, vegetables, and potatoes. There was also a section for children's hot food - chips, nuggets etc. There is a huge salad bar, fresh soups and breads. For desert there is Ice cream, gateaux and fresh fruit.
Lunch is very similar to dinner but on a smaller scale.
The staff in the restaurant are wonderful - they always made sure we had a high chair and made a huge fuss of our little man.
The main snack bar is down by the infinity pool, and is open until midnight. Here they make freshly cooked burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets and chips. Over lunchtime they also have rotisserie chicken, salads and pasta. You can also get little pots of ice cream.
Drinks
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There is one main bar which is very large, which is below reception. They lay out a table on each side which has a selection of wines and spirits, as well as soft drinks which you can help yourself to and saves queuing at the bar!! There is also a coffee machine and cocktail of the day set up.
At the bar you can get draught beer, and there is a cocktail list serving such favourites as Pina Colada and Sex on the Beach. They were all yummy!!
There is also a bar by the main pool that is open during the day, and a self service bar at the snack bar. The best thing about the pool bars is they serve slush drinks, which are fantastic to sip while sitting around the pool - I tended to live on these!!
The Pools
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The pool facilities at the Bahia Principe are fantastic - although they are freezing when you first get in, but that can be a god send when the weather is scorching!! There is a small children's paddling pool at the top end. Then there are 3 large attached pools which go down the whole length of the main accommodation building. One of these is heated, and it is around these pools that all the daytime entertainment happens.
At the very bottom of the resort is an infinity pool and large Jacuzzi, near the snack bar. This is where we tended to hang out as it is a lot quieter, and the view out to sea was very relaxing.
There were ample sun beds, and we never had trouble getting a parasol although I can see this being more of an issue during the school holidays!! You are not allowed to reserve any sun beds before 8am, although we were never around the pool at this time to see if this was enforced!!
There were announcements of what activities were going on, but we were never hassled by reps like we have been at other hotels!!
Other Facilities
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There is a gym at the hotel which hubbie used a couple of times - It is quite small with a few machines and selection of weights, but does the job if you don't want to let your gym routine go to pot while you are away!! There is also a spa, and massage centre, but I did not partake in this as the prices seemed quite expensive!
There is a shop just off of the main bar, which sold newspapers, chocolate, baby and beauty products and souvenirs. The prices seemed in line with what the shops in the town were charging, although crisps and sweets were more expensive, so it may be worth going into town to get a stash for the room!
There is a square of shops outside near reception, which is where the main entertainment takes place. There are a couple of clothing and jewellery shops, an amusement arcade, and a bar and nightclub which is not included in the all inclusive package. We did not spend much time here.
The hotel also offers a free bus once a day to Playa de las Americas, and two other buses that cost a couple of Euros return. The free bus gives you 4 hours in town, or there is a public bus or plenty of taxis if you wanted to spend longer there.
Entertainment
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We didn't go and see any of the formal entertainment, as it didn't start til about 9pm, which was far too late for my 10 month old. Talking to people, the entertainment was like marmite - people liked or hated it!! There was a lot of musical type shows (Greece, Cabaret etc) and visiting magicians and acrobats. There were also a few musicians playing outside the main bar, which we did listen to a couple from our garden. We preferred to grab a bottle of wine from the bar and chill out there after putting little man to bed!!
Location
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You will either love the location of the hotel, or it will not be for you at all! It is in the middle of nowhere, which was great for us, but is not every ones cup of tea!
Despite its name the hotel is actually in Playa Paraiso, and is in walking distance to the small town's shops and restaurants. To get there you either have to go across the beach up some steep stone steps or go the long way around which is quite hilly! It is about a 20 minute walk, and there is not a great deal in the town. There are a couple of supermarkets, bars and cafes, and a pharmacy. We only went there to get some more nappies. The supermarket is quite good, and despite the exchange rate the cost of alcohol is very reasonable. Hubbie wasn't a huge fan of the beer at the resort so he got himself some bitter, and I got some nice wine for a couple of Euros. The supermarkets also stock most of the same brands of baby products so don't worry about taking it all with you. The only thing we couldn't find was nappy sacks!!
You can also get the bus at the top of the road to Playa Paraiso, or in the other direction to Playa de las Americas, which was about 20 minutes away.
If you want to get away from it all then this is a great location, but if you are a huge shopper or party animal then this hotel is probably not for you
Summary
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We loved our stay at the Bahia Principe Costa Adeje, and would definitely go back! Most of the people we met were also repeat visitors! We found we enjoyed it as much as a family as we did as a couple! If you want somewhere to chill out in the sunshine then I really recommend a stay here, as we all came home really relaxed but several pounds heavier!!
We booked with Direct Holidays, and we paid just over £1000 for a week all inclusive. Packages are also available from First Choice and Thomas Cook.
Summary: Fantastic Holiday for families and couples alike
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