My Best Ever Holiday Location (Laguna Park 1 (Tenerife, Spain))

Member Name: suz1584

Product:	Laguna Park 1 (Tenerife, Spain)
Date:	15/04/09 (229 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The hotel is fantastic

Disadvantages: wouldn't go half board

I have to admit I was very lucky when I was younger to get to go abroad on holiday with my mum and dad. We always went to Spain and in the travel agents one day my mum decided to give Tenerife a try. I was 14 and I was going with my sister who was 16 as well as my mum and dad.

Mum chose to book Laguna Park 1 as it wasn't right in the centre of Playa de las Americas, Costa Adeje which is located at the South of Tenerife which is in the Canary Islands.

Laguna Park 1 consists of 178 apartments and 4 studios. The difference with these ;

Apartments - these are ideal for families. They have a bedroom with a double bedroom and then 2 sofabeds in the sitting room. Under one of these beds there is a pull out bed for a larger family. They also have cots available if your require one.

Studio - these are more suited for couples or people who travel alone. It has 2 beds as well so you don't need to share a double bed with your friend.

Each of these contain a kitchen, balcony, en-suite bathroom with a bath and shower, microwave, safe and optional satellite which you do have to pay for at reception.

Once arrive on the 4 and half hour flight from Glasgow we got onto a bus and were taken to the hotel. At first I didn't know what to think as it was very late at night and the sign outside was very faded so it did make it look like it would be run down.

Once getting to the reception my perception changed a lot. You walk through the doors and take in the very large reception area that has the reception to your right and seats to the left. There is a marble floor and this blends in with the reception desk.

It didn't take us long to check in. The staff were very friendly and as every other hotel when you go abroad you leave your passports at the desk. They gave us all the information we needed about the hotel and directions on where to go. We went up the marble stairs and came out at the top next to the restaurant.

As you walk out from the stairs you then have to walk round the path to get to your apartment. My first impression on this was very positive and it did look like a small village. The buildings are all white and not too high up. I think they're about 5 floors high. Once you get to the block you are in you have the choice to use the stairs or the lift. I will be honest that the lifts are not very big and only fit about 2 people with 2 suitcases in.

Finally the apartments - Once you walk in you are in the lounge with the two sofa beds. There is also a dining room table with four chairs. You first notice how clean the apartment is. In the lounge area there is 2 sofa beds (that are really comfy to sleep on!) There is a radio but I have never used it so couldn't tell you if it's any good. The room is large with plenty space for a family of 4 to be comfortable sitting around and relaxing (if you can't face anymore sun!)

The kitchen - it's quite small and only gives enough room for one person in there at a time. In here there is a cooker, fridge, microwave, cuttlery, plates and oven safe items so you have the choice to cook your own meals if you decide to.

The bathroom - It's a nice size but you do have to rely on lights instead of natural light as there is no windows. They have a bath as well as a shower which is good if you unfortunately get sunburn and need to cool down. It doesn't have much hot water though so you don't get a full hot bath if you are looking for that. The shower is pretty basic but has pretty good water pressure to get a good shower. Overall it is a good size with enough room to move around in it. It also has a very big mirror above the sink.

The bedroom - There is 2 single beds in the room with doors that go onto the balcony. There is also a window at the side so you get plenty of light into the room. There is also a large mirror in here so no fighting over the bathroom for a mirror. In the room they have fitted wardrobes which have plenty space to hang all your clothes. The safe is in the bottom if you decide to pay to have this to keep all your belongings, I've never had an issue out in Tenerife but I would still advise to use it as it's best to be safe. Unfortunately i'm not sure of the prices for this but I really don't think it's very expensive. Again it's a good sized room and good enough for a holiday.

The balcony - All balcony's in the apartments have a view over the swimming pool, and it really is a great view. If you get high enough up you can also view other hotels and the sea. On really clear days you can also see the Island La Gomera in the distance. There is a plastic table and 4 chairs out on the balcony so you can have your dinner here and watch the sunset. There is also a line to dry your clothes on, so your swimming costume is nice and dry for the next day!!!

You will find welcome pack on the table to read through and give you all the information you need. It also advises you when the cleaners will be round, which was 3 times a week when I stayed there. They do a very good job keeping the apartment clean but can come to early in the morning and a couple of times they did come in without knocking.

The swimming pool area - The swiming pool is large with salt water instead of chlorine water, it does take a wee while to get used to it, it's also very cold no matter how hot the weather is, I would say the best thing to do is jump in to get over the shock of the cold water a lot quicker!!

The pool funny shape with a poolside bar and has a bridge over the pool to get to the bar from the sun loungers. There is also a water feature in the deep end which has water running over the edge of the large white ornament into the pool.

At the deep end there is also a shallow pool which has rocks around it, it's very shallow and is actually the baby pool. You always see kids playing in here. At the shallow end of the pool there is also another pool which is for the kids but I didn't see it getting used very much when I was here.

There is opening times for the pool as they clean it in the morning. It is open all day and you have to be out by about 8pm. By this time the pool is usually empty anyway as the sun is gone, saying that you always get the odd one who decides to jump in fully clothed on their way back from the pub at 3am.

Around the pool there is sun loungers (plenty of them!) so you won't find it hard to find somewhere to get yourself a tan. Like most holiday places people do get up extra early to grab themselves a lounger right next to the pool. So for the best place to lie make sure you get up extra early!!

There is also table tennis and pool at the pool side. You get the bats, balls and cues from reception but you have to give a deposit incae you don' return the items. If you do return them you will get your deposit back in full. Sometimes they also have competitions here and you can win money or drinks in the bar that night! This is fun and competitive but also a really good laugh.

The pool-side bar - It is round and looks to me like a burger when you're looking down at it from your balcony. You get all drinks from here and there is a lunch menu where you can order a big meal or just snacks like toasties and a plate of chips. You order these from the bar and take your receipt over to the small kitchen also at the pool-side. There is plastic seats here which have shaded areas or areas out in the sun. The food doesn't take long to be cooked. You can also take this back to your lounger to eat or even back to the bars as there is seats here where you can sit and watch everyone in the pool. They do cocktails here too - so there is always something for everyone to drink.

The prices - I was surprised at how cheap things were to buy in Tenerife, especially meals. I will admit the prices are a little bit pricier than the local restaurants but still a really good price for what you get. The drinks are also very cheap and definately worth buying yourself a couple of their cocktails which taste fantastic!

The restaurant - you can either go here if you are half board or you can pay to go here. They have a buffet style meal for breakfast and dinner. It's not open for lunch because of the pool-side kitchen and bar.

If you don't like what they have to offer on the buffet you can also choose something to order from their menu. This is the only thing I would say I didn't like about the hotel. I didn't like the buffet and to be honest didn't try anything else of the menu as we ended up going to try other restaurants around the area instead. The breakfasts are quite good with a hot buffet, fruit salads or cereals. It was weird that they served ice-cream at breakfast time though! Again the prices are very reasonable for what you order.

The restaurant has loads of tables so plenty space for people to come in but they are usually quite quiet. If you go early it's always very empty as people tend to eat later when on holiday. The restaurant is very clean and looks really hygenic. It has windows to look out onto the pool area which is nice and bright in the morning.

One night a week they also have a bbq. They have a large bbq at the pool side and you can eat as much as you like. We found this could be a bit of a waste of money if you didn't want to spend all night here as the people at the front of the queue always took piles of food and then you'd have to wait again for more to be cooked. It's always a good atmosphere though.

The games room - this is located under the poolside bar. There is 2 sets of stairs down each side of the pool side bar that takes you done here, this also takes you to the toilets and the evening bar.

The games room has plenty in it to keep you occupied. There is driving games, shooting games and a air hockey machine. It is basically a mini arcade. Everything cost 2 euros to play a couple of years ago but it probably costs more now. My favourite thing about the games room is it has windows that look into the pool, this is great as you can watch everyone swimming around, you do get a lot of people swimming under water to come down to the windows which can be funny to watch too. Because of these windows the games room is lit very blue through the day.

The evening bar - This is where all the hotel entertainment is at nights. They have a kids club for the first couple of hours and then about 8-9pm they have a compere who comes in and plays music and does many different things like quizzes, bingo and karaoke.

Once this has been on for a couple of hours they then have something on every night. We had Blues Brothers in one night which where fantastic. There is also Loro Parque who take in parrots and you can get your photo taken with the parrot sitting on your head. This is really to tempt you to go to Loro Parque which is the local zoo. It's very entertaining and probably worth going to Loro Parque.

There is always something on at the bar so you're never bored. They do also have a pool table in here so you can play this if you're looking for a quiet night.

The bar is very big with loads of room to sit. You can choose to either sit at the bar or at the tables. Both are really comfy so you are spoilt for choice. The staff in here are great at their job and extremely friendly, they make cocktails or any other drink you're looking for. They are quick at serving but I always feel like tipping them because I think they're great so it costs me more than it should all the time.

At the back of the bar there is all the information from your travel agent, including flight times and when you will be picked up by the coach. It also has a lot of local information and details of any trips you'd like to take with all the prices here too.

Kids club - I have never had the experience of the kids club as i'm not a child and don't have any children. They seem to have the kids a lot through the day and you always see them about the hotel doing something. All the kids seem to love the club and very enthusiastic about going. The staff are also very enthusiastic and must make it loads of fun.

Around the hotel - Just behind the hotel across the main road there is the water park. It is about a 10 minute walk to it but go early so you can enjoy the whole day there.

Along the front of the hotels there is many pubs and restaurants as well as a couple of food shops. You really don't have to walk far from the hotel to get anything. Most these restaurants and pubs are some of the best. I spent most my time here as it was close to the hotel and had everything I was looking for. There is karaoke bars, Irish bars, steak houses and a chinese as well as much more.

If you are looking to do some shopping you have a 5 minute walk to the closest shopping complex. There isn't many shops but enough to buy clothes, your duty free, tatoos, get your hair or nails done and electric items. Its a nice shopping area and has a cafe to stop and get a drink or an ice cream and enjoy the buzz of the place.

The nearest beach to the hotel is Torviscas beach which is about 500 metres away. It is all down hill so you don't feel too bad walking it but can feel like a trek coming back home. There is always taxis about which are cheap enough to just get one back to the hotel.

Overall I would say this is an absolutely fantastic hotel and worth a visit. It cost us about £250 per person for two weeks which was booked through Mytravel and that is for an October holiday.

For 2 weeks in May for a family of four it would cost you £260 per person which I think is very good value as there is always great weather. You do have to pay extra for resort transfer. And there is probably more extras on top of this. you can go to the hotel direct to book this instead of through a travel agent.

For more information - http://www.lagunapark1.com

I would advise that this hotel is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties as it is quite hilly and the hotel has no lift to get you from the hotel up to the apartments.

It is more suited for couples or families and not really for groups of young people looking to be in the middle of all the night clubs as they are a big walk away.

I have been to this hotel 5 times now and have to admit that I have fallen in love with it. The staff always remember me when I go back now as they are all the same staff at reception. I love this as it gives you that extra special touch that makes you want to return.

Summary: Absolutely fantastic hotel