We just had 7 days here with the family and everyone was happy. One son played golf, one son played tennis almost every day, my 13 year old daughter spent the week playing Padel tennis and my other son was permanently in the cycling centre. I enjoyed excellent food, wine and peace a quiet and my wife spent her days enjoying the boutiques on the property, in the spa or relaxing by the infinity pool in The Retreat. A rare occurrence, everyone was happy.
Tenerife would not have normally been somewhere we’d have considered for a family holiday but reading community reviews on here we decided to give it a try. I spend quite a bit of time in luxury hotels around the world for work so when we travel as a family I don’t need much if the food’s really good, lunch every day at the Mirador restaurant poolside and dinner at one of the 10 other restaurants on site served me very well.
We dined at both Michelin starred restaurants on the property and the food I couldn’t fault. M.B. The inspiration of Martin Berasategui offers a bold Basque 8 course tasting menu that for foodies will stimulate the senses and give you flavour combinations you haven’t experienced before. In contrast Akira Back is all about Japanese fusion and having just returned from a trip to Tokyo where the markets and food options were as diverse as they were incredible, the sea food and fish especially this food was exciting and authentic I thought.
You get around the property by golf cart. Although make sure you book before you arrive as they have a limited number available. I hired one for the entire stay, cost about €35 a day. Without it you’d struggle walking everywhere, the Tennis centre and Spa both at the top of the property and at least a 10-15 minute walk away from the Retreat area, a members only smaller pool serving complimentary afternoon snacks, beers and wines.
It is a better location than the main big pools in the middle of the property we thought, easier to access everything including the beach, with complimentary ice creams and drinks also available at anytime throughout the day in the adjacent bar area.
My wife told me the spa treatments were good although she did struggle to get appointments at the times she wanted later in the day, they were very busy and didn’t manage to get a hair appointment. You have to use the app on the phone to book and I don’t think she gave enough notice to be fair.
The great thing about this place is it’s really big and they offer a lot if you have grown kids who like sport. They also have a kids club for little kids I saw signs for, there were no children in The Retreat so they have managed to make this a family place where everyone is taken care of separately which really worked for us.
We did it all on a British Airways package and for two rooms, Retreat access, spa, Tennis, Golf, and Michelin star food and wine the whole thing cost me about £20K in high season. But we literally did everything. The restaurant bills alone were close to £1000 for 6 of us.
We booked a two bedroom suite in the retreat for us and our youngest which brought the cost down a bit. I prefer giving my older sons their own space and us more privacy which does add up if you have a big family.
We all really enjoyed the hotel. The staff were great and there’s lots to do. I’d say the reason to return is the tennis and golf facilities which are excellent but do come at a price especially if you choose to have instruction coaching during your stay.