The Ritz Carlton Abama

My husband and I stayed here during the first week of October and had an amazing time! We'd read some of the less favorable reviews before our trip, but we had no issues and genuinely enjoyed every aspect of our stay.

First, the staff was exceptional across the board. From the front desk, housekeeping, and spa staff to the restaurant servers, pool attendants, valets, and The Retreat concierges, everyone we encountered was warm, professional and attentive (a special shout-out to Cristina, who took wonderful care of us and was an absolute delight!).

We stayed in The Retreat, which was perfect for us as we wanted a quieter, more relaxed experience away from the main hotel. We were not in a suite, but our room was spacious and comfortable with a beautiful ocean view, king bed, small sofa, table and chairs, and a balcony with additional seating. While we didn't spend a lot of time in the room, it was always a pleasure to return to it at the end of the day. Housekeeping did a great job keeping everything spotless, and we appreciated the evening turndown service, complete with chocolates and bottled water.

Breakfast at The Retreat was included and served at El Mirador each morning, with an extensive buffet as well as à la carte options (order the French toast - you'll thank me). There were complimentary light bites served midday and a dessert hour later in the afternoon, both at the main pool. Wine and cava were available at no charge throughout the day at all pools, along with a complimentary cocktail of the day in the evening.

We spent much of our time lounging poolside, both at the smaller pool near our room and at The Retreat's main pool. Yes, there were some children at the main pool, as other reviewers have mentioned, but we never felt that it was overcrowded or overwhelming. When we wanted absolute peace and quiet, we simply stayed at our smaller pool. It was nice to have options! We enjoyed the pools so much that we actually never made it down to the beach, although it looked beautiful.

We visited the spa twice, once to enjoy their wellness water circuit and another time for a couples massage. The massages were fantastic, and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating. Whenever I had a question or needed assistance, someone was immediately available and happy to help.

Dining was fantastic! We ate at Akira Back, El Mirador, M.B, Verde Mar, Verona and Txoko, and ordered room service one evening. We had excellent meals and service throughout our stay. I'd especially recommend the tasting menus at Akira Back and M.B - both meals truly memorable! We'd read that restaurant reservations should be made in advance, so we booked ours before leaving home. Easy peasy and meant we didn't have to think about reservations once we arrived.

One thing worth mentioning is that this was very much a "lounge and relax" vacation for us rather than a trip focused on sightseeing. So if you're planning to spend a lot of time exploring Tenerife, you'll probably want a car. But we came specifically to unwind, decompress, eat/drink well, and sleep.

And that's exactly what we did. The resort gave us the relaxing getaway we were needed, and we loved every minute of it.

This place is sadly, abysmal.

Everything you want to do is difficult or requires booking. They are seemingly unable to cater for the number of guests at lunch which results in either doing it very early or very late. Almost everything requires a reservation or to request it hours in advance to get it when you need it. Needed an iron, called 3 times across 2.5 hours. Aircon not able to cool the room below 24C - told this is what the units are capable of, told fans will be put in the room, took 24 hours. Wanted room service - 1 hour 40 min wait for 4 lunch meals

The only positive is the food in the various restaurants which is great, but other than that the constant frustration and friction makes the stay distinctly unpleasant.

Sadly a first and last stay with anything Ritz-Carlton. As parents with young children end up chatting to each other in various clubs and settings, this seems to be a consistent theme.

Having stayed at hotels that are more expensive and distinctly less expensive, this is absolutely poor value and not up to the expectation/brand they attempt to portray.

Let me start with the positives. The hotel itself is beautiful, enormous, and architecturally impressive. The rooms are spacious, with exceptionally large bathrooms, and everything was impeccably clean. The 24-hour-opened gym was very good equipped and clean. The food was generally excellent, with Verona being our absolute favourite restaurant. The chefs at both Verona and El Mirador deserve special recognition for delivering truly outstanding meals, we didn’t try other restaurants because we didn’t make a reservation on time. A special shout-out to Francesco at Verona, who was exceptional in every way: highly professional, genuinely friendly, charming, and attentive. He embodies exactly what one would expect from a 5*hotel employee. We would also like to thank Femke and another waiter, whom I believe was named Pedro for excellent service. Jorge at the front desk was equally outstanding and deserves recognition for his professionalism and excellent service. I booked a massage with Carol, it was very good and pleasant experience, I would recommend to everyone.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for much of the remaining staff. Far too often, employees appeared annoyed, impatient, or simply uninterested. There seemed to be a genuine lack of consistent, service-focused training. Rather than feeling welcomed and valued as guests, we frequently felt as though we were annoying the staff. This is particularly disappointing at a luxury hotel, where hospitality should be the very foundation of the experience. Being polite and approachable should be the bare minimum, not an exceptional quality worth celebrating.

The spa is large and offers a good variety of saunas, but the overall experience is simply not worth the additional charge. Upon arrival, the first challenge is finding a properly functioning and equipped locker. At least 15 lockers were labelled as out of order. I had to open four different supposedly functioning lockers before finding one containing all the necessary items: a towel, a bathrobe, and flip-flops. Something was missing from each of the others, including a bathrobe without a belt. When you are paying for a limited time slot, having to waste valuable time searching for such basic necessities is incredibly frustrating. The spa itself offers a variety of saunas but there are nowhere near enough towels. The Finnish sauna is in particularly poor condition, with numerous damaged wooden elements that look completely unacceptable for a luxury property. Despite its enormous size, there is only one partially functioning clock to keep track of your sauna time. Two other spots on the wall clearly show where clocks used to be, yet apparently nobody has bothered to replace them.
Even something as simple as drinking water becomes an issue. The dispenser offers clearly labelled options for sparkling, cold, and regular water, yet every single option produces very warm water! In a sauna area, not being able to get cold, or at least room-temperature, drinking water is simply ridiculous.

At the outdoor family pool, towels were frequently unavailable, and on some occasions, those provided were damaged or torn.

The beautiful sandy beach by the ocean is another highlight of the resort, but unfortunately, even here, the attention to detail is lacking. The sun loungers are packed so tightly together that there is virtually no space between them, making it impossible to get on or off from the side. What makes this particularly frustrating is that the loungers were never fully occupied during our stay. They could easily be rearranged to provide guests with more personal space and comfort. Such a simple adjustment would make a significant difference to the overall beach experience. Breakfast was perhaps the clearest example of the hotel’s inability to deliver service at the level it promises. A hotel of this size should be capable of accommodating the number of guests it accepts. Instead, the breakfast staff seemed consistently overwhelmed and understaffed, and their frustration was frequently reflected in their attitude towards guests. 3 times we ordered coffee and it never arrived. Other times, the coffee came but the milk never did. Sugar was never offered, nor was it available on the table. We had to ask for it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. On one occasion, after asking for sugar yet again, I was brought a bowl that was soaking wet, with paper sugar packets that were completely soggy, sticky, and dripping. The waiter clearly noticed their condition but seemed entirely unbothered and made no attempt to replace them. This level of carelessness. These are not complicated requests. Guests should not have to repeatedly chase staff for the most basic elements of their breakfast. There were certainly some highly professional, efficient, and attentive waiters by the breakfast , but their efforts should not have to compensate for the shortcomings of the majority of the team. A luxury hotel should deliver a consistently high standard of service, regardless of which employee happens to be serving you.

These may sound like minor complaints, but when a hotel charges five-star luxury prices and a tag of ritz carlton trademark , guests are entitled to expect five-star attention to detail. At a more modestly priced hotel, I would not even mention these issues. At a Ritz-Carlton, however, they are simply unacceptable.

Luxury is not just about beautiful buildings, spacious rooms, and expensive restaurants. It is about how guests are treated, how effortlessly everything works, and the attention paid to even the details. At this property, far too many of those details were overlooked, it is by far most the worst 5*hotel we have ever visited.