Barcelo Santiago

I am just back from a week at the Barceló Santiago which is my first time visiting Tenerife. I booked through Jet2 and was there on a half board basis.

The hotel is really lovely, has spectacular views and my room which was on the 5th floor had an incredible Seaview which I was very fortunate for. The room was very spacious, balcony was a great size and the cleanliness was very good. Housekeeping came everyday and really felt that time and attention was spent whilst cleaning.

On arrival my flight was delayed nearly 2 hours so it meant not getting to the hotel until after midnight, but the lovely girl from the Netherlands, sorry I never caught her name, was very welcoming and such a bright friendly mood for the time of night it was!

There a lot of sunbeds available but limited around the pool so if that were your preference then I would suggest being up early to secure one. The only day I could not get a bed was Sunday as never went up to the pool until around 1pm. People do tend to reserve beds and you notice that folk are gone for long periods of time but generally if you go up for 11ish you should get a bed no problem. I would say they are not the most comfortable to lie on for hours on end as are not padded.

Before going I could have upgraded to all inclusive but at a price of £450 for the week which I decided was not worth it when already half board and I am glad I never. When on holiday solo I don't tend to day drink as much and just as well as the queues at the breeze bar were very long at points during the day. I did tend to grab a table and have a cocktail and lunch if I felt like it which was fine. Would not say I was blown away by the food at the Breeze bar felt fairly average. I had:

• Club Sandwich: average
• Hummus: pathetic. It said it would come with crudités and pitta but literally the portion of hummus was huge and what looked half a pitta quartered! Hummus was not nice either in my opinion.
• Garlic prawns: average. Also some had not had the poo line removed so is a bit off putting
• Hamburger: again average nothing to write home about but least had some flavour
• Strawberry Margheritas: These are frozen and really good and if half board are only 9 euros which I think is reasonable (other flavours available)

Service leaves a lot to be desired I found that some employees generally avoided eye contact so you couldn't get their attention for service. I would say Alicia though was lovely hardworking and actually fixed several mistakes I encountered in one sitting there she was really lovely and should be the standard that all employees look to emulate.

The Drago buffet was ok and there is choice but certain nights I did not fancy the look of the food particularly on French night, but that is a personal preference and I can be quite picky. That said there is always pizza and chips and salad. I thought the Asian night was good though. Breakfast there is choice but the same every day I tended to just have scrambled eggs and some pastries.

At checkout my bill only came to 114 euros and I did pay for lunch in Breeze bar and had drinks too so overall glad I did not opt for all inclusive option.

Being solo I tended to go to the hyperdino supermarket which is less than a minute walk and buy wine and water there and kept it in the fridge in my room and would enjoy drinks on the balcony. Being solo I don't tend to take in the evening entertainment and from some of the nights what I heard definitely was not my kind of thing.

I also had lunch on my last day at the Sorriso restaurant which is above the supermarket. This was outstanding I had the bruschetta with mozzarella and caesar salad and was 10/10 and really good value for money - the portions were massive which I did not realise when ordering but if you want a break from the buffet def recommend there! I also got a takeaway pizza from the across the road at a place called Bella Napoli was really nice too and decent value don't be put off by the exterior its good trust me lol!

I also paid for the spa for 45 mins and booked an hour long massage. Spa I would give a miss not much to write home about the pictures make it look more amazing than it is and the steam room was out of order. The massage though was very good and worth the money it was 85 euros for an hour relax massage which I think is pretty reasonable! Spa access was only 12 euros for 45 mins, you can book for 2 hours but I struggle to see how anyone would want to spend 2 hours in it.

The area itself there is little about I walked to Los Gigantes and Playa de Arena both take about 15/20 mins there are hills involved but if you take it slow they are totally fine. However, once you get to the destination not very much in them more in Playa de Arena but shops and restaurants very tired looking and personally unless you looking for a walk don't see much point in going there.

Overall, I had a lovely relaxing holiday which is what I was looking for and the hotel is a good option for that, as the rooms are clean, spacious and have spectacular views. However, if you want to get out and about and see things you would probably need to go further a field. The transfer with Jet2 took an hour 15 mins as well and all those factors considered I probably wouldn't return to this hotel but I would certainly try another Barcelo based on my experience.

Again this is based on a solo traveller and if in a group or a couple it could be a totally different experience.

We found the rooms incredibly clean. The view from our balcony was breathtaking we could see the mountains, sea and pool. We were blown away with the drinks available in the all inclusive package such as real Smirnoff, Dissoronno, amazing cocktails. As well as this the pool bar was amazing, steaks, burgers, ribs, noodles. We have been to many all inclusive hotels and can honestly say we have never experienced such good options included. The staff were all polite and friendly. We especially loved Alicia who was one of the waitresses in the pool bar, she was so friendly, funny, and always smiley. The entertainment in the day and evening was good, in the day Mani one of the entertainment guys was so energetic and made the activities really fun, I really enjoyed the aqua gym. We loved the Barceló party night and the acrobatic act, in the evening. it was a shame that the music and acts stopped so abruptly, it would have been nice to have some background music after the entertainment finished. The food in the canteen was varied and there was something for everyone. We are a vegetarian and vegan couple and there was always something on offer. The location was absolutely beautiful, we loved the views of the mountain and the cliff edges. We went snorkelling right outside the hotel, we were in walking distance of Lidl and the gorgeous marina where we got the flipper uno (a pirate ship) to spot dolphins. I highly recommend this as it was an unforgettable and fantastic trip. The local area is sadly extremely quiet, there was only a small amount of restaurants, bars and shops and they are all struggling to stay open, constantly dead. We didn’t mind the quiet as we were looking forward to a relaxing holiday but some people may prefer a little more going on around the hotel. We did get the local bus to Los Christianos one day which was around and hour and a bit. This area was sooo busy, but was nice for a one day trip. We also took a local bus to Siam Park which was around an hour away. So worth it though.

Overall we had a brilliant time, the hotel was amazing.