Christmas Day is breathing down our necks. CC La Villa in La Orotava is buzzing with shoppers and the TF5 motorway beside it is gathering rows of red and white car lights like a cobweb gathers dew.

In holiday booking terms, the beginning of this week is the lull before the storm as hotels gear up for the Christmas Eve influx. But not in Hotel Las Águilas which sits calmly, both physically and metaphorically, above the shopping bedlam. Here, the hotel is currently on 80% occupancy and hurtling towards full to the brim.

As the sun sinks on the Monday before Christmas, Tenerife Magazine heads to the hotel on the hill for some early festive R&R.

A cut above the rest
Winding up the hill that leads to the Hotel Las Águilas in Puerto de la Cruz, you quickly realise that you’re not just checking into any old hotel. Set in two and a half acres of botanical gardens and woodland on its panoramic hilltop, think country estate with pools and parasols.

Inside the lobby, the marble effect walls and floors coupled with the Titian-style mural lend it an Italian classical look, but wander through to the Internet lounge and you’ll find sepia images of Native Americans. Descend the stairs to the stylish and spacious bar lounge area and it’s pop art that adorns the walls. Refreshingly devoid of the uniform look of hotel chains, the style of Hotel Las Águilas is both contemporary and traditional, an elegant simplicity bringing eclectic themes together.

View from a Hill
The sky is just beginning to glow orange as we check into reception so we take the elegant, sweeping staircase down a level, through the chic bar lounge to the beautifully manicured gardens, palm filled lawns and freeform swimming pool with its rockery waterfall, to watch as night falls gently over Puerto de la Cruz. Following the path beneath the tunnel beside the poolside restaurant, we make our way to the children’s pool and the larger swimming pool with its walk-behind waterfall where views open up across the rest of Puerto de la Cruz.

At our backs the slopes of the La Orotava Valley twinkle against the deepening sky, fading to obscurity as they reach the edge of the Teide National Park, ahead of us the Atlantic Ocean is slowly slipping from azure to cobalt blue while below, the street lights, Christmas decorations and windows of the town are gathering strength in numbers.

Over indulgence
With the sun well and truly over the yard arm, there’s just enough time to order a cold beer and try out the bar stools in the Vulcano Lounge before dinner. Resisting the temptation to order another couple of beers in the amiable company of the bar tender, we make our way to the restaurant where one look at the evening’s buffet selection has us instantly regretting the small bowl of nuts we just demolished.

Fresh and fabulous salads accompanied by cheeses, cold meats and more toppings than you could shake a lettuce at, give way to heart warming, home made chicken soup and an entire wall of piping hot, freshly made, main courses including several fish, meat and pasta options. Vegetables are fresh, meat cuts are succulent, the fish is savoury and vegetarians would be just as happy as the carnivores. The fruit and desserts section would be the undoing of even the most avid of dieters.

Half hoping that some things would be less than average when it comes to taste and I can spare my waistline a millimetre, my hopes are  dashed when everything proves to be every bit as good to eat as it is to look at.

The Essentials

Location: Atop a sizeable hill on the border of Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava and Los Realejos so that you get some of the best views anywhere over mountain, valley and coast. Rooms at the rear of the hotel overlook the La Orotava Valley, Puerto de la Cruz and naturally, the ocean, while those at the front have widescreen vistas of Mount Teide, the Tigaiga Mountains and La Orotava Valley. Puerto centre is a 20 minute stroll or a ten minute taxi ride away and the hotel has a free, daily shuttle bus service to town.

Rooms: Former apartments, the rooms are some of the most spacious you’ll find on Tenerife with a lounge/kitchen/dining area, a large bathroom incorporating a Jacuzzi bath and a spacious bedroom with a bed so large you’ll lose each other during the night. Walls are pale lemon with floral prints, art nouveau style mirrors and lamps giving them a contemporary, simple elegance. Furniture is bleached pine with mahogany fitted wardrobes and cupboards. Double sliding doors lead from the bedroom and from the living room onto a completely private balcony large enough to house the Royal family at a State occasion.

Service: From managers to gardeners, everyone we encountered provided us with warm, friendly and efficient service. In the dining room, plates were cleared, tables cleaned and drinks served with the minimum of fuss and a smile.

Food: Any hope that the calories gained at dinner could be forfeited the following morning evaporated in the face of one of the best breakfast buffets we’ve eaten. Six varieties of cheese and six more of cold meats accompanied cereals, fresh fruit, yoghurts, jams and a baker’s dozen varieties of bread. Hot choices were too numerous to list but included such decadent goodies as churros with chocolate and pancakes with honey. You don’t have to be a guest to try the excellent food at Hotel Las Águilas, pop along at weekends for breakfast, a barbecue (Saturdays) or paella (Sundays) on its terrace.

Entertainment: The youngest guests of the hotel are treated to their own Mini Club and Mini Disco entertainment programme and once the Sandman takes them to beddy bo-bos, live cabaret keeps adult feet tapping in the Vulcano Lounge.

Overall: The winner of our current holiday competition is in for a real treat. Without doubt, one of the top hotels in Puerto de la Cruz, Hotel Las Águilas is packed to its friendly and stylish rafters with comfort and taste. Beautiful grounds, excellent food and spacious accommodation are the trademarks of this unique hotel which is ideal for families and couples.

Hotel Las Águilas, Doctor Barajas, 19; 4 stars; Puerto de la Cruz; (0034) 922 37 28 06; email reservas@hotellasaguilas.com

This is mid-August, peak holiday season, and the 4* Hotel Isabel in the heart of Costa Adeje is filled to capacity.
Advertising itself as a ‘family hotel’, Tenerife Magazine decides to brave the summer heat and the influx of families from the Spanish mainland and Canary Islands to check out what Costa Adeje’s Hotel Isabel has to offer.

The eye-catching mustard tower and traditional Canarian, wooden balconied frontage of the Hotel Isabel belie the cornucopia of amenities and leisure space that lie beyond. It’s like stepping into a wardrobe and finding yourself in Narnia.

Newly arrived for the weekend, I wander down leafy avenidas between neat rows of Canarian-style villas; around a tree lined Plaza de las Palmeras in whose centre a stone fountain plays and across wooden walkways above enclosed courtyards surrounded by red tiled roofs.

I could be in the old quarter of La Laguna or La Orotava if it wasn’t for the perfectly manicured landscaping and the endless array of boredom-bashing activities that beckon.
In the lobby a group of boys are half way through a World Cup qualifier match on the big screen video game while alongside, a teenager’s surfing the net in the Cybercafé and in the bar area his dad’s taking advantage of the free WiFi to check his emails.  All around the expansive rooms and grounds, tots to teens are lining up cues on pool tables, clearing the net on table tennis, scoring goals on table football and climbing frames in playgrounds. Centre stage in the courtyard, I inadvertently wander through rehearsals for Harry Potter where the animation team are coaching wide eyed starlets in spell casting skills.

Tiptoeing around Voldemort, I wander past the massage and beauty parlour; the tattooist and the gymnasium to discover the gaily painted windows of the Mini Club from which tiny voices are singing. Next door, a diving school waits to take me on underwater voyages of discovery.
Just when I was wondering how many activities you could possibly fit into one hotel, I find myself in the sports area where tennis, basketball and football courts flank a volleyball sand court, an outdoor gym and a kiddies’ adventure playground with a mini climbing wall.

Feeling exhausted just from the thought of all that energy expenditure, I retrace my steps to the busy swimming pools and sunbathing terraces bedecked with glistening, prone bodies.  Sitting in the irresistible shade of the laid back pool bar terrace with the Adeje Mountains shimmering in the heat haze above the bougainvillea lined gardens of the villas, I give my biceps a work out with a long, cool drink and wonder if I should have booked a week.

Hotel A. Isabel, Family Hotel, Costa Adeje – The Essentials

Location: Alongside commercial centres and restaurants in the heart of Costa Adeje, a 10 minute stroll from Fañabe Beach and 20 minutes from Puerto Colon.

Rooms: Accommodation is in apartments in low-rise blocks or Canarian style bungalows and villas laid out like a village along landscaped streets. Plenty of space to spread out with good kitchen facilities, living room, bedroom, en suite bathroom and large terrace or private garden. Apartments are clean, bright and nicely decorated but lacking any wow factor.

Service: Everyone we dealt with was friendly and professional from the cleaning staff to the animation team. Check-in was quick and efficient with multi-lingual staff and no queues. Dining room staff were fast and efficient so, despite the hotel being at capacity, tables were cleared and re-set with minimum of fuss.

Food: Meals were buffet style in the large dining rooms and if you preferred,  breakfast could be taken on the outside terrace. Pasta and pizza corner, a grilled meats section and a fresh fruit table joined an already overwhelming selection of meat, fish and salad dishes to keep everyone from the fussiest toddler to the family veggie happy. Despite the hotel being full, food was hot, fresh and constantly topped up and there was no waiting for tables.

Entertainment: With the hotel’s family high season in full swing, entertainment was naturally geared towards the younger ones and the animation team had their work cut out keeping kids of all ages and mixed nationalities entertained from breakfast to bedtime. Rising valiantly to the challenge, music, singing and dancing kept Plaza Canaria buzzing until the midnight hour. For those of us who were occupying a child-free zone, Costa Adeje’s nightlife was just a stroll away.

Overall: An excellent family hotel in a central Costa Adeje location offering good value for money and non-stop fun and entertainment to keep kids happy while Mum and Dad relax.

Hotel A Isabel; 4 Star; Avenida de Bruselas 4-6, Costa Adeje; ; (0034) 922 74 70 00; email for reservations

Amongst the prestigious travel media professionals who make up the British Guild of Travel Writers, John Bell is a travel journalist, TV Director/Producer (John is the former Producer of Radio 4′s ‘Breakaway’ and Channel 4′s ‘Travelogue’) and tourism training professional.
I caught up with John last week at the Guild’s AGM Gala Dinner hosted by the Gran Hotel Bahía Del Duque and he had some pearls of wisdom to share with Tenerife’s tourism professionals.

Firstly, I asked John what his impressions of Tenerife had been so far and laughing, he replied; “It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be!”
Which I considered was exactly the sort of response the Cabildo (Island Government) were hoping to elicit when they invited the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) to host their Annual General Meeting on Tenerife.

Sparing no effort or expense, the Cabildo wanted to show the Guild that there’s a very different Tenerife from the one that has been poorly portrayed in the British press so many times. Judging by John’s conversation, the exercise is already yielding results and most of the BGTW delegates I spoke to were seeing a very different side to Tenerife, one that hopefully they’ll promote in their various travel media.

As well as working in travel journalism and TV, John is a media trainer in travel and tourism and he took the time to offer some invaluable advice to those of us who are involved in some form or another in Tenerife’s tourism sector.

John’s message for Tenerife is not to lose sight of its traditional market but rather to raise the standards of what’s being offered and to provide excellent value for money.
John: “That’s the key – don’t confuse low cost with poor value. Many of the people who fly on Ryanair and Easyjet are choosing to stay in 4 and 5 star accommodation. They don’t necessarily expect low prices but they do insist on good value for money.
The traditional market is changing but it’s still your staple market, don’t neglect it.”

John has recently returned from a conference in Madrid where he says he emerged with one strong message; offer better value for money to your traditional market whilst keeping an eye on emerging markets.

John: “Tenerife must be able to respond quickly to the demands of a travel public that now has the power to book their holidays 24/7 over the Internet. People may read an article about a place on Thursday and decide to go the following day for a weekend. They can book their flight immediately and the hotels need to be just as responsive. So too should the car hire companies. If the hotel and the car hire company don’t have 24/7 online booking facilities they’re going to miss out on a whole travel market.”

Tenerife hotels should offer the whole package, says John.

John: “Hotels should make available airport transfer, car hire, excursions and even travel guides. Everything should be readily bookable in one package online to make arranging a short break quick, easy and efficient for visitors.”

From where I’m standing, much of Tenerife’s professional tourism sector still has a long way to go in terms of offering a seamless package to visitors. After investing so much time and effort into hosting the BGTW, let’s hope the Cabildo can now disseminate what it has learned from these travel professionals and create a destination that will suit the Internet-savvy British market. It’s our traditional market and it’s constantly evolving…Tenerife needs to evolve with it.