Hotel Tropical Park, Tenerife, Spain

I have started a tradition in my family: I want to travel to warm countries over the winter holidays. I love it because the summer temperatures give me energy and a boost for the new year. This year I returned to Tenerife since the Canary Islands are the warmest place in Europe during December. Also, Tenerife is an easy destination for me as I am an RCI Club member and they offer a good variety of hotels in the Canary Islands – clearly, it is a favourite among many travelers. Tenerife also surprises me each time with its versatile landscapes and the kindness of its people.

I returned to the small village of Callao Salvaje, located about 15 minutes' drive from the tourist hub of Costa Adeje. It is peaceful and still has a local feel to it. There are all the services that you might need on your holiday (e.g. car rental, travel agency, doctor's office, supermarket, pharmacy) and a nice selection of restaurants and cafés close by. Thus it is a popular village with families and retirees. Costa Adeje has a more youthful party vibe and it is better for shopping. It's more polished, but also pricier. I was looking forward to exercising in the sun, swimming, and exploring the island, so Callao Salvaje provided a great base for that. 

Hotel Tropical Park

In the past, I have been disappointed with the hotels offered in the RCI holiday exchange system. So this time I put a lot of thought into hotel selection. I chose the four-star Hotel Tropical Park because the apartments had been recently renovated and it had gotten good reviews from previous guests. So I had high hopes for the stay. The first impression was great: the lobby was beautiful and its big glass doors opened to the street. In addition, the receptionist was polite and spoke English well (which was not the case with all the staff). When we were trying to locate our room, it became clear, that the exterior of the hotel was still dated and dirty in places, but our room felt modern, inviting, and clean!

My Pool-View Suite

We had a pool-view suite with a kitchen. The 40 m² room felt spacious. The fact that the bedroom and the living area are separate is great when you have a slightly different sleeping rhythm from your travel partner! So that is the benefit of choosing an apartment instead of a hotel room. The other is that you can easily save on traveling costs when you have your own well-equipped kitchen. But what I loved the most was that we could access the pool area directly from our own terrace. It gave me the perfect holiday feeling! 

The apartment didn't feel luxurious, but completely sufficient for our stay nevertheless. The negative surprises were a strange smell at the beginning in the bathroom and the poor quality of the renovations. We didn't manage to get the hand shower to work in the bathroom but decided not to do anything about that matter.  Also, the sounds from the upper apartments and outside were very audible, so the soundproofing clearly was not a priority in the renovations. These issues took away from the luxury feeling, but I was not expecting any luxuries, so I felt comfortable with this hotel choice. A positive surprise was that the bathroom had free toiletries! So I can recommend this hotel for budget holidays, especially for families.

Versatile Amenities and Services

The best part of this hotel was the pool area of course! This hotel had three well-maintained swimming pools and a quite old jacuzzi. One of the pools was suitable for the smaller kids next to a playground. There was a good amount of sunbeds always available and the pools didn't feel too crowded. 

The staff provided many kinds of activities for the children e.g. face painting, table tennis, and evening shows. Other services in the hotel were a barber shop, laundry service, a travel agency for booking excursions, and even a diving school. Also, there was a gym, but I heard from another client that not all the equipment functioned, so I opted to go jogging in the sun instead. 

Disappointed With Restaurants

There were two different restaurants. The buffet restaurant was catering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In my opinion, the food in the buffet was mediocre and not always fresh, but again I was not expecting this to be a gourmet restaurant. It was very spacious so all the sounds were echoing in the space quite loudly, which made me want to leave as soon as possible. There was an option to eat outside by the pool though. The other restaurant was called 'Litchi' and served drinks and tapas for which Spain is famous. Unfortunately, I never happened to see this restaurant open. 

In Conclusion

Overall, this hotel provides an excellent home-like base in Tenerife for those who want to explore the island by renting a car or on guided tours. On the other hand, it also works for those who just want to enjoy the sun, and pools and eat out in local restaurants. The area is safe and peaceful which I loved. The nearest beach with beautiful cliffs and black sand is a few minutes walk away. The minor negative things that this hotel has can be easily overlooked when the staff cares about the clients and their safety and works hard to make sure that everyone has a great holiday in this hotel!