Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden — Hotel in Puerto de la Cruz

Stayed for 2 weeks . Arrived late evening, I was warmly welcomed & told I had been upgraded to a mountain view room which was exceptional...whilst there was a lot of low cloud during my stay I was treated to a few days of the amazing sight of Teide directly in front of me and the sunshine on my balcony from midday until evening was magnificent! The surroundings are relaxing, amazing gardens and the Oriental Spa is incredible with gigantic Koy Carp, beautiful gardens, flowers and amazing pools. Location is awesome with the Botanico Gardens opposite (well worth a visit....especially if you like incredible trees!) only 3E to visit! Many restaurants within a few seconds & easy walk to the town/coast with lots of eateries, bars, shops etc as long as you can handle an uphill walk to return....they have a shuttle bus, which I didn't use but if you are less mobile this would be essential. I can't say enough about the staff and the environment, from the foyer - the huge amethyst crystal/rock & hanging glass structure (which much to the amusement of the lovely doorman & me....I managed to walk into once whilst distracted on my phone :)!!), and the jellyfish aquarium.... it screams opulence and class but is not overwhelming. Staff were so friendly and warm. Breakfast - a real treat sitting next to the atrium filled with colourful and amazing birds....such an uplifting way to start to the day. Everything about this place is 5*. Unfortunately I encountered ongoing problems with room service which was a real let down where this type of hotel is concerned it is so basic I'm sad I have to feedback about this. Several times during my stay, and even following the problem being reported several times my room was missed in terms of replenishing the water, tea, coffee, milk etc. Fortunately there is a supermarket close by so in the end I bought large bottles of water so I could ensure that having been out all day walking etc I would not be stressed about whether the water in my room had been replenished or not. Towards the end of my trip I was contacted by a lovely lady Paola (apologies if spelt incorrectly), the customer relations manager, who offered sincere apologies, I was understanding (I didn't make a fuss) and a few minutes later whilst in the Spa area she came to me and gave me a voucher for a free massage, which was very much appreciated and I made use of this on the day I returned home. Given the apology/compensation and all things considered I cannot bring myself to provide anything but a 5* review, this apart, everything was outstanding, I would certainly not hesitate to return to this hotel hoping the room service issue is resolved....so sad I have to mention this but it's such a basic thing - clearly something seriously went wrong during my stay, a simple system of ensuring a check of what is used by the guest/s is replenished ...i.e. water and consumables are refilled would be expected as a standard certainly in such as this type of hotel. The housekeeping services were exceptional, room cleaned regularly, promptly, timely and to a high standard and even the consistent turn down service.....including chocolate, mat/ slippers, etc....lovely touch! There are too many incredible staff to mention, but I am conscious to mention those who I can remember by name .....Giselle my lovely turn-down senorita what a genuinely nice young lady and I loved our broken Spanish/English little chats....best of luck to her, I absolutely adored Tui my Thai masseur who has incredible skills, knowledge and a shining bright spirit, Eleanora (spelling?!)...one of the most amazing Yoga teachers I've encountered and who it was an honour and privilege to be taught by, Paola obviously for her kindness, all the lovely reception and door staff....smiles and warmth much appreciated and finally....the beautiful Tania in the lounge in the evening....I didn't visit often but she not only remembered my name after our first meeting but also the occasional drink I ordered and I really enjoyed our chats....such a warm and lovely person....a...

ROMANTIC PACKAGE due to my partner birthday.Overall the hotel was nice, many different gardens, we enjoyed relaxing in the spa center.The customer care however, was disappointing. I bought a package which included 1stay, a romantic dinner,spa,breakfast and late check out 6pm.on arrival, we have been welcomed by a lovely receptionist who has explained that we could pick either the Italian or the oriental restaurant. We decided to go for the Italian (Pappagallo).The room was on point and everything was fine until we arrived to dinner.(Do I need to mention that we are a lesbian couple?)on our arrival, the hostess asked our room number and walked to a table as normal.There wasn’t any romantic decoration and we haven’t been explained What wasn’t included in our dinner. I felt uncomfortable with my partner as it was meant to be a romantic surprise, we Just went ahead with ordering food. The hostess who welcomed us, said that it looked like we were on a special occasion, poorly put some flowers on our table and left. Only after we have already finished our starter, she apologised, said she didn’t realise we had a dinner planned which was meant to include more things.The morning after, We go to breakfast and the buffet was nice.The problem of the breakfast was the insisting look of the Maitre directed to my partner, who doesn’t get easily affected by this kind of stuff, yet she had to point out this man (in his Late 50s while she’s 29) would not stop looking at her coming from behind my sit,he even bumped into someone as he wasn’t looking. We leave breakfast and we decide to go for a walk.Back to the hotel, we finally Reach the room which is now not opening, as check out are at 12am while we had a late check out 6pm.We have to go all the way down to speak to the receptionist who apologised and asked about our dinner, that’s when the manager of bars came to us, apologise, and offered us a lunch in Palmera restaurant. It obviously cannot replace the romantic night we were looking forward to, but we appreciated it and accepted it. On arrival there was roses on the table and the service was good,We were finally thinking that we could relax and enjoy the last few hours in the hotel before to go back to our residents’ life in Tenerife, however here he is again, the repulsive Maitre who again, came and stand not far from our table and stared at us for the whole lunch without moving.he could definitely see the disapproval in my face end yet carry on looking (last thing you ask for if you are trying to have some romantic time with your partner).Half way through dessert we felt too uncomfortable and decided to leave. We thanked the staff while the Maitre was still staring and laughing with a female colleague and with a cheeky smile said goodbye this time looking at me.nervous we decided to go back to our room.Before the check out, we wanted to inform the manager about what happened as the whole hotel shouldn’t be blamed for one or two people. Unfortunately once we arrived to the reception we show him Chatting and smiling with a lady. We start talking to the receptionist who call her manager, apparently the lady with the Maitre just before. He stared at my gf again, then quickly left the room, then came back and passed in front of us to listen to our conversation e then disappeared behind a door. We felt extremely stressed about the situation as the manager carry on smiling and laughing and saying yeah don’t worry, I’m sure you got it wrong, oh but don’t worry, you don’t need to feel uncomfortable, oh don’t worry, he surely didn’t meant that! I felt discredited by the main person in charge, who didn’t question his staff and saying that “we got it wrong” and taking about this whole thing in a shallow way. it was meant to be a special day for my partner and the only thing we have got was feeling intimidated, ignored and somehow fooled by part of the staff. Its only we left it’s when we put a cross on this hotel, we...

A brief description of our dissapointment due to allowed characters text

5* dissapointment, cold pools and very cold atmosphere, kids not welcome and a lot of fluff. It may be a nice place for a couple, but absolute no fun for families - just a lot of frustrating restrictions that have wasted a week of my summer.

We have booked this hotel last minute trough Thomson's and we have discovered on our destination that this was mis-sold to us. We choose to give 1* to our experience due to how the hotel management had handled our complaint and how our whole experience has been affected by this and how much we have enjoyed our stay. It should be more of 0*, as i have not enjoyed our holiday at Botanico at all.

The main pool we were allowed to be with our children in was very cold 24 degrees, and no inflatable toys were allowed. The atmosphere was quite old around this pool- some nice teenagers came by with some lovely swans to play, they were escorted out immediately as guests have complained!!! C'mon!!! Where is a child allowed to blow some steam and have some fun??? Why do you sell holidays to families? And why don't you tell them there is no access to fun?? Very upsetting experience , even now, 6 months later! I feel ripped off of my family holiday and i am still very disappointed on Botanico's manager and Thomson. Take some responsibility, it will really make your guests feel better.

So 1* for the experience - cold pools, running lizards everywhere ( all day, every day) , not pleasant being trapped in a place with nothing to do as a family 3* for food- a lot of pretended fluff!! Really disappointing in the Spanish and Italian, but nice in Thai and by the pool (lunch). They like to put flowers on every plate- which could be nice if they were edible amd properly grown, but really not appealing to see the waiter pick up a flower from the pots surrounding the bar ( they look like standard potted plans, not edible, and obviously with dust and flies being on them all day!) 4* for breakfast - nice food selection but disappointing coffee 3* for the rooms- outdated, horribly old bathrooms, comfy beds, lovely cleaning ladies 1* for the kids pool- cold water and mouldy corners, no toys allowed!!! 24 degrees water in September is way too cold, my daughter had some fun in it but didn't feel safe for the baby. Lizards running around scaring my daughter, so all together not a good experience 1* for the spa. The spa looked great. I have organised one hour for myself one morning ( really boring going on your own and stressful keeping an eye on the phone in case the baby needs you!) Been to sauna that looks great; two men dressed in uniforms (builders) came into my cubicle while i was in there, on my own, having a conversation about fixings needed done!!! The indoor pool was closed and some other men were fixing some tiles and doing some maintenance work- really upsetting, so all together, from my experience, as what i was allowed to enjoy, i can only give 1*, with deep regret and frustration 5* for the kids club- if your child is 4+ and comfortable to go without you, they run some trips to a local animal park. My daughter loved it- went there one day with Lisa and Adrian who were fantastic! Thank you guys! But sadly we didn't go to Tenerife to spend time apart from our children, we went there to swim and relax by the pools!

Below are images of the mouldy kids pool and 1* bathroom details- definitely not up to standards...