Sunlight Bahia Principe San Felipe — Hotel in Puerto de la Cruz

Just returned from a nice and relaxing week long stay at the Bahia Principe Sunlight San Felipe and enjoyed the hotel overall but as with all hotels they have a few niggling issues as well as some great enjoyable issues. The Location of the hotel was right on the beach front wih great views of the ocean and right on the very edge of the main resort strip which was away from any noice yet a very short stroll into the main beach front. The views from out 15th floor were superb and we paid a very little extra for a sea view and this for us was worth it to hear the waves crashing to shore as we sat on the balcony at night or in the morning. | |The hotel is a 4 star hotel right on the beach of Porta de la Cruz ( though in my opinion maybe just scraped through to a 4 star mainly because I think it had a Gym and a Spa on site). Though I did not partake of the Gym or the Spa so cannot confirm wheather this was of benefit that would take it to a 4 star as the overall hotel needed a little renovation to bring it to my expectations of a 4 star hotel in regards to the decor. As I said the rooms are in need of some modernisation and the bath in our room (1513) was very spongy as if the insulation underneath had coem away and we allways felt as if we were showering on a sofa as we wobbled a lot due to the poor bath condition. The room though was spotless and was cleaned on a daily basis by very pleasant cleaners and the free water every day was a bonus. ||The Lifts were spotless and there were 3 lifts available for the entire Hotel and all seemed to be running most of the time and no massive waits for the lifts at any time of the day. The facilities around the hotel were also spotless and cleaned well and seemed to be well looked after. ||The main restaurant had a great selection of food over the entire week we were there and again was spotless though the food was not closely monitored and sometimes items did run out and took a while to be replenished. There seemed to be plenty of variety on offer and you would be unlucky to not find something that you wanted every night. The staff again were professional and quick to assist in any way and a credit to the hotel. ||The Pool Bar serving snacks through out the day was allways stocked with snacks and the main pool bar allways manned. Also the Main Bar was also manned very efficiently and the staff were all pleasant and very hardworking especially Monica who seemed to be always working hard in both bars and allways with a broad smile on her face. The All inclusive drinks were good quality (both soft, Coffeee, beer and alchoholic) and available at all times and despite there being only 5 or 6 COCKTAILS available on the all inclusive menu these were well made although I think a number of others could have been included in the all inclusive for variety. |Cold drinks and coffees were also avaialble at these bars as well and were generally self service in the restaurant.||If I have one big critisim of the property it would be the SMOKING within the outside of the bar area. As the hotel kept all of the doors off the Bar and the rear of the Lobby Area open at all times and any time you sat in the lounge area of the lobby or in the rear of the Bar area you were constalntly bombarded by the smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the area which for a non smoke who like to sit and read inside this proved to be a real pain should you want a quiet read and a drink in comfort on a sofa. ||There are two al a carte restaurants at the hotel that All Includive guests get to sample on two nights one the Portofino (very nice Italian) and the Mediteranea (Spanish Style Food which was in my opinion much poorer than the italian.). Worth trying out if you are there though. ||The hotel entertainment team was very enthusiastic and worked hard to ensur ethat people had enjoyed themselves and carried out their duties energetically by the pool and professionally by the bar at night. The other nightly entertainment was also of a suitable quality and offered variety and overall great entertainment though this was marred on accassions by the influx of cigarette smoke from outside in the open air bar area wich was a well used smoking zone. ||On the whole a great weeks break was enjoyed by all and even with the niggly little issues we felt that the hotel and its location offered all that we wanted in a...

It was my second stay in June and just about to go back. |Compared to last year the food was a bit less good but still good enough, breakfast especially if you are the type of eating eggs and bacon, cheese (keto and carnivore diet) and when the bacon was not completly dryed out. I saw many fruits, salads, bread and other carbs, the amount and choices looked to be good enough. |The restaurant staff was very polite, hard working, helpful and they even gave me free tonic water a couple of times, thank you, was a nice touch at the dinner. (I wanted to pay and they just waved to let it go.)|The room was a tiny corner-room but with a huge L shaped balcony looking towards the sea mainly. There was such an air blast if I opened both balcony doors that it almost swept me away, hence I can't comment on the air con as I didn't have to try, the room never was hot.|The view was second to none.|The hotel staff was polite I had no issues with them, cleaning was ok and nothing disappeared.|I saw other reviews mentioning cochroaches, I saw none in June but you must know, those bugs are not like they are in Europe, these CAN FLY and do it, hence there is no way for any hotel to stop them in a peroid of cochroaches' boom which - it looked to me - happened in every couple of years.|The bed was comfortable, the room was EMF silent (a blessing to someone who is sensitive, during my stay my "insomnia" disappeared) and I still had wifi good enough to periodically check my emails. |The bathroom part was the only issue, namely the toilet, the place was really narrow even to sit comfortably but it was a minor issue compared to the overall experience. |The common smoking area outside of the hotel close to the garden-buffet is the most pleasant place after breakfast to sit and relax, many of us took the coffee out (I took the empty cup back to the restaurant when finished as was not sure what was expected for mugs from the restaurant). Swimming pool was not big, but was pleasant at mornings and in my opinion it was adequatly heated (?), around 24-25 maybe. Pool itself looked to be ok and clean, well maintaned to me.|Lifts are slow and sometimes it means long waiting, also many guest use their phones in the lift, we live in a reversed world, they complain about even open area' smoke and smell but grilling everyone around in that metal cage with no respect of other people' health.|The hotel is very close to everything inc. many big supermarkets, the Lago Martinaez (a huge beach with plenty of swimmig pools filled with filtered water from the ocean), the only issue is with it now that if you wish to leave and go back, you have to pay the entrace fee again and it is not cheap compared to what you can get for that money. A season ticket is now around 80 for 15 entrace.|Loro Park I visited several times in the past was a very sad experience, hardly any dolphins compared to the past and poorly "trained" (they love to play as intelligent and perfomrs only if they are in the mood of playing but back then a show was such an uplifting experience you'll never forget). Same with orcas, many disappeared or died. The so called shows are a cross between indoctrination and horror (on the big screen) it was so bad that if you have children consider twice as it can be very frightening to them! They blamed everything for the tragedies happening with animals in the wild except the everywhere present high level of EM field disturbance and grilling them with our high-tech and those disappeared orcas and dolphins were not in the wild! but surrounded hundreds of visitors with phones radiating and a wifi-dense area far from being healthy, especially that pool-water acts as battery. Sea-lions also changed, no familiar face anymore. I was so socked that amount of disappeared animals I had loved and knew even their names, I cried at the end, won't go back.||I think it is all about what are your expectations, for me the EMF silent room, the well working mini-fridge, working safe, comfortable bed, proper cleaning, the surrounding beautiful relaxing areas like garden, pool, to be close to everything, the spectacular view with sea-brease cooling my room was a very pleasant experience. Being dated or what else (other's issues) is minor if matters at all. Puerto de la Cruz is still a charming place with nice old, period buildings and beautiful lush vegetaition but just rocks...

Good points Excellent sea views. The rooms are big and have plenty of storage. Close to shops and restaurants Staff work hard and are friendly. The housekeeping staff are really good and keep the room and hotel very clean. The drinks served on an evening were nice but you have to pay for them if you are half board. Good activities/entertainment for the children.

Bad Points The pools are a bit small for the size of the hotel. When it's busy, you might struggle to get a sun lounger because they are reserved early in the morning. Poor lighting in the room. Air con does not work. Sewage smell from the vents in the bathroom. The shower pressure is weak. There are only 3 lifts for 16 floors, and there can be a bit of a wait during busy times. The doors can also close on you while you are getting in them, which is dangerous. The rooms are dated. A 4-star hotel should not be charging for the use of the safe. No tea or coffee in the room. You can ask for a kettle from reception and buy your own tea and coffee if you are desperate. It's probably advisable because the drinks machines in the buffet restaurant are terrible. The buffet restaurant is absolute chaos during busy periods. I feel so sorry for the staff working there. There's clearly not enough staff, and the restaurant is not big enough to deal with the number of guests.  From queuing to get into the restaurant and not enough bowels/plates, etc. The noise and ambience of the restaurant is like school dinners. The air con does not work properly, so it gets too hot and makes the whole dining experience unpleasant. There was heavy rain fall one day, and a section on the restaurant had to be closed off, which made the restaurant worse than usual. In my opinion, the a la carte restaurant should have been opened up to everyone to help elevate the problem. This brings me to the next question. Why do only the all inclusive guests have access to the a la carte restaurants? The half board guests should be able to go during their stay, too. This might also help reduce the choas in the buffet restaurant during peak times.

If you have vegetarian or vegan dietary requirements, I think you will struggle with the food, especially if you are staying longer than a week. The chefs culinary skills seem to only be able to cater to meat eaters. The food labels are not always accurate. This could be dangerous if you have a food intolerance

The food is very repetitive and the standard  of the food declined during our stay. It would be nice to have proper themed food events each night to break up the repeativeness, e.g., Spanish, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Asian & USA. It would be useful if the food menu for the week was displayed for guests.

The desserts can be hit and miss. The nice deserts tend to go fast, and if you leave it too late, you will be left with jelly in a cocktail glass or yoghurt with sauce in a glass.

I ordered an omelette one morning, and it was that disgusting I couldn't eat it.

Location

The beaches around puerto de la cruz are very disappointing. Playa de Martiánez next to the hotel is not a proper beach. There's hardly any sand, and it is full of rocks and stones, which make the sea inaccessible to swimmers. Other beaches are shut due to leaking sweage, which is disgusting, and I wouldn't risk swimming at any of the beaches in tenerife.

I do like puerto de la cruz and I prefer it to the south of tenerife but I doubt I will be back until the local government sort out the sweage spills at the beaches and start investing in the coast line because some walkways, natural lido's and beaches have been closed because they have been left in ruins.

So it's a mixed bag with this hotel. It's definitely not a 4-star hotel. In my opinion, Tenerife has had its day as a top destination. I think it's time to give the protesters what they want and find a better and more welcoming holiday...