Vigilia Park Apartments — Hotel in Santiago del Teide

Arrived late to vigilia apartments and was greeted by a lovely man on reception, you have to walk through a selection of shops to reach the reception area. Apartment was spacious but the smell of the drains is quite overpowering at times, we knew the apartments didn't have air con but didn't expect how hot they get 1st nights sleep wasn't a sleep it was far too hot was up all night Went to reception next morning for a lend of a fan, they left us one in the room thankfully - it was a game changer for sleeping at night! JET2 REP arrived the next day we asked was there a hotel in the area we could use as the pool in vigilia park was far too deep with no shallow end, she informed us it was £55 each all inclusive for one day for another hotel, no way we payin that! We meant can u go into another hotel just to use the pool and maybe buy lunch or drinks etc but nowhere seems to do that apparently! POOL Pool is 1.65m deep no shallow end there is a surround that's 0.35 u can dip your feet into, we were totally disappointed. There looked to be a poolside bar / coffee bar but was closed. There's was two lifeguards in the 2 weeks we stayed and both very attentive of their job, Sebastian was lovely always spoke to us and waved when we left and helped us with the umbrella etc we also noticed he was a true gentleman who opened doors for fellow staff and carried heavy stuff to help staff at all times he's a credit to the hotel! Upstairs are the pool was 1.75m deep so again no use to us!!!! We didn't use the 4th floor area at all we stayed downstairs. Snack bar and bar upstairs, snack bar ends at 4pm, there's a kids area and mini golf We walked around the area outside our hotel and other pools in other hotels across the street were all the same a couple of steps into the pool and then it was really deep on the last step, a lot of people in our hotel never went in the pool all sayin it was far too deep ROOM We booked a sea facing room and yes the view was beautiful with a mountain to the right of us. The apartment had a double bed ( really comfy) with wardrobes and a bathroom upstairs ( smell of sewers in this bathroom was overpowering really bad to the point we wer heaving, we didn't use it kept door closed and window open whole duration of the stay) we did say at reception twice and was told they'll send the cleaners in but nothing was fixed. downstairs was a bathroom with shower and toilet and sink , a sofa bed ( so uncomfortable to sit on we sat on balcony most of the time) table and chairs, kitchen with an elec 4 ring hob, toaster, kettle, plates cups glasses, cutlery, a big pot, 2 frying pans, fridge and decent sized freezer, microwave.... But no oven which is ridiculous! No cooker hood so when we were cooking condensation was building and dripping off the cupboards! Balcony is a raised tiled balcony for some reason CLEANING OF THE ROOMS we arrived late the Thurs and cleaners wer at our door next morning at 9.05am... We hadnt used anything so didn't need anything, they next came to door on the Monday then nothing to the Friday, that was it we cleared our own bins and took towels and all to them to replenish , our floors in apartment was leaving our feet black with the dirt on them In 2 weeks of our stay the cleaners called in 4 times in total our apartment floors wer black. BUS STOPS We went a day to Las americas and you can get the 477 or the 473 and it took us an hour and 20mins, was a lovely bus ride to be fair cost us €16.90 return for two ppl. LIDL Lidls is a 5min walk, when u exit the hotel and shops turn right and you will see it. The whole of Puerto de Santiago where we stayed is mad steep hills, lovely place but we walked down and got the bus back for a few euros lol TAXIS Taxi rank just outside the hotel aswell to the right, we went a scoot into gigantes and was only €4.25 one way, gigantes was beautiful, you can also walk it , all hills down and the harbour is there aswell where we done a boat trip a day

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Vigilia Park Apartments has pros and cons. Let's start with the pros. We were on the 4th floor which was room 166. As it was a corner apartment it was huge. It had 2 bedrooms which both led onto the balcony. The whole apartment was modern looking. The balcony wrapped all around the apartment so guaranteed sun pretty much all of the time. When you were standing on the balcony it had a view of the sea and if you went round the other side of the balcony you had a view of the other apartments on the side of the hill. The apartments are very clean and the cleaner comes in every other day. Downstairs are the shops and the swimming pool and the floors are washed every day. There is a jacuzzi, swimming pool with life guard, open showers, closed cubicle toilet, sun loungers, mini golf, bar with food and ice-cream and a little toddler play area on the roof. There was a gym and sauna but I didn't go in. There is a bakery open around the corner 2 mins walk away open at 8am and Lidl is 4 mins walk away. There is Los Gigantes town which is a 20 min walk away with bars, restaurants, shops etc and leads to the marina and a small beach. We went to another beach in another town 20 mins walk away and sunbeds were €4 each. Again lots of bars, restaurants and shops.

Now for the cons. The apartment didn't have air con but there were electric fans on the ceiling. That just circulated the warm air and I really missed the cool air con which this apartment needed. Our fridge was freezing up with ice at the back. There was signs of water damage on the kitchen units but that's just being picky. The pools whether the upstairs or downstairs pool you are not allowed any inflatables, balls, water squirters etc. You can only use diving rings and a noodle. Only the edge of the downstairs pool you can stand on and be above water. Then you have a shelf which is over 6ft, hence the need for a floatation aid like a noodle. You are not allowed to dive into any pool. The pool upstairs has steps and at the bottom you can't stand up in that pool either. I have no idea why both pools are so deep. Not safe for people who can't swim if you don't have a floatation aid. Where the apartment is located there is a bar over the road open some nights and a locals bar around the corner which wasn't inviting. If you wanted to go out you would have to do the 20mins walk to Los Gigantes. The walk down is OK but the hill going back up is no mean feat! People with prams/buggies and people with health issues will struggle and on a 10 night stay crumbs it puts you off going down there every night. If you went to the other beach I mentioned above it is worth the €5.50 taxi fair to go back to the apartment. The hill is too much to walk back up!

Now onto the trips. If you go to a shop to book an excursion do haggle I got €8 off Siam Park which was €2 per ticket for us. Also get the Titsa public bus outside the apartment by the post office. Get the 477 bus which is €16 in total for x4 people. I should have bought a return ticket as I would have got 10% off but I didn't know that at the time. Tui were charging €36 each x4 for transfer which was expensive. Onto the Fipper Uno boat trip. This was really good but booking direct was a flat €36 each for the 3hr trip with no child discount. Tui did do a child discount of €18 plus they had their summer discount code of 10% off all trips except Siam Park. Lastly we did the Medieval Castle at San Miguel. Booked through Tui with transfer and had a great night. If you go on 15th August on any year it is the Bank Holiday and they have fireworks in Alcala which would envy London's New Year. Totally awesome!

To sum it up. Lovely apartments but no air con, located in a quiet ish area, top of a hill so for a bit of night life is 20mins away with a big hill to walk back. Do haggle in clothes shops and for...

Bare with me, long but honest review.|For various reasons this year's holiday was a budget one. I narrowed my choice down and picked vigilia as it had fewer bad reviews and was in my budget. |Firstly we arrived late evening and found the reception easily at the far end past all the shops. We were greeted by a lovely lady who checked us in and explained everything for us.|A week after I had booked, I paid extra to upgrade to a side sea view room, and im so glad I did. Waking up every morning and having breakfast looking at The Giants was amazing.|We had room 90. So as it was a corner room we had a separate kitchen which was handy as I'm an early riser, so I didn't disturb my son.|There is no air con, but a ceiling fan in the bedroom and lounge. These were more than adequate. The only time the room was hot ,was late afternoon when the sun had been on the windows most of the day. We kept the curtains drawn, and as soon as we came back, opened the door and it soon cooled down.|The room was clean and tidy, though certain areas were probably a bit 'tired' but it wasn't an issue. Our room was cleaned regularly too. The cleaning ladies were lovely. |The resort is still residential, so expect some everyday noise. Plus some rather bad karaoke from the bars across the road at night! One also has a huge outdoor TV screen, handy for watching the sport from the balcony!|There are 2 pool areas. Both pools are lovely and deep.|Downstairs is a bit larger, but the rooftop pool get busier.|No sunbed wars either and upstairs has an extra level accessed by a spiral staircase to another sunbathing terrace.|Now one thing that was worrying me, was seeing reviews on how 'officious ' the lifeguards are. Especially as my son literally lives in the pool on holiday. But I honestly couldn't fault them. No inflatables allowed which is fair. It seems a lot of hotels now implement this rule. Kids could still jump in providing the pool wasn't busy. The lifeguards only blew their whistle if anyone was diving in.|Each pool has a bar. Drinks were reasonable, and so was food depending on what you ordered. We were SC so went back to our room for lunch.|I can't comment on breakfast either as we were SC. Though we did try Scoobys once. Maggie who runs it was lovely and also a font of knowledge for the local area.|Lidl (another reason for me booking) is only 2mins up the road.|The area itself is lovely. But hilly! There's a few shops and restaurants nearby. And also down the hill by the Barceló are a few shops and restaurants. Top tip, when you walk back up, cut through the car park and use the lift . It cuts the last bit of the hill off.|A walk down to Los Gigantes takes around 10-15 minutes. There is a bus stop outside Tipsys if you don't want to walk back.|The bus service is tenerife is amazing too. Use the Titsa website. |If you hire a car. Don't bother trying to find a parking spot, you'll be driving round for ages. Use the 24hr car park. Accessed on the next road. You can buy a weeks pass for €30.|Overall we had a lovely stay. Bear in mind it is a 2 star, don't come expecting 'bells and whistles' a holiday is what you make of it yourselves!|We would be more than happy to...