Barcelo Tenerife

“A great week but some improvements needed”

We had a great week at the Barcelo. I will share some views, which will hopefully help you. Good. The hotel is huge, well looked after and the staff are excellent. Our room was clean and well appointed with everything you need. Yes, the fridge is not re-stocked with water after day 1, but just a… more

We had a great week at the Barcelo. I will share some views, which will hopefully help you. Good. The hotel is huge, well looked after and the staff are excellent. Our room was clean and well appointed with everything you need. Yes, the fridge is not re-stocked with water after day 1, but just ask at one of the bars and you will get what you need (we were all inclusive). There are lots of pools and lots of loungers. You will not struggle to get a spot, I would suggest. We preferred to head to the bottom pool (furtherst from the reception). It is not heated so is chilly ay first. The bar nearby is very handy, as is the snack bar which provides pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets etc. If you are AI you can also head in for the lunch buffet which provides a nice break from the sun. There are a range of organsied activities all day - the staff do a great job. Not so good for us. If you are going AI be aware that you are eating every night in the buffet restaurant (unless you pay to go to the a la carte restaurants on site). That is fine, but it got very tiresome for us after a few days. The quality is generally very good, but I think there is little change in the offerings from one night to another. There is a slight change, but never much. Allied to that, if you time it wrong you will think you are at the Black Friday sales. The evening entertainment was generally poor - we are easy pleased, but most of it was terrible and we left cringing. If anyone has seen the magic show they will appreciate my comments (Barcelo I hope you are not paying for that). All that said, we had a great week at the Barcelo, but I was keen to share an honest and hopefully helpful perspective.

less

“Style over substance, won't be returning”

When we (my sister and our partners) we were very excited - Barcell looks great. It is decorated beautifully and has a lovely aesthetic. Although overall we had a lovely trip, there were some issues that means that I would not return to this hotel. Lack of water: Upon arrival we received one bot… more

When we (my sister and our partners) we were very excited - Barcell looks great. It is decorated beautifully and has a lovely aesthetic. Although overall we had a lovely trip, there were some issues that means that I would not return to this hotel. Lack of water: Upon arrival we received one bottle of water in our room which was not replenished (a luxury for AI plus.) In addition, the two pool bars didn't open until 10.30 and 11am meaning that there was a gap between breakfast and this time where water was unavailable at the hotel. Even the jug at reception was rarely there. When the pool bars did open, there were large queues for drinks meaning you could be waiting 20-30mins for a cup of water. Water is not a luxury, it's an essential. On top of this, I'm pregnant and I honestly felt restricted in my water consumption. Winter Season Bar Closures: For our first few nights we were able to enjoy the pool-side bar of an evening, a nice way to enjoy the stilk warm evenings. However, after two days we learned that due to the winter season the outside bars and entertainment would be closing. This meant you could either head to the basement auditorium or the lobby bar. The basement auditorium was extremely depressing and an a stale environment to watch entertainment and the lobby bar was completely unequipped to manage the volume of guests wanting to enjoy a relaxed environment. There were only around 10 tables outside which was permanently filled and the bar was unable to manage the number of guests leading to more queueing. It's a shame the hotel made this decision as the evenings were still warm and many guests still wanted to enjoy outside weather. We ended up sitting on our dark balcony of an evening (the lights don't work) as it was the only viable option, and this did ruin our holiday. Dining & Allergens: There is an extremely limited outdoor dining area - around 20 tables - so it's rare you get to enjoy dining alfresco. Despite the fact that you have to book your dining slot, there were often queues to get into breakfast and dinner. In addition allergen labelling was quite poor. We had a nut allergy, and Gluten Free in our party. We were served crisps in the bar which had a peanut in them which could have been fatal, and the Gluten Free offering was poor. Dishes that don't usually contain gluten were labelled as such e.g. rice, chips, meat... and there was no GF bread available at breakfast. My sister asked one morning and was advised to each cheese instead... Labels were also often displayed in the wrong places... so if you have an allergy I would be careful. Pools & Sunbeds: There are multiple pools and the setting is beautiful. However, only one pool is heated and the others were unbearable. Despite signs that reserving beds was forbidden, this was ignored and most beds were reserved before 8.30am. The main bonus that we found was the drinks offering. The cocktails were delicious and a much higher quality that other All Inclusives we have visited. However this does not outweigh some of the basic issues I've mentioned above, meaning that I cannot recommend this hotel... I will not be returning.

less

“This hotel has one MAJOR problem…”

We stayed at Barcelo Tenerife in the first week of November, under the all inclusive package (not all inclusive plus or Royal Level). First - the good stuff: The hotel is clean, with nice enough facilities. The rooms are a good size, staff are friendly (particular mention to Jose in the Plaza Bar)… more

We stayed at Barcelo Tenerife in the first week of November, under the all inclusive package (not all inclusive plus or Royal Level). First - the good stuff: The hotel is clean, with nice enough facilities. The rooms are a good size, staff are friendly (particular mention to Jose in the Plaza Bar), and the drinks are good quality, even the all inclusive cocktails made with name brand spirits/beers. There are a good number of pools, but only one is heated - the others are ice cold and a collection of smaller or kids paddling pools, so if you’re looking for swimming on your holiday, this may not be place for you. There’s also a very easy to use Avis car hire booth in reception we used for a day out exploring Tenerife and was a welcome addition. The buffet is of a decent quality too, with different themed nights and always something all our party were happy to eat whether breakfast/lunch/dinner, although after a week it did start to feel very similar each meal with not tonnes of variety. The weather was also great and there were plenty of sunbeds, and spaces for relaxing on site. But do get to the sunbeds early, as despite multiple signs saying reserving them is not allowed, most guests ignore that. The less good points: From the first week of November, it was technically “winter” for the resort. Meaning after about 7pm-ish, the only places open on site are a bar in the lobby with a tiny outside area (occupied by tables of smokers), and the Magma Lounge where evening entertainment is. The evening entertainment was questionable most nights… and the Magma Lounge itself felt like a poorly lit school hall. This means there is not a lot to do in the evenings other than go off-resort (not what you want to do if you have all inclusive), or get a drink from the bar and go back to your room - which is not great as the balconies don’t have lights on them so are pitch black. Another issue is allergies. At the main buffet, the labelling of dishes is haphazard to say the least, with many things mislabelled, and unclear signage. In the B-Lounge bar one evening, we were also served some crisps in a container that had peanuts at the bottom - one of our group is allergic to nuts and thankfully wasn’t eating the crisps, but this is just to say those who have allergies should be careful. Then finally, the single biggest issue with this hotel, and I think it is a MAJOR one in a hot location like Tenerife, is a real lack of drinking water. Despite us having the all inclusive package, the drinking water in our room was not refilled past day one (we were told that luxury costs an extra €70), and there are ZERO fountains or places on site where you can help yourself to drinking water - other than a jar of lemon water in reception that was only there half the time. Otherwise, to get drinking water, you had to order it from the bars (which aren’t open until 10.30) or from the buffet restaurant, which isn’t practical as all they provide you with are glass bottles. So for example if you had breakfast at 8am, you would then be required to wait 2.5 hours until the first bar opens to be able to order any drinking water, and of course there’s a huge queue of thirsty people as soon as that bar opens. Even a member of hotel staff one morning commented it’s a crazy set up, and for a supposedly five star resort, left all of our group very surprised. Overall, we enjoyed most of our stay at Barcelo Tenerife, but would not rush back on our next holiday for the reasons above - and would certainly advise people it does not tick all the boxes you’d expect of a five star resort.

less

“Holiday at Barcelo”

Be careful of using the lake at the hotel as for the second time, the last one being in 2019, something in the lake burnt skin and bleached clothes, not great! Hotel were not really interested. Also the buffet has gone down hill, food is bland, cold and boring.