I stayed at this apartment 6 June – 20 June 2015 with my husband, son, his partner and my 10 month old grandson. My husband and I had stayed at Royale Parque Albatros before, in a one bedroom apartment and had really enjoyed our time there. Like another reviewer stated, we had looked down onto the large terrace of this apartment with envy!
We primarily booked this apartment to bring my mother-in-law with us, but unfortunately, she was ill and couldn’t travel. My husband and I had the en-suite bedroom with single beds. My son his partner and their son slept in the double bedded room with the TV on the wall. There was a travel cot provided for the baby. There was another bedroom with full size bunk beds and large mirrored wardrobes.
The apartment was roomy and bright in the lounge and kitchen and cool and dark in the bedrooms. We occasionally had the air conditioning on which was very effective and only 1 Euro for 2 hours. The dining area had a nice table and chairs with a highchair for the baby. Often, there was a strange drain-like smell here. Perhaps from the outside drains? I don’t know.
Unfortunately, we had a couple of problems whilst at the apartment. The TV in the bedroom was not working at all when we arrived. This was upsetting for me as having a 10 month old baby, I thought if my son and his partner wanted an early night, at least they could watch the TV. We let John (the man looking after the apartment for the owners) know and he arranged for someone to come and look at it. The repair man arrived the following Saturday and told us that the wire had been cut through outside. He repaired it and it worked after that. Both that TV and the large one in the sitting room had a very good picture. But the sound was a second out of sync with the picture. It was okay for a while, but if you were watching an entire programme it made you feel dizzy! We were told that it was the satellite. I KNOW you don’t go on holiday to watch the TV! But it’s nice to have on whilst you’re sat around waiting for everyone to be ready, etc.
The second problem was the boiler. It was leaking onto the floor, but not badly enough to be worried. We just kept mopping it up. We’re not “picky” people – we just get on with it! On the first Monday we were there, though, we came back to the apartment in the late afternoon and the bath was covered in very orange rusty water! It frightened me to death when I saw it as at first glance I thought it was blood! It took me 20 minutes to clean it up. We rang John straight away and he arranged for someone to come and look at it the following Saturday, the same day as the TV. In the meantime, my husband tightly wrapped a cloth around the leaking pipe. The repair man said that the boiler needed replacing and he was coming to do it around 6pm the following Monday. We were told that we had to stay in whilst he did this. However, he arrived on time and was gone by 7pm. He told us not to use the hot water for an hour. My husband, son and partner had showered previously, so I had a wash down in cold water and we bathed our grandson in his paddling pool, heating the water up with boiling water from the kettle. We all went out for a last meal as my son, partner and grandson were flying home the next day. When we came back, to our dismay there was no hot water! The next day, we all showered in COLD water! (I later found out from Claire that there are showers that we could have used down some steps near the pool. I wish we had known that previously!) My husband and I waved our family goodbye that lunchtime and got in touch with John yet again! I bet he was really fed up of us! Believe me, by this time, WE were really fed up! The repair man came back once more and replaced some pipes as he said they were badly bent somewhere and the water was not getting through.
These problems were unavoidable and were sorted as soon as possible, but they were still upsetting for us. Anyway, it couldn’t be helped. The last couple of days went smoothly.
Although the apartment was lovely, we ALL said that it could have benefitted from a deep clean. The oven was grubby and the kitchen cupboards sticky. When my grandson’s dummy dropped and rolled under the settee, my daughter-in-law to be was horrified at the dirt under there. The two bathrooms were roomy but the one with the shower cubicle started to smell in the second week. When my son and his family went home on the Tuesday, I just shut the door and left it. I know it must be very difficult when you have a popular apartment and guests are in and out before there is time for a really thorough clean up. Especially when there are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms to sort out.
The towels provided were plentiful and of good quality. The bedding was not changed in the two weeks that we were there, but I found out later from Claire that if we’d have asked for them to be changed, they would have been. Maybe for a charge? I don’t know as I hadn’t asked. When we stayed in the one bedroom apartment in Royale Parque Albatros previously, the sheets and towels were changed without us asking. So I think I just assumed that they would be again. My fault – I should’ve asked.
We have been to this part of the Golf del Sur many times. There are some lovely walks here and great restaurants with lovely, hardworking staff. My nephew and his partner have worked in Los Cristianos for many years so we like to visit them and they come and visit us wherever we stay. We will continue holidaying in this part of Tenerife for many years to come. God willing!