Adam1222

Food on Tenerife off-resort is generally quite reasonably priced, and we ate very well. But we had a car. I think going here and not renting a car is a big mistake. The area around the Sheraton struck me as the most soulless, uninteresting part of the island.
There's nothing to do over there but beach, and in February, that's not an activity to do. Five days in the local area would be rough.

stimpy

I agree that a car is a must. I wouldn't consider Tenerife without a car, unless you will stay in the resort the whole time. Most all prices for locals are cheap, including fuel as the Canary islands are a special low tax zone of the EU.

Visiting the volcano summit, Mount Teide, is a fun half-day. Bring a jacket due to the altitude. There are several microclimates on the island and somewhere it is sure to be nice and warm. I know the Ritz is in such an area. Maybe the Sheraton too.

Bravada04

Thank You. Good to know.............I guess a car would be part of the plan then.

stimpy

I lived briefly on the north end of the island so I'm kinda partial to Puerto de la Cruz. Which is closer to the volcano. A nice LHW hotel there and other nice hotels in La Laguna which is a charming town to visit.

Adam1222

We split our stay into three segments: Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje area, and Santa Cruz de la Tenerife- but more than 5 nights. But you can do a lot in day trips from the Sheraton if you so desire. Masca isnt very far; there's a great hike at Barranco del Infierno. An hours drive will get you to Puerto de la Cruz or Santa Cruz de la Tenerife (with better/cheaper food), a little farther to Orotava, La Laguna, and Anaga. Should be good weather for wineries as well. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is more of an urban vibe, but there are tons of little small fishing villages along the coast.

LovetoTravel83

Stayed in the Ritz Abama last week. Booked an ocean view suite and received the same type. The room was spacious and it was exactly what we wanted.

The hotel though was a bit not so much. We had issues almost in every department, where others were good.

First, Housekeeping. It seems there is a language barrier with the dept. They provide all toiletries except for the Body Wash/Shower Gel. When I enquired and after 6 hours, nothing showed up. We called again and they brought the same that were in the room, Shampoo and Conditioner. On the 3rd try they brought the Shower Gel but from a different brand. I then asked to bring the other toiletries from the other brand as the one in the room seems like out of stock. Eventually they were brought up (after a 8 hours debate).

Second, Front Desk. They were very good really. The on Duty Manager Joao was fantastic. When I asked to see other suites they immediately showed me but it seems what we had was best. He also took initiative on another issue which will explain later.

Third, Car rental. There is an agency on site, right opposite the front desk. We rented for two days but was given a very old scratched up Red VW Bettle. My first time driving one and it was very expensive as well.

Fourth, Restaurants. This is where issues really showed up. On our first night we tried El Mirador, the place has a wonderful view and the appetizers were very good. However, the main course was very much off and they happily took it off the bill. On our 2nd night we went to Kabuki. Also lovely restaurant and everyone was fantastic. The only issue is that the prices on the menu is different than what's on the bill. When this issue was mentioned they rectified it and complemented the desert.

Now for M.B which is a 2 Micheline Star restaurant. And I'm making this in its own paragraph for a reason. We wanted to go for the full experience so we went with their great tasting menu. We were sat on a different table at first and had some nibbles. And later they took us o our table. The waiter asked whether we liked our table and my immediate response was no as it was too big for 3 ppl. The manager (Javier) came by and said this is the only table he had (keep in mind he's saying this with a bit of attitude). Then we got into an argument of why ask if we like it or not if you cannot back it up and every response was with a bad attitude. We then asked to leave as the argument had made us loose our appetite. Where he then said then we have to charge the cancellation fee. I then replied that I will not be paying that and headed towards the Front Desk as I wanted to speak with the hotels F&B Manager. He actually passed by me and also wanted to speak with someone and called me "Uneducated", I lost it here as I never was treated this way anywhere in my life let alone a restaurant. I saw him speaking with the Joao and when I asked Joao for the F&B Manager he said that they currently don't have one but he wanted me to speak with the hotel manager and the Chef of the restaurant which was even better. We had a chat the next day and they apologized for what happened and they acknowledge that I will not be paying any charges (I told them that was already given in my head). They prepared something for us something little later that night in a different location of the hotel but I had long forgotten about Javier and all was good.

The hotel in general is very much outdated and will require some renovations, I noticed them doing some on the Villas section of the resort but nothing in the main building yet. All in All, there are far much better places to visit and more central locations. I don't think will go back but it was worth trying.

hdejongh

ehu...........

Javier is one of the biggest reasons we are going back to the ritz carlton tenerife for the 4th time... (Im not kidding)...
Very nice guy! He got me the best wines! still dreaming about that penfolds grange 1998.

I also think you over exaggerate it being outdated and yes they are renovating all villa's.

LovetoTravel83

2 different tastes maybe. Got used to the Ritz in the Maldives a bit too much maybe. But it was outdated in my point of view, especially the bathrooms.

hdejongh

thats indeed brand new. But private swimming pools that are coming to some of the villa's at Abama which is very nice...