Best Spa Hotel in Santiago del Teide

Wow, what a great find Barceló Santiago was. Today is our last day of six at this hotel and it was brilliant. A little more pricey than others but well worth it. • Absolutely stunning views. It’s definitely worth a little extra for a sea view room. The feeling of walking into our room on Monday with the curtains shut and pulling them apart to reveal the view was the most amazing surprise. The cliffs of Los Gigantes are breathtaking and I couldn’t stop looking through the window. • Good location. There are a good number of shops and restaurants around the hotel. Not an overwhelming amount but good enough for us. Express supermarket just outside the hotel was handy, however the sun cream is so expensive there so if you run out, I’d suggest going to Lidl about 10 minutes up the hill where it isn’t overpriced. We liked walking toward the port of Santiago where there is a small beach and lots of shops and restaurants. It only takes 15-20 minutes and it’s not too hilly. You can also walk the other way towards La Arena which has many more restaurants, bars and shops and a larger beach. Just outside the hotel we visited Alfonso’s bar and Torreón which both do lovely food, we would recommend giving them a go. • Super clean and tidy. The hotel feels very new and the entire place is well kept. The cleaners do a wonderful job in the rooms and the communal areas. • Friendly staff. The staff are very cheerful and all speak good English as well as other languages. The restaurant and bar staff are quick to serve you drinks to your table which is nice. • Food. Although the majority of the food was the same each night they did make an effort with themes. Mexican night was a personal favourite and the food was generally well cooked and always hot. My partner enjoyed the meat and fish on offer each night, however I ate mostly different stuff as I am vegan. I managed to find plenty to eat at lunch and dinner though - lots of salads and veg was available as well as beans, lentil dishes, potatoes and bread. You do have to be careful with the labels on food though. Things had vegan labels but listed egg or dairy in the allergens so just be wary of that if you need to be. Breakfast does get a bit boring though as you are restricted to toast, tomatoes, spinach and beans because mushrooms might have meat added or cheese is put on the potatoes. • Drinks. If you are fussy with drinks, it’s probably worth going for all inclusive plus. My partner and I like cocktails on holiday but they weren’t great. They are the typical all inclusive pre-mixes that aren’t the best so the premium ones are probably better. I ended up sticking to soft drinks and spirits because that seemed to be the safer option. • Outside areas. There are multiple large pools which is ideal in a large hotel like this. There were always enough sun beds too which was nice, never had to worry about those annoying people who reserve sun beds all day and you never get a chance at using one. •Entertainment. We par