Sol Arona Tenerife

Location is great to local amenities and tourist attractions with free buses outside hotel for Siam park, Siam mall and tours around the island. Atmosphere is nice although quite regimented with pool times, and all inclusive. More info on what’s included in especially at the pool bar should be highlighted clearly. No menu visible and have to ask. Unclear on what cocktails you can get or other drinks like vodka or gin. Wine, beer, soft drinks and water available from side of pool bar and various snack available from side of pool bar but again no menu on what’s going to be there. If going all inclusive you do need to highlight your room number when dining for breakfast etc which was confusing as unsure whether you could visit several times i.e. if I went for lunch and then another family member went with a child. Family vibe is great and could say more for the kids holiday reps. Made us feel welcome and various activities included for kids and adults. Rooms are really nice and the maids are first class. You could have your room cleaned once as day if needed. Maids are so helpful. Pool towels are available for a 20 euro deposit. Showers and toilets when checking out could be better. WiFi is free which is great and rare with most hotels.

Really enjoyed our stay - 2 adults 3 kids (8,13,17) and we all enjoyed it - staff warm and friendly, rooms clean and spacious good facilities, WiFi excellent right throughout the complex inside and out by the pool. Half Board breakfast and dinner was good, great choice and enjoyable experience. Good location, would definitely stay here again for sure. Poolside entertainment/staff were great. If I had to find a negative it would be the evening entertainment was just average - not great.

When we arrived at the hotel we found we were on the 12th floor. That wasn’t a problem initially, however, when we got to the room we found the balcony door did not have a lock. It closed but there was no way to lock it. We were very concerned as we have a 3 year old and it would be very easy for him to climb onto the chairs on the balcony and fall. We went down to reception and spoke to the gentleman who had checked us in and asked if there was a room with a locking balcony door or a room on the ground floor. He told us there was a lock they could put on the door but it would permanently lock the door for our stay. We said if that’s the only option we’d do that. Not ideal as it put the balcony out of use for our holiday for drying swimwear etc but we needed to keep our son was safe. He told us maintenance had gone home but to ask again tomorrow morning. I slept the night on the sofa bed as there was no way we could let our son sleep in the room alone with the balcony door. The next morning we asked about the lock. They said they’d send up maintenance. We happened to be leaving our room when the maintenance man arrived. He seemed confused asking whether our door wasn’t working. I explained to him that we required a lock added to the door and he said he’d come back. No one ever came back and no lock was applied to the door. This meant I had to sleep on the sofa bed the full week to ensure the safety of our son. We also put the table in front of the door so we could hear it if our son tried to open the door- not that we ever left him alone in that room. On the last day of our trip my partner spoke to the jet 2 representative who said she’s never had any complaints about balcony doors and didn’t realise they didn’t have locks. My partner told her she’d seen a number of posts online about the lack of locks since arriving at the hotel. The representative said she would speak to management and get back to us. We have had no communication from her. I think it’s absolutely unacceptable that there are no locks on balcony doors in a 15 floor family hotel that’s packed full of children especially one that’s been recently refurbished. It’s just an accident waiting to happen. I am also disappointed the hotel did not provide a solution and the jet2 representative did not do a follow up. Jet2 have since said the hotel followed local safety laws and as it’s an exit it can’t have a lock. How can the doors to the corridor (the most logical exit in a fire on the 12th floor) be locked but a balcony can’t be? Anyway you decide. Maybe I should book a wee bungalow or something for my next holiday and save my nerves. Other than that the hotel was pleasant. Food was fine. Don’t think all inclusive is worth the cost but half board or b&b good as loads of restaurants nearby. Recommend the inclusive water park deal if you can get it when booking as we went to the waterpark 3 times and there is a free bus is at the hotel gates. Staff fine except for the older lady at reception is a bit short and some of the chef team give you evils as you select food. Maybe they’re fed up I don’t know. As others have said, the pools are too small for the number of guests and you can’t do any actual swimming in them but fine for kids jumping about. I also wouldn’t recommend this hotel if you’re not keen on kids as packed with them. The kids entertainment team were great. Only thing a bit weird was if there was something on in the kids hut sometimes they’d shut the wee park off to reduce distractions. Fair enough but quite a few kids were turned away trying to go to the park.
One night there was a cockroach in the corridor just hanging out. The rooms were clean enough and the sofa bed is big. We couldn’t get a late checkout but used the horrible basement shower. They have a sign saying they’re improving it but who knows when. Overall would I come back? Not until my son learns to fly.