Best Tenerife

Really disappointed with our stay at Best Tenerife. For a hotel that advertises itself as 4-star, I honestly expected so much better. There were so many issues throughout our stay, and although Tenerife itself was lovely, the hotel was a massive letdown.

Air conditioning

The air conditioning in our room was absolutely awful. Not only was it not working properly, but it was also leaking water. Considering how hot Tenerife gets, you’d think working air conditioning would be one of the main priorities!

The unit itself looked old and poorly maintained, and it was clear that it needed some attention. You shouldn’t have to worry about water leaking from an air conditioning unit when you’re trying to relax in your room.

It’s not exactly a luxury to expect working air conditioning in a 4-star hotel in Tenerife. It’s a basic facility that should be checked and maintained regularly. I genuinely don’t understand how rooms are being given to paying guests in this condition.

Bedsheets and cleanliness

The condition of the bedsheets was honestly disgusting. There were visible marks, stains and holes in the bedding, and they looked like they’d been used well past the point of needing to be replaced.

The sheets certainly didn’t give us the impression that they were being properly cleaned or changed regularly, which is the last thing you want to be worrying about when getting into bed on holiday.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect fresh, clean bedding, especially in a hotel that claims to be 4-star. Surely housekeeping should be checking the condition of the sheets before allowing another guest to use them?

It really makes you question the cleanliness of the rooms overall when something as simple as bedding is being overlooked.

Broken door handles

The door handles were another absolute joke. They were loose, broken and practically coming away from the doors.

Every time you went to use them, you felt like they were going to come off in your hand! It’s ridiculous that something so basic hasn’t been repaired.

Not only does it make the rooms look extremely rundown, but it’s also a safety concern. Guests should be able to open and close doors properly without worrying about the handles falling apart.

It really makes you wonder when the rooms were last properly inspected, because these aren’t things that should be going unnoticed.

Swimming pool and hygiene concerns

Another thing that really put us off was an incident where a child had pooed in the swimming pool. Now, I completely understand that accidents happen, especially with young children, and this isn’t something I would blame the hotel for happening in the first place.

However, after this incident, we decided to look through some of the reviews on Tripadvisor and came across something that made us feel even more uncomfortable.

Another guest had left a review claiming that worms had been found in the swimming pool, and what made it even more concerning was that this review had actually been written whilst we were staying at the hotel!

Obviously, we didn’t personally witness any worms, and I appreciate that not everything written in reviews can be confirmed. However, after the incident we’d already witnessed, reading something like that was enough to completely put us off using the pool.

For the remainder of our holiday, we avoided swimming because we genuinely didn’t feel comfortable getting back in.

When you’re going on holiday to somewhere like Tenerife, spending time around the pool and going for a swim is one of the main things you look forward to. Instead, we felt like we couldn’t properly enjoy one of the hotel’s main facilities.

Whether the claims in the other review were true or not, it was extremely off-putting, especially considering it had been posted during our stay.

Reception staff and terrible communication

Unfortunately, the reception staff weren’t much better. We found some of them to be rude, dismissive and generally unhelpful.

We asked about booking access to the terrace and were specifically told to come back the following morning.

When we returned the next day, as instructed, we were then told that the manager had apparently informed staff TWO WEEKS AGO that they weren’t taking bookings because the hotel was too busy.

So why on earth were we told to come back in the first place?

If this had supposedly been the case for two weeks, surely staff should have been aware and told us straight away rather than wasting our time.

It just seemed like nobody knew what was going on, and we were constantly being given different information.

Then, on our final day, we were told that we would be able to use the shower facilities after checking out, which was ideal considering we had a later departure.

However, not once did anybody mention that these showers needed to be booked in advance!

When we went to use them, we were told they were fully booked and that we’d have to use the showers down in the gym instead.

The gym facilities were also extremely rundown and certainly not what you’d expect to be directed to after paying to stay in a supposedly 4-star hotel.

Again, this could have been completely avoided if staff had simply told us the correct information in the first place.

It felt like every time we asked a reasonable question, we were either given incorrect information or made to feel like we were being a nuisance.

Food and restaurant staff

The food was another disappointment. We found the selection to be very basic, with very little that appealed to us.

We only actually tried breakfast, which we found to be cold and not particularly enjoyable. After that, we ended up sticking to cereal in the mornings and choosing to eat elsewhere throughout the day.

Considering we’d paid for half board, this was really frustrating. You don’t expect to pay for meals to be included in your holiday and then end up spending even more money eating elsewhere because the food isn’t up to standard.

However, I do want to mention that the restaurant staff were lovely. They were polite, friendly and pleasant, and I genuinely can’t fault their attitude towards us.

It’s just a shame that the quality of the food and the rest of the hotel didn’t match the service they provided.

Overall experience

Overall, I honestly don’t understand how Best Tenerife is still being advertised as a 4-star hotel.

The rooms are tired and poorly maintained, the bedding was in an unacceptable condition, the air conditioning didn’t work properly, and even something as simple as a door handle seemed to be too much to maintain.

Add to that the poor communication from reception, disappointing food and the concerns we had about using the swimming pool, and it really wasn’t the relaxing holiday experience we’d expected.

It’s not as though we’re expecting everything to be perfect or looking for things to complain about. But clean bedsheets, working air conditioning, functioning door handles, decent food and polite, helpful staff are the absolute bare minimum, especially when you’re paying for a 4-star hotel.

People work hard, save up and look forward to their holidays all year, and it’s such a shame to spend that money somewhere that doesn’t seem to be maintaining even the most basic standards.

I’ve attached photographs of some of the issues because I think they speak for themselves.

The hotel is in desperate need of some money being spent on it, along with much better maintenance, cleanliness and communication.

Tenerife itself was lovely, but Best Tenerife really let the experience down.

Definitely wouldn’t recommend this hotel, and we certainly won’t be returning. It might have a 4-star rating, but it absolutely didn’t feel like a 4-star experience to us!

Currently here, 1st time at the best, the whole entertainment team is fantastic, Billy and Ana you do an amazing job to keep everyone entertained