Bahia Principe Sunlight Tenerife

We have just returned from a 7-night stay at Bahia principe escape. After staying at a different Bahia principe hotel in the past, we were looking forward to coming to this adult’s only hotel and it certainly did not disappoint! We had a great time. It is a beautiful hotel- very clean and well-maintained. We enjoyed the food, cocktails/drink selection, the day time activities, the spacious rooms with a comfortable bed and the availability of sun beds throughout the day by the pool. We found all of the staff to be friendly - a special mention to the daytime entertainment team, Erica and Sidney, who made our stay really enjoyable with all of the activities and games they had to offer. They were both lovely and a lot of fun to be around. We even left with a Bahia principe T-shirt each!

There are a few areas that could be worked on to make this hotel even better in the future.

Bars- The queues at the bars were very long, particularly in the evening. We feel that if there was a self-service drinks machine for soft drinks then the staff behind the bar could focus on serving the alcoholic drinks and this would reduce the queues and their amount of work.

Evening entertainment- Each evening had a singing act, often with the same songs being performed every night. Although they were talented, It would have been good to have a bit of variation e.g a dance performance one night, singer another night, perhaps a silent disco the night after (to get everyone involved in the entertainment) which we have enjoyed in other hotels in the past.

Food labelling- As somebody who is allergic to gluten and lactose, the hotel were generally good at catering for these allergies and would be able to assist and guide you if you asked for help. I was also given an allergy card to show to the chefs to ask what would be safe to eat. However, there were many occasions where the food labels were either incorrect, missing or did not identify the correct allergens. This could result in somebody becoming seriously unwell if they did not clarify what was in the dishes on offer. For example, one day the fries stated they contained gluten but the next day, the same fries did not contain gluten. I liked that there was a gluten / lactose free corner at breakfast but felt that this corner should be available at all meal times as well, as there were limited GF/DF bread and cake options throughout the day. Overall though the food was delicious and had a good variety for all inclusive.

Staff numbers- The staff were all lovely and welcoming throughout our stay but it was clear that many of them were rushed off their feet. Unfortunately there did not appear to be enough staff around in the bars or restaurants to keep up with the demand. On our à la carte night, we tried the volcan restaurant. In total it took us 1 hour 20 minutes before receiving our starters and 2 hour 45 minutes to finish the 3-course meal. Some people around us left before the main course due to the slow service. An increase in staffing would help with this restaurant.

Overall, we had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay and would love to come back again one day!

Returned home on 25th September after a generally wonderful 2 week stay. Hotel is spotlessly clean, the cleaning staff work so hard and the rooms are fabulous. Bed linen is changed daily, towels changed on request. Hairdryer is supplied and is very good (a little on the heavy side if you struggle lifting your arms!) Shampoo, conditioner, body wash and moisturiser all very good, so don't bother packing any! Kettle good, coffee pods and Nespresso machine, good. I took my teabags and topped up a small flask of milk every morning from breakfast buffet to keep in minibar and if you prefer coffee, then bring some extra pods. If you like a larger mug for your tea or coffee, bring your own! If you are staying longer than 5 days I would suggest bringing some travel hangers. I took a couple of larger laundry style bags to keep smaller clothing items in as there are no drawers! There are cold purified water machines on every floor and these are a brilliant addition....bring your water bottles to top up for the day! The food, in our opinion, is amazing and makes this hotel. The buffet had plenty of choice every breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food was always hot and very tasty and the salads, sweets, cheeses etc were always fresh. The 2 al a carte restaurants were also exceptional. The only gripe was the so called fruit juice at breakfast which was more like a watered down version of squash and the addition of self serve, water, teas and coffees would be very useful and would help staff out. There is no reason not to offer this at breakfast because whether you are half board or AI, breakfast is included! Waiting staff on the whole are very good, hard working and friendly, although a few needed 'new batteries' and a smile button. It would also really help if management left them to it and stopped micro managing every 30 minutes disrupting the waiting staffs flow. The location is fine if you don't like to leave your hotel. However, if you like a walk and a look around local sites/shops/bars then this hotel isn't for you. It is isolated in a small housing area. It has a small, but useful supermarket at top of road (sells fresh full cream milk) but it is a steep hill if you have mobility issues. Obviously you can book taxis to visit local areas, but a walk directly out of the hotel is not for anyone who struggles. We did go to Siam Mall one day and would highly recommend that to anyone who loves clothes, shoes and shopping! It cost us 19Euros each way. There is also a small convenience store next to the lobby bar that sells crisps, snacks, ice cream, chocs etc. Wine, spirits, beers and soft drinks (bring your own cork screw...but the shop does sell them) cigarettes, bags, costumes, a few clothing items and hats and gifts. Very useful. The shanty town 'Pallet City' was, in our opinion, an eyesore and so close to the hotel boundaries it spoilt the views. I would be very disappointed had I booked Club as the infinity pool literally overlooks two pallet houses within 40 feet! Don't get me wrong, you hear nothing from the people who live their, there are no smells or any trouble that we saw but just a little off putting to be right on the edge of the hotel. The renovations at the nearby Explore are almost complete and we were never disturbed by any noise. However, I question whether they really need to have made the boundary between the two hotels a dumping ground and wonder if it will ever get tidied up! Yet another eyesore! I do feel when this is up and running and you can visit and use their facilities it will bring a different aspect to the Escape hotel as you will have slightly more to see and do! Hyatt/Bahia have actively pushed a huge reduction offer recently resulting in the hotel being practically full while we were there during our first week and approx three quarters plus full for our second week. This resulted in sunbed wars. If you didn't have a bed reserved by 8.30 then you basically struggled to get any more than a single one that was left here and there. Witnessed people reserving beds as early as 7am and sat chatting! Even though there are no reserving of sunbeds signs all around the pool, no one took notice and the hotel didn't enforce it. However, it seems to be the norm these days at most hotels, but if it's not your thing, then think twice! The Lobby bar was the only bar available after 6pm and I would question the inclusion of a pointless jewellery shop opposite, when a 2nd bar could have been added and opened when capacity required or made into a self serve area for AI guests. Everyone we spoke to (and overheard many saying the same) said it was the worst hotel for drinks service they had ever been too. Twenty to thirty minutes to queue for a drink is not acceptable, and try as they might, (and they did) the staff could not cope. This is a poor design issue and management issue, and as I have said a 2nd bar or self service facility for soft drinks, beers and wine, is required. To say that there is no self serve drinks option because of the half boarders is a poor excuse. If you pay for AI then you expect AI and not a watered down experience in favour of half boarders. Drinks quality. Well what can I say other than they were disappointing. Cocktails from the Aqua Bar were grim and pre-made and had very little if any alcohol added and tasted weak and unpleasant. Whilst we understand no one wants clients to be inebriated all day, a decent drink isn't much to ask for. Soft drinks from the Lobby Bar were not fizzy and if you ordered a rum, gin, brandy, bacardi etc with a coke/mixer, staff went out back of lobby bar to pour these, and the drink recieved was appalling. Flat mixers and hardly any alcohol. We are not heavy drinkers but as AI guests we expected decent drinks, that is, when we actually managed to get served, and we don't expect branded drinks, just decent quality and not watered down! Drinks service at dinner was also hit and miss. Again, not sure why they cannot come up with a solution for AI customers to at least have the option to pour their own water, soft drinks, beers and wine and this would take so much pressure of the staff. It is a shame that Bahia have sold their soul and bought Hyatt on board as we feel this has made the hotel a hybrid AI hotel and not the experience we expected.The hotel has many great features and positives however, is not designed for full occupancy due to it's lack of bars, no self serve areas and understaffing issues when occupancy is full