Terrific Tenerife

Kieren and I went on our first holiday together to Costa Adeje, Tenerife in August last year! (2018). We spent a week at the 5-star (by accident!) Melia Jardines del Teide and went to both Siam Park and Loro Parque whilst we were there.

Above are a few photos of our hotel which was absolutely stunning! We were upgraded to a double room with a open veranda balcony as it was our 1 year anniversary and they even left a wee note and a bottle of champagne!

We were on a bed and breakfast package and the breakfast had everything you could want and more. However, due to the rating of the hotel, it also reflected in the prices for food and drinks at the bar and pool bar. It was 3 euros for a 250ml fanta lemon and the menu wasn't your usual poolside burgers, hotdogs, pizzas it was more salmon, salads, lobster starting at 20 euros per meal so we found ourselves heading out for lunch almost every day or saving some croissants from breakfast for later.

There was also a 24 hour shop just outside that we would buy drinks from to keep in the room and store in the fridge which was handy too, especially when you don't arrive at the hotel until after 10pm when food is only served to 10pm.

I think if we were to go back to a similar hotel, it would be beneficial for all inclusive just for lunch and drinks throughout the day but we did enjoy having the option to go to different restaurants for dinner at night.

The first night, we headed into Costa Adeje to an American themed motorbike bar that had the biggest cocktail menu I'd ever seen. Kieren ordered a cocktail that was entirely alcohol and was a rather suspicious colour.

Overall, the restaurant was alright, the theming and cocktails were better than the food but still, worth the visit.

We also headed into Las Americas one night not realising it would cost 15 euros one way! We went to Hard Rock Cafe for the most expensive dinner of the whole holiday as well as the most disappointing. The food was just average compared to the prices and we wished we had chosen a different restaurant to go to.

We went to the Safari Centre across the road to Harry's Bar for some cocktails and realised there was about 5-10 restaurants there that looked much better than Hard Rock Cafe. Harry's Bar is a fantastic bar for the list of cocktails they do, the music they play and if you can get a seat at the balcony, a great view of the dancing fountains below.

Our favourite hotel (by far!) was a wee Italian by the Playa Fanabe Beach in Costa Adeje called La Farola Del Mar, so good, we went 3 times.

The Arrabbiata was absolutely amazing and the views of the beach and sunset were fantastic too. Overall, the restaurant had a fantastic atmosphere, live entertainment most nights and the best meal of the holiday.

Unfortunately I have next to no photos from Siam Park as my phone was in the locker basically the full day but it is absolutely worth the visit. We had a fab time and I would definitely recommend getting the 15 euro fastpass band as the queues were so long and we got to skip the lines to the front! However, we didn't realise the lazy river has the tube slide that goes through the fish tank which we missed and I was gutted!

Loro Parque was Kieren's favourite part of the whole holiday as you can see from his wee happy face. It took us about an hour to get there as it was in Santa De La Cruz which is the other end of the island so it was 13 euros each for the coach straight from our hotel which was fantastic. We went to all the shows including the Orcas, Sea Lions and Seals who have all been rescued from poachers and captivity and cared for within Loro Parque. One of the Orcas was both blind and deaf but because of the Lord Parque foundation, could be cared for as she could not survive in the wild due to her condition.

My favourite part by far was the Penguins! If you know me, you'll know that penguins are my favourite animal in the whole world and getting to see them up close in their snowy habitat was amazing! It was a fantastic day and there are so many animals to see, it was definitely worth the visit.

Overall, this holiday showed us that we're not really the whole lie by the pool and get tanned (or burned) kind of people, that we prefer activities and things to do on holiday hence our next trip this summer (2019) is a short city break to Berlin!