Ap260, Club Atlantis, Costa Adeje (Tenerife), Spain

We spent three days at Club Atlantis and loved the location. Our studio was cute and roomy, with dated woodchip wallpaper that suited us fine. The hotel was clean, and the staff were nice and helpful. We did see towels on sunbeds early, but we weren’t using them, so it didn’t affect us. I’d definitely stay again.

The location is great if you like walking, and the staff were friendly. The pool area was clean, and the maid did a very good job cleaning our room every day. The room had a basic kitchen with utensils, a dining area and a partly working bathroom. We only used the kitchen to store water, since eating out was cheap. There wasn’t much evening entertainment, and even during school holidays there weren’t many children around the pool. We booked because the hotel advertised air-conditioning, but ours was old and barely cooled the room. The shower head also needed to be held or it sprayed at the ceiling, and during our 10 days we saw five or six cockroaches in the room. The balcony arches were oddly angled, so you could see onto other people’s balconies and didn’t get much privacy. We were in a ground floor holiday apartment with our 10-year-old boy. It seemed fairly secure and had two single beds plus a double sofa bed, but one morning at about 8 someone came into the room and quickly shut the door. I couldn’t tell if it was a maid or someone else with a key who’d made a mistake.

We usually stay in hotels, but rented a recently refurbished modern apartment here and it was fabulous. The apartments are mostly privately owned and rented to visitors, so standards can range from old-fashioned to modern. The location is handy for beaches, bars and restaurants, and a large Mercadona with everything you need is a few minutes up the road. The only minor hassle was waiting for the sunbeds to be unlocked at 10 in the morning. After a few days, we got used to it. The cleaners and maintenance team start early, keep the pool area clean and paint the public spaces. Everyone we met was polite and helpful.

The parking costs extra, and even then you might not find a space. There was no soap or shower gel in the room, just dish soap, which I suppose you could use. The place feels like it hasn’t been renovated since the Spanish took over the island, and gives the impression of a manager’s dream for a team-building budget. Those four stars must be what you see through the roof. On a good day, I’d rate it two stars, maybe 2/10.