Hotel Acuario

2 readers found this review helpful

I agree with previous reviews. My boyfriend and I went in March 2007 and were assured of a four star all inclusive. This hotel certainly deserves no more than a two star rating. The rooms were absolutely tiny, but the hotel cleaners were very good (but then that may be because they didn't actually have that much to clean?).
The food was of a similar nature most evenings. Fried fish, fried chicken, fried miscellaneous meat (possibly magpie?) and other sorts of meat that sat stewing in their pans all night. Chips and chips and more chips! And the fish tanks that surround the restaurant were filthy and kind of scuppered any appetite you may have had. The bar often had one person or (more often) no person serving and often there was a 20 minute wait for a drink (from a plastic cup).
What really ruined our holiday was an invasion by a school trip of Spanish kids; which wasn't a problem until later in the evening because they had decided that they weren’t going to go to bed. At all! They ran around screaming, slamming doors, smashing hotel furnishings and shouting all night long. I asked the hotel reception to contact the teachers (at 4AM) but nothing was done. I think the kids only stopped after I went out and asked in my broken, but very stern ‘Spanglish’ that they stopped. I approached the teachers at breakfast the next morning to explain my 'slight' annoyance that their charges were ruining my holiday. I assume they weren’t sleeping in the same part of the hotel because nothing was done and the same noise and chaos ensued the following night. Thankfully it was our second to last night staying at the Acuario Hotel and we would be going home soon. I don’t mind children, actually I quite like kids, I don’t want to sound like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang, but I’d paid for a hotel, not a youth hostel.
Please don’t let me put you off from the town. Puerto and the north of the island (thankfully) lack the ‘Britishness’ of the South where restaurants proudly proclaim in big blackboards outside ‘No Spanish food served here’. It is a lovely place and the restaurants, bars and cafes serve delicious local food, and the local people were very friendly. Just don’t stay at this hotel if you can help it…

1 reader found this review helpful

I and my partner stayed here on an all inclusive basis for one week.
I have to say the room was basic with no television radio or telephone, but there was a safe and the room was clean.
The food we have to agree was very good and tasty and the waiters were very polite on the whole, even though they did have to contend with what I can only describe as ignorant tourists trying to drink as much as they could on the all inclusive drinks, and showing us English up yet again as "morons" with alcohol problems.
They smoked outside so the non smokers did not get to sit outside and enjoy the view.
We rented a car for £75 and toured around the island all week it was great, we went to the Mount Teide, Loro Parque, which was money well spent and had a behind the scenes tour at Loro Parque and got to see everything! Magnificent!
I was not well when I arrived in fact it seemed most people had some sort of cough - I did in fact have a chest, ear and throat infection but did not let it spoil my holiday.
We went to the beech a few times which was lovely, and tasted the local cuisine.
I would actually go again as we only paid £150 each all inclusive as a late deal and this was a true bargain!

My partner and I arrived at 9pm on the Sunday evening to be greeted by a particularly bad 2* hotel when we booked a 4*.
We were then told dinner stops serving at 9.30pm, we were ushered to the dining area only to be in the middle of what looked like a Pontins holiday camp cafe - not enough room for guests, cold food and SLOW service at the bar.
The staff were unpleasant bar one young man called Hozay. No entertainment provided whatsoever, or any light music for that fact. The rooms were tiny and with no TV or phone, our balcony overlooked a car park which was very noisy.
The swimming pool was very small and cold in the shade - not suitable for children - infact, boredom set in very quickly for the kids as there was absolutely nothing to do.
The only upside to the holiday was that the rooms were kept tidy and cleaned daily and to be honest, if it was not for the people we met there, the holiday would have been a disaster and would have booked another hotel for the duration.
I would recommend Puerto De La Cruz as it’s a lovely place to visit especially over carnival time - the parade was fantastic.
I would suggest you look elsewhere in the area before booking this hotel.

2 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from the Acuario hotel in puerto de la Cruz. My partner and I booked a cheap break paying under £200, two stars all inclusive - what a bargain.
The room was a bit on the small side but cleaned daily the staff always friendly and helpful.
The food was great always a good choice, if you don’t fancy a big meal there’s always the snacks.
One down side was no entertainment but if you’re looking for a quiet holiday like us, you'll love it.

Just returned from this hotel. Never again. In a residential area 2kms from centre. Wasn’t what we expected, stated 4 star but on the wall outside reception was a plaque boasting 2 stars. I say boasting, because it wasn’t even up to 2 star standard. No TV or phone in the rooms, no air conditioning, which meant we had to sleep with patio door open all evening. Listening to motors whirring all night long and a cockerel crowing every morning at 6 am onwards. Plus local dogs barking all night. Most of the staff were not friendly (as stated in description) had to run from sun bathing area on 4th floor to restaurant on ground floor for a drink until 4 pm when pool bar was attended. Don’t try the internet, its never working (takes your coins though) when I asked for a refund the reception staff all of a sudden cannot understand English. Food had to be eaten immediately after it was put out or you ate it cold. Good points were, it was cleaned daily and a couple of the staff was hard working.

Please do not be fooled into thinking this is a 4* hotel! It is not even a 3* hotel.
The actual rating on the hotel itself is 2* and that's all it deserves.
Don't get me wrong... I have just returned from a week’s holiday that I have enjoyed but I can honestly say that's due to the people I met whilst I was there and not the actual hotel or place itself.
Rooms - Me and my friend ended up having 3 rooms. The first we found cockroaches, which didn't bother me because it's a hot country and you can't escape these things, but my friend freaked so we got a room change. However, our second room wasn't so grand either. The bathroom had a fair few damp patches on the ceiling and the plaster on the bedroom ceiling was coming off - great stuff to have in your bed as you can imagine. The third room we got was alright and we stayed there for the remainder of the holiday.
Food - whilst it was reasonably edible, there were a lot of complaints - pork should not be pink in the middle! I would not recommend anyone to come here on an all inclusive if you are a vegetarian, a muslim or dislike fish. The chips were nice though I suppose if you're wanting to live on them. I did like the breakfast though. Can't go wrong with a bit of fruit and natural yogurt. Drink wise there were fruit juice dispensers, coffee/tea/hot chocolate dispensers as well as two bars. You could drink what you wanted from 8am to 12am providing you were happy to drink cheap alternative (eg: cream whisky as opposed to baileys).
Hotel entertainment - THERE IS NONE!! Go out into the town (although defeats the object of having a cheap all inclusive holiday). Bucaneers was a favourite for many of the guests at the hotel. Drinks about 5 euros each but we're talking something daft like 4 parts sprit to 1 part mixer. Definitely not British measures. Loro Park is also somewhere I would recommend you visit if you're into Zoos. I enjoyed myself a lot. It cost 29 euros (plus the taxi fare there and back) but you can book it through the hotel and it costs about 22 euros including a bus there and back; something we didn't realise, as excursion were not well advertised to guests, until we got back.
Pool - Small but nice and refreshing when it's hot. There were a variety of tables and chairs around the pool area and for sun beds you simply go up some stairs to a terrace of about 20 of them. Although as in most places it is first come first served. There is also no Jacuzzi, despite what you may have been told, as a few guests found out themselves.
Beach - about a 20 minute downhill walk to a black sand beach. You can rent the sun beds and parasols which make the sand more bearable to stand on around where you're sat/laid. The sea itself appeared to be good for body boarding and many people were doing this. It got deep very quickly and the waves were quite strong the days we went.
Staff - whilst the staff did their job and weren't particularly unpleasant about it, you could see the difference in how they treated the Brits in comparison to the Spanish and the Germans. We make even a little noise, we get told off. The spanish/germans make even more noise at an even later time and no one bats an eyelid. They were even allowed to smoke in the no smoking area whereas none of us could. Oh well.
Anyhow, all in all, I did enjoy my holiday, as did my friends but that was due to the people we met there and got on with. You don't mind being in a bit of a dump if the company is good and that was the opinion of the majority of us there. None of us would go back again and most of us were told it was a 3* or higher which is certainly isn't. If you still opt to go here for a holiday go with a large group of friends because that's what made the week fun for us all.