Guayarmina Princess Hotel

I stayed at this beautifully clean hotel with my sister, brother in law and sister in law. We are all in our late twenties early thirties.
This hotel caters for the more mature customer. The turns (entertainment) and dancing my Nan would love, not my cup of tea though. We tended to spend all our nights in the local bars as the prices in hotel were nothing short of extortionate.
The rooms were clean but were very basic, similar to a Premier Travel Inn in the UK.
I played a few games of tennis... and lost about 15 balls due to my total incompetence. But in my defense I did look the part in my sun visor. A 50+ Dutch gentlemen kindly gave me a few pointers and managed to keep the balls the right side of the wire fence.
We paid £530 each for half board accommodation but had to pay for water with our evening meal? The food was beautifully presented and tasted good too.
The hotel staff were friendly and helpful unlike the excursions and car hire shop to the side of hotel. Go in and ask the rate (if you dare!). I got the same treatment in a restaurant shaped like a ship. You could forgive them if I didn’t speak Spanish. Lazy, rude and arrogant.
Would I go back? Yes if the hotel was in Greece and the water was free with your evening meal.

Hotel on first inspection is first class 4 star definitely, on further inspection could do with a revamp.
Great for the elderly who don’t leave the pool area, drinks at the hotel are expensive; 3.40 euros for a pint of lager, in town 1 euro shop around.
Staff are friendly rooms are clean and spacious, food isn’t up to much not a lot of selection but as I say it caters for the older generation.
Costa Adeje it self is ok if you don’t mind time share, mind you they say they’re not time share but they are, beaches are ok but the sand is black.

We visited the Guayarmina Princess in March 2006 as part of a week - long Thompson break. We paid around £500 per person for the vacation. Well some parts of the hotel are good others are inexcusably bad.
Initial impressions are favourable with the hotel looking quite smart and clean, the staff well dressed and guests enjoying themselves.
Good points:
Overall, the hotel was very clean. The staff worked hard to keep the place all but spotless, which made for a pleasant environment to stay in.
Located just 50m from the beach, the hotel is in a perfect location for lounging in the sun. It's close to local shops and ATM's - both just a 2 minute walk away.
Breakfast in the hotel was good, with a nice selection of both cooked food and continental style offerings including fresh fruit, cereals and yoghurts. The head waiters in the dining room were always smiling and very courteous and efficient.
The bar tenders were polite and efficient and made some fab cocktails (at a price).
Nice pool and pool area- very clean with good access down to the beach and cafes.
Bad points:
Firstly let me justify the following points. The hotel proclaims itself as a 4* hotel - I have for some years now had an interest in a 4* hotel here in the UK so feel myself qualified to suggest the Guayarmina Princess would not make a 4* grade in the UK. The following comments are all based on the fact that the hotel is classed as 4*.
The worst part of the hotel is the evening meals. We stayed half board and after two nights, we gave up and ate elsewhere. The food was for the most part mass-produced frozen tat. The only fresh food I was able to identify was that which was being cooked on the indoor grill. That said, the steaks and kebabs I ate from there were both of poor quality, the latter obviously mass-produced frozen items. The dining room seats a maximum capacity of 500 and it felt like a cattle shed. Whisked in, fed cheap food and whisked out again as fast as possible - think Little Chef and you're somewhere along the right track. The quality and type of foods reflected the fact that the one restaurant had to serve all the hotel guests and there was no a-la-carte option. As I mentioned before though, breakfast was actually very good.
The rooms themselves are not worthy of a 4* rating either. Save for air-conditioning (somewhat old and ineffective at that) and a balcony, There is nothing in the rooms at the Guayarmina Princess that you would not find at a Premier Travel Inn or Travelodge type motel in the UK - they are of a very similar specification. Obviously, the climate suits a tiled floor in Tenerife rather than carpet in the UK. Don't be fooled by the 'luxury' marble bathrooms either - the tiles aren't marble at all - they are regular ceramic tiles with a marble pattern printed on them! In fact, continuing on the Premier Travel Inn / Travelodge theme, most of those places in the UK have a pub next-door, serving for the most part, better food than at the GP.
If you plan to take any electrical appliance with you on your holiday to the Guayarmina Princess, please don't bother wasting your time because you aren't allowed to use your own appliances with the power sockets in the rooms or any other part of the hotel. Yep, you read it right, you can forget your camera and mobile phone chargers, forget your hair dryer and hair straighteners, forget your travel iron because the hotel do not allow you to plug anything in at all anywhere. Apparently it's in the name of health and safety. We used hair straighteners and received a notice under the door saying we had violated some rules and had to visit reception (presumably to get a telling off - we never bothered as we were fed up with the front of house staff by then). This is a pathetic rule and needs immediate attention. There is a hairdryer in the room but it was a cheapie and utterly ineffective. Anyone with more hair than an inch long is going to be stood there a very long time.
Ah yes, the front of house staff. They knew their job well, but utterly Po-faced and acted like they didn't give a monkeys for the most part - particularly the girl who appeared to be the duty/general manager. Generally speaking, you get a warmer welcome at McDonalds - no exaggeration. Any semblance of a smile we did get was obviously strained. The room maids who, unlike the front of house staff, didn't speak any English were great and would readily join in hybrid English/Spanish conversations. As previously mentioned, bar staff and most of the waiters were also great - The front of house staff could learn a lot from their colleagues!
Finally, the sun terraces were too small. People packed in on sun-loungers like sardines in a can. Other than that, the terraces were lovely.
This all said, for the money and given how far we flew, it was OK, but just OK, nothing more. Can I recommend the GP? Yes and No. If you bear in mind the Guayarmina Princess is suited towards the upper end of the 'chav' market then you'll know what you're going to get. All that glitters is not gold. It has left me wondering what a genuine equivalent to a UK based 4* hotel would be rated as in Tenerife - about 6* I reckon.
The above is a review of the hotel only. May I add that Thompson staff and operations were excellent throughout. Smiling, timely and helpful. Well done Thompson, Guayarmina Princess, get your act together or print a rating that's equivalent to a UK hotel. If you are no better than a Travelodge or Holiday Inn then don't go shouting about Platinum Luxury etc!

Delightful accommodation, good food, wide range of facilities in an airy and tasteful hotel. The rooms are well appointed with large bathroom containing all necessary facilities, a bedroom area leading to a lounge area and through patio doors to a private balcony which is not overlooked.
The hotel boasts a range of clean and well maintained pools in a pleasing location.
The staff were very pleasant overall and most were competent although SOME of the dining room staff could have been happier and more sociable.
Our visit was during the Easter school holiday and this may be the reason for our only negative comment which was that there were many children who were very noisy and, unfortunately, a number of parents/guardians failed to control children from noisily running around in the lovely corridors (more like cloisters) outside the rooms.
Overall we are very likely to return independently to this hotel BUT NOT IN SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.
I would recommend it to anyone wishing to have a relaxing holiday.

This is the third time we have stayed at the 'Guayarmina'.
I have read all the previous reviews, I cannot believe the content of some of them. It is a 4 star hotel, not a 10 star.
I think some of the complainants should look closely at themselves, yes the Maldives are perhaps nicer but a lot dearer and you're not going to get there in 4 hours......
The restaurant is clean, the food is hot, fresh, and tasty with a huge selection to choose from, the waiters are very efficient and polite at all times (which cannot be said for some of the guests we saw when we were there).
The rooms have always been spotlessly clean, the maid service great and the reception staff very polite and helpful.
The price of the drinks was more than outside but HEY it was cheaper than the restaurants back home.
The weather is fantastic, in the six weeks we've stayed there we've had about 30 minutes of rain all together. I think resort is lovely, the beach is clean, and the locals very friendly...
Somebody mentioned the smell of sewage, we encountered that once but these tanks have to be emptied, in fact I helped to fill the cesspits up while I was there (I expect everybody does, or perhaps very, very posh people don't). And yes the area near the pool does get a bit slippery when wet but you just take care don't you?
The Thomson staff were all very attentive and professional and went out of the way to solve little snags we encountered. The same can be said of the crew of Britannia. No I don't work for Thomsons I just enjoy the hotel and we're going back November 06 to get a bit more.
Many thanks to the manager and staff at the 'Guayarmina'.

My husband and I (in our mid thirties) have just come back from a week at this resort. We wanted a "week in the sun" in a nice hotel and were very pleased with our choice. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel, which was both stylish and welcoming.
The food was excellent, there was plenty of choice and the waiter service was first class.
We had everything we could ask for. The hotel is right by the beach and there are a number of restaurants nearby should you decide to eat out.
My only criticism would be the equipment in the gym - it's seen better days.
I also wish i had brought more summer clothes with me - it's our first trip abroad in February and we were surprised how lovely the weather was. 20 -25 deg every day ( 1 day of rain)
We would definitely return to this hotel and resort.

I went on holiday with my parents and brother last to summer to the Guayarmina Princess. The year before I went to the Maspalomas Princess in Gran Canaria so my expectations were high.
The hotel is surrounded by other hotels and my first impression was loudness. The hotel was overall very good, but the pool was rather small and the sunbeds were too close together. The prices in the hotel were extortionate but a 5 minute walk down the lift and there were bars which were quite cheap. The entertainment in the Hotel was rather poor but again, in the Bar entitled The First and Last which is ideal.
The hotel is OK itself but the location is its main feature. I would recommend this destination for a family. Hope I have helped some of you.

Having read some of the previous reviews I think some of them are quite harsh.
Whether this Hotel would be 4 star in the UK or not is open for debate, it certainly has the facilities but I had a few minor gripes, such as the Double bed in our room was a sofa bed as we had our children it had to be used but certainly not comfortable for an adult, the room was also quite sparsely furnished although spotlessly clean.
Yes the drink prices are higher than local bars but the surroundings are quite stunning.
I also decided to decline the use of the Mini Bar being over 3 Euro a day just to rent, if the drinks were free this would of course be ok.
I found the staff excellent, from the moment we checked in at reception, the waiters in the restaurant and bars were always polite and helpful, the Chamber maids always happy which usually tells you something about the management and the staff who ran the children’s entertainment Maggy & Claudia were terrific.
Finally the restaurant was fantastic always busy but somehow never to busy to offer personal attention, along with an abundance of high quality international food which was definitely up to 4 star rating.
With the position of this hotel a stones throw from a very nice beach and the staff and facilities I am fairly sure we will return in the not to distant future.

We were very disappointed with our stay. How anyone can say the food was excellent must be mad. We had to eat out most days. Four star hotel usually provide at least coffee after a meal and tea and coffee facilities in the rooms. None of this was available.
We found the entertainment not of a very high standard on most nights and local bars provided much better.
We were allocated on arrival one of the basement rooms. It was very dark. The only view being a palm tree. To be fair I asked for a room change and this was granted the following day. It rained one night and rain came in through the ceiling!
We certainly wont be spending our well earned cash at this hotel again.

After reading some of reviews before we went I was very unsure what to expect but I can't fault the hotel facilities at all.
The food, which is a buffet, was first class. Plenty of variety and all excellent especially the desserts! The staff were very friendly and efficient. The only thing that let the hotel down was the quality of the room. It was very basic and some of the furnishings were not up to much. But it was clean and very spacious.
Would I go back to that hotel, probably not but we never go to the same place again anyway. The world is a very big place.