Miramar - Puerto de la Cruz, Spain 

We decided on a little bit of winter sun the travel agent suggested the Miramar Hotel in Tenerife, looked at the trip advisor and booked our holiday as we had never visited the island. First impressions of the hotel were very nice but when we opened the door of our room 412 found the decor and furniture to be very shabby also a small badly shaped bathroom, but the beds and linen were very clean and we thought we would only be changing and sleeping in the room however, when we opened the balcony door what a view it was beautiful, overlooking the pool area and mountain in the distance. There is no fridge, hairdryer or toiletries within the room but you can borrow dryer from reception, do not know what you would do for cold drinks in the height of summer you would have to keep buying them at the bar as there would not be anywhere to store them in the room. The dining room is bright and clean, the food is very well presented with a great salad bar, plane fare but I did not see anyone leaving their meal, infact it was the opposite. We were half board but we could have gone in for lunch and no one would have noticed as you had to find your own table there was no waiter showing you to your seat or signing you in, sometimes we had to share a table with other holiday makers but that did not bother us, we discovered during this time that there was a range of different nationalities within the hotel and they came back on a regular basis, sometimes staying for up to 8 weeks at a time. The hotel was certainly very busy and once the bar staff and waiters became familiar with you they were excellent. Most of the residents seemed to go into town at night and did not frequent the bar within the hotel which was a pity especially when the entertainer was on he was very good. The age group seemed to be older at this time of year throughout the island and although there were plenty of swing parks it would be quite a treck up and down the hill with small children in the height of summer. There is a mini-bus to take you down to the town but this finished quite early and the taxi fare is about 4 euros. There are stairs down through the park and in other areas they are very steep and crumbling, quite dangerous if you did not watch your step, but the pavement down to town is fine. I was very impressed with the surrounding areas and kept coming across more and more quaint wee squares, has a very spanish feel, and people were lovely, eating lunch too was great with plenty of open restaurant/bars to people watch, no high pressure selling. Zoo was marvellous and there is an area at the front with about 6 different pools it is 3 euros entrance but that allows you all day with places within to buy food and drink, great for children. The boat trip arranged through the rep was terrific and crew were great, quite a long bus journey to get there but well worth it. On the whole loved my holiday, Miramar was a good hotel but do not expect any more than 3 star you would be disappointed.