Bahia del Duque

For the money run to the Ritz down the road. Our shower had mold in it The shower head wasn’t connect correctly and sprayed water up to the ceiling There were someone’s toe nails on the ground when we walked in the room When I expressed our concerns to the front desk the lady was extremely dismissive. At $750 usd for one night I would expect much better. And, if you want to go to the beach it’s a private concession and you have to pay for lounge chairs. For sure, the Ritz was a million times better at the same price.

We first went to Del Duque back in 2011. In the intervening years we went to Abama twice and tried the Gran Melia Palacio de Isora. As our children are now teenagers I thought they would prefer to be more central and less remote. Before we left there were some negative reviews on trip advisor about the condition of the hotel which got my daughter worried. I like the traditional Canarian feel of the hotel and layout - it has character. Yes some of the reception areas are dated but the only area that looked in need of some maintenance were the pathways around Casas Ducales. The sea view deluxe rooms were an excellent size with sofa and chairs at one end - a lot of hotels now call this a junior suite and charge according. Bathroom was great with separate shower room and wc and a solid door going into bathroom. There seems to be a trend with new/refurbished hotels having open/glass doors to the bathroom which doesn't work with a teenage boy and girl sharing Del Duque beach was better than I remembered and lots of good restaurant options in and around the hotel. My wife booked some restaurants before we went and Kensei was best. We had a fantastic meal. Would have gone again but no availability. Need to book restaurants before you arrive to avoid disappointment. Mirador restaurant outside hotel was good. Would be nice to have different breakfast location options. I think we only paid about £1k more for flights/accommodation than we did back in 2011 so it represented amazing value. We all enjoyed our return visit and I think we will come back again. I prefer Del Duque to Abama and Gran Melia but if you have young children the 'private' beach at Abama is a benefit and their one bed suites are a good size at 90 sqm (some have bathroom + separate wc/basin) and worked well when children want to be in your room.

2 weeks covering Christmas and the week after to celebrate my husband’s 50th - the hotel is as magnificent as expected. Attention to detail everywhere. Shoutout praise to Patrick on reception, Rafael at the gate, Cesar at the clubhouse, Pablo at the restaurants - your helpful service and advice made our stay all the more pleasant; nothing was too much trouble. Our only criticisms are 3-fold; as I mention these, they are perhaps personal annoyances and not going to affect all guests. The duplication of many food items across different restaurant menus (same lamb chops, starters, sea bass, salmon and burger at each of 3 restaurants) felt at times frustrating, when we had hoped for more distinctive variety. We were HB but stopped eating at the hotel’s restaurants for dinner a week into our stay as a result. Secondly was the quantity of children who were quite loud, running around and spoiling what was expected to be an elite luxury experience. Children are paying guests too, but they were far too plentiful for our taste. Despite an adults only area for sunbathing, nobody kept children out of it; getting reprieve from noisy children was a challenge. Dodging children who were either running with plates of food or having tantrums over breakfast was a daily occurrence. Thirdly, the most stunning pools sat completely empty of swimmers because they were not heated and the ocean was actually warmer. The only heated one was being used by loads of children all day. Some areas of the hotel are a bit dated or tired, but there appears to be a longer-term renovation project in-motion so I’m sure this will be addressed in due course. A few standout positives however to mention for anyone who is considering this resort: * No tacky wristbands * For HB, all the dinner options are menu restaurants - no buffets. There’s loads included on each 3-course menu, some items have a small €€ supplement. * Breakfast buffet is top-notch, the egg station does steaks and other proteins to order. The selection of gluten free, low sugar and specialty dietary need items was spectacular. * Bottled water & Nespresso coffee in-room is complimentary and replenished daily. * Staff are the friendliest we’ve met and each has flags on their name badge indicating what languages they have fluency. Each is truly a GEM for their efforts daily. * Practically no smoking allowed in any of the public areas - a very welcomed practice. * Housekeeping visit the room +3x daily 1-cleaning, 2 restocking, 3 evening turndown service and towel replenishment. * Lovely evening entertainment that wasn’t overly loud or dramatic, just right for the space and audience. Live violinist at breakfast on Christmas morning was a treat.

Grab Bahia Del Duque is worthy of its Leading Hotel of the World status. The hotel’s Italianate village style never fails to deliver. A wide array of pools, bars, restaurants, spa, activities and extensive sporting and pleasure facilities ensure there’s something for everyone. Some of the restaurants are of very high quality (Nub, Kensei) and we usually take the half board option as availability is quickly snapped up. The staff are friendly, the location just perfect for a winter sun break, we can’t wait to go back.

Our son got up at 8am and started his routine morning procedure. Shortly after our neighbors started knocking into the wall between our rooms, apparently trying to express their disappointment. I appreciate they might have wanted to sleep in, however, 8am is not an unreasonable time to get up. The way the hotel management decided to handle this situation was to offer us to move to a smaller root. Apparently, they decided it was us to be punished.