Saturday
We slept in on our first morning. Sally made some coffee and we eventually got up for a late breakfast on the terrace around the main pool. Only here would breakfast be serenaded by a Harpist! Yes, a lady was sat there playing the harp for us.
It was a buffet breakfast. Standard fayre. Fruit, cereals, pastries, meats, cheeses and hot counter + some Champagne if you wanted. All included so I filled my boots to last me the day LOL but it was delicious and a lovely setting.
We decided to have a lazy day and lounged around the villa. After my breakfast went down we went for a swim down the river to the jacuzzi which became a bit of a daily ritual.
Later in the afternoon, a bit bored now as I like to be doing stuff, I decided to go and ride the bike in the gym. Sally came too and lounged in the spa and enjoyed the indoor pool, steam room and sauna while I flogged my guts out. The Technogym bike was really good but it relied on the Technogym app which was a right faff to be honest. However when I did get it working properly, the Peleton-esque instructor lead video workout was actually quite good. I treated myself to a nasty HIIT session.
We decided to eat out that night and got ready and drove back down to La Caleta and ate in a local restaurant there with a view over it’s small bay where the locals swim. We enjoyed watching a dog having a swim too. He couldn’t get enough of it. Afterwards we pitched up for a drink in a seafront bar and watched the sun go down before retiring back to the villa to watch the stars again.
Sunday
On Sunday, we got up for breakfast a bit earlier as we nearly ran out of time the day before. No harpist this time though, only a violin player to serenade us again!
I was feeling a bit full after the previous evening’s meal but that didn’t stop me filling my boots again. Buffet’s always make you keep going back for more. Or maybe I’m just a pig. Today we were scratching around for something to do. The weather was wall-to-wall sunshine again so I looked at the map, picked a road that went up and decided we’d go for a drive, do a bit of exploring and get a view.
After calling reception to get our car ready. I’ll never get bored of that! We set off back up to the motorway which we crossed into a small town then it was a narrow back road with a gradient that was quite ridiculous. We climbed up a sinuey narrow lane and all I could think was this would be absolutely brutal on a bike. At the top we hit a bit of a dead end so we decided to stop at an old church and went for a drive around a village up there but we didn’t really know where we were going and the road was a bit narrow and treacherous in places too so we headed back down and stopped to take a pic. I estimated we were about 1000m above sea level.
Back at the hotel we bummed around for a bit and I did another session on the bike in the afternoon. It was hot day and I was craving a beer again post-workout. The first cafe we found in La Caleta served Estrella Damm and I think because it was brewed in Spain, not the UK like most ‘foreign’ beers are, it tasted better. I couldn’t get enough of it so we went back there and a couple of beers turned into a couple of Pina Colada’s and some Tapas with another awesome sunset for dessert.
However, what Sally couldn’t get her head round was the island of La Gomera, which was only across the water from us, kept ‘disappearing’ in certain light conditions because it was shrouded in clouds a lot of the time
We spent our last night back on the roof terrace watching the stars again but felt a bit meh so I went to bed a bit earlier than normal and got a good sleep.
Monday
Monday was our last day and a long day. We’d planned to drive up Mt Teide as our flight home was another late one so we could make the most of the day.
We had our final breakfast but no serenade this time. We didn’t have to check out until noon so we decided to get a cheeky last swim in before we left.
Mt Teide is an extinct volcano that rises up to over 3500m in the centre of the island. I was gutted I couldn’t get to ride on this trip but driving up it would at least show me what I’d be facing the next time I come. With the road up to the cable car peaking at around 2100m, it’s a popular destination with Pro Teams that come out to do altitude training and drills to practice the fast climbing we see on the Tour de France.
We left the hotel and jumped on the motorway for about 10 miles before picking up the long, steady climb. Not very steep, it’s pretty quiet but it’s very, very long. 20+ miles easily. Because you’re driving away from the coast you don’t really get a sense of the height because you can’t see the sea but the landscape changes quite dramtically when you hit the plateau that sits beneath the rim and the cable car. We stopped for photos and carried on to the cable car and passed a packed visitor’s centre so we decided to to go back down a different route towards Costa Adeje.
The route down was steeper and had far more hairpin bends with the benefit of quite a lot of tree cover. We did pass some cyclists and their faces told a story of how hard and long the climb was. It’s definitely on my bucket list now.
After a long drive down we got back to the coast and decided to try again to park and have a look around Costa Adeje. We headed for the upmarket end of town and found an underground car park that serviced a posh shopping centre. In there we grabbed a quick coffee and then went for a walk in the searing heat around to Fanabe beach which touches the most popular and busy area of the resort. Honestly, it probably wasn’t for us, we prefer a quieter place but the views of the bay were amazing.
The afternoon was beginning to roll on and with our flight looming we decided to go for a drive and find somewhere a bit quieter nearer the airport. After driving around we eventually stopped in the coastal village of Los Abrigos. It was a nice, quiet place so we grabbed a quick meal to fill us up for the flight and then headed to the airport to drop our hire car off.
Our flight was delayed and Passport Control hadn’t cheered up yet either but we did make up some time on the way back and landed not too late. Getting off the plane was a bit of a shock after the 30 deg heat we’d enjoyed earlier in the day.
A short queue through Border Control then straight out to the car and home. We rolled in around 3.30am which made getting up for work was a bit of a struggle.
Conclusion
So what did I think? Well, we liked it so much we checked prices to go back next year March/April and on average our stay would be around £1000 per night. That is no doubt expensive but you can see why. The luxury and experience was on a level I’ve never enjoyed before and it does give you a taste for it. Would I go again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Would I pay that kind of money? Yes but I need to save up first. It was an awesome experience. Not just the hotel but there is so much more of the island to see and I need to ride bike there too, so I will definitely be back.
Adios
free accomodation, we did have to pay for the flights etc but still felt like a lottery win
£1k per night. It must take a lot of wealth to make that kind of place the norm. I’d love to experience that kind of holiday myself just the once and fab that you managed to land it for free 👏👏👏