Esencia De La Palma By Princess (Only Adults +16)

“Amazing hotel, amazing staff!”

The hotel was very clean and beautifully presented. The grounds were kept spotless and the areas around the pool were cleaned regularly. The food choice was amazing, there were so many options to suit all tastes and it is well catered for people with allergies. The bar and restaurant staff are incr… more

The hotel was very clean and beautifully presented. The grounds were kept spotless and the areas around the pool were cleaned regularly. The food choice was amazing, there were so many options to suit all tastes and it is well catered for people with allergies. The bar and restaurant staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. The rooms are quite spacious and very clean. They have everything you need and we had a gorgeous view overlooking the pools and sea. The walk around the outside of the hotel is a great opportunity to get some exercise and offers some great cliff views. The hotel put on the World cup football matches in a separate bar for everyone which was great but they also show other sporting events during the day (like the F1) in the main bar. Special thanks to the animation team who are so much fun - in particular Alex, Flávio and Jorges.

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“Lots of positives, but pool area too noisy for us.”

Positives: lovely hotel in a great location (amazing sunsets) with professional & friendly staff, food good & great larger on tap, wine not so good. Rooms slightly dated but cleaner came in every day so not a big issue & the pool areas were also well maintained & cleaned daily. Negative: if you are… more

Positives: lovely hotel in a great location (amazing sunsets) with professional & friendly staff, food good & great larger on tap, wine not so good. Rooms slightly dated but cleaner came in every day so not a big issue & the pool areas were also well maintained & cleaned daily. Negative: if you are looking for a quiet pool area this hotel is not for you, the pool bar had music blaring out all day, and the activity team had music on which was very loud when they were doing activities. In summary: we would go back, but next time stay in the adults only section next door to be able to access a quiet pool area.

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“A thoroughly pleasant stay although room for improvement…”

I visited La Palma for 7 days in late June-early July with my fiancee. This review will break down some of the elements of the hotel section by section. My ratings will be out of 5 stars. Check-in/out: 3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️ Due to our evening flight being delayed, we arrived at the hotel later than usual at … more

I visited La Palma for 7 days in late June-early July with my fiancee. This review will break down some of the elements of the hotel section by section. My ratings will be out of 5 stars. Check-in/out: 3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️ Due to our evening flight being delayed, we arrived at the hotel later than usual at 10pm. We were told that we’d still be able to eat at the buffet and we appreciated that they kept it open for longer rather than closing at usual time. We stood and queued to check in for about 10 minutes. However, due to this late hour, check in felt very rushed. We were told to sign a form and then given our room key along with a map which had our room circled. No details of towel information (more to follow below) and breakfast time/check out time were given. The staff member who checked us in was nice and friendly. At the end of our stay, we stood in line for 15-20 minutes waiting to check out of the hotel. Others ahead in line were naturally checking in which takes a while. We reached the front of the line only to just hand the key card over and that was that, over in seconds. Perhaps the hotel could have a key drop system implemented to save the queuing? The bag drop room was welcomed, as check out was at 12 midday and our flight was in the evening. Room & ensuite: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The room we were given was a room with a balcony on a higher floor, as requested. The room was very clean, although slightly dated looking. All appliances in the room were of good working order such as the hairdryer and fridge. However, the air conditioning in the room, despite the numbers on the thermostat dial going down to lower than 10 degrees, stayed at roughly 23 degrees. It wasn’t the strongest of breezes, therefore after a long day sunbathing, it would have been nice to come back to a very cold hotel room. That being said, the room wasn’t exactly sweltering hot. The ensuite was clean and the shower was surprisingly powerful. The ensuite also included a bath which we did not use but was a ‘nice to have’. Also, WiFi from the hotel room was good and reliable. Pools & Pool area: 3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 The pools were very large and kept in good, clean condition. Most pools were gradient pools and therefore the shallow end heated up in the sun a lot quicker than the deep end. Very refreshing! On our first day, we headed to reception to ask where we find our pool towels, as none were given to us in the room. We were told to find them in the spa with no other details. We walked to the spa, queued in line only to find out at the front of the line that a €15 Cash deposit is needed to rent a pool towel. We brought no cash with us, nor our own towels and although a cash machine is in reception, we did not feel like walking all the way back up to reception to take some cash out (it would have been nice if the receptionist had told us the towels required cash either at check-in or when we enquired about towels the following day). Nevertheless, we decided to use our shower towels over the course of the week, not the best first impression of the hotel for an all inclusive resort… On a separate point, and one that the hotel cannot do much about, we found you had to get up at 7:30am in the morning to guarantee a sun-bed in the shade(this would be earlier if you are a family of 3+). This is, of course, standard across many hotels over Europe, however, the main issue we had was many families and couples were leaving their towels on the sun-beds all day, only never to use them once! (the whole day). This was frustrating, and although difficult to do, it might be something the hotel can change in future. The pool bar was great, friendly staff with the whole drinks menu available. Slushies, self-serve soft drinks, beer and wine. Spirits can be ordered too. An idea the hotel could implement, is to put signs up with either a relax zone or music zone sun bed area as during the aqua aerobics and other fun ‘animacion’ activities , the speakers blare out bass-ey music which can make relaxing in the sun or reading a book a little difficult for some. WiFi signal weakened quite a bit towards the back of the hotel by the coast but still worked. Restaurants (Food market & El Mirador): 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5 The restaurants were surprisingly very good and despite being here for a week, we never became tired of the food due to the variety and how often they changed things up. We would have breakfast and lunch at the Mirador which is the pool side restaurant. The variety for these two meals, despite this restaurant being the smaller of the two was great! Hot and cold food, full English and continental, fresh fruit, desserts and ice cream! We ate dinner at the food market every day and the food was faultless. As we went in late June, the restaurant became very full from 7pm onwards, the staff run a tight ship with walkie talkies to ensure guests are seated efficiently to reduce queue times and crowding in the restaurant. This worked, however, a drawback of this, is as a couple, sometimes it became a little frustrating not being able to sit where we would like. For example, many of the tables seating two were pushed up against others of the same kind adjacently, this did not provide us with the most privacy and lead to many couples eating *mostly* in silence as to not disturb others (very) close by. Another pet peeve, was again, not so much the hotels fault but nevertheless a problem of guest behaviour, and that was people queuing in the hot food section. I saw a couple signs addressing this behaviour which nobody followed, but for example, this meant if you wanted to grab some fresh fish, you’d have to pass(whilst still in the line) the sausages, mashed potato, steaks, roasted veg even if you didn’t want those items of food, just to grab one thing; as to not “queue jump” and upset other hungry guests. Perhaps this is a British/German bad habit but it lead to a lot of unnecessary waiting. A highlight of the food was the desserts. Many all inclusive hotels have dessert that all tastes the same, a foamy creamy, tasteless combination. Not this hotel, honestly some of the best all inclusive desserts we have had! (the Profiteroles being a standout). Sports activities: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️ The hotel has pool tables, table tennis tables, a beach volleyball area, mini golf and probably lots more. The issue is, despite the hotel being all inclusive, you have to pay to participate in all of these (if you’re not part of the animacion activities itinerary and want to do these activities without any other guests)! This also, may have been cash only like the towel deposit. A little disappointing. I’d also say the Palma princess “app” that runs on a webpage, does not work very well on mobile and loads very slowly on the hotel WiFi. This made knowing what activities are on such as yoga, quite difficult. Entertainment: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️ The entertainment nights were like many all inclusive hotels, fun in nature but nothing truly great; some being better than others… Good variety of acts throughout the week though from pop, rock, magic, circus and dancing. The disco, where the entertainment was held had a bar, with an another bar situated not too far away in reception if the disco one is busy. The stage for the entertainment has very large columns either side of it, therefore viewing angles on busy nights were limited but generally there was enough seating for all. Football and sports fans are in luck as they showed all the World Cup games in dedicated sports bars and in reception. Surrounding area: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One of the best things about the hotel is where it is situated, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west with views of El Hierro on a clear day and the volcanic landscapes that surround Las Indias to the east. You couldn’t ask for a more breath taking view whilst sat in the pool, on your balcony or sun lounger. The coastal running path around the hotel is a brilliant touch too to escape the busy all inclusive resort and walk by (and on) the numerous volcanic cliffs that lie beside the hotel, which itself is surrounded by banana trees. You understand, whilst you are there why the locals and mainland Spaniards aptly name it “La Isla Bonita”. Coach transfers: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ On time, air conditioned, clean with clear instructions given. The coach journey from and to the airport was seamless, with TUI reps providing all the information you need to know in a friendly, enthusiastic manner. Excursions: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I highly, highly recommend going on the Roque de Muchachos guided tour. Rudi, our tour guide was extremely knowledgable about the island and a good laugh. You simply cannot visit La Palma without seeing the island from its summit, above the clouds

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“Mixed Bag”

Lovely hotel but some areas lack what you expect from a TUI Platinum hotel. Pools are beautiful and weren't overly busy. Staff at main restaurant were really friendly. Sunbeds hit and miss...had to put towels down at 8am if you wanted shade too. No parasols at all. Food very samey, poor choice fo… more

Lovely hotel but some areas lack what you expect from a TUI Platinum hotel. Pools are beautiful and weren't overly busy. Staff at main restaurant were really friendly. Sunbeds hit and miss...had to put towels down at 8am if you wanted shade too. No parasols at all. Food very samey, poor choice for children. Certain foods ran out and not replaced. On arrival towel and pillow stained, drawers broken and fridge not cold. Evening entertainment was hit and miss Altitude to and from hotel on transfer was awful with lots being sick on coaches Lovely relaxed setting but would not return

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