Last month, I went on holiday with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and the children, and our chosen destination was Tenerife. This is the first time that the 8 of us have been abroad together and we had a brilliant time. We stayed in 2 apartments at Sunset Bay. The Sunset Bay Club is located in Torvicas, on the outskirts of Playa de las Americas, in the South of Tenerife. Sunset Bay has 206 rooms.
Booking
My dad booked our accommodation online. He is a member of Dial-an-Exchange timeshares and he banked two years 1 week holiday so that we could have two apartments in the same location during the same week. We were fairly flexible about location, we just wanted somewhere sunny suitable for the children. This resort was the only one that had two apartments large enough for us available during the same week.
Arrival and check-in
The reception is up a hill and is in the middle of some apartments; therefore the taxi could not take us all the way there so she dropped us off at the bottom on the hill (1 minute walk if that). We arrived quite late at night and my parents went to check us in while I waited with everyone else with the bags. We needed to show all the passports of everyone over the age of 18 and they gave us information about the 2 apartments.
We booked, a 1 bedroom sleeps four, for my parents and I, and a 2 bedroom, sleeps 6 for my sister and her family. The person on reception told my dad that the smaller apartment was just a studio to sleep 2 and they could not put in an additional bed. They said that I would need to sleep in the other apartment. This was a mistake at the resort (not with dial-an-exchange) and they should have notified us of this, prior to arrival. The studio apartment had a double bed and a large settee so I was able to sleep on that (although I could have shared with my sister). We were quite annoyed that this was incorrect but it didn’t spoil the holiday too much, and dial-an-exchange have refunded the money for the studio.
We were shown to our apartments by a member of staff, who also helped us with our luggage. The two apartments were close to each other, which was good as it meant we didn’t have to go far to meet up.
The Accommodation
Both apartments were clean, spacious, well lit and air-conditioned. We had a balcony which got sun for most of the day, and my sister had a balcony, which looked out onto the area where the evening entertainment is, as well as a walled sunny area, in the middle of the apartment outside. Towels were provided and there was a maid service several times a week.
We had a kitchen and bathroom, plus the main bedroom/sitting room. My sister’s apartment had a kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room. There were TVs and a safe in each apartment.
Facilities
The resort has two swimming pool areas. One is located on top of the reception and the other is about a couple of minute walk away. We chose the second of these pools as it had an large pool and a small children’s pool (which was ideal for my niece).
The pool was locked on a night time but people still climbed over the wall early in a morning to put their towels on the sun loungers. My sisters apartment was quite near the pool so they brought their sun loungers from the apartment some days (other people did that and the life guard didn’t say we couldn’t). We were usually able to get about 5 or 6 loungers at some point in the day though. We sometimes didn’t go to the pool until the afternoon.
The children’s pool closed for maintenance work at the end of the week, and my niece was most disappointed. She was able to play in the children’s pool on her own (with us just sitting watching, nearby) but obviously we needed to go into the big pool with her, and this took away her independence which Little Miss did not like!
There is a supermarket on the resort which offers a good selection of food and drinks. It was more expensive than the supermarkets outside of the resort (located near by) but we used it a few times for convenience.
There is an onsite laundry service which we used once. You pay for a token for the washing machine and another for the tumble dryer (which came to a total of a couple of Euro’s) plus you can buy washing powder in the supermarket.
Entertainment
The resort has a number of bars and restaurants. There was various entertainment throughout the week. On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is a singer in the plaza (outside my sister’s apartment). On the Saturday night (our 1st night) after we’d been out for a meal, we went to the entertainment (my parents decided they would go back to the apartment). The singer was good and there was a game of bingo which you could join in for free (if were sitting at one of the bar areas). My parents said they could hear all the songs and couldn’t sleep until the entertainment finished. So on the Wednesday night they decided they might as well join us! There was a quiz (which we won!) and another game of bingo, as well as a singer (different to the Saturday). Both singers put on a good show.
Other evening entertainment included a BBQ (at one of the bars by the pool) but we did not go to this. Various restaurants had different offers on each night, but we chose to eat down by the beach, or in our apartments.
There was entertainment by the top pool everyday, including quizzes and water games. My nephew went along to one of the games with his dad but we all chose to spend most of time by the quieter pool.
A children’s club was advertised for a few of the days when we were there, however when my sister took my niece there it wasn’t on. There is a children’s park near the swimming pool. My niece played here once, but it’s best early in the morning as the slide etc gets very hot in the sun.
Area
The resort is located within a 5-10 minute from the beach. There are lots of restaurants, bars and shops located on the beach. There are also water sport activities, and a mini adventure golf (which we played ïŠ). We also went on a pedaloe which we booked and paid for on the beach.
There are lots of excursion shops around the beach area, and a lot of them send their staff wandering around to attract business. There are also a lot of people trying to sell time shares. Quite a few of the beach bars are shut down, and the area (Torviscas) looked a little run down in general in parts. However, there were a lot of nice bars and restaurants and the beach was lovely.
Weather
The weather was hot and sunny the whole week we were there, we had one cloudy day but it was still hot.
Cost
My dad booked through dial-an-exchange through the two weeks that he had ‘banked’ so we got it fairly cheap (though we pay to be members of dial-an-exchange). I’ve just done some research and prices vary depending on the time of year etc. On the website I was using (booking.com), it appears to be fully booked for July and August next year but some prices for 7 nights in June 2012:
Studio (2 adults): 404Euro
Apartment (4 adults): 495Euro
Apartment (6 adults): 588Euro
~ Advantages ~
- Friendly staff in the shop and bars
- Enjoyable entertainment
- Good size pool
- Apartments clean and well kept
- Choice of pools
- Close to the beach
~ Disadvantages ~
- Lots of stairs and hilly, not very suitable for people difficulty walking or in a wheelchair
- Incorrect apartment
- Children’s club not on
- Small pool closed at end of the week we were there
Overall
Overall, we had a great week in Tenerife. The apartments are clean and comfortable, with good facilities nearby, and the resort kept us all happy. For me, it’s not the sort of place I’d return to on my next holiday but I would consider it again at some point in the future. It’s not the best place I’ve ever stayed but it’s certainly not the worst, and I would recommend it for families who are looking for a holiday in the sunshine!
Thanks for reading! bluejules
Sun, Sea and Sangria! 
