Hollywood Mirage is a resort situated in the heart of the Urbanización Oasis del Sur, next to the popular tourist spot of Los Cristianos in the South of Tenerife - in Canary Islands, Spain.
My goal with this post is not to rank the hotel but to provide some insider tips that may help you make or choose not to make certain decisions during this hotel stay. Also, through this post, I would like to introduce you to beautiful Tenerife. Also, we visited this place several years ago, some things may have changed, but in general, things are pretty much the same (I checked.)
When we stayed here many years ago, they did not have a shuttle to and from Tenerife airport - it cost us 25 Euros to get to the hotel. The staff was friendly and the room that we got was very nice. Our apartment had a balcony which was lovely. The kitchen was nice - we had to buy everything though - no salt and pepper shakers either. The appliances are decent, no dishwasher though.
The maid service was fantastic. They came in everyday to sweep the place, clean the bathrooms. We actually loved the grocery store on the campus - it had everything that you need - all the basic stuff. SPAR was 10 minutes away (walking), but the walk uphill after your shopping experience was tiring, with hands full of grocery bags. Not always easy to get a cab from the grocery store - but you could call a cab if you need.
This is a baby-friendly hotel - I remember asking for and receiving a baby cot, a high chair, bottle warmer, diaper disposal bags etc - which was fantastic. However, when it came to traveling - we were recommended boat rides and bus rides by the front desk which were real bad ideas. I would say, do your research and think twice if you are traveling with infants.
Volcano Mount Teide is at quite a high elevation and our baby just could not handle it (new parents, we did not know!); and waves were so choppy (we were specifically told at the front desk that they were not choppy on that day) that whale and dolphin watching on the boat was a disaster for us.
We do not suggest those kind of trips for babies, and the front desk also should not. That said, Teide is beautiful and black volcanic rock formations are gorgeous.
Couples traveling alone should have no problems whatsoever, of course.
The hotel has two lovely pools, and at least one restaurant in the complex. The restaurant was great. For 15 Euros a week (might be a little more now), you could use the gym, sauna, play squash, get pool towels etc - not a bad deal. The spa offered some great services: Reiki, Thai massage. One Euro per minute kind of charge, if memory serves me right.
The laundry facilities were expensive. For one round of washing and drying, we paid 8 Euros. We are generally light travelers so we found this price a little on the higher side. Wines on the other hand are cheap! Try not to get too drunk! The shuttle to the beach is great. The frequency is perfect, and the 10 odd minute ride to the beach is nice. No traffic issues ever :) Alcohol available at the beach is cheap-cheap-cheap! Food is decent too. What will take your breath away is the black sand on the beach. Beware of restaurants that say "the best" mexican/chinese/indian restaurant in Tenerife :) We fell for that one and feel quite stupid about it now. The Mexican restaurant we went to was HORRIBLE! Also, culturally the place is quite different from the USA. We talked about renting a car and we did rent a smaller car. Then we felt it was too small and we want a bigger one, and an automatic and not manual. They would not change it. They would not cancel it. Not much customer service here. Language can be a slight problem if you don't know Spanish - We talked about going for a boat trip, we handed the credit card to the front desk member and asked for more information before the booking. Before we knew it, booking was already done. Huh! ?? So, there could be some problems like that -- but if you are careful, (we were not) you can avoid these issues. Overall a great stay! Tenerife is a great place to practice your Spanish and get a fantastic tan. Lots of topless people just lying on the beach and enjoying the sun! Have fun.
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