Unexpected tour to the Canary Islands - Royal Sun Hotel - Premier Holiday
My wife and I visited the Canary Islands, the island of Tenerife.
I was going to write as soon as I arrived. And even told the guide to wait for our detailed report. But somehow it wasn't before. Then it was forgotten. And then I was reviewing the photos (and during the trip they took pictures on everything that was possible - both on my SLR, and on the iPhone and on my wife's soap box), and remembered my promise. I think it's better late than never.
To be honest, we were not going to the Canary Islands and did not even think about such trips. We had planned Antalya for this spring, but last year we were at the presentation here, in St. Petersburg, at the Alfa company. If they had read in advance that they write about such presentations on the Internet, then of course they would not have gone there. But we did not read anything and went there confident that expensive prizes were waiting for us.
For nearly three hours, we resisted the onslaught of their employees and managers with all our might.
At first we were treated by one very talkative and fussy. Then came another - a financial manager. He also conjured with numbers for a long time and insisted that we directly take out and put money on his table. To be honest, we were shocked by such pressure, and if we had the money at that time, we would certainly have given it away. But there was no money with me at all (well, maybe a thousand rubles).
In short, they frayed our nerves, we did not pay them anything. They left the office angry as hell, and they didn’t even remember the prizes. And they stopped us, returned us from the exit, and eventually handed us a document on a piece of paper about a prize for one week of rest in their hotels.
We put this paper in our pocket and left. On the way home, everyone discussed the whole situation. I said that it was a scam, but my wife said that maybe not.
It so happened that we planned to drive to Finland at the end of October for 3-4 days just to walk around Helsinki plus shops.
And then, from my dispute with my wife, the idea was born to check how the employees of this Alpha would behave if we came and asked to be sent to the hotel using this prize paper. I again told my wife that they would simply send us to hell, and my wife said that they might not be sent.
We were not sent and began to fill out forms. We discussed that in late October - early November, the Canary Islands are the best. And they even seemed to discuss the dates of the trip.
For some reason, we decided to take a chance. Even despite the fact that the trip was postponed twice - once through our fault, the other time - something didn’t work out for them. As a result, we stopped at the beginning of December.
We reasoned that we would check the reservation for tickets as early as possible before departure on the airline's website, so as not to doubt. Hotel reservation - do not be too lazy to contact the hotel reception. (I’ll tell you right away - in the end, they were too lazy and didn’t get in touch. And they didn’t check the tickets. They let everything take its course. : -).
We always have a Finnish visa, insurance too. We decided that in any case we did not lose anything, and that it was worth trying to fly.
Then at home we looked at the site of the Spanish company Premier Holiday Club on behalf of which the gift was presented. In the virtual everything looked pretty. At least we didn't see the catch.
The manager suggested a brand new hotel which had just opened after renovation. We almost agreed without looking.
In general, everything was very spontaneous and unexpected even for ourselves.
As a result, they flew.
We paid the company for the second week 25% cheaper than it cost on booking. The flight was ak "Russia" from Pulkovo. Departure was in the afternoon, at 3 o'clock. There is nothing special to tell about the flight - we slept, ate, drank. In short, seven hours later we were already there.
At eight o'clock in the evening, local time, we reached the exit from the airport.
At the exit, the girl Alla was waiting for us in branded clothes and with a Premier Holiday Club sign.
She took us to a branded bus with logos of the same company. At first glance, everything was fine. : -).
We drove forty minutes. Hotel Royal Sun (Royal Sun) was in the village of Los Gigantes (Los Gigantes) not on the shore, but at the top right on the hill above the village. We arrived in the evening and at first we didn’t even really understand which side the ocean was. But the view was awesome. Everything sparkles and shimmers. And the smell of the ocean pleased.
We met our guide Nadezhda. On first contact, she is a very nice girl. Cheerful and sociable, without show-off. We met, sat down, she told me where to go and what to see, and said that the next day there would be a welcome meeting.
Liked the apartment. Everything is really new, clean and beautiful. Nice furniture. new plasma. Kitchen made of natural wood with a full set of utensils and appliances. We had a separate bedroom and a living room with a kitchen, and a bathroom.
Separately pleased with the terrace - just huge. Then we had breakfast and sunbathed on it.
We were a bit surprised by the wine and fruit in the apartment. In the evening we decided that it is better not to eat until we find out whether it is paid or not. Then they drank the wine in the evening. In the morning they asked Nadia. It turned out that it was a gift from the hotel. Then they ate fruit.
The only subtlety is that the hot water in the shower quickly ran out and you had to wait until it warmed up. But we got used to it, and indeed there was enough water for two.
On the same evening, we walked around the hotel and went down a little to Los Gigantes. In principle, everything was nice, but nothing was clear in the dark, and half of the cafe was already closed. We took a picture of some hippie and a bird at the cafe.
We returned to the hotel. Going back up is not the same as going down. Out of habit, even a little tired. But then they sat for a long time on the terrace and drank the presented wine.
Maybe not the best wine I've tasted, but decent.
In the morning we woke up with difficulty, went out onto the terrace and realized that it was not in vain that we flew so far, and that it was not in vain that we exchanged shopping in Helsinki for this strange trip to Tenerife.
From the apartment there is simply a fabulous view of the ocean and the Gigantes rocks! You immediately realize that you are terribly far from home.
Went to the welcome meeting. There we met with our Nadia. Enjoyed the Sangria. We learned about excursions, meals, car rental and so on.
Nadia began to agitate us so that we would take the entire package of excursions in bulk at once. They forcibly retreated. To begin with, we took three excursions for the first three days - the Flamenco show, Loro Park and a boat trip on the "pirate schooner" type. And then we decided we'd see. Although, if we took all the excursions at once, we would probably save money.
For example, as we later found out, a trip to Siam Park, along with delivery to the place, would be cheaper than just tickets at the box office in Siam. But what's done is done.
Agreed to go to their promotion on Tuesday.
We also agreed to rent a car and booked it for the second half of the holiday.
They wanted to order food, especially since it was cheap (a hundred and a little euros for a week), but then we decided that we would still be on the road and would probably miss a few breakfasts or dinners. We decided to buy food and load the refrigerator with something so local, tasty and fast. And if you go somewhere - then in any cafe you can eat. We are unpretentious people. The store was nearby. And the prices in it turned out to be divine. Although, other tourists on the tour praised the half board at the hotel.
The first trip is on Saturday.
In the morning we had breakfast on the terrace, then walked around Los Gigantes, ate at the La Terazza fish restaurant overlooking the yachts in the port (it turned out that both times we ate on the terrace : -), then for the first time we swam in the ocean on the beach in Los Gigantes.
Came back, took off. And then there is the exit to the show. The flamenco show included dinner at a really decent hotel restaurant next to the concert hall and the show itself at Piramide de Arona.
My wife and I disagreed about the show. She is delighted. And to be honest, I didn't understand anything. The flamenco dances themselves seemed somehow uninteresting to me. A mixture of gypsy body movements with a banal step. But in general it's ok. Although it was embarrassing that one dancer invited another to tango, and they danced together for a long time. It's stressful. And in the hall, people laughed. . And in the second part there were their local songs. They are performed by shaking bleating voices like Gypsy Kings, and in my opinion - too loud.
In short, I was not that much disappointed, but I expected more.
But my wife is sure that it was one of the best shows she has ever seen. According to her, it is beautiful and colorful. We argued for a long time about this.
After the show we went to dinner. In our family, Japanese cuisine is highly respected, and all the best St. Petersburg sushi restaurants are in our favour. And the first thing we asked Nadia - where is the best sushi in Tenerife. She said that in general with this tension - a couple of restaurants in the capital of the island and a couple in Las Americas. And she said that there is a restaurant right in front of the concert hall.
And after the show, we went to look for these sushi. Found pretty quickly. But at first we were confused by the rather meager menu. And then they were surprised by absolutely tasteless dishes. There was no real sushi at all. There were only rolls - and all of them were strange and loose.
The evening would have been completely spoiled ...But we are positive people and are not used to losing heart.
We were so smart - I was in a jacket, my wife was in an evening dress. And we continued the cultural program - we visited several bars in Las Americas. We even danced at some discos, and returned to Los Gigantes by taxi at night.
The next day, the second trip took place - Loro Park.
Loro Park exceeded all our wildest expectations. Managed to visit: a dolphin show, a fur seal show (both pleasant, but fairly standard), a killer whale show (very unusual) and a parrot show (funny).
I liked the penguins on the iceberg - it was unexpected to see them in the tropics. The tunnel with sharks is cute, but we also have one in St. Petersburg (although the sharks are smaller). Crocodiles. Orchids. Tigers. And a lot more. In some kind of stereo-movie about nature, they simply did not have time. We saw a huge number of parrots from all over the world.
And we went into a huge aviary with birds where exotic birds flew right around us, and sat on the branches literally at the very nose. We spent several hours in Loro Parque and didn't see everything yet. Lunch was actually provided, but we missed it. We barely made it to the scheduled time.
Conclusion: At least for the sake of Loro Park, it was worth flying to the Canary Islands.
On Monday there was a ride on a pirate ship - a pleasant attraction. We sailed along the huge cliffs of Los Gigantes, watched dolphins and whales that jumped out almost at the very side. They fed the seagulls. Then there was lunch. Swimming in Mask Bay with blue and clear water. I liked everything, but there were too many people on the ship. And eating on your knees is somehow not very convenient. Everything seemed much more romantic - a large white yacht and several people in white suits on it. : ))) Although, on the other hand, for the money - quite tolerable.
On Tuesday there was a presentation of the Premier Holiday Club. We were sure that everything would be the same as in St. Petersburg - tough and assertive. And they are ready to resist. But Nadia surprised us with a normal human attitude. We immediately told her that we would not buy anything, but she said that she should tell us everything, because this is her official duty. She told us and showed us what she owed us in about an hour and a half, and then we just chatted nicely for two hours about life, about children, etc. At the end of the meeting, we decided to conclude a trial membership agreement. It’s just that until this Tuesday we really liked everything and there was already a desire to relax like that. We have not yet decided on a full-fledged membership, but we wanted to try this whole system. In the end, bought something like a test drive. Now we are going to Thailand and Montenegro. We will write detailed reports from each trip and tell you what of Nadya's stories turned out to be true and what was not...
Starting from Wednesday, we rested on our own in a rental car from Premier Holiday Cars. The car is small and not very powerful. But on mountain roads, nothing bigger is needed.
We went to the Teide Volcano - very beautiful. First, we drove along a mountain serpentine, then through a pine forest (according to Nadia, the Canarian pine grows only there and nowhere else, that it has four needles in a bunch, and not three, like ours). Then we drove out to the huge fields of solidified lava through which small Christmas trees sometimes made their way.
And then, when we had already climbed quite high (and by the way, we drove through a small cloud along the way! ), Then a long straight road began already in the largest crater. We looked at a vertically protruding rock called the finger of God. Then we climbed on the cable car to the very top - from there you can see the ocean and almost the entire island.
By the way, it was quite cold at the top.
We made it to San Miguel Castle right at the start of the entrance and got yellow jerseys to cheer for the yellow knight. The lively guy Alexei explained before the start of the tournament when and what to shout, which knights to kill and which ones to support. Drinking wine helped to come to the right location, and I yelled for our knights because I didn’t even yell at Zenith matches. It's funny to remember. : -).
For the remaining days we went to Icod de Los Vinos to look at the dragon tree. Interesting.
We went to the fish spa in the port of Los Gigantes. This is when small fish in a special bath pleasantly bite your legs and exfoliate keratinized pieces of skin. The wife, of course, goes for a pedicure and these fish bit her legs a little sluggishly. But my limbs were pounced on like a gourmet dish. It was ticklish.
I liked the black La Arena beach of volcanic sand near Los Gigantes. We went to him several times.
We were going to Finland for three days, and ended up in the Canary Islands for two weeks. It turned out well. We managed to sunbathe and swim (despite December), and made as many interesting outings as we did not make in all our ordinary tours put together.
If it were not for this gift week, which we were almost forced into Alfa, we would never have thought to fly to the Canary Islands. But whatever happens is for the best.
Therefore, thanks to Premier Holiday Club for the very possibility of such a holiday, and to Nadia for help in organizing it.
And the timeshare turned out to be not as scary as it is painted. At least in the free promotional journey. Now let's test this holiday with a trial membership. If every trip is the same as this one, then it's worth it. If they start to prick something, or the level of service will be different, then I will inform you about it ...In short, we'll see.
PySy: I think that I have become almost an expert on Tenerife, and if anything, I can tell you.
PS: Before leaving, we chatted with Nadia and she talked about how many negative opinions about the company and about this system in general on the Internet. Apparently, she was preparing me for the fact that I would come back, go online and be stunned. : -). Came back, went, read. Did not impress.
Nadia complained in a conversation that some strange people who never came to their hotels write negative things, and real tourists have a good rest, thank you very much, leave happy, but never write anything. Apparently she wanted to hint to me that positive feedback is welcome. I said that I was not like that and promised to write in detail about the whole trip. First, I'm not sorry. Secondly, we were actually satisfied with our stay. Only here they stretched out with a review for more than six months.
