I was with you on the Bitacora until you came up with the kids diet...actually you will be fine I do seem to remember in addition to chips they did do nuggety fish fingery things as well in the restaurant

Haven't stayed at the Bourganville but have at the Bitacora and three other 4 star hotels in Playas..Simply the Bitacora IMHO was the pick of the bunch..Staff attitude/size of rooms and food was excellent..See what folk say about the other place but personally the Bitacora impressed me so much i'm returning later this year..

I haven't stayed at either hotel but I would say the Bitacora is in a better location - it's just across the road from the Tenerife Princess and Vulcano in a lovely flat area of the resort - we stayed at the Coral Beach apartments (nextdoor to the Bitacora) last August and were very impressed with the surrounding area, the shops, bars, beach etc - much nicer than the area around the Bouganville.

I stayed at the Bitacora 2 years ago and found it to be fantastic. Everywhere is really clean and the food is really good. Not a huge choice for kids but maybe they will eat steaks or grilled fish etc. Also the desserts are to die for
Unfortunatley you will get the sunbed snatchers wherever you go, so dont let that put you off.

Stayed at the Bitacora last October,had a fantastic time,the hotel is great.The staff are very friendly and the food was excellent.
Towels on the sunbeds was a pain but if you can't beat 'em join 'em.
The area around the Bitacora is very flat and there are plenty of bars.
A friend has stayed at the Bouganville and she said it was excellent.
Personally the area around the Bitacora wins it for me.
Angie

For me the Bitacora wins hands down, OK I haven't stayed at the Bouganville but we were so impressed with the Bitacora that we have now been twice (first time just my husband and myself, second time our teenage daughter came with us) and we are returning again in July with my 18 year old son, my 15 year old daughter and her friend. The area round about contains some of the best shops, it is flat and if you cannot get a bed round the pool that you like it is only five minutes to the beach. And of course there is the famous Soul Suite just round the corner. Without a doubt I would recommend the Bitacora, the rooms are large, the whole hotel is spotless and the food is excellent, there is a special section for children that has chips, chicken nuggets, fish, pizza etc, (kept my faddy 14 year old daughter fed), but if you book through the hotel itself you can go on a bed and breakfast basis and then eat out in the evening if that suits you better.

thanks for all your replies.

does anyone know who it is cheaper to book just the accomodation through?

Kizzycat

If you are looking to book direct with an owner please consider my apartment which is in a good location in San Eugenio PDLA.

Prices are from £230.00 per week.

Regards

Peter

http://www.springhoteles.com/version4/oindex/indexeb.html

Check out the hotel prices at Bitacora on above link. They are part of the Spring Hoteles chain

Ok So I think I have definately decided upon the Bitacora.............now to my next question......Do I upgrade the room for an extra £500 (for the 6 of us)?

My questions are-

What is the view like on the other side of the pool?
Is the pool view really worth it as i have read that you need a high floor for a nice view which brings me to my next statement that i would prefer a low floor with the kids. Are the rooms any different in size?

Phew this might just go on forever lol

many thanks for replying

We tend to upgrade our room but not the kids'. The benefit of the upgrade is that you get free beach towels, the safe is free and you get use of dressing gowns etc. Regarding the view, it depends on how much time you are going to spend looking out from the balcony, all superior rooms on floors 1 - 6 face the pool but due to the view all rooms on floors 7 - 8 are superior. The rooms at the side of the hotel (non pool side) overlook a derelict parrot park which isn't too great but at night you get a wonderful view over PDLA. The rooms are all the same size and layout.

Was talking about the Bitacora over with my parents and although we really like the sound of it, we would really like to go All inclusive.

We have been looking at the La Nina, but it must have just started doing all inclusive or have i got it wrong. Any other 4* pdla or adeje hotels that do All inclusive. we also fancied las dalias but have read it is on a hill and my dad will be celebrating his 70th birthday and is worried (even though he is perfectly mobile just not a good walker)

thanks

Hi there again..obviously your call on this "All Inclusive thing" but quite honestly if you stay h/b at the Bitacora what more could you want on the food front!..The hotel has a bar which obviously you have to pay for the drinks etc but in my experience as the hotel is in a great position to sample all the "nice" non rowdy bars in PDLA plus all the up market designer shops are just down the rd to have a look...

Personally unless someone comes up with some fantastic feedback on an all inclusive place I wouldn't take the risk of getting somewhere out of a brochure especially if you are taking your parents..Remember there are unfortunately some pretty mediocre hotels in tenerife
..fortunately but don't let everyone know in case they get full when I want to go again the Bitacora isn't one of them

thanks for your reply.

I can understand where you are coming from about the all inclusive. We went to Jacaranda and Isla Bonita which are both all inclusive. It is mainly for the snacks and the drinks and the ice cream for the kids. But on saying that when we stayed at Isla Bonita it was well horrible could not describe this hotel for me. Their idea of a snack was a plate put next to the bar with these chocolate/shuh pastry balls.....and that was it! i mean where were the burgers and chips and the toasties?? as well as many other things wrong with the hotel. but when i look about the reports on these two hotels they dont even mention my reservations or the things that ruined my holiday.. another one was waiting in line for an hour for breakfast as the restaurant is not big enough to hold the holidaymakers when the hotel is full! anyway I am rambling now lol.

We went half board, and the breakfast & evening meals were more than enough! It's a buffet style meal, so in effect, as much to eat as you can manage!

The food is lovely, and there is quite a selection, although I would take advantage of the 1 meal you can have at the Vulcano (it's the Bitacora's sister hotel), as their food is also really good, with a different selection.

If you're thinking of hiring a car, please note that there is very limited parking out in front of the hotel. We got lucky, and generally managed to get a space every time, but as the hotel is facing The Optimist hotel, you tend to be fighting for parking spaces with people staying there!

The entertainment for children is very good from what I saw. They put on a show for an hour, and then pop on a Disney (or similar) DVD to send them to sleep! The entertainment room is next to the restaurant. There's also a games room next door, with pool tables, and pin ball machines.

I'd also recommend you go for a superior room as I believe these face out onto the pool area. We were on the 8th floor (standard room), with quite a wide view of the whole resort, but also of the delapidated parrot park next door! Not the best immediate view! Once it was dark, and all the resort was lit up, it was a great view though.

I think the hotel is geared for the older visitor, and families. I went with my partner, and felt a bit out of things, but only at mealtimes! Men are requested not to wear shorts at evening meal times. People did tend to dress up a bit for that meal!

I hope you enjoy the Bitacora! It's a high quality hotel, and as it's so close to the meain resort, I'm sure you'll all have a great time.

We stayed at the Bitacora last August. Although we'd booked a standard room from the First Choice brochure, we e-mailed the hotel about 6 weeks before we arrived and requested a high floor with a pool/sea view. We established a bit of a dialogue with the management in a couple more e-mails and were very pleased to be allocated room 636 when we arrived. This room, although opposite the lift, was very quiet and had great views of the pool area, and over the Hotel La Siesta roof we could see La Gomera on a clear day.

I agree with all the other posts about the area, cleanliness, and food. On the issue of hotel meal times, you will soon realise that there are 'popular' times - and once you've had to queue for 1/2 hour to get into the restaurant, you'll know what these times are!

With regard to lunch (if you're half-board), the poolside snacks are reasonably priced although the drinks are quite expensive - they're a lot cheaper from 'Spanish Style' just across the road. Another place for lunch is a cafe in the shopping mall underneath Parque Santiago 3 - just by the escalators. 3 Euros for a toasted sandwich, which is just enough to put you on until dinner.

As regards evening entertainment, we found the Bitacora a bit of a letdown during our 2-week stay. This is not a problem though because you can stroll out after dinner (or even through the day) and take a look at the Vulcano, Tenerife Princess, Conquistador, or La Siesta entertainment placards to see if anything takes your fancy - and it will!

You can book directly with the hotel (and get a 10% discount) and, although they take your credit card details, they don't debit your card until you arrive. Sort yourself some cheap flights and you can easily save £400-500 on the half-board brochure price for a family of 3.

I'd definitely recommend the Bitacora.