This was the first holiday we have had without our family so was a bit of a learning experience.. we have learnt that when we have the option to upgrade baggage to do it!! when packing my case was 10kg over the allowance but managed to get it down but not enough.. was £8 per kg we went over so next time £15 5kg extra is worth it!!
We decided not to book the in-flight meal either as the flight coming home was in the middle of the night.. we did get a meal on the way there though as they had some spares and they charged the same as it was online.
We arrived at 9pm at Arrecife and decided to get a taxi as we were told this was cheaper than a transfer. £20 each for the resort transfer and think we paid around £10 each for the taxi return, it was a lot quicker and easier but the only downside is that we didn't meet the rep and find out when she was doing the introduction talk but we weren't too fussed!
Got dropped outside the apartments and went to find reception. No one was around and it was very quiet!! We soon found out that the bar shut at 7pm which was disappointing... but didn't turn out too bad in the end as we were quite close to everything. They do have one night of entertainment, on a Monday, live pig racing and other games etc but this was cancelled as it was quite quiet at the beginning of our holiday.
The receptionist spoke good English and was very friendly.. our room was perfect.. 127... first floor with pool view.. the whole apartment was sooo spacious including the balcony. The only down side to the location is that our room was backing onto the road where they collect the bins at 6am... hehe i remember my friend waking up wondering what it was and thought we had a burglar!! It only woke us on 2 of the mornings though.
The apartments are very safe... there are many gates all with locks, and at night there is like a guard who walks around.. the rooms can be double locked and leave the key in so that no one can get in.
The grounds were very well maintained.. was always staff around doing something..
A few english channels which was good to put on whilst getting ready.. ITV1 but no BBC, sports and a couple of movie channels.
Kids seemed to have a good time around the pool, i think there was a kids area and tennis courts too but that didnt interest us obviously! No entertainment for them though.
The maid was very friendly, however didn't speak hardly any English. She kept the apartments very clean and changed our towels, sheets etc... she even put our hundreds of girly toiletries in height order which we found amusing!
The Monday we went to the beach, it is a bit of a walk and rained on our first day which was depressing but soon brightened up!!! We shaded under an umbrella on a sunbed while the rain passed but soon enough a guy came over rubbing his fingers together.. no English and when looking at the ticket to find out it was 8 Euros each on the sunbed we soon left and didn't return to the beach after that! Black sand but that's what we were expecting. The beach looked quite nice when the sun was out.. but it was a little walk which was exhausting in the sun so we choose to chill round the pool during the week!
The pool bar had a good variety of food and drinks and Carlos the only bar staff done his very best to provide a good service on his own!! Lovely food, the ham cheese onion lettuce etc baguette was very nice served with chips!
For the nightlife we like a bit of live music, if you do too we recommend Cafe Del Carmen.. we found that the night we arrived.. LuLu was a country singer and was very nice and relaxing in there and also met famous rugby player Daniel Browne who was out there resting his broken ankle. They have a DJ on Tues doing 80s and also a live band on Thursday. The Dubliner right next to La Penita had a great band every night... was a lovely atmosphere in there.. even though we weren't from Ireland!! The Country and Western night was really good... they had a deal on when we went so was only about 34 Euros.. which including as much as you can drink beer, sangria and soft drinks fanta coke sprite etc... and also a bbq with chicken nuggets and chips for the kids... was good for all ages, the kids loved it but they also let the adults enjoy it by distracting the kids by taking them away for pony rides etc while the adults drink more and dance! We got a taxi there and back which didn't cost that much... you can get a taxi out the front of La Penita or the receptionist can book you one... there are loads of taxis waiting outside the Texas Rancho when you come out.
We went to spar to get water snacks etc which was quite fairly priced.. we never cooked in the apartments but there was everything you needed apart from an oven to use.... there was a filtered coffee machine, kettle, micro and 2 stoves oh and a toaster.
Overall we would not hesitate to recommend these apartments to our friends and family and we are hoping to return again soon!
Book it up, you'll love it... have a good holiday
Any questions please don't hesitate to ask!
Lou x
boo and planning my next holiday to France!
No, I quite agree, it is not white, mainly yellow, but definitely, definitely NOT BLACK. 
