THEY CALL THE CANARY ARCHIPELAGO THE "ISLANDS OF ETERNAL SPRING" FOR THE MILD CLIMATE AND THE INIMITABLE ROMANTIC ATMOSPHERE. THE EPICENTRE OF THE ROMANTIC AMBIENCE IS GRAN HOTEL BAHIA. IN THE 15 YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE IT HAS RECEIVED 34 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS.
Diving Canaries-style
The most interesting diving grounds are around the smallest Canary island - El Hierro. Here you can find underwater grottos, arches, caves and volcanic crevices. You’ll see rays, groupers, morays, barracudas, mackerel and - a few times a year – may even encounter large whale shark.
Those who are not ready to explore the underwater world with an aqualung can go in a submarine.
The Playa de Las Americas resort is rightfully considered the pearl of Tenerife. It’s located in the southern part of the island, 17 kilometres from the Reina Sofia Airport. The largest castle hotel in the resort, Gran Hotel Bahia, became very popular among international celebrities: Rachel Bilson, Kate Moss, Richard Gere and other stars have stayed here. Built in The style of the 19th century, the hotel excellently blends into the tropical setting. 20 mansions are scattered throughout the 100,000 square metres of the magnificent tropical park. Each has several rooms and suites which can be merged into a spacious villa where you can have a very private holiday for two away from prying eyes, or bring the family and have a grand and fun party.
Also, since the winter season of 2007 the hotel has been offering accommodation in the new detached one- and two-bedroom villas with a large living room, private garden and a swimming pool. A particular feature and a smart architectural solution used in the villas of Gran Hotel Bahia is their glass roof over the spacious jacuzzi.
Top-end accommodation is offered in the four Casas Ducales - a perfect place for romantic seclusion. The casas are right on the shore, next to one of the best beaches in southern Tenerife – Playa del Duque, in the quietest corner of the lush tropical garden.
Individual entrance and separate breakfast room guarantee almost total privacy. The service in the hotel is specially organised to predict every wish of the client while providing the actual services as unobtrusively as possible.
The butler will appear immediately when summoned and disappear in a split second (and without making a sound) after completing the request - setting up a romantic dinner on the terrace, booking a table at any restaurant in the island or calling a limousine for a ride around the local nightclubs. The spice of the Gran Hotel Bahia service is valet service: it seems that in this paradise things get washed, cleaned and ironed all by themselves. Equally unexpectedly and seemingly without human interference newspapers and magazines get delivered to the casas, while the pillows are chosen individually according to each client’s anatomy.
We really don’t recommend coming to the Gran Hotel Bahia for less than 10 days: it
would be hard to miss any of the hotel’s 10 restaurants offering all sorts of ethnic cuisine, various special nights, wine tasting… Make sure to book a table in advance. There are also 8 bars on the hotel grounds, one per swimming pool.
Medieval show
Nightlife in the island is fun and diverse. One of the most picturesque night shows is the knights tournament in San Miguel castle, where a dinner with fine wine is accompanied by an excellently staged show. The programme includes horse dressage and an amazing show of dwarf flame eater. And after the tournament exciting dancing starts accompanied by an African-American band.
The expert’s opinion
Says Natalia Kilimichenko, head of V.A.M. Tour’s Booking section:
"Local babysitters and nannies who can certainly be relied upon to take care of your children will probably suggest taking the kids to Loropark. Please don’t refuse the children this treat. Loropark is a zoo, a circus and a botanical garden wrapped in one. It boasts the biggest collection of parrots in the world - 3,500 species, giving еhe park its name (loro means parrot in Spanish). It also has the biggest penguinarium in the world, open all year round. It’s home to about 180 birds, and snow cannons make 12 tons of fresh snow for them every day. Little visitors are particularly impressed by the 18-metre long walking tunnel made of glass, with huge sharks swimming right over their heads.
Arthur Kurayev
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