Where We Stayed
La Siesta Hotel in Tenerife. Family of four, two adults, a teenager and a ten year old. We have been twice now, both times in June the week before schools break up. It is quieter then and you dodge the peak prices.
We went for the Club Alexander room both times. On our first trip we were on the bottom floor overlooking the pool which was perfect. I am scared of heights so being on the lower floor was a relief and the view over the pool was lovely. The room fits a family of four comfortably and the balcony is a decent size.
You can see a video of our room here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/528064568475144/permalink/1495848468363411/?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=NVQYm7Bb3NGqe2N0#
The Half Board Hack
This is the biggest tip I can give anyone going to La Siesta. Our first year we went all inclusive. Our second year we switched to half board and saved over £1,000 on the booking. Best decision we ever made.
Here is what we did. We took a cool bag with us. Every morning we walked across the road and bought a bag of ice for about a pound, grabbed a few bottles of soft drinks and that kept us going all day for around a fiver. Did the same thing in the evening with our own alcohol. If you do not have a cool bag, you can pick one up at the Hyper Dino nearby along with the ice.
We swapped our included dinner for lunch, because we found dinner was a bit repetitive and the lunch was just as good. Then we ate out every evening. Out of the £1,000 we saved on the booking, we only spent about £400 eating out for the whole week. So we still came out £600 ahead and got to try all the local restaurants instead of sitting in the same dining room every night.
Food and Drink
The hotel food is decent enough with plenty of choice. You will not go hungry. But the real wins for us were eating out.
The steakhouse at the bottom of the hill just down from the Irish pub across the road was our favourite. Really good food and well priced. Right next door to that is a buffet Chinese which was great, especially with kids who want to pick and choose. And the Indian restaurant just down from La Siesta was lovely too.
We felt like the food and prices across the board were great value for money. We never had a bad meal out and we never felt like we were being ripped off.
What We Did
Most days we were happy enough sitting around the pool. My youngest absolutely loves the water and would stay in all day if we let her. The pool area is a good size and there is no sunbed war which makes a massive difference when you have kids and do not want to be setting an alarm to grab a lounger.
There is an indoor kids area which was brilliant for when the little one needed a break from the sun. And my teenager loved the lounge area where she could chill out with the friends she made. The evening entertainment was good too, we went most nights.
The area around the hotel is nice for walks and everything you need is within reach. It is not a massive resort but that suited us perfectly.
Costs
Half board for a family of four saved us over £1,000 compared to all inclusive. We spent roughly £400 on eating out for the week. Ice for the cool bag was about a pound a day. Soft drinks to keep us going by the pool came in at around a fiver a day. Restaurants in the area were all well priced.
Would We Go Back
Already planning the next one. La Siesta just works for us. The hotel is comfortable, the pool is great, the area has enough going on without being overwhelming and the staff are friendly. Switching to half board with the cool bag trick turned a good holiday into a great one. If you are thinking about booking, go half board and take a cool bag. You will not regret it.