Jardines de Nivaria

"My stay at Jardines de Nivaria was very enjoyable. The arrival at the hotel was very nice. As soon as I parked my car in front of the hotel, both the bellboy and the valet parking attendant rushed to help. The receptionist was very friendly and professional. I got a room that, apparently, was not renovated (they started to renovate some rooms a few months before my arrival). Yet, it was in excellent condition. It didn't feel tired. Unfortunately, the air conditioning was a little weak. It took hours to really lower the temperature, and not by much. The pools are a major highlight of the hotel. They are large, deep enough for proper swimming, and well-maintained. I also appreciate that they provide ample shade, hot water showers, and a smooth, non-abrasive lining. These are essential details that some properties overlook (e.g. Royal Hideaway Corales and JOIA El Mirador, see my reviews of those hotels on TripAdvisor). The surrounding gardens are beautiful (more so than in the pictures, in my opinion), despite the use of fake, slightly tacky rocks. A waterfall creates a constant ambient sound; while some may find it soothing, I found it slightly intrusive. Maybe it would be nice if it were turned off occasionally, for a bit of true silence. Unfortunately, it is hard to order a drink from your sunbed. I wish they used a system like the one in Barceló hotels (a mobile application to order drinks). The spa has a very special atmosphere and is worth the price. The employee at the spa was particularly professional and friendly. The dining experience was generally quite strong. I was on the full board rate, and the included lunch was fantastic, in terms of both quantity and quality. While the 'snack' section of the menu is somewhat mediocre, those items are very affordable, and the full board rate includes the more expensive, excellent dishes. At only 21 euros more per day than half board, the value is incredible. The breakfast and dinner buffets were mostly good, offering a nice variety of quality dishes. Unfortunately, some items were sub-par or even frankly bad, such as the breaded chicken, which was burned and too hard to chew. The kitchen could likely benefit from decreasing the variety slightly in favor of more consistent quality. I was also disappointed by the breakfast beverages. The orange juice didn't taste very good, and they provide very small glasses (approximately 15 cL), which felt a bit impractical. It is worth mentioning that the hotel offers an à la carte breakfast in a separate restaurant for guests staying in a suite. Although I didn't try it personally and am unsure if it is available to regular room guests for an extra cost, the mere existence of both options is a nice, sophisticated touch. The service provided by most of the staff was superb. I must specifically commend Nathali in the pool restaurant, who was really friendly and professional. Yadam, in the buffet restaurant at dinnertime, was also remarkable. While the vast majority of the staff was wonderful, there was one employee, Bea in the buffet restaurant, who unfortunately came across as rude on more than one occasion. Lastly, the cancellation policy is very fair, provided you book the refundable rate. Many hotels have restrictive terms (like the Ritz-Carlton, which requires 14 days' notice to avoid a 100% penalty) but Jardines de Nivaria remains flexible, which I greatly appreciate. After staying at a few higher-end hotels in Tenerife (in decreasing order of preference: La Plantación del Sur, Tivoli La Caleta, Royal Hideaway Corales Villas, and finally my least favorite hotel, JOIA El Mirador), the Jardines de Nivaria is now my favorite hotel on the island. It certainly has flaws, but still outshines the others, in my opinion. It offers a very consistent, solid experience."

"Nice room inside but we must have been given the worst viewing room in the block. A view of the next block from our patio and shady for all but 15 minutes in the late afternoon. Water started leaking from the room above us one evening, via an electric light fitting. I caught a bad stomach bug (not that I can pin this on the hotel) so was confined to the room for allot of the time. There was a very rude water delivery man who regularly just barged straight into the appartment without calling out first to see if it was okay. On the last night, my wife went down with food poisoning (from a nearby restaurant) so on our departure day I requested an extra 2 hours after checkout time as she wasn't feeling too good. For this I was charged €30 but then we were unable to sit in the room due to a workman drilling and banging in the room above (presumably repairing the leak from a couple of days before). So on the whole, not a particularly pleasant stay."

"First visit to this hotel and we were impressed with the standard overall. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The food choices were really good ( we stayed half board. The gardens and outdoor spaces were immaculate as were the rooms. Our suite was spacious with a large balcony including sunbeds, umbrellas and table and chairs - perfect. Would definitely recommend"