"My wife and I decided on a last minute break to get some sun before Xmas so we chose Tenerife as the Canaries are the warmest place short haul from the UK at this time of year.
We chose Hovima as it was adults only, all inclusive and in Costa Adeje rather than Las Americas.
And im pleased to say the hotel is fantastic. Beautifully clean, modern (think it was renovated two years ago), in a great location (3 min walk to the beach) and with very friendly and helpful staff.
The room was more than adequate and clean (we were on the 3rd floor as we didnt pay for any upgrades - the more you pay the higher you go!) with a great shower and comfy twin beds.
It has excellent sports facilities, a brand new indoor gym, a CrossFit area outside which was excellent, a tennis court and a beach volley ball court.
Perhaps most importantly the buffet food was top notch. So much choice every day you can never get bored. We didnt eat the same thing twice. I dont know how ive read some reviews that the food was bad because it absolutely wasnt. Unless you come here expecting Michelin star or you are incredibly fussy I dont see how you could fault it. You can also go in the second restaurant one night, which was also excellent and more of a usual 3 course affair. There is also a snack bar by the pool which you can access anytime and even the food laid on here was excellent. Full salads, toasties, chicken, roast pork, burgers etc. In fact we didnt go to the restaurant at all for lunch as this was fine for us to have by the pool.
The pool was excellent and a good size and clean (still warm enough to swim in Dec). They also didnt open the pool area until 8.30am which meant no one was hogging the sunbeds from 6 am. We did queue a couple of morning from about 8.20am just because we wanted a bed on the second level. But other days we rocked up at 10am and got a bed fine.
Now, the hotel is definitely skewed for an older crowd and I would say an average age of perhaps 65. We are almost 50 so was absolutely fine with us but if you are in your 20s and want a bit more action this might not be it! We met some lovely people though and the fact that a lot of them had been coming for 6 or 7 years goes to show how good a hotel it is.
Location wise it is great, only a few minutes walk to the beach and the Adeje strip of restaurants and bars (check out Torvisca bar if you want sunset drinks and are into live rock music). If you head further north on the promenade for about a 20 minute walk you get to the much posher bit of Adeje (by playa del Duque) which was a lot more upmarket. The part where the hotel is still feels a bit tacky, although a hell of a lot nicer than Las Americas!
Now for a few small downsides.
The indoor evening entertainment area/bar is very badly lit. Its so bright its like sitting in a doctors waiting room. Right in front of the stage is a little darker but in general it just has no atmosphere which is a shame. It feels like you are just sitting in reception as opposed to the bar. Most nights we preferred to take a drink outside and sit on the lovely veranda overlooking the pool and the sea. The entertainment we did see was fine and your typical hotel 'tribute' shows which the oldies definitely loved! ;)
You can also upgrade to the executive level by paying more and this gives you access to a second pool on the next level up and better food and drink and a separate dining area. I wasnt a fan of this particularly as it did feel a bit like 'us and them' but it wasnt a big deal.
And lastly the all inclusive alcoholic drinks were very weak. This is the case with most all inclusives we have been too and to be fair these ones were more than drinkable, just dont expect much alcohol in them. If you want 'named' beer and spirits you pay on top. And to be honest it's nice to have an ice cold beer (or three!) round the pool in the afternoon without getting too wobbly!
Overall, it was a great holiday and just what was needed at the end of Nov and before Xmas. We only had one day with a bit of cloud, the rest of the days were blue sky and between 22 and 25 degrees, although it did feel hotter than this at times.
Thanks to all the staff at the hotel for making it a great stay. Our evening waiter Carlos was especially worth mentioning as he was so friendly and chatted to us every day.
We are already thinking about booking for next year at the same time and there is no better review than that."
