Adrian Roca Nivaria Gran Hotel

The staff were extremely welcoming, they made the whole experience seamless. From the moment we arrived we were greeted beautifully. We were extremely early due to early flight and we were able to make use of a welcome drink and the pool. The hotel was spotless, cleaning was very high quality. The room we booked was on the 5th floor and had lots of space for the four of us.

Fantastic hotel with outstanding service. Spacious and very clean rooms with beautiful sea views, excellent facilities, great food, and plenty of space at the pools. The staff were incredibly helpful and accommodating, and every request was handled with genuine care. I had a wonderful stay, highly recommend and will definitely return.

My family and I visit Roca Nivaria every few years as we love Tenerife, and I have left a review the last few times, so I'll bullet-point this one!

Good points:

• The entertainment on offer was decent and the magician was our personal favourite, however I will admit that the musicians at the Hard Rock Hotel are far better.
• There were always plenty of beds to use around the pool, it wasn't too busy, and the pools/surrounding areas were always very clean.
• The reception staff were welcoming and accommodating, even going to the effort of getting some milk for us when we'd run out and couldn't get to the shop in time.
• The atmosphere inside the hotel was peaceful and relaxing.
• The location of the hotel itself is ideal as it isn't heaving with tourists but is close enough to necessary shops and other hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions that you don't feel you're missing out.
• We had to swap our room as it wasn't up to the standard we had expected, however this was done without any fuss and we changed to our new room the day after we arrived. It was spacious, very clean and well kept, and we had a lovely sea view.
• The hotel staff left a kind note and a free bottle of sparkling wine for my husband to celebrate his birthday. We unfortunately don't drink this and ended up leaving it for the maid as a gift, but we really appreciated the generosity!
• The bar staff were highly attentive and quick to bring our drinks every evening, and all were very friendly and welcoming.

Areas for improvement:

• The upper pool (saltwater) used to be for children and those wanting to use inflatable rings etc, while the lower pool (chlorine) was for adults wanting to swim. Instead, both pools were being used for this, and so we regularly had to stop our swimming sessions because we were constantly interrupted by various children and adults with balls, rings, and one child even had a small remote-controlled boat that he was driving around the pool!
• The hotel Wi-Fi was poor in pretty much all areas, at all times.
• The restaurant staff were often very slow to take drinks orders and requests for coffee in the morning. My husband and I also unfortunately had our drinks taken away and our table reset during dinner one evening after we had gotten up for dessert, much to our surprise, however, the waiters profusely apologised and gave us free water which we appreciated.
• The food in the restaurants is hit and miss. Some food items are quite nice, like pastries at breakfast or meats at dinner, and I enjoyed the themed food, however there definitely could've been more variety on offer.
• Some food items, particularly the pancakes at breakfast, sit under the heat lamp for a long time and become hard and chewy. The milk is also WAY too warm, including the room where we had to buy fresh milk three times because the fridge isn't cold enough.
• The gym isn't properly air-conditioned (there are controls on the wall but they don't work) and it is often far too hot. There are also no towels nor any fresh water machines nearby. These are very basic necessities when it comes to a gym.

I also wanted to mention an experience I had with a member of the staff in the spa that made me uncomfortable. She came into the gym while I was working out, (she was quite short, had brunette hair in a bun, a green top and pants), and immediately started questioning me about whether I was a client of the hotel and whether I had my key card. I have never taken my key card to that gym, largely because I'm forgetful, but also because I have never needed it as I tend to walk through the spa door and into the gym that way. I didn't even see there was a card scanner on the other door until this happened. She spoke to me in Spanish and I couldn't understand her at first, so a nearby Spanish gentleman helped me out. When I found out what she was asking me, I told her yes, I was staying there but didn't have my card. She then glanced over at the gentleman and despite the fact she did NOT ask him the same question, he quickly told her he and his wife (nearby) were also guests. She glanced over to the remaining person on the treadmill and then walked out. I don't expect to be confronted like that when I'm trying to enjoy my time on holiday. I wouldn't have minded if she'd spoken to everyone else in the same way, but she was polite to everyone except me. I'm not sure whether she simply didn't think I fit in because I'm not Spanish, or whether she thought I was too young to be in there perhaps, but I felt very awkward.

All in all, we had a lovely, much-needed stay and it was, for the most part, a relaxing one. There are indeed areas for improvement but certainly nothing that would prevent us from returning! We look forward to coming back in the future.