My friend and I just returned from our first trip to Tenerife and a week-long stay at Hotel La Pinta. First, let me just say we are both very seasoned travelers who don't have unreasonable standards or expectations.But regardless of where you are in the world, a friendly and responsive staff goes a long way toward people considering another stay. We got neither at this hotel! I don't go on holiday to spend time in a hotel room so if it is somewhat tired and less than spectacular I can deal with that. La Pinta is definitely tired...and if you want a good nights sleep better go buy an air mattress and sleep on the floor! They have the European...split down the middle beds and although that was not ideal, the fact that the bed was as hard as the tile it sat on was not acceptable! After a sleepless night and an unsympathetic staff that couldn't even apologize for the problem, we came up with the idea to place the mattress from the sofabed on top of the bed to get a decent night's sleep...highly recommend it if you have no other choice!

And while the interior left something to be desired in the way of updates, the lack of a door handle, a door that would only open a quarter of the way and a less than appealing bathroom were things I did have difficulty overlooking. It would be a good idea for management to walk thru a room and try it out from the perspective of a guest...might be surprised what you find! One morning we were awakened VERY early by a worker slamming around outside our window putting dirt in pots...it wasn't even light out yet!!! Then in the middle of the day we stood for way too long waiting for someone to appear at the front desk so we could retrieve our room key. Whatever happened to someone running the front desk? At least put a bell on the desk if you aren't going to have someone visible to the guests when they walk up. In the age of technology it is also unacceptable to have to hang out in the hotel lobby to pick up a wifi signal. And while I can live with making my own bed for one day, I found it incredibly odd that the cleaning staff took Thursdays off...can management figure out a way to stagger the staff so someone is there for the guests EVERY day? I doubt they charge less on Thursday for less service...

The reserving of poolside chairs was the other sticking point with me. We were in a poolside room and every morning witnessed the onslaught of people rushing to get their towels thrown on a chair rarely to be seen again until it was time to retrieve the towel at day's end. The only visible staff enforcing anything was the day a couple was run off of the raised wooden platform on which they were placing chairs because the rest of the deck area was a sea of empty chairs reserved with towels. Granted, some of these people are there weeks at a time so if it is important that they have a reserved spot at the pool then come up with a plan that is user friendly to all guests.

And the final point...and probably the largest reason I can not give this hotel a positive review is the downright unfriendliness of the staff!! Do they not realize their livelihood comes from giving guests a positive impression so they want to return again which in turn keeps everyone employed? The hostess at the register in the dining room is in the wrong position within the organization...she never smiled, offered a simple "good morning" or even acknowledged the guests around her. One evening while a couple was trying to pay and obviously struggling with the language barrier, she shoved their money back to them and said, "not right" and moved on to check us out. A friendly face and a positive attitude go a long way even when you don't speak the same language!!!

It is a shame management hasn't taken positive steps toward fixing some basic customer service issues that go a long way in guests overlooking things like tired furnishings. But when you lack the basics of taking good care of your guests, everything else becomes a target for discontent. We would be hard-pressed to consider this hotel again without some major changes in attitude towards guests and an effort to freshen up the place.