Hotel-Apartamento Las Olas

Las Olas is a nice hotel with one huge flaw - rooms are NOT equipped with AIR CONDITIONER. The vicinity is nice, it takes appr. 10 minutes on foot to the beach in Cancajos. Hotel´s 5 buildings are nice, rooms are big enough, some have balconies. Furniture and amenities are modest, often Chinese made, yet reasonably new and clean. Restaurant is offering decent food with the exception of the breakfast coffee which is awful, but that has become the industry standard in the 4-star world so no surprise here. For real coffee head to the lobby or a coffee shop outside. I must stress how surprised we were when we arrived and found a fan on the floor. That was the first time I realized I didn´t even check, when booking, whether rooms were equipped with A/C. We were staying in junior suite but A/C wasn´t there! It wouldn´t even occur to me that a 4- star European hotel in the tropics can "not have" an A/C. Well, we walked into this one and it was really hard not to wake up during the night, so hot it was inside even though balcony door was wide open. The heat becomes really unberable during the day. BTW, out of 5 buildings one is actually equipped with A/C and another has several rooms with and several rooms without A/C. If you are arriving with travel agency you are almost certain to be given the room without A/C. At least everyone in our group (Čedok) ended up staying in sauna. Nights are less hot than you would expect in La Palma, still, summer nights indoors are hot. I would stay here again between October-April.

The hotel, the staff, the room and location were excellent throughout our stay. The food was OK nothing special but always a good choice. The issues were around lack of soundproofing in our room. We heard every footstep, movement, cough and conversation throughout the day and at night from above and each side. Very poor in a 4star modern hotel. As we leave the hotel pool is being closed for a major refurbishment. I suspect none of the incoming travellers will be aware!

Having booked and paid extra for a sea view room, we spent the first two nights in the wrong room where the front door was so worn out that we hesitated to enter. There was a tiny corner of sea visible from the balcony. We decided not to complain as we had come to La Palma to relax, and we unpacked everything. Later that evening we were surprised to be informed that we would given the ‘right’ room in a couple of days. It would have been better to tell us this on check-in so we didn’t have to repack all our things. The hotel compensated us, however, with a complimentary dinner including a drink and we appreciated this. The food was good with a salad buffet, two types of meat and various vegetables, and a dessert buffet. The service was polite and the atmosphere quiet and relaxing. Afterwards we enjoyed the entertainment in the bar with a good cocktail. The ‘right’ room had a magnificent sea view and a large balcony with two sun loungers and a table and chairs. The view, whether by day or by night, was fascinating with ships, yachts and occasional airplanes and the twinkling lights of Santa Cruz and the airport in the distance. We could also see the beautiful garden and the pool area. We had a large television in the living room and a small one in the bedroom. There were two French channels and one English news channel, which suited us, as well as other languages. The sofa, dining table and chairs were comfortable. The kitchen was clean and well equipped with electric hob, microwave and refrigerator and sufficient crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils. There was plenty of storage space and the wide beds were fine if a little spartan, with reading lamps and with blankets available for cooler nights. The safe was available at an extra charge. On the walls were paintings of some of the local flora. We requested a fan one hot evening which was brought to the room immediately. Cleaning was done nearly every day by cheerful staff. One of the cleaners did an exceptional job but I do not know her name, some of the others were less attentive. Sheets and towels were changed often. The pool area was very good with one large pool for serious swimmers, another round pool, and a children’s pool. There were plenty of sun loungers (the blue ones are newer and more comfortable than the green ones) and a lifeguard who kindly brought parasols if required. We had a lunch of fresh fish at the pool bar which was very tasty and pleasantly served. Just outside the hotel there is an interesting walk along a well-maintained path, past the old salt factory, the water spout (only at high tide), Cancajos resort and beach, banana fields, many beautiful plants and flowers growing wild, well-tended rockeries, Santa Cruz in front of you and to your left the mountains and the pre-Hispanic Vandama pyramid. We watched the moon rise and observed beautiful clouds lit from behind by the sun. During our stay I unwisely consumed an Asian takeaway meal and fell ill, missing our return

Good location, with excellent views out to sea. Plenty of shops, minimarkets, bars and restaurants on the doorstep and a bus stop within 300 metres. Our accommodation was spacious, but a little spartan. Pleasant balcony. Only 2 English channels available on tv was disappointing as was the lack of aircon. Food was sufficiently good without being special with menus largely replicated in our second week. The grounds were charming and very well maintained. Our 2 minor maintenance requests were dealt with very promptly. A key feature was the attitude of the staff, pleasantly charming at all times. Very good value.