reviews of abama, tenerife, spain

Here is some feedback from Tots Too guests at Abama, Tenerife

Review from CP, guest in August 2011: "Abama was great, they get a gold star from us because of all their help with our daughter's rather complicated and restricted dietary needs. They made every mealtime stress free, they bent over backwards to make sure we always had everything we needed and that our daughter had plenty to eat. It's a lovely resort and we enjoyed every minute we were there. The staff were truly amazing.

Review from ML, guest in August 2011: "We had a really fantastic time at the Abama!  The interconnecting rooms were perfect - extremely spacious.  The resort was beautiful and it was great having the pool and the beach.  We were very impressed with the service.  Everyone was very friendly and helpful and the choice of food was great.  We had a really great holiday so thank you!  We would definitely go back and would consider a villa next time."

Review from PM, guest in August 2011: "Feedback on Abama:

Review from JL, guest in August 2011: "We stayed at Abama hotel with our two children 7 and 2 in August 2011.  The hotel is amazing, we all had an awesome time and I recommend the hotel.”

Review from AN, guest in July 2011: "I thought the service from yourselves was excellent, we are very happy. In addition the hotel was excellent. Service was above and beyond our expectations and the hotel was excellent. "

Review from ER, guest in July 2011: " I'm back from my holiday in Tenerife.  We had a wonderful time at Hotel Resort Abama.  Thank you for recommending it to us.  I must say the photos online really don't do it justice but your own personal photos were amazing and did it justice.

 

Review from EV, guest in June 2011: "I have to say we had a fantastic holiday and the Abama really impressed us. Great recommendation Anne-Marie and thank you for your help.

In particular I think they struck the balance really well between luxury and family friendly - often there is a compromise. We could tell this when we walked into the hotel bar during check in (with our glass of champagne!!) and there was a classy jazz band playing but with kids dancing as well. Made to feel really relaxed as a result.

Review from PK, guest in May 2011: "As you know we selected Tenerife and the Abama Hotel for our holiday almost entirely down to your recommendation, so I am pleased to let you know we had a great time!

The hotel and its setting are lovely, plus the rooms and food were excellent.  With only a few exceptions the staff were extremely helpful and the service generally good.  The children had a fabulous time, enjoyed all the facilities and made some friends which was lovely.  We only used the kids Club for an hour or two on a couple of occasions but were happy with what we saw.

There were a couple of negative things that I thought worth pointing out to you.

The weekend we arrived there was a huge wedding at the hotel, with over 400 guests.  This was a big disruption for the rest of the guests, as certain parts of the hotel were out of bounds, the main pool was closed for the entire Saturday!   Not to mention the two nights of loud music and fireworks into the small hours!  The staff were very apologetic about this, and we got the impression they did not want the wedding any more than the rest of us, but it was obviously worth a lot of money to the hotel.

The second point was the service and management at the main restaurant was disappointing.  As you rightly suggested, we booked our tables each evening as we understood it would be busy at peak times.  The problem seemed to be that few other guests did the same, so people would just turn up expecting a table, which mostly was accommodated. This resulted in too many people seated at the same time, and the poor waiters were run off their feet.  The majority of the time we ate there we waited a long time for our food.  I am sure this could easily be resolved with a few small changes, so hopefully this feedback will start the ball rolling!

Although I have mentioned these couple of negatives, whilst they were frustrating, they did not spoil our holiday or enjoyment of the hotel and we would certainly like to go back sometime in the future.

We were all delighted with the service provided by you and Tots Too, your thorough knowledge of the hotel and advice on all the little bits of detail before we went were very helpful.  T & I met Rosie, the Sales & Marketing Manager, who also spoke very highly of you personally Atarra.

Many thanks again for all your help"

Review from PH, guest in May 2011: "The holiday was fab and thanks for the card, cakes and wine. The children had an amazing time. The room was delightful, it was on the 10th floor, very tastefully decorated and huge! The resort was also quite quiet for May half term.
 
The only thing I would say about Club Abami (which the children loved) was that sometimes you had to sign them in and out and sometimes you didn't. Once when I didn't have to sign them in I queried it and they said that you didn't have to?!

We would definitely go again."

Review from EZ, guest in May 2011: "We have just returned from a wonderful stay at the Abama. And can't thank you enough for ensuring it all went so smoothly. From the moment we arrived at the airport we were warmly greeted and driven to the hotel. The reception staff couldn't have been more accommodating during check in, immediately offering refreshments while we waited (not long!) The villa and adjoining room were huge and top notch. The best thing about the resort, was that although it was huge, it was very easy to access all the amenities by buggy. And it also made for a very peaceful holiday as there was always somewhere to escape to! My only gripe would be the restaurant service. The main restaurant were very slow: the night we were eating Tapas, there was only one, very dedicated waiter serving the whole section- 30 -40 covers! We actually cancelled our 2nd booking at El Mirador. The food was lovely, but although there were about 6 waiters with only 2 tables to serve (6pm), the service was very slow. Golf restaurant likewise. The Kabuki and MB were excellent. Cannot fault the standard of cuisine, also for the kids. Will definitely look forward to planning our next holiday with you and have already reccommended you to others."

Review from AS, guest in May 2011: "Overall we had a great holiday. On arrival in Tenerife the transfer was excellent - great car (stretch limo) and two appropriately sized child seats. The hotel in general was excellent. We stayed in a suite which was a fantastic size and perfect for the four of us. The pools were perfect for kids. The main pool is a good size and great for playing in and the infinity pool is a bit quieter but also good for kids. Although half-term and the hotel was busy we always found sun-beds around the pool and the service was good. The beach is a major plus for this hotel - it is a fun ride down to the beach in the buggies the hotel provides and then the lift. On the beach we always found sun-beds, towels and water. The sand is perfect for sand castles and the sea is closed off so a bit calmer and great for swimming in with kids.

As for food, the breakfast buffet was good with a wide selection of hot and cold breakfasts. The staff were always friendly and high chairs were always available and quick to appear. For lunch, we typically ate at the beach club which was excellent or at the restaurant by the main pool which was good. For dinner, the main family restaurant was good with a wide selection of dishes. Again although half-term we always had a table there and the service was very good. With respect to food, the main area for improvement is the room service menu which was ok but a bit limited. In summary the Abama hotel is a great hotel for families (we travelled with an 8mth old and 4yr old) and we would recommend it to our friends. We would also recommend Tots Too who organised the hotel booking, transfers and restaurant reservations - we couldn't have asked for a better service."

Review from TB, guest in April 2011: "Once again Tots Too has been absolutely wonderful in organising our holiday.  The Abama hotel is wonderful for children, the staff at the kids club were fabulous, the food delicious and adults only swimming pool bliss!  Tots Too without a doubt do the best deals and I would highly recommend you to take all the stress out of planning a holiday.  I look forward to trying out the other hotels recommended by Tots Too and look forward to our trip next year

Review from ZB, guest in March 2011: "We had a fabulous time and were really well looked after, the holiday went far too quickly. Abama is a fabulous destination for family fun, the staff were very welcoming and bent over backwards to help. Many of the restaurants were very family orientated which was of great benefit with a kids buffet at lunch and dinner. The kids pool and beach were wonderful, the kids loved the golf buggy.

The kids club was very close to our room and the girls were very accommodating and enthusiastic with both my 15 month old and 10 year old. Woody played football at the kids club every day at 5, which he loved. Dinner at sunset at the fish restaurant Mirador was by far our favourite evening, the food was delicious and they let us bring the kids. I didn’t have a moment free to try the spa but I did use the gym which was really well equipped.

Airport transfers ran smoothly and promptly. I really have no complaints, there were an awful lot of flies around the kids pool and some jellyfish one day at the beach which upset a few folk but we weren’t too distracted by them to be honest as we were having so much fun.

The Monarch flights you recommended worked so much better time wise with the little ones, wonderful having reserved seats and the flights were cheaper than Easyjet! We’ll be using Monarch where we can from now on.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to all our friends and family, we have used another holiday company for years but Tots Too will be our first port of call from now on.

We are looking to book a holiday in July also, this time with my husband, he was sorely missed by the kids and I alike, so would love to talk to you about anywhere you might recommend in Europe for that time of year.

Thank you Sam for being so easy to deal with, so prompt and thorough, feel free to use any of the above on your website.

Look forward to speaking to you soon about our July holiday."

Review from CV, guest in March 2011: "Please find below our feedback on the Abama.

Dear Mr Fritz

We are in the process of departing on holiday and wanted to let you know how difficult it has been to find our next destination because of the wonderful experience we had at the Abama in late March!

We rarely get round to providing feedback but the facilities and people at your hotel deserve very special praise.  The hotel resort, its facilities and grounds were impeccable, the restaurants were excellent throughout and the service from the team was superb.  Everything about our break was at this level from start to finish; even the airport transfer provided an unexpected treat with the limousine pick-up!  In fact things were so good that we never left the hotel resort during our stay, a first for us!

The hotel was family friendly in every way; careful thought has clearly gone in to all aspects of trying to allow your guests to enjoy a holiday with young children in tow (from menus to cutlery to the pool area to the child specific services like baby-sitting, kid’s club and hiring buggies, etc) and nothing was ever too much for any of the team where the children were involved.  At the same time, you seem to have done a great job of ensuring that those looking for a vacation away from the hustle and bustle of families can do so in great comfort through the accommodation, adult only pools and restaurants and so on.

We would especially like to mention Abdullah in the Veranda / Pool-side restaurant and Carmelo at the beach restaurant both of whom went the extra mile for our two young boys on a number of occasions and the guest relations team, for whom no enquiry (paracetamol in a taxi from the town!) was too small.  Abdullah even decided, unprompted, to search through all of the restaurants one evening to find a full set of orange cutlery, bowl and cup for one of our young boys (his favourite colour).  I hope you will pass our thanks and regards on to all of the above.

Regrettably we will not be back for this next holiday, but we will definitely be coming back to stay at the Abama in the future and would recommend the hotel resort to any family with young children.

I am sorry it has taken us so long to provide the feedback. Please contact me if I can provide any greater detail and feel free to pass my comments onto other potential clients as you see fit."

Review from SA, guest in March 2011: "We had a really lovely holiday.. Thoughts:

* Positives

Large resort with plenty for all ages

Variety of restaurants

Beautifully kept resort and service generally from housekeeping/front desk etc all excellent

Great weather all year

Friendly staff

Excellent spa and gym

* Areas for improvement

Restaurant service was sub-5star quality - breakfast was amazing quality food and fantastic variety but the room was like an airport cafe and the service for fresh made eggs/pancakes etc was very understaffed and I didn't find one person that enjoyed the experience - it felt like every restaurant needed an onsite manager with closer eye on details as solutions were only found to issues after complaints made rather than proactively.

Orientation takes a few days so if sending people there I would actually given them a map and an idea of things they should know before they go before ie main pool great for small kids but hectic so alternative mirador pool is also nice; restaurants all have kids menus and can be ordered in advance (ie order for kids 20mins before you want them to eat) meaning you can avoid the lower quality kids buffets

Seaview rooms also include rooms that overlook banana plantations over which you can see the sea in distance - felt this is a stretch of description and may be worth you suggesting specific rooms at hotel for your clients

Take kids snacks as although there is a good shop for armbandds and newspapers there is nowhere to get healthy snacks

Pools get busy at peak times so beds can be at a premium unless you want to be germanic and saving seats early!

Kids club best for younger kids, less for older kids and fairly understaffed at peak times

Review from DH, guest in February 2011:  "We had a fabulous time. It was a perfect easy escape from the English winter in February. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the hotel was the staff who were incredibly obliging, helpful and friendly. The hotel was busy - for the first part of the week pretty much at capacity - but we were very well looked after at all times despite their being obviously busy.

from CB, guest in January 2011: "we had a great time at the Abama, and everything worked out brilliantly. Amazing hotel, really child friendly even though families with children were in the minority and outumbered by loads of golfers. Fantastic children's club (lacks an outdoor playground though). It is pricey, but justifiably so as the level of service and the general state of the hotel facilities were absolutely superb with very few exceptions.

One week of relaxation was exactly the right amount of time, because after a while you increasingly feel like the hotel is in an artificial bubble sheltered from the real world ... a very nice bubble though. :o)

We were very happy with Atarra's detailed advice during the booking process by the way, and I'm pretty sure we'll end up as repeat customers of yours at some stage down the line. Thanks again"

from JG, guest in January 2011: "We had a lovely holiday despite the weather. We were upgraded to a villa which was a lovely surprise, much easier with a baby as we could just push him out of the patio door down to the quiet pool. We had been there before so knew what to expect, but I would say it is a good place to go with a baby. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and it didn't feel like we were staying in a massive complex. They made a huge fuss of S (the baby), which he loved of course. It is also fine to take him to the main restaurant at night; there are a couple which are for adults only. I would say half board is better value as it is an expensive place.

I know some people find it a bit isolated, but for us this was no problem as we never felt the urge to go anywhere else during the week. This is maybe because we were playing golf on 3 days though. Excellent golf course and spa.

We didn't use the creche or hotel babysitting service as we found an English nanny at a better rate who was able to give us one-to-one care, which was a bit more reassuring on our first trip aboad with him.

I would recommend your company as everything was very smooth (transfers etc) and I don't think we'd have got the room upgrade otherwise. We would use you again in the future."

from MH, guest in January 2011: " The answer is that we absolutely loved the Abama. Really stylish, well designed, well located place. Our greatest concern was that we would feel that we were part of a massive complex. In fact (although the place was clearly heavily booked up) because of its layout and the number of pools it always felt pleasantly empty. Down at the (very lovely) Mirabor pool where we spent much of our days there were only ever a few other people splashing about in the pool – which was a real treat.

We also loved the beach and rocks. If anything I think that you should make more of this in your brochure. The dramatic rollers coming in off the Atlantic and crashing in to the rocks and pier to the left of the beach make a fantastic viewing/picnic spot (which mesmerised our 7 year old son) – and there is also, besides the sea pools, a really good (3 metre high) jumping off rock which we all enjoyed.

The interlocking rooms are really excellent for a large family – we put our 3 older children in the double and single bed in the ancillary room and the baby in their bathroom so that we had complete peace and quiet in our own room!

One thing which could have been a problem (but was not): the Japanese restaurant (Kasabuki?) appeared to be fully booked up for the week when we arrived (which was initially a disappointment). In fact we managed to get an early booking. It might be worth suggesting to clients that they book that restaurant (which is terrific) in advance of arrival.

Very many thanks for your help. "

From SA, guest in January 2011: "The Abama in brief:
Loved the rooms
Loved the Spa
Loved the evening restaurants for adult meals (especially Kabuki which was AMAZING)
Happy with the kids club
Fab evening shows for the kids (the parrot show is still being talked about now)
Good babysitting
Happy with the pools and beach
 
Not impressed with the signs to get around the resort, it's so big and the map is rubbish so it took us about a week to navigate our way around everything.
Need to improve the kids lunch menus we, too many things with chips, we were craving really simple sandwiches and pasta/rice dishes by the time we got home
It took a while to get used to the Spanish staff way of doing things, there was no hurry to get things done!
We tried to get a doctor for one of our kids during the holiday and were really disappointed with the response we got, we were just told to go to a local A&E
 
All in all we were happy with the holiday and are thinking about going back."

from EC, guest in December 2010: "We had an amazing time at Abama!  The service was fabulous!  I was highly impressed with the resort.  They managed to keep all of their facilities very clean even with so many families with kids!  The bathrooms near the beach and pool were really clean....which rarely happens with all the water and sand dragged in....but amazingly....all was spotless!  Also thought it was nice that they had baskets of diapers (called "nappies" here!) in the women's restrooms.  That is a nice touch for traveling moms (we are out of the diaper stage now....but it was not long ago....so I can appreciate it!).  The housekeeping was really good and I was impressed that they managed to keep our room tidy daily (I have gone to other resorts in Asia over Christmas and I have always been told that due to the holidays, they would be short staffed and may not get to our room!!!).  The food was good.  The kids club was nice (but we only used it one night!).  Our kids were not too keen on being away from us at a "daycare" facility....they wanted to be with mom and dad since it was their vacation too!  We tried to do the mini disco one night, but our kids clung to us and there was little done to incorporate all the kiddos into the dancing.  There was only one staffer for 40+ kids....so of course she could not teach dances and get all the kids to participate....we just left early and that seemed fine.  There seemed to be many kids participating in the club....so I'm sure it was nice.  We had them stay at the kids club one evening so we could enjoy a different restaurant at the resort.  It worked out fine but apparently our kids cried most of the time. 

from HF, guest in December 2010: "We had a great time and appreciate all your help with the reservations! 

from EB, guest in December 2010: "Atarra, we had a wonderful time and would definitely highly recommend both Abama and Tots Too. We initially started our holiday search using the concierge service provided by ***** but were not very impressed by the results. We then came across your website and found it to have some really fantastic options. In the end the holiday was brilliant on all fronts. You'll definitely be getting our patronage again!
PS: The limousine transfer was a particularly nice touch. The kids loved it!"

from AJ, guest in October 2010: "As far as the holiday goes, we really had a lovely 10 days. The children's eyes nearly popped out of their heads when our driver led us to a beautiful stretch-limo that was to take us to the hotel from the airport! The weather was fantastic, the provision made for children was excellent and as well as all the comforts you would expect from a 5* hotel, I was impressed with the unexpected little touches that made it even more enjoyable, such as endless supplies of chilled water, fresh fruit and mini-smoothies provided by the pool and at the beach. The children loved the sweetie jars in the bar too. On the negative, sometimes the restaurant struggled due to a shortage of staff  but any problems were always dealt with extremely well and all the staff were incredibly helpful. I would definitely consider returning to the Abama. Many thanks for your advice and recommendation!"

from MC, guest in October 2010: "We all had a fantastic time at the Abama - may make it a regular Autumn half-term fixture - the weather was perfect and the kids club was really good (friendly and enthusiastic staff, not the surly people we have sometimes experienced elsewhere) which meant it was a good break for the adults as well. Only small gripes would be that the service was occasionally a little slow and it seemed that some of the staff in Guest Relations were not as well informed about what was on offer for kids as they might have been. The place is also a little over-whelming in terms of its scale! Overall though I rated it very highly and it has completely changed my preconceptions about Tenerife and the Canaries.

I will also be making recommendations to my friends of your service. I got your excellent brochure and it is being saved up for future holiday plans."

from PP, guest in October 2010: "We all had a fantastic time at Abama.  What a wonderful resort.  Our flight was 2hrs delayed into Tenerife, but as expected someone was there to pick us up.  There were actually two very smart cars waiting for us which was a surprise, so the girls went in one and the boys in another.  That was an excellent adventure for the start of our holiday.  On arrival at the hotel we were welcomed by the reception staff with a glass of bubbly which was much appreciated after the journey and the children were given an Abama rucksack each. 

The next morning J spoke with someone in guest services who was more than happy to show us around the resort.  So off we all went, firstly in a car up to the tennis and golf course then secondly in one of the carts and down to the infinity pool and the beach.  It was a great way to familiarise ourselves on the first morning. 

The staff were amazing throughout, all very polite and helpful.  We especially liked the staff at the infinity pool and the housekeeping staff who went out of their way to be helpful. The staff in the kids club were great too and made the children feel very welcome and involved.

The food was lovely and with a fussy 4 year old with us i was pleased with the children's food available.   We ate down at the beach a couple of times, where the views are amazing. We also enjoyed the Mirador restaurant one evening and the Tapas and BBQ/buffet on the other nights.  The children enjoyed the Abama kids club so much that they only ate an evening meal with us once.  They really enjoyed the evening shows that were put on and eating with the other children, then back to the club room for a movie.  Our son (a movie buff at 6) was particularly impressed with the films shown after tea, they included Up, Monsters Inc and some other Pixar classics.  They only used the club once during the day and again thoroughly enjoyed themselves while we played a game of golf. 

J really enjoyed the game of golf, finding it very challenging - a genuine championship standard course.  I enjoyed driving the cart (with cool GPS system) and taking in the beautiful scenery.  We also spent a while at the tennis courts, but they weren't as good as I was expecting.  There was no staff available at the tennis club, and the rackets and balls we were given were not very good and the nets a bit tatty.  The tennis was the only element of the resort we didn't think was 5 star.  The walk back to the hotel was possibly the highlight of going up to the tennis club as the views are great.

We had one instance of slow service in the Tapas restaurant and we had to pick the children up so were unable to finish our meal.  A member of staff was very apologetic and organised for the remainder of our meal to be sent up to our room with complementary dessert and 2 glasses of wine - we were happy with this. 

I guess our only real issue would be that once on site the food and drink is very expensive.  But, we did know this in advance, having read many reviews on trip advisor and from what you told me.  So we did not let that hold us back and we overindulged as you should on holidays!!

We are already discussing our next big adventure and I will definitely be in touch with you. Thanks for all your help."

from KP, guest in September 2010: "I just wanted to let you know that we had a lovely holiday at the Abama in Tenerife.  The facilities were extensive, very good and very varied and the service excellent at all times.  We went with friends and had about as much fun as you can with two little babies!  If you would like more detailed feedback on any particular aspect of the holiday please just let us know.

from JH, guest in October 2010: "We had an absolutely wonderful time thank you. I thought the hotel had an excellent balance of fabulous indulgence whilst being relaxed and totally child friendly.   Although the restaurants were busy and the service quite slow at peak times (it was half term).  The food was always spot on and the children’s buffet had a great variety and the children’s a la carte was excellent value (children’s portion of steak with hand cut chips and fresh veg for 4 euros).

I frequently stay in 4/5 star hotels for my work, so have become very critical!  However, I genuinely couldn’t fault our room, the swimming pools, the children’s entertainment, the buggies which ran you everywhere and the service. As you know it was D’s parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and they surprised them throughout the stay with champagne, a bubble bath with petals and free drinks, all of which was subtle and spontaneous.

Thank you to Tots Too for working so hard to find a holiday which completely met the brief."

from AD, guest in October 2010: "We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Abama. It was probably the most relaxing holiday we have had with our children. The staff at the resort were all very helpful, especially in the kids club where they were all very welcoming and spoke very good English. It's the first time my children have ever been to a kids club and they settled in very quickly. It was also great to be able to just drop them in for a short period of time i.e. just an hour - which is enough time to just nip to the adult only pool which is very tranquil. Very nice to have that flexibility. The babysitters were also very professional and friendly. They have a kids show on at 6pm every night with parrots, reptiles, exotic animals, clowns etc which my children thoroughly enjoyed.

The rooms were very nice and spacious with large balconies and a wonderful view, particularly at sunset. The beach is lovely and secluded and safe for the children to play on. There was a good choice of restaurants.

Our only negative points were that the food was extremely expensive we thought- a couple of salads at lunch and some pasta for the children would always come to around 60 -70 euros and you could double that for dinner for something reasonably basic. Although the food was always good we sometimes felt like we were a bit of a captive audience with their prices as there isn’t anywhere really near by that you can go to as an alternative. There was a fabulous choice of food at breakfast but it can feel very busy in there and the hotel was only at about 60% capacity.  Also the hotel is a bit of a labrinyth and could be better sign posted. By the time you are getting to grips with where everything is, it's time to go home. Having said these things, it didn’t spoil our holiday and we would consider returning there.

On another note, we were very impressed with the service we received from Tots Too."

from EM, guest in September 2010: "The holiday was excellent - thank you so, so much Atarra. I found the 5 star rating justly deserved (which sadly isn't always the case). The staff were very friendly, professional and accomodating. I requested food be ready for our 2 year old at 6pm each night in the Verona restaurant (to avoid any paddies as he usually eats at 5.30) and they met my request with smiles and understanding. Each evening we would arrive and our table was set up with a high chair and the food followed shortly after for our growing bub! We were then able to take our time looking through the menu. The food was the best I have ever eaten on a half board basis.

The guest relations service ensured our cleaner visited the room between 9 and 11am - again at our request, so as not to disturb Z's lunchtime nap.

The hotel was stunning. We were upgraded to a villa, which was gorgeous. The gardens were amazing and blew our little boy's mind. He loved walking to the main hotel past all the plants and trees. The pools were warm and each even had a basket of toys for the kiddies to play with. The hotel had a real mixture of people staying there, which I really liked: Spanish, German, French and English. The Abama had a great family feel to it as well and even those people who didn't have children were not bothered by the odd screams and cries from little children.

The Spa was lovely. I did the circuit and had a treatment ;-)

We also used a babysitter. I did think the service was expensive and I did feel a little odd when I came back in the evening and she was on the balcony in the dark wrapped in a towel! (I felt a tad guilty to be honest that I asked her not to watch the TV)

MB was lovely. Our sommelier was lovely and when I asked him to write down the name of the wine he had recommended for us, he came back 20mins later with the labels from the bottle glued to A4 paper :-) Such great service.

I only have a few little suggestions really -

1. Ensure the staff in MB wear suitable shoes. It sounds odd, but our waitress wore the most awful shoes that squeaked all night as she walked over the floor! She was a little distracted a lot of the time as well.

2. In the Spa Circuit, put numbers above each name plaque outside the doors. I went in the Spa a couple of times and each time there was no one there to meet me. I saw one person in there for 5 mins and managed to grab her and ask her the order in which to do the circuit. If there were numbers above the plaques, I would have known the order in which to do each session. Several people just did them in random order for example.

3. Last thing would be to make coffee/tea available in all restaurants from 9am. I know the breakfast restaurant was open until 11am, however we were down at the pool near the Mirador some mornings and it would have been nice to have a coffee around 10.30.

Not at all huge issues. The last point is probably the one that bothered me a little.

A few people I spoke to commented about the food being expensive, but they were on a bed and breakfast basis. Half board is definitely worth it. At the end of the day it is a true, quality 5 star hotel and so is the food and drink - cocktails were great and huge!

So overall great. I have holiday blues at the moment! We definitely would like to go back.

Oh, I nearly forgot - the LIMO! I scored mega points with my husband (who is 6ft 2" so not always a fan of short haul flights as you can imagine) when he saw the LIMO waiting for us. :-) We took lots of photos of our 2year old chilling in his baby seat in his first LIMO ride. I think I was 27 when I had mine ;-)

I will continue to recommend you guys (I often do to be honest, from our trip last year). Thanks again for all your help and I will be in touch with you next year to firm up another holiday because your service was and always is outstanding."

from NY, guest in August 2010: "We loved it! The place itself was stunning and we loved that we could be on the beach in the morning and laze around the gorgeous pool in the afternoon. We stayed in a Suite and it was perfect for our needs, and you were right, the rooms there are huge in comparison to other places we've stayed.
 
In terms of the Abama itself, we were slightly disappointed in a couple of things. J will be 3 in November and he's a tall boy. We were told that he was too big to be around the babies and therefore could not go into the under 3's Baby Club but that they also wouldn't accept him into the Over 3's Kids Club because he wasn't 3. My husband kicked up a bit of a fuss and J was allowed to stay that one morning but we felt/were made to feel, uncomfortable about taking him back so unfortunately, we didn't get any time to ourselves which was a shame as we were relying on using the Kids Club. We understood that it was for "legal reasons" but it was very disappointing all the same and I would definitely warn any of my friends intending to go there about it.
 
Secondly, we were a little disappointed by the variety of restaurants for dinner. Children aren't allowed in a couple of them, which is fair enough, The Sports Bar is really only an option if you are happy to sit amongst huge television screens so it leaves you the choice of the Beach BBQ buffet (which we thought was very expensive for what was on offer), The Mirador (which was beautiful and our favourite) or The Pampa (which was lovely and had a great kids buffet). So we alternated nights at the Mirador and the Pampa which, when staying 12 nights, got a bit tiring. I guess the option would have been to leave the Abama and head to a local village but once you're in the resort, you really don't want to leave it. In saying that, although it's quite expensive, the food is really wonderful, especially for kids and we didn't have one bad meal.
 
Thirdly, I would not rely on the provisions list featured on their website for baby/toddler needs such as swimming nappies etc. Flying Easyjet, we kept our luggage to a minimum and I hoped to buy most of what we needed when we got there but they didn't even have toothpaste which I thought was a bit odd.
 
However, we had a really wonderful holiday, the service at the Abama was second to none, it had (almost) everything you could wish for for a perfect holiday with a toddler and it certainly catered to everyone's needs. We really appreciated the adults only breakfast area (which we took turns using!), the evening entertainment be it cinema, movie on the beach, the fantastic musicians in the Lobby Bar, and the Spa was gorgeous.
 
Would we go back? Yes, perhaps for a shorter stay in the New Year to grab some sunshine but I don't think we would go back for 12 nights again. 
 
We will definitely come back to Tots Too as your guidance was invaluable and your experience really showed. We had no problems with flights etc and felt confident that if we did, you would have helped us as much as you could. And it was such a benefit to us, pre-holiday, to have you do it all for us, booking flights etc. Thank you so much again."

from SH, guest in July 2010: "The holiday was just fantastic.  Weather was great, not too hot (I am pregnant). 

We were picked up at the airport by a white stretch limousine!  I thought the driver was joking when he said it was our ride.  The kids were thrilled and said they should get this all the time!!  Hotel check-in was seamless and the rooms were ready for us on arrival (also had a glass of fizz).  The hotel lived up to the photos on the website.  Our suite was flawless, everything worked, no chips or poor paint work (I did hear a few people complaining about things like that around the pool), the adjoining room (twin deluxe) was great too.  Maid came twice a day refreshed the water, towels etc  - all the amenities’ were Bulgavari (impressive). 

Food wise, brilliant, one of the best buffet breakfasts I have come across and I have stayed in some of the worlds best hotels, great variety for children, adults, staff were attentive to say the least.  The evening meal is al a carte in the main restaurant, the menu didn’t change whilst we were there but there was sufficient choice, beautifully presented too.  Buffet for the kids – a mix of healthy and pizza so lots of variety.  Our boy wanted to eat off the main menu and they were fine with that, no extra charge.  We ate mainly in the main restaurant but also went to the beach bbq a few times, I was a little disappointed but my husband thought it was fine and the kids loved it as there is a big outdoor cinema, they could lay out on the sun loungers with towels – popcorn, sweets and marshmallows all thrown in.  Beautiful setting.

Generally, we spent most days by the main pool as there were more children and of course ours wanted to make friends.  Lots of beds with great fluffy towels.  The waiters come round with refreshments and fruit – FOC. 

Drinks are expensive, 5 euros for a coke (ouch), 15 euros for a cocktail etc but they do have free water in a big chest freezer which you can help yourself too so you do have an alternative.  Pool menu was great as was the nearby restaurant (expensive though).  Mind you, most people seem to be quite well off given the no of Chanel swimming costumes on show! 

All in all it was brilliant, we would definitely go back, the downside is it can be expensive… that said you pay for what you get.

Oh and black limo on the way home too – plus because we were in a suite we were given a voucher to use the lounge at the hotel.

There were comments on Trip Advisor about flies….  There were some flies, nothing like an infestation, you just had to watch where you sat, the hotel is surrounded by banana plantations, it may be a season thing as most comments were posted in May. 

Thanks so very much for all of your help, I will definitely be in touch with you personally again to book another holiday."

from TS, guest in July 2010: "

I'm delighted to say we had a fabulous time. Without doubt the best family holiday we've had. I think the reasons were as follows:

1. Accomodation was fabulous and really spacious and whilst we could have survived very nicely in 2 interconnecting rooms, the extra space of the suite was really nice to have.

2. The occupancy level. I used to work in the travel business ( Uk marketing for disneyland paris) so I was curious enough to ask about it. During July it is typically about 50%. Big pro of this was just the lack of people, largely manifesting itself in a quiet family pool (with very well behaved kids, but given the hotel I would have expected this) and the biggest benefit of all was not having to get up at 8 am to get a sunlounger. We typically had breakfast @ 9 or 10 and still found enough space with shade by the family pool when we wandered down afterwards- this was bliss. Just no stress. I suspect that had we gone any later in July/August this may not have been the case. The only con which really wasn't a big deal was that several of the bars and restuarants weren't open and it would have been nice to have had a little more evening atmosphere outside of the restaurants. ...But I wouldn't trade this for the pool benefits!

3. The Kids club

Lara loved it and was quite happy to go for 3 or 4 hours a day. The staff were great, very accomodating and adored Lara. Probably not enough action activities for jake, but this really wasn't a problem as he was happy in the main pool or playing nintendo with a posse of other little boys and as he's 6, he's low maintenaince so R and I could still relax.

2 other great things about the kids club - One, the fact that we could just drop Lara in and out depending on how the day went was a lovely freedom. It was just nice not to have to 'schedule' like you do with everyday life.

Other great thing was the evening sessions starting at 6 and including dinner. Several evenings when we'd had the kids with us in the afternoon we dropped them both down at 6 and then have several hours to our selves in the room just to relax and then ate late @ about 9.

Only misgiving about the kids club is the access, they keep the door open all the time (apparently they did have a gate that a child apparently got its fingers hurt in which is why they no longer have the gate.) To my mind and to that of an awful lot of other parents that we spoke to, not have the door closed or a gate was a bit of a worry as children could wander out into the corridor if one of carers wasn't watching. I shepherded one child back in myself when this happened when I was there once. I do think it's a pretty big deal for very young children. [Tots Too is addressing this with the hotel]

4 The property itself

The quality of the restaurants was great and ther overall ambience wonderful. It was expensive (both in it's own right and obviously because of the euro), but I did mentally offset the prices we were paying in resort against what I considered to be pretty good value for the holiday price up front.

So overall a great relaxing holiday and thank you very much!"

from JC, guest in July 2010: "Firstly, thank you we had a great holiday, & may well be in contact soon about half term!

The Abama was great, especially I think for children of our age (4 & 5 1/2). We had great inter-connecting rooms, & to our great surprise the children asked to go to kids club & loved it. They went every day, at various times, the staff were great & of course it's an added bonus that it was free. Although I haven't had to try it, one comment I would have is that the club seemed to be good for up to 7 yr old children, but no older than that.

The facilities were good, with a wide range of swimming pools. The beach was OK, but small & cramped & we only went once. I thought breakfast was excellent, the poolside bars were great with a good range for adults & kids & well priced. Dinner in the evening was a little varied. The half board restaurant occasionally couldn't cope, & the kids buffet never changed. We ate on several occasions at the Mirador restaurant & paid extra for the children, but it was worth it, lovely setting, good service, & food.

We never left the hotel during our stay & didn't want to.
Overall the setting was lovely, the staff polite & helpful, I would say it was excellent value. As we left in our Limousine, someone asked if we were famous as we had such a big car to take us to the airport, tempted as I was to say yes, we couldn't quite pull it off! It was a great surprise for us & the kids!

Thank you for all your help in organising our holiday, we will be back in touch soon for half term offers. More than happy to recommend Tots too but everyone seems to use you already."

from TF, guest in July 2010: "We wanted to take a few moments to say thank you for all your help in organising our holiday to the Abama Golf & Spa Resort.  From the moment the driver collected us at the airport to dropping us off at the end, the attention to detail was superb.  The kids had a great time and went to the kids club most days in the afternoon.  The staff were extremely attentive and courteous at all times.  We look forward to arranging our next holiday with you."

from SM, guest in June 2010: "We had a fabulous holiday thanks. The Abama was brilliant - the staff, in particular were friendly and efficient - nothing was too much trouble. Attention to detail throughout the complex was fantastic. We don't often say this...but we may very well return one day!"

from JMB, guest in June 2010: "We had a fabulous time. It was a great holiday for all the family and the hotel, room, food, and all the staff were fantastic. I couldn't fault a thing. The weather was superb too which is always a bonus and I only wish we could have stayed there longer!