Globales Tamaimo Tropical

Tamaino Tropical is a budget-friendly hotel with busy lobby and two main pool areas at its center, along with a few smaller garden areas throughout the packed-in grounds. Guest rooms are spread out across a series of white interconnected five-story buildings, with brown railings and labyrinthine exterior corridors. Palm trees at the edges of the main pool area add a semblance of tropical scenery to the concrete-dominant grounds. The hotel caters to British and continental European travelers alike, and while it attracts plenty of families with kids, a lot of the guests we spotted during our visit were older couples. 

This hotel is located in Puerto de Santiago on the western coast of Tenerife, down hill from a Lidl supermarket on a one-way street. The area is quiet overall, with less nightlife than in the busier southern parts of the island, but several small restaurants and a handful boutiques are within walking distance, including some in a small complex a few minutes' on foot from the hotel. Playa de Los Gigantes and Playa La Arena aren't within reasonable walk (30 minutes), but they're only about a five-minute drive. It's roughly a 30-minute drive to Playa de la Americas and to Los Cristianos. Getting to Mount Teide is roughly a 60-minute drive, while the popular Masca Valley, with great hiking opportunities, is about 35 minutes away by car.

Globales Aparthotel Tamaimo Tropical offers Studios and One- and Two-Bedroom Apartments. All are kept clean and have contemporary, beachy decor, with a mix of solid-blue and blue-and-white-striped upholstery and drapes, paired with oak-finish wooden furniture. Bedrooms have similar decor, with two twin beds in the One-Bedrooms, while each Two-Bedroom Apartment has a master room with a double bed and two twins in the second room. Safes are available for a fee, although cots are free of charge upon request. All but two of the units here have small balconies with tables and chairs. One-and Two-Bedrooms have kitchens with two-burner stoves, kettles, microwaves, toasters, and mini-fridges with separate freezers. Small, wall-mounted flat-screen TVs hang in the living rooms, which are open-plan spaces with sleeper sofas and high counters with stools dividing them from the kitchenettes. Note that Studios lack kitchenettes and sofas, but they do have small mini-fridges and kettles. Bathrooms are simple, and most have walk-in showers, though a few do have shower/tub combos, so guests with strong preferences should indicate what they want at the time of booking. Slippers and robes are provided, as is soap, but guests will need to supply their own shampoo and other toiletries. 

Globales Aparthotel Tamaimo Tropical offers lots of amenities for a lower-end hotel, but what it doesn't have is parking. There is some street parking around the property, however, and if it fills up then guests can pay to park in a public garage located about a five-minute walk uphill. Wi-Fi is supposedly free, but at the time of our visit it was out of commission with no clear indication about when it would be reinstated.When it comes to meal plans, this property takes an all-or-nothing approach: there are no breakfast-only or half-board options, so travelers can either opt for all-inclusive packages or pay reduced room-only rates. Meals are served in the hotel's big buffet restaurant, which seats about 350 people, and has a wide variety of items, plus show cooking. There's also a Italian buffet restaurant that offers dinner, and while guests can dine here as often as they want at no extra charge, seating is limited and advanced reservations are required. The main pool has a kids' section and a smaller area that's kept heated year-round, and a bar with snacks. This is certainly the noisier of the two pools and features regular animation programs throughout the day. It's surrounded by lounge chairs (though guests getting up at the crack of dawn to reserve chairs is a huge problem here) and there's a massage pavilion off to one side, but no on-site fitness room. There's also a relaxation pool without any animation or music, plus a second small kids' pool and a pool table next to it. A small outdoor games area with ping-pong and air hockey is tucked just behind. Other features include an on-site tennis court, a beauty salon, an adults-only sunbathing deck on the fifth floor, and a kids' club for children aged four to 12. A second Thomson Kids' Club opens during the busy season for travelers who book packages through the TUI tour group. Note that there are lots of stairs throughout the property, so it's not a good choice for those with limited mobility.