Hovima Jardin Caleta

HOVIMA Jardin Caleta is a mid-range apartment hotel spread across a six-story purpose-built structure with pale-yellow and salmon-hued exteriors and external hallways that wrap around a large central pool. The lobby is small but pleasant enough, with wicker chairs and a neutral color scheme, but it doesn't really invite lingering and most guests gravitate toward the pool area. This hotel draws a mix of vacationers, including lots of families in the summertime and lots of retirees (especially Belgians) in the winter, many of whom stay upwards of four months. The hotel also hosts some sports teams when events are taking place on the island.

This property is located a 10-minute drive north of the action in Costa Adeje, on a relatively quiet ocean-facing street it shares with a few cafes, stores, and restaurants, plus a supermarket right by the main entrance. Playa La Enramada is about a one-minute walk from the hotel, while Playa del Duque -- with sunbeds and parasols for rent -- is a five-minute drive away. The famous 18-hole Golf Costa Adeje also takes five minutes to reach by car. Playa de las Americas is a 13-minute drive south of the hotel (or about 25 minutes on bus 467), while Los Cristianos is about 14 minutes away by road or 27 minutes on the same bus. The Tenerife South airport takes around 20 minutes to reach by car, depending on traffic.

HOVIMA Jardin Caleta offers one- and two-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes along with rooms (some of which are called Studios, though they lack kitchen facilities). A consistent decor scheme prevails throughout the rooms, with  faux-rustic wood furniture painted in distressed dark-blue and rust hues, with a few generic beach-scene prints on the wall. Living rooms feature tiny flat-screen TVs and wrap-around sofas with mattress-style seats that can double up as beds for up to two kids and feature corner kitchenettes with two-burner stoves, kettles (but no coffeemakers), and small fridges that lack freezers. All but the Standard units have air-conditioning, and all have balconies or terraces with either sea or pool views. Wi-Fi is included in some room rates, though not all. Bathrooms are simple, with bidets and walk-in showers or shower/tub combos (in Standards) plus a fair amount of counter space, but they lack toiletries (beyond dispensers full of soap). As a welcoming touch, the hotel provides new arrivals with chocolates and chocolate-covered almonds, plus fruit plates and welcome letters.Note that during our visit, we noticed more than a few cleanliness and maintenance issues in a couple of the rooms we visited, including non-functioning air-conditioning and phones, fishy smells in the fridges (likely a relic of a previous seafood-loving guest), dirty crockery, and even grime in one of the bathrooms. 

HOVIMA Jardin Caleta is built around a large pool area with a big main lagoon pool, a smaller attached pool that's heated in winter, and a kids' splash pool, with a snack bar off to one side with ice cream and other treats. The pools are surrounded by lounge chairs, but the hotel -- unusually -- doesn't face too many problems with people reserving them with towels. This could be due to the fact that those who really want to tan can head up to one of the two rooftop hot tub areas, the larger of which is reserved for guests over 18.A variety of meal plans are available, from half-board clear up to all-inclusive, and the buffet restaurant offers markedly good-quality food for a hotel of this caliber, although allergens are not clearly marked. Dinnertime can get hectic with crowds, as can breakfast. There's also a sports bar for evening drinks and watching matches. For families, the hotel offers a small area out back with a sandy playground and toddler-sized play structures and slides, right next to a petanque pitch that's particularly popular with the many Belgian guests who come in the winter. There's also a kids' area off to one side of the main game room, which features foosball, darts, and pool tables along with an arcade driving game and a stuffed animal-filled claw grab. Other hotel facilities include an internet corner, self-service laundry facilities, a small conference room, and free Wi-Fi in the lobby. A limited amount of parking is available in the hotel's underground lot, for a fee, but there's plenty of free street parking in the area. Note that though there's no gym, guests can pay to use the facilities at Tenerife Top Training, a 10-minute walk away.