Seven days in Tenerife | Clickstay Villa Review

I have never been away on holiday without my children before, but when I got the chance to travel to Tenerife with Laura and Lisa thanks to Clickstay, I was ready to give it a go. The opportunity came at the end of the summer, when the B&B had been ridiculously busy, and I needed a break. I knew we weren't going on a family holiday this year, but I also knew I was badly in need of a break, so I jumped at the chance. I flew out to Tenerife on the 13th of October and stayed for a week in Amarilla Golf, an area around fifteen minutes from the airport. In this post I shall concentrate on the accommodation and location, but next week I shall post about all the incredible things there are to do in the south of Tenerife for families, as we did so much it would be difficult to fit it all into one blog post. 

El Barranco Pools Tenerife 
Villa 2 El Barranco

The villa sleeps six people and was set up with three double beds when we arrived, although we were advised the beds can be split so that children can sleep in separate beds rather than having to share. The villa was clean and well furnished, with two bathrooms, a master ensuite which was a very good size, and a smaller shower room with a toilet and basin too. Unfortunately when one of the girls used the shower in the smaller bathroom, it totally flooded the bathroom, as the shower curtain wasn't long enough to reach the shower tray. This was inconvenient, but we all just used the master bathroom instead, as that had a shower above the bath.

Villa 2 lounge area Tenerife

The kitchen was well-equipped and had everything we could possibly need for our stay, including a washing machine, which is a huge bonus when you are travelling with children. The fridge is a fantastic size, and a freezer is brilliant to have too, so you have somewhere to store the ice-creams! It was a really good sized kitchen, and I love the breakfast bar too. It's great to know that when you go abroad you will have all the comforts of home. We were provided with tea, coffee, sugar, milk and orange juice on arrival and there is a supermarket two minutes walk from the villa where you can stock up on any supplies you might need.

Kitchen Villa 2 El Barranco
dining area el barranco

There was a dining area for six people, which to be honest we didn't use during our stay, opting to eat outside or at the more informal breakfast bar. If I were travelling with my children, then the dining area would definitely have been used more regularly though. The living area was a really great size, with plenty of space for a family to sit. There was also a TV with Satellite channels, so all the usual UK ones, although we didn't actually turn this on during our stay!

master bedroom el barranco

As I arrived first, I cheekily nabbed the master bedroom with the ensuite! My bed was incredibly comfortable, with a memory foam mattress. Unfortunately, during our stay the air conditioning units did not work. There are units in the main living area and two of the three bedrooms. We did report on the first day that they were faulty, and were advised someone would come and look at them, but no-one was able to examine them whilst we were there. It did make the villa rather hot, but I managed to get them on to a fan setting so that at least they blew some air around, even if they couldn't cool it. One thing which did help with sleeping at night was the shutters which come down on each window, which basically blackout the whole room. These are perfect if you are travelling with children who prefer to sleep in the dark without being woken up too early.

balcony area villa 2
El Barranco sea view

From the terrace of the villa you can see the sea, which is a fabulous view to have. You are also raised up, with the swimming pools of the complex below you. Although the villa is in a complex, it never felt over-looked, and was a very private space for us. The whole complex is gated, and there are security staff there, so you do feel very safe on site. The resort currently has two swimming pools, but this will increase to six, and include a pool bar too.

Amarilla Golf marina

 The resort is about five minutes walk to the sea, and fifteen to twenty minutes from the marina. In the marina it's possible to ride on a pirate ship or even go in a submarine to explore the bottom of the ocean more in my next blog post). There are plenty of restaurants and bars nearby and all the ones we ate in had children's menus too. There is a bar on side called The Terrace Bar, which has regular entertainment, and activities for children too. We ate cheesy chips there one evening to kill off a hangover and they were absolutely delicious. They do have a full menu there too. There is also an Italian restaurant on site, which I didn't eat in, but Lisa and Laura both said it was absolutely fantastic, and their pictures look amazing.

Amarilla Golf Course
Amarilla Golf Course Hole

The area of Amarilla Golf is home to the Amarilla Golf Course, which hosted a round of the PGA European Championship in 1990. It's a seriously beautiful course, and looks pretty challenging too. It features long par fours, and short par threes, including one hole with no fairway, you simply tee off over the sea to a green on the other side! The best thing about golf in Tenerife is the weather, it's very rare that a round will get called off due to the weather. We explored the course on golf buggies one afternoon, and it's a huge course. We ate in the restaurant at the golf course and it was one of the best burgers I have ever tasted!

El Medano Tenerife

From a a personal point of view, it was a totally new experience being on holiday without my husband or my children. I thought that I would miss them all more than I did, but I was so busy that I honestly didn't have much time to miss them. I had a wonderful week, read three books and had some time to just relax and enjoy being me. It's important to take time out from work/mum life and this was a welcome break to me. It helped that I had Laura and Lisa with me and we let our hair down a few nights, just don't mention the caramel vodka shots!

El Medano
Amarilla Golf Tenerife

There are some stunning beaches nearby. El Medano is a beautiful town, filled with kite surfers, tiny boutique shops and wonderful Tapas restaurants. The indigenous cacti and plants are beautiful and I was amazed by the prickly pears as I don't think I have ever seen them growing wild before. There were also lots of lizards and the most amazing array of fish in the sea! El Barranco is only fifteen minutes away from Siam Park, the World's number one waterpark (there will be more in my next post), which is definitely worth a visit if you are travelling with children (or even without) it was so much fun!

Clickstay bloggers

Huge thanks to Clickstay for the opportunity of this press trip. Massive thanks to Hollie from El Barranco for making us all feel like part of the family. Also thank you to Lisa and Laura for being wonderful travel buddies. It was a pleasure to spend time with you both and get to know you better. Tenerife was a huge surprise to me. I have to admit I expected it to be full of stag and hen trips, and I hadn't anticipated the sheer beauty of the island or how much there is for children to do there. I mean, there's even an active volcano, which doesn't get much more exciting. We will definitely be back to visit again, and I can't wait to bring the children with me!

If you fancy your own trip, then you can bag a £50 discount with this code: TenerifeTrio which is valid on a minimum booking price of £500 or more.

Disclosure: We were provided with accommodation in Tenerife for the purpose of this post and my honest opinion on the villa. All opinions are my own.