My wife and I just spent a week there.
Room was excellent, no complaints other than the pillows were getting a bit long in the tooth. Good views.
Staff (mostly aged 40+) without exception very efficient and usually cheerful. Entertainment, no comment really, the guy plying muzak in the lounge/bar area was pretty poor but what do you expect? Bingo? - no thanks!

The food, now that was interesting.
Goujons
Green maraschino cherries
Egg custard
Mousses
Medallions
Fancy individual canapes
... see a pattern? That's right, welcome to the 1970s! My wife was happy with it, I wasn't. That said, there was a fair choice and it was as well cooked as you could expect given it was a buffet. Good and reasonably priced selection of Spanish wines. Don't expect a 'proper English' breakfast; like many Spanish places they can't/won't source decent bacon or sausages, or learn how to fry eggs. Plenty of pastries if you like that sort of thing. Amazingly (given the cheap ready availablity of fruit) we never saw a fresh fruit salad for breakfast or dinner on any day!

Excursions:
- Loro Park. Excellent, well worth it, full day.
- Tiede. Worth seeing, Thompsons trip was a bit expensive but a good guide.
- Dolphin/whale spotting. They cancelled ours after bussing everyone down there! Said it was because it was too windy, but it wasn't. Rep said afterwards it was because too many people would have been sick. Maybe. I suspect it was because it was misty day and they'd have had difficulty finding the whales (and therefore had to refund anyway).

Puerto itself.
We think it's better than the South. Smaller but still has all you'd want (except a decent beach nearby). Fewer touts etc.
Try eating out one night and go to Regulo's restaurant near the market square. This was recommended by one of the Thompsons reps and was truly excellent. Spanish food but they have English menus and english speaking waiters. If you like garlic try the Gambas Ajillo followed by Swordfish with Alioli sauce. Reasonably priced too.

Having read the reviews of this hotel and the dreaded " steps " we arrived with some trepidation. However we where more than happy with every aspect of it. The "steps" were not as bad as we thought, and if my husband could climb them then anyone can!. And there are benches to rest at intervals. There is an easier way though by taking the main road at the back of the hotel where the incline is not so steep. We found the hotel as a whole very clean and tidy and the dining room and food excellent,the staff very friendly and helpful and we would go back there for sure. The resort too is lovely. Very clean and picturesque. We where pleasantly suprised all round as we had never wanted to go to Tenerife but we got such a good deal on line that we couldnt let it go but now we will look forward to going back. Keep up the good work EL TOPE.

I would just like to say that after reading the review about someone thinking they were in Butlin's, it's only fair for myself to comment!

The entertainment at El Tope was absolutely superb. Two very talented hosts with incredible singing and dancing skills provided entertainment along with professional comedians and singers. I can only say that whoever wrote the previous review quite obviously DID NOT stay in the hotel very much! The rep show was excellent. LIVE singing and brilliantly choreographed routines is extremely unusual for hotel entertainment. Yes there was bingo every night and I had the pleasure of winning 100 euros! In fact I can honestly say I never knew how addictive bingo could be.

If it's karaoke and strip shows you want then try Las Americas... but if you have class, are up for a good time and appreciate talent - the El Tope is for you!

We have just spent a fortnight at the Hotel Tope Puerto De La Cruz Tenerife,
We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday.The hotel is excellent, fixtures and fittings classy.Room comfortable.We bookeda standard room rather than upgraded.The view was of the palm tree,d path leading to the sea(which we could see from room) and other hotels.There was a fridge in room,which you pay one euro a day for to obtain the key,but well worth it.We kept our water and cold cans and milk in there, and saved money by taking them down to the pool for the day.There was a hairdryer in the bathroom, which is not too hot, so some ladies may prefer their own.Its cleaned every day and is spotless.We took our own travel kettle as they are only in upgraded rooms.Reception is very helpful for whatever you require.The breakfast and dinner were very good.Catering for every sort of taste and diet, and all buffet so you can have as much as you want.I am a veggie and my hubbie likes meat and we were both very happy, and didnt need to eat out at all.After going to Cyprus and greece for hols the last few years we were happy to come back with quite a lot of money which we never do!!so it must be cheaper in spain i guess.The average age is i guess 55 years of the guests and we found them so friendly.It was lovely round the pool, nice and quiet with a permanent lifeguard and a chap who puts the matresses on the beds and bring you the sunshades as soon as you sit down.Lovely and clean area with a huge chess board painted on the eating area with a large four in a row to play if wanted!
Snacks are served with drinks in the pool area.Plenty of tiolets everywhere and all spotless.
Leading from the hotel down to the main road are 120 steps!!or a long pathway if you dont like steps.You soon get use to coming up the steps back to the hotel and there are plenty of seats to sit and catch your breath and a little cafe if needed!
At the bottom of the steps on your right is a samallish mall for shopping and a big supermarket.Follow the palm lined avenue and it takes you to the sea front and another supermarket on the left.
the seafront was undergoing refurbishment which the meant the famous lido which goes the length of the seafront normally was not available, only two of the pools were in use.That was a shame as we would like to have seen it as its suppose to be quite lovely.
We went to the Play Jardin beach which was the prettiest, and took a cab, 3euros, as its a bit of a walk.It was our first time on black sand, and at first we thought it not good to look at, but as soon as we went on there for the day, we forgot the colour and enjoyed it.Its the Atlantic sea there and not as blue or warm and calm as the med. sea, which we did miss.Lots of waves for surfers!
We went to Loro Park and it was very nice, the dolphins and penguins especially and the animals were very well cared for, which i liked.Its quite expensive i though for what it was but we enjoyed and kids would love it.We got a cab there too, for a couple of euros and a little yellow train back which is free.
We visited the casino,our first time, and my hubbie won 200euros,taking 50 euros to play with as tops, we went away with 250 euros, on the roulette which was a bonus!!
The Thomson crew for entertainment were very good.Every hour or two round the pool they have little competitions, which my hubbie enjoyed, as he gets bored just sunbathing all day.They have prizes for the winners and presentation nights.The games included killer darts,table tennis,tennis,rifle shooting,trivial quiz etc which last about 20 mins. and people get to make friends with others and it makes for a very happy atmosphere.My hubbie would like to thank Chris,Gemma and the other reps for their hard work and for the enjoyment they gave him and others whilst staying at the Tope. The evenings they had bingo, singing and live entertainers bought in and dancers etc.One or two were excellent, some very good and one or two not so good.The evenings were very warm and the days mostly, were very hot, with some cloud now and agin.We had very light showery rain one day out of fourteen, which i was happy with.We have come home with beautiful tans so it shows the weather we had was very good, even for the North of the island!!
We found the trips arranged by Thomsons were very expensive and we didnt bother going to any as i am happy sunbathing most of the days and hubbie enjoed all the games round the pool.Some evenings we went for walks along the seafront which is nice and we visited the square one night which was also nice.Lots of "Gucci" handbags for sale on the streets, asking 25euros but offer them 15 and they are happy.I got two and the "Gucci" hasnt fallen off yet!!
I found clothes expensive, boots and shoes cheap, ciggies 17euros for 200!! if youre a smoker!!Spirits were cheap but i was very surprised how dear the perfumes were and didnt buy any as i can get them cheaper here!
We didnt visit Tiede(you can see it from the hotel) as i wasnt really interested in mountains and my hubbie wouldnt pay the Thomson price for a visit.You can hire a car for a day for about 20euros, but the traffic is a bit stressful to drive in we were told by several people, so we didnt bother as we wanted a stess free holiday!
We visited a lovely Canarian Mansion just up a BIG hill(we got a taxi for a couple of euros)which had lovely gardens, but it shuts in the afternoon at one till the evening, so go in the morning when you have a bit of cloud and cant sunbathe!!
There was a few youngsters there, in there teens, and they were enjoying the peace and quite and the daily little games.I think there are a few discos in the town for them, but we never really went looking!
I was surprised how built up the town was, with some high rise hotels, which we thought spoilt the look of the town.Its very green, lots of palm trees and green sitting areas and the streets were very clean.There wasnt packs of dogs and cats everywhere, which we find in some countries, which was nice.
It was a first visit to a canary island, and we were very dubious before the holiday,but we were very pleasantly surprised and we had a really good holiday.The hotel was excellent, the area had quite a bit to do and see,and all in all we would go back at some point(although we usually like trying different countries) never say never.I can honestly say we found no fault with the hotel,entertainment,food or area, maybe we are easily pleased, but an awful lot of the guests go back there year after year after year, some were on their second visit there this year(we cant afford that im afraid or we would!)
I was feeling very unwell when i got off the plane the first night, by the second night we asked the receptionsit if i could see a doctor as i felt so unwell(not like me at all)
Within 20 mins a doctor arrived at our room.He gave me a thorough examination, and said i had bad tonsilitis.He gave me an antibiotic injection straight away, a prescription for cough medicine, throat spray and antibiotic tablets( the chemist just passed the 120 steps!!)then came to the room next morning with a nurse and gave me another antibiotic injection.The day after that i was fine again! Excellent service and excellent medication!The cost was about 70 euros,which we will claim back on our holiday insurance.To use the E11 you carry with you, you need to see a national health service doctor or hospital and take the E11 with you then you dont have to pay.We had a private doctor who requires paying then you can claim it back.We didnt know this at the time, i just wanted to get better as soon as poss. for my holiday, so it was well worth it.
Anyway, if you need any info on the hotel or area email me and i will let you know.
Excellent holiday had by both of us!!
Many thanks to all who contributed to the holiday, if you read this.
Gill and Steve Norfolk( came home 2nd November 2004)

Oh Thomson what have you done to the Gran Hotel El Tope in Tenerife, a once quiet sedate hotel now turned into a hotel with an Adult Kids Club. We have stayed at the El Tope for many years always travelling with Airtours. Now we have to use Thomson as it is a GOLD hotel for their exclusive use. We normally had to book up 12 months in adevance with Airtours and were not always sure of finding rooms available. We have just returned after a week in October and surprise surprise the hotel was only half full, always plenty of room in the restaurant, the piano bar closed at 9pm and the so called night club downstairs never more than 30-40 guests present, bring back Tracie & Renee The Duo Romantique, they had the piano bar full some nights with standing room only. What have you done Thomsons, the staff are the same as they were two years ago same friendly faces, nothing too much trouble and just as obliging. Perhaps not everyone feels the need for party games round the pool some of us just like to relax away the week. Perhaps the reps should be like the previous reps be there to assist with excursions and room problems etc and not try their hand at amateur variety shows with far too much volume hoping that this may hide their mistakes

My husband and I stayed at the El Tope in July this year and really enjoyed our stay. The staff were very friendly, the food was great and rooms were spacious and clean. Several reviews complained about the air conditioning, but ours was fine. One tip - don't pay extra for a sea view. The mountain view is much better as the sea view looks over the top of a shopping centre which isn't great.

Puerto de la Cruz is a terrific resort. It's very traditional and an effort to speak a little Spanish will be appreciated by the locals. There aren't many British pubs but we thought this was great. We went into the town every night. There was a festival on so the atmosphere in town was great. On the two occasions we did stay at the hotel we were appalled by the entertainment - the reps singing songs from Grease and bingo every night. We thought we were in Butlins!

I was also fairly unimpressed with the Thomson excursions. They were very overpriced and a few were cancelled. We went on the Casino night out for our anniversary. This was on a Wednesday. The description of the night says a professional croupier will show you around and teach you how to play the tables, then you can dance the night away as there's also a dance area. However we were shown around by a representative of the casino (he was very nice, but couldn't tell us every rule as he didn't know as much as a croupier would) and the live music that you could dance to was only at weekends. The Casino is a fabulous night out - you're under no obligation to play so even if you just want to watch I'd recommend it, but don't bother going with Thomsons - you get free entry tickets to the Casino in the hotel and all around the resort. You must take your passport, but other than that it's a great night - if you go at the weekend.

Another reason not to bother with Thomson's excursions is that the local buses are incredibly cheap and easy to use. You can pick up a timetable at the stations or at Tourist Information. We bought a "bono" bus pass. It's a little card which you buy for 12 euros. You put it in a machine on the bus, tell the driver where you want to go and the cost of your trip is deducted from the pass (i.e. if you paid for a 1 euro trip, there would be 11 euros left to use up on your pass - it's foolproof!) You also get half price travel because you bought a bus pass which makes it even cheaper. The pass can be used by more than one person - just put it in the machine twice. Thomson charged 40 euros for a trip to Mount Teide but if you don't mind doing it on your own you could get there for 4 euros using the local bus: that's quite a difference!

All in all, we had a great time. The hotel is terrific, we loved the resort and will definitely go back, but we would not go out of our way to go back to a Thomson Gold hotel. The entertainment provided is simply not worth it.

I spent a week at the El Tope (pronounced ‘el top-ee’) and was very pleased with the hotel and the surrounding area. The hotel was very quiet even in early July with only a few guests; I would estimate it was about 30% full. This occasionally proved a problem in the evenings, as I was often the only guest in the main bar and the atmosphere suffered as a result. With so few guests my tour company (Thomson), who are based at the hotel were running only one or two excursions instead of the ten or so normally operating. The 'speedy' transfer from Tenerife Sud airport took about 1hr 15 minutes, the driver certainly seemed in a hurry! The guests were about 97% British and 3 % Spanish. Breakfast is served 8:00 - 10.30 and the buffet is generous with cereals, cooked food (bacon, sausages etc), croissants & rolls, toast, cold meats, cheese & fruit with juices & tea coffee. They do have free chilled sparkling wine as well, but I didn't try any. 9am is a bit early for booze if you ask me! There is no dress code for breakfast. Dinner is buffet or waiter service (24hours notice required for waiter service although there is no extra charge for this) from 19:00-21:30. The buffet is again very generous with a plentiful supply of all types of food. Vegetarians are VERY well catered for with three specific cooked main courses for veggies with probably 60% of the side dishes etc suitable for vegetarians. There is cutlery laid out for four courses (soup, salad, main & dessert) and there is waiter service for drinks. A half bottle of decent wine cost about 5 euros at the table. Food was plentiful but the quality was only so-so, it was unadventurous with very few local/Spanish/spicy dishes. There is an ice-cream bar, I recommend sticking to this rather than trying the other desserts, some of which tasted a little 'cheap'. A lot of it was of the green ‘gloop’ variety that you expect to be served up at a Blackpool B&B. There is a strict no shorts policy for dinner, and gents, please don't wear football shirts and three-quarter length shorts like some did, you look like right yobs! This is a four star hotel not McDonalds. For dinner, wait to be seated, then wait until the waiter takes your drinks order before helping yourself to the buffet. Some people walked straight in, piled their plate high & scoffed down the food like they hadn’t eaten for a week and were gone in ten minutes. I’m sure some of them put the soup, main & dessert courses all on the same plate! On holiday, dinner should be a relaxed and extended affair taking an hour or longer. Believe me it becomes an enjoyable event in itself rather than the quick fuel stop it is at home. The restaurant staff are very friendly indeed and you never have to wait more than a few seconds for service. There is a tip bowl on the way out by the till (most do not tip, I would give a euro or two each evening), where you pay for any drinks that you may have had. The hotel pool is open until 5pm although some people still used it after this time (the lifeguard leaves at 5pm). The pool is exceedingly quiet with barely a ripple. This is not the place to do 'bombing' or diving, you would probably be escorted off the premises if you did. The are about four sun-loungers for each person so no need to reserve one with your towel at 6am. The hotel has a health centre and the advertised opening times are 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm although when I was there it was not open in the evenings, so it was useless for most people who are out and about during the day. A manicure costs 8 euros, full massage 30 euros, sauna 6 euros, Jacuzzi 6 euros and the gym is also 6 euros. Room service is available for breakfast and during the afternoon; the prices seemed reasonable although I didn't use it. There is no room service during the evening. The hotel has two bars, one in the huge reception area, which also has live entertainment until about 9pm, after which it becomes very quiet. The main bar has a bewildering variety of drinks and cocktails, with a large beer costing just under 3 euros. The seating is very plentiful and luxurious, with lots of couches to choose from. Muzac plays in the main bar/lobby area when there is no live music. After 9pm the 'action' moves downstairs to the cabaret room, which has more live entertainment (Music from Broadway/West End Musicals, that kind of thing), until about midnight. This has its own bar, which doubles as the poolside bar during the daytime. As the hotel is built on a slope it has two ground floors so the public areas are spread over two floors. It also has an open roof for sunbathing and this provides excellent views over the town, especially at night. The hotel has many private villas/homes surrounding it and looking down at them you can see the (quiet) families taking lunch, swimming, entertaining friends etc. Please check out my photo gallery of pictures taken from the top of the El Tope at pbase.com/mpwheatley/tenerife_2004 .Check-out time is 12pm. There are televisions in each room but the only English language channel was CNN. After a while I figured out how to re-tune the TV and managed to pick up the ITV news channel. The TVs are hotel issue and do not have an AV socket for camcorders or digicams. The rooms are well appointed and generally well maintained, although the radio controls in the headboard of my bed were broken, which was a little disappointing for a 4 star hotel. My main problem was the lack of air conditioning in the room, although public areas were cooled. There was an air-conditioner in the room, which you could switch on, but it simply re-circulated the warm air rather than blow out any cold air. In fact it was useless. I found that after a day out I would want to return to my room and shower before dining but the room was so hot I could not easily cool down or dry off after the shower. There are mini-fridges in the rooms but these are not stocked and you need to hire a key from reception to access them - you stock them yourself with stuff you have bought from the local supermarket (there is a large one five minutes walk away). The large and substantial safe in the room also has to be rented and you also pay a 6 euro deposit for the key. Rental of VCRs or DVD players are not available. One thing to note is that when you leave your room all the electricity is automatically switched off, even to the wall sockets. This may be a problem for people who want to recharge camera/camcorder batteries during the daytime when they are out. When you enter your room there is a slot which you put your room key/card in, and this switches on the power to the room (although the safe and fridge work on an independent circuit). You obviously have to take your room key with you when you leave the room, so you remove it from the slot and the power goes off. One great thing about the hotel is the lack of children, there were one or two there but in this small quantity they were bearable! There is a staircase down to the town but there is also a path along the road, which may be a little easier. The staircase has craft sellers along it so I found the trip along the road more convenient although the sellers never trouble you. I just find it a little intimidating walking past street-sellers along a confined pathway. The hotel also has a free courtesy bus, which runs at about 10am and 5pm. This drops you off at the Lido, which is some distance from the Plaza Del Charco where the best bars and restaurants are, so you may want to ask reception for a taxi if you are not very mobile. These are very cheap, only 3 euros or so. The hotel is in a very nice area, with a number of quiet bars in the immediate vicinity and a large number within a five or ten minute stroll. The area around the hotel is VERY safe and I saw no trouble at all, even in the early hours. The atmosphere of the resort is laid-back, relaxed and very friendly indeed. I saw no gangs of youths out to get drunk, only couples and familes out for a civilised stroll. Puerto is the sort of resort where you see local parents strolling about with their children at 11pm, something you would never encounter in the UK. The hotel reception sells same-day English, Spanish, and German newspapers, postcards and tickets to some attractions. There is also an internet room behind reception, which I did not notice until I was checking out so I didn't use it. The hotel has a secure and locked room next to reception to leave luggage on the last day. If you want to stay late on the last day you pay 20 Euros to check out of your room at 6pm instead of 12pm. All in all I recommend this hotel, it was a little quiet, but this is much better than a hotel that is too noisy, the staff were excellent but a lack of room air conditioning was a little disappointing. The single room I stayed in was a good size, not an odd shape. If I ever go back to Puerto De La Cruz I will certainly stay at the Gran Hotel El Tope again, a very relaxed and friendly hotel.

I was unsure about a holiday in Tenerife until we arrived at the Hotel. the Hotel was excellent,the food was varied, plenty of everything,including Sparkling Wine with breakfast.the staff were polite,nothing was to much trouble,the cleanliness was above reproach. The room we stayed in was large with good decore.Iwould recomend this Hotel to people who like a peacefull holiday as the hotel does not take children under 16. If you go ,try the Jacuzzie for a relaxing but bubbley soak.We will be returning at a later date. We were at the hotel 26.3.04

March 2004 - Just come back from a week at the Hotel El Tope. Hotel great - first class, food great, room great. Lovely view of the sea.
Staff could not do enough for you - especially around the pool. Would recommed this hotel to anyone. Will be going again.

The hotel gran el tope is very good on the whole. The food is good and the staff are courteous and helpful. The pool area is a little small and you feel like sardines on a sunny day but it is quite clean. My main grumble was my single room. I left my husband at home to look after the dogs and went with my parents, hence my single room. I have stayed in other hotels where the single rooms are virtually as good as the doubles but at el tope they were appalling. Plus I had paid quite a lot extra as a supplement. The room was very small, oddly shaped, had no balcony and the bathroom was smelly. I had to go out and buy an air freshner. I was quite lucky as my room had an old delapidated air con unit over the bed and every time it was switched on it leaked water all over my pillow. Hence after much complaining to reception and eventually the reps I was moved to another room which was a double.
This room was beautifully and newly decorated although I was miffed to be told I was lucky not to be charged any more money! If folks are to be charged more money to stay in a single room they should be up to the same standard as the doubles and here that was not the case. I would stay at the el tope again, but definately not in one of the single rooms.