This is a good hotel with a fantastic cliff top setting. The views of the Los Gigantes cliffs and La Gomera are amazing both from the sea facing rooms as well as the restaurant swimming pools and sun deck areas. Although the hotel was full [ we were there in early February ] sunbeds were always available although not in the best spots! Beach towels are available but you must leave a refundable deposit.

The staff in the hotel are very friendly and efficient and I was impressed with the very good service.

The rooms are not sumptuous [ I would say 3 only star] but they are more than adequate and the balconies are a fair size. The beds were comfortable but perhaps a little firm [but that is a matter of personal taste.] Room TV has lots channels but not much in English. Bathrooms were adequate with towels changed everyday. [ Apparently the hotel is to be refurbished soon - so the room quality may improve next year].

There are basically three choices of room :
1.North facing. [ These have spectacular views of sea and the Los Gigantes cliffs - they are so close to the ocean you can hear the waves below - but sunless - however if you don't want your room to overheat are a good choice . We had one of these and were more than happy. Whilst you couldn't sunbathe - the room was quiet and the view was great. [Plenty of sunbeds are available for sun worshippers on the pool area - which also has beautiful views].
2.West facing rooms. These face La Gomera and the ocean [ some also overlook the pool area and some are directly above the sea ]. These seem to be very sunny -however they are likely to get hot even with the sun shades down.
3. The remaining rooms have views over the town or the less spectacular part of the coast - However I would suggest avoiding east facing rooms facing Calle Hondura as there can be noise from the nearby local attraction - "Route 66" , This bar plays live music til midnight. [ NB this bar is the ONLY place to be in town and bands playing good live music including 60's stuff, rock n roll etc ]. Puerto Santiago itself is really fairly quiet and there is very little by way of shops although there are a couple of nice cafes/restaurants which overlook the sea on the promenade walk near the hotel. There is not much by way of shops/restaurants in Playa de La Arena or Los Gigantes either.[ Both these are short walk away and worth a visit ]fora drink or perhaps a meal - there are trips to see dolphins and La Gomera from the harbour]

The food is served in a pleasant buffet restaurant and you can sit outside if you wish and look at the sunset. However I would not rate the food highly. There IS plenty of choice but it is all rather bland and tasteless. For this reason I would not recommend full board.

My only real gripe with the hotel is the coffee .... I like coffee - Nescafe, filter, cappuccino espresso etc - but not here - it was just not good at all.. The breakfast black pot of coffee was really vile - not much coffee taste at all - all I could taste was chicory! Using the machine to get coffee was not an improvement either. Paying extra and ordering a cappuccino at he bar or poolside was a;so a waste of money as the coffee was still awful.[To get a decent coffee you have to go to the nearby cafe on the cliff top walk ]. Other little niggles: free wi fi is only available in the foyer if you can find a seat and the TV choice of channels is poor.

Don't let any of this put you off. This is a good hotel only let down by the average food and bad coffee [ The tea wasn't up to much either]. The location away from the main towns will not suit everyone but there are buses to Los Crisitanos/Playa de Las Americas if you want to go shopping or enjoy a livelier experience. We rented a car so were able to visit other places on Tenerife.

Overall I would say this a good hotel with lovely setting and views It is let down only by the average food and poor coffee!. Would I return? - yes absolutely - but I might chose a room facing La Gomera [ sunnier] and bring a travel kettle to make drinkable coffee!

Summary of a visit made at the end of January this year with my wife

Location – Excellent
Cleanliness – Excellent though I would like clarification of how thorough the room cups are cleaned each day
Staff – Excellent
Convenience – Excellent
Food – Excellent
Rooms – This needs special attention, thought and clarification when you book and when you get there to see your room. We eventually ended up with a room that was what we wanted when we booked but only after complaining.
Also be aware some rooms may overlook the sea but face north and probably don’t get much sun on their balconies in case this bothers you. Some rooms are overlooking the road where the bars are so it may not be quiet till mid night.
Room towels are tired.
The room had a coffee making machine and so on as well as fridge together with slippers and bath robes and at extra cost a safe. Two bottles of water were left each day
TV was sky news
Beds – Really comfortable
Sun beds – Can’t comment as there were two on the balcony and we had the sun all day
Wi Fi – Reception area only
Entertainment – Not Bad, Old Dogs New Tricks very good
Occupancy – Staff said it was full which I can well believe

Would I return? Probably, but only if I could pre book a specific room or specific room area and type and know what the accommodation comprised of. And of course at the right rate!

Now The detail

It occurs to me as I write this full review that there is a bit of a theme occurring in the recent posts that are being written about this hotel.

The Barceló has some excellent qualities but on the other hand there are a few aspects that were in our opinion poor and need to be addressed. These issues would obviously have an impact on our choice to return. We stayed at the end of January and the hotel appeared to be absolutely full and this was confirmed when we had a room issue that I will refer to later.

The hotel’s excellent qualities are that it is in a fantastic location on the sea front looking over towards La Gomera as well as overlooking Los Gigantes and its cliffs and harbour. Its location is extremely convenient for walking either into Los Gigantes or to Santiago or Playa de la Arena. There are also a few shops located close by as well as a restaurants and bars - more of the latter later. Another excellent quality that this hotel should be very proud of is the quality of its staff who are extremely helpful, friendly and always pleased to ensure you have everything you need. The Thomson rep Henri was also charming and eager to offer advice even though we hadn’t booked a package with them but just flew with them.

The food too was excellent and the breakfasts were particularly good as was the lunch both offering a wide range of food to please most tastes. All the bars and restaurants have price lists that have two prices. Against each item are what you can get as part of the all-inclusive package and what drinks you have to pay for. For some odd reason if you want a glass of house wine with your meal it’s included, but if you want a bottle you have to pay. The only meal I found a bit disappointing was the evening meal which left me struggling on some nights to find any thing that I found of interest. My wife though had no problem so just perhaps it’s me that’s a bit too fussy. The restaurant was spotlessly clean with people going round all the time sweeping up any bits that had fallen on the floor and waiters quickly cleared away tables

You could also get drinks and snacks at a pool bar which too offering a wide choice and was a lovely pleasant way to enjoy lunch. Just a tip though, if you are all inclusive you cant have the food at the pool bar as part of the all inclusive package between 1pm and 3pm, as they expect you to eat in the restaurant between those hours where an excellent buffet lunch is available. You can still have drinks ok but not the food unless you want to pay for it! Outside those hours it’s fine. It’s a lovely place to sit at the end of the day and watch the sun set over La Gomera and yet again the staff were brilliant.

There is a reception bar that opens at six. There is sitting both inside and out and again the guys that run it and serve you could not have been more helpful. Jose was a lovely man as too were his colleagues. If you were sat down they would immediately spot if your glass was empty and pop round and fill your glass. This is the only place where you can get any decent internet signal so it tended to get extremely busy at night. As with other posts there is really nowhere else you can go after diner for a drink as the bar opposite the main restaurant is soulless and is a bit like card games room with no atmosphere at all. Hardly anyone in there even though the hotel was full.

Last but not least there is large the entertainment room This is a vast room with rows of wicker seats and small tables and a bar. We only went into it once to see Old Dogs New Tricks who are a fantastic band. Throughout the week there appeared to be various acts and entertainment going on in there for both adults and children. Again waiting staff were very attentive.

So having got the niceties over first we would like to share our observations where the hotel has some issues and these in the main concerning the rooms that they have on offer and what you think you should be getting when you look at their web site. Firstly though, one recurring annoyance for my wife was that the hand dryer in the ladies toilet in reception was broken with no paper towels as an alternative. She reported it and the next time there were indeed paper towels in there. However, on subsequent nights there were no paper towels and when my wife reported it they said that it wasn’t there fault as no one had told them. Might it not be better to ensure than if they know the dryer is broken a member of staff is tasked with periodically checking the toilets with a time and date as is quite often seen in restaurants and bars these days? As far as the rooms are concerned, the following may be a bit of a ramble but for the benefit of people thinking of booking I think it is worth sharing.

We booked a Junior Suite based on the web information which looked and sounded just the job. The booking was done quite some time ago directly with the hotel and at the time we had requested a suite on a higher floor. This was a request that we also repeated to the hotel by email the week before we were due to arrive. We were therefore somewhat disappointed on check-in to be told that they could not accommodate our request as they were full and that the best they could do was a third floor room. Given that the rooms go from floors two to nine we were disappointed but were assured it was a “lovely” room.

Upon arrival at the room- taking into account that it was described as a junior suite- we were bitterly disappointed. The best way to describe it was that it was as though it had been a family room of sorts with the bed removed. It consisted of a plastic sofa bed pushed up against one wall and a TV on the opposite wall. There was a work top with a fridge under that was in desperate need of de-frosting and a small drawer and a deep draw. There was no mirror above the counter top so it couldn’t be used as a dressing table. There was no dresser or mirror in the bedroom section either apart from a long mirror on the wall dividing the two rooms. There was no easy chair or coffee table to create an atmospheric sitting area, just a vast emptiness where the bed had been. There was only one bedside table in the bedroom part so on the only night we stayed there I had to bring the plastic table in from the balcony to use it as a bed side of the bed! The bedroom part did have an excellent balcony and view but the “living room” balcony to the side overlooked a restaurant and souvenir shop that were only a few feet away and meant everyone could see into the room. The bathroom was tired and small.

The room was not in our opinion a suite but a family room with the bed folded back and was not what we expected. However, the success or failure of a service industry is how you recover a bad situation. We were planning to go to reception straight away and complain but the hotel was so busy that the desk had always three or four couples waiting. We stood there for a while and heard other people complain about rooms so we opted to go first thing the following morning. This proved to be a good move as we were dealt with by the very efficient and pleasant Pascaline - what a star. We explained that the room was not what we were expecting and that apart from the view it was neither on a high floor or was like any suite we had experienced before. After a short while we were shown two alternative rooms. One, another junior suite on floor 8 and the other a superior room on floor 6. If we opted for the lesser standard we could have a credit. We went for the junior suite as this was on a high corner on the road side but overlooked both the sea looking south towards Playa de la Arena in one direction and to the sea a cliff and harbour of Los Ginantes in the other. It had two balconies and benefited from the sun all day. Pascaline did point out that as it was on the road side then we may experience some noise from the bars opposite. As is turned out this wasn’t too much of an issue as the bar opposite finished at mid-night, though on one night I did wake about four to the wailings and thumping bass sounds of some disco but wasn’t sure if it was one on the hotel’s street or somewhere more distant.

The room itself was a lot more modern and smarter with a settee and easy chair and plenty of storage space and two bedside tables! The bathroom too was a lot more modern though this was let down somewhat by the age and poor state of the towels one of which had a hole in it. The lighting too wasn’t brilliant either, with one light by the door on entry and then one wall light in the sitting area and two bedside lights in the bedroom. It had a coffee making machine as well as a safe – you have to pay for that though I’m afraid. Bottled water was provided each day and there were robes and slippers and Sky News TV

So after a disappointing start we ended up in a much better room than we had been allocated and thoroughly enjoyed the week. The observations we make are meant to be constructive comments and may or may not be of concern to people thinking about staying at the hotel in the future.

Overall it is a lovely hotel in a great position but you need to be absolutely sure about what type of room you are getting and where in the hotel it is located. The staff for us made the difference between what potentially could have been a bad week but turned out to be a great week. The ratings we have given are based on the second room no the first.

Recently returned from 10 days chilling at this lovely hotel. Couldn't fault it really. The views of Los Gigantes cliffs and La Gomera are spectaculalry beautiful, the food in buffet restaurant was varied and very tasty; in fact you'd really have to be a very fussy person to fault it. The rooms are comfy with all you need (dont expect highstyle or luxury) and all the staff charmimg and helpful. We loved the swimmimg pool area (3 pools) and had no problem getting sunbeds though if you want a particular location you do have to be up with the lark. We went half board intending to try the occasional evening meal out in local restaurants. However, we were so impressed with buffet quality that in the end we dined in every night. If your after winter sun, four hours flight from the UK, in a stunningly beautiful location in a special hotel then the Barcelo Santiago is the place to go.

Have just visited this hotel for 1 week at the start of February 2012. Having read the trip advisor reviews, we chose this hotel as it received such good feedback. We understand and recognise the fact that you cannot please everyone all of the time. Every individual will have their own opinion on certain factors that make a holiday but we can only post this review as honestly as possible.

As a couple in our early thirties, we thought this hotel would offer tranquility and relaxation. The setting of this hotel is truly magnificent with uninterrupted views of the ocean. That is if you get a room facing the ocean!!

We arrived and the welcome by the reception staff was very warm and reassuring. Our first room we were allocated was fantastic with the views being panoramic. However, on going to bed that night - the noise of the toilet, yes toilet was horrific. It made a loud gurgling sound every 30 seconds and the smell of raw sewage was awful. To cut a long story short, we were given a room for the night and were told to return to reception in the morning. Not ideal when your clothes are scattered over two rooms and this hassle eats into your holiday. The next day we were allocated a new room, still with sea view but certainly not as good as the first. The standard of the rooms are basic and in our opinion do not meet 4 star requirements.

The beds are very hard and the pillows very uncomfortable meaning that our sleep pattern was badly affected.

The pool area and pool bar are very good. However the smell of drains/sewage is present no matter what sunbed you sit on. This hotel certainly has problems with its plumbing/sanitation.

One pool is cold, the other one freezing - this did not bother us but we heard people complaining.

The pool bar offers snacks/drinks with very helpful staff being attentive at all times. The warmth of the food was good. This could not be said for dinner.

The restaurant has a variety of food to suit all types of appetite. However, no matter what time you visited (early sittting or later) the food was cold. Keeping buffets warm is a challenging task but after a few days, the lack of heat from the food did become an issue. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was always cold and this did get very frustrating. We are not fussy eaters but did expect a standard of food from a 4 star hotel - we were disappointed.

The bar area is basically an extension to reception with not enough seating.

The hotel has a visitor book at reception where people can write their comments. Nearly all of the comments in the book stated that the food was poor and very cold. Many comments in the book are negative and the hotel surely has to take these on board.

"Entertainment" provided by the hotel was questionable. One act that was good were the gymnasts who were quite impressive. We saw 2 musical performers, one being an Abba tribute, the other being "Old Dogs New Tricks". They hardly had us in raptures!

Evidently, considering the time of year this is a hotel for the older generation.

We have stayed at many 4 star hotels and unfortunately this failed to meet our expectations. Had it not been for the spectacular views, the holiday would have been forgetable.