The car park we'd booked is more primitive than usual - the entry barrier recognises your number plate and you drive in, park up in a space and then go to one of the bus stops on the site to take the shuttle bus to the terminal.
The terminal is nice enough these days with most shops and eateries after security. There was the usual duty free 'walk through' before you're allowed to get to the departure lounge. We had a bacon sandwich and a coffee and soon we were called to the gate - where we all stood for ages waiting for some action!
Finally we were all processed through and were lucky enough to be in Row 5 seats each side of the aisle. Graeme got extra legroom he hadn't paid for and the flight passed off uneventfully. There was only a small proportion of children on board as quite a few passengers were probably like us and on an adults-only holiday.
There was no entertainment on board and all food and drinks had to be paid for, but with a holiday at these prices it was only to be expected. Graeme had bought a number of newspapers at the airport and these had lots on the fall out after the Diana programme on Channel 4, while Elizabeth was kept out of mischief with her Kindle!
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| A graphic on the wall near Reception |
Thomson have clearly learned from Swiss Railways how to be punctual. The flight was scheduled to last around 4hrs 25 minutes but actually lasted just under 4 hours. This meant that, although we set off a bit late, we managed to arrive early at Reina Sofia Airport!
Passport control was indeed slower than usual. The two men in the kiosk we chose seemed to have only one working screen between them so had to take it in leisurely turns to use the scanner for our passports! The mine had to break off briefly to slowly adjust the direction of the cooling fan behind them!
The bags took a while to appear but ours were among the early ones on the carousel and came out together! We soon found the reps who directed us to our coach and we were on board. Thomson (soon to be rebranded TUI) have got it sorted and have Wifi on the coaches, so we were away. What with that and the fact that we can now use our UK mobile phone allowances as we would at home and Graeme was in eheaven.
The journey from the airport to Los Gigantes from those heady days of the 1980s when we first came to the Canaries. The motorway up to Santiago del Teide is now complete, so we rattled along to our destination. There were 7-8 other drop-offs in an area of the island which has developed significantly over recent years and, as we expected, were the last ones off the bus. There were 8 of us – two couples and 2 girl pairs and at last we crossed the threshold of the Los Gigantes Hotel.
Passport control was indeed slower than usual. The two men in the kiosk we chose seemed to have only one working screen between them so had to take it in leisurely turns to use the scanner for our passports! The mine had to break off briefly to slowly adjust the direction of the cooling fan behind them!
The bags took a while to appear but ours were among the early ones on the carousel and came out together! We soon found the reps who directed us to our coach and we were on board. Thomson (soon to be rebranded TUI) have got it sorted and have Wifi on the coaches, so we were away. What with that and the fact that we can now use our UK mobile phone allowances as we would at home and Graeme was in eheaven.
The journey from the airport to Los Gigantes from those heady days of the 1980s when we first came to the Canaries. The motorway up to Santiago del Teide is now complete, so we rattled along to our destination. There were 7-8 other drop-offs in an area of the island which has developed significantly over recent years and, as we expected, were the last ones off the bus. There were 8 of us – two couples and 2 girl pairs and at last we crossed the threshold of the Los Gigantes Hotel.
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| The view from our room - we're in Room 232 on the second floor |
We were greeted by a couple of mature gentlemen on reception who explained the basics to us and got our cases to our room and we had a pad!
At Reception we were each offered a small thin glass of white wine and then pointed to the restaurant where we could help ourselves to soup and a pre-prepared platter of cold meats, cheese slices and a piece of fruit and small tomatoes
A quick bit of unpacking and a look at the TV channels in our room to see if the TripAdvisor reviews were accurate and, yes, we had BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 plus one Sky Sports channel – not sure which one at this stage.
There are tea and coffee-making facilities in the room, a lovely bathroom with WC, bath with shower over, wash basin and bidet. The bed is huge - even wider than in Scotland and the room itself is large. We could do with a bit more storage space, but it’s good enough for the money (£94 per night each half board for a 10-day stay including the flight).
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| Love the fairy lights over the al fresco dining area |
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