Tene-rific

KING of pop Michael Jackson stayed there when he visited Tenerife. So did singer Gloria Estefan and keyboards wizard Jean Michel Jarre.

And during the 13 days we spent at the Hotel Botanico on Tenerife the red carpet was rolled out again - this time for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain as they arrived for the unveiling of a giant telescope on a nearby island.

We missed the Princess of Thailand by a fortnight but, famous or not, you really do get treated like royalty here.

It's a genuine five-star hotel in Puerto de la Cruz in the less touristy north of Tenerife, well worth paying extra for, especially if you've saved money on a cheap four-hour flight from Britain.

There are three restaurants, Italian, Thai and one nestled next to the pool and tropical gardens serving homegrown Canarian produce (watch out for the octopus if you're squeamish about chewing on suckers!).

There's a pristine swimming pool - but the jewel in the Botanico's crown is its Oriental Spa Garden. The spa has pools and Jacuzzis indoors and out, plus steam rooms, saunas, an assortment of heated aromatherapy rooms and even relaxing waterbeds to take a snooze on. It's sheer bliss and all-inclusive in your room rate.

The other treasure at the Botanico is its staff. From reception to poolside, from barmen to concierge they are all such NICE people and genuinely enjoy their job. Many members of staff have been there for more than 30 years and still turn up for work with a smile on their face.

Being in the north of Tenerife, the hotel is not packed wall-to-wall with Brits either. It's a pretty even split with German and Spanish guests.

Harbour

The north isn't as popular with British holidaymakers because of a reputation for more cloudy weather, but when we were there in July the sun never stopped shining and it's not too humid.

Puerto de la Cruz is a sprawling mix of Spanish residents and tourists. It's built around a tiny harbour on a series of hills, so getting round on foot can be tough. But taxis are cheap - for three or four euros you can get anywhere you want in town. Despite the north being rockier, there are black volcanic sand beaches and restaurants galore. It's also less than 30 minutes by road to La Laguna, the old capital, and Santa Cruz the new one, where Tenerife's newly promoted La Liga football team play.

La Laguna is packed with history. You can stand in one street and see three buildings side-by-side spanning three centuries. It's also the place Lord Nelson had his arm blown off by a cannon.

But if you've got kids after some more modern holiday action, you don't have to go far. On the seafront in Puerto de la Cruz is the brilliant Loro Parque, brainchild of Wolfgang Kiessling, who also owns the Hotel Botanico.

Started in 1972 as a park for parrots, it has now grown in size ten times over and houses dolphins, sea-lions, gorillas, chimpanzees and penguins. The newest attraction is Katandra Treetops, a massive free-flight aviary where you can get up close to more than 100 different species of birds as you walk through.

Another main draw is Orca Ocean, home to four killer whales which perform stunning shows for up to 3,000 spectators at a time. But it's never too crowded in the splashzone where you can get your daily shower sorted in seconds.

Loro Parque's Planet Penguin is reputed to be the biggest in the world. It's a stunning replica of the ice shelf in Antarctica where penguins huddle, swim and live as if in the wild - another reason why the park has won awards for tourism and conservation.

An hour away in Los Cristianos, the kids will love Tenerife's brilliant new Siam Waterpark. Highlight is the Tower of Power, a breath-taking 28-metre waterchute plunge that takes you down a near vertical drop and through an aquarium to the splashzone.

Wave

Don't worry though, you shoot in and out of the aquarium in an enclosed plastic tube so there's no danger of ending up with a red snapper in your teeth. There's also a brilliant assortment of raft rides, flumes and the gravity defying Dragon (a giant cone that you bullet around).

But if you don't like heights or fast rides, Siam has an immense man-made beach and pool with masses of room and a monster wave machine.

You can get a twin ticket for this and Loro Parque for £39 per adult and £27 per child (aged 6 to 9).

And if you've suffered a few bumps and bruises on any of those water slides, what better cure than catching the coach back to your hotel and spa for a relaxing back rub.

Now that's a five-star way to end a day.

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