The Mercian Bridge group has been bringing Bridge players to Spring Hoteles since 2002.  On this occassion, they have chosen our Spring Arona Gran Hotel for their 4 weeks stay starting 6th January. Mercian Travel is a British Travel Agency offering a wide range of holidays and bespoke tours for Bridge and Bowling players to destinations around the globe. Employing highly qualified Bridge and Bowling Directors, they ensure high standard and quality holidays at all times. Amongst their top destinations are Spain, Turkey and the Canaries with many  clients returning year after year.

During the daytime, the group does the usual holiday-making activities, such as walking, shopping or just relaxing and  sunbathing by the swimming pool. After dinner, in the evening, the group meets every day to play Bridge in the Sala Arafo from 20.00 until 23.30. And should it rain, they would have an additional session from 15.00 to 17.00.

Mercian Travel also organises a welcome drink with an introductory meeting, as well as a farewell cocktail.

For the first two weeks of their stay in our Spring Arona Gran Hotel the goups is caringly looked after by Mr Malcolm Carey and his charming wife Barbara. 

Many of the Bridge players have returned year after year and are well known by our staff. We wish them a happy stay with us, and look forward to welcome them with open arm in ther next visit planned for next year. 

Should you want to see more photographs of this group, please click here.

We had quite an exciting Christmas at Spring Hoteles. A month full of events al celebrations. Do you want to know about them???

The official countdown to Christmas started on the 1st December……..The Housekeeping teams of  our three hotels were working non stop for a week to have all the decoracions ready for the 8th December. In the photograph we have the Housekeeper of Spring Hotel Vulcano putting up the Christmas tree.

There was so much work, that we even had our guests decoating, as they also put up the Christmas tree by the pool area.

And if you remember our last post, where we showed you the Exhibition: Tenerife, Live History at the Spring Arona Gran Hotel.  The official opening took place a week before Christmas. There was a cocktail party with live music and entertainment.

And every year, our Nativity Scene by the cascade at Spring Hotel Vulcano, keeps growing, bigger and better. Don’t you just feel you are in Bethlehem?

And we absolutely love receiving your Christmas Cards, from all over Europe. We had more than 75 this year  and we even had a little game going on in our Facebook Page, can you find the Christmas card you sent us?…. and did you actually find it?

And what would Christmas be, without Christmas carols. Some of our nights we were entertained and delighted by the “Tuxedo Knights” who sang all the old favourites and more beside.

All the Management team at Spring Hotel Bitacora were wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!!

And at the pool bar of Spring Hotel Vulcano there was a tasting of a special Christmas cocktail and some Traditional Spanish sweets.

And talking about sweets, these  are a few examples of the dessert table at the Christmas Dinner.

And finally a view of our salad table  just before the restaurant opened for the last time in 2011. Just look at that cascade of prawns at the back!!!

We hope you have enjoyed these selection of photos from the last month that we have been uploading to our Facebook page. We take this oppportunity to wish you all the best for the New Year , and hope to see you again soon.

There was no summer holidays for Marc, last year. There was no beach to play on, and no pool or sea to swim in.  In fact, it had been a very different summer from what he and his family had ever imagined. Marc is an 11 year old brave little man with beautiful blue eyes. Our friends at Ilusiones /Make-A-Wish® Spain met him at the hospital where he undergoes his treatment.  Marc was very silent, he stared but he did not say a word.  He had just come out of his doctor’s appointment and he was not very happy about the news he had just heard. It was the perfect moment to break the ice and make him believe in a wish and have renewed hopes for the future. 

Between laughing and joking, the volunteers of Ilusiones got to know Marc better and finally found out about his love for animals and specially his passion for dolphins. When his doctor spoke to Marc about our friends at Ilusiones, he knew that they were going to help him make his wish of swimming with dolphins come true. He also knew that he had to work really hard on his rehabilitation, but he was going to make the effort. And so, day after day he became stronger and when his physiotherapist informed us of his great improvement, we all got to work to make Marc’s wish come true.   

Finally, last November Marc got on the plane that would bring him from Barcelona to Tenerife. The big day had arrived. He was very nervous as he had never been on a plane before, but somehow he managed to calm down, as he did not want to miss a thing. He knew there were so many things to do and he did not want to miss a thing. When he arrived to HOTEL BITACORA , he was welcomed like a VIP. We all waited there to share his dream. The implication, compromise and personal dedication of the staff at Hotel Bitacora to make Marc’s wish had been extraordinary. A small example was the custom made decoration of the room he shared with his family. Two massive dolphin shaped ballons presided the room, which was full of little presents such as photographs, writing pads, and exclusive custom made presents. 



For a few days, Marc and his family were capable of living the future, of breaking the hard routines at the hospital that he has undergone for a long time. After his life changing swim with the dolphins,  they went back home completely happy and satisfied after making Marc’s  wish come true.

For a few years, Spring Hoteles have sponsored Fundacion Ilusiones and has had the privilege of sharing the wishes of these little fighters.   Ilusiones /Make-A-Wish® Spain is a non-profit organization founded in 1999, with the mission of giving hope and strength to children with life-threatening medical conditions. The foundations mission reflects the life-changing impact that the wish granting has on children through experiences of happiness, strength and hope. Children of immense strength, that fight every day for their lives, and that deserve whatever dedication and effort on behalf of the Foundations to make their wishes come true.

The benefits of this global action are, in every case, very significative. We all have had in our life an intense dream and we all know the beneficial effect that this positive emotion produces on the essential values in life such us compromise, perseverance, bravery and resilience. A wish experience is a source of inspiration for children undergoing medical treatments, and a positive force helps them overcome their obstacles. A wish experience is often more that a dream come true: It’s the catalysts that rekindles their belief in themselves and the promise of their future. It’s an incredible experience that enriches not just the lives of the children and their families, but often an entire community.

Thank you Marc for being so brave and such an inspiration to all of us.  We do hope that we can see you very soon.!!!