in the Press - Hotel Tigaiga

Transcription

in the Press
2nd Edition / June 2008
Dear Guest,
Are you perhaps with us for the
first time and would like to learn
more about the hotel of your
choice? Then you are sure to find
this an interesting read.
On the other hand, you may be
one of our many faithful friends
who return year after year. Now
we are happy to present you with
the second English version, edited
with the kind help of Shirley Felsing and Martin Knott.
The Hotel Tigaiga is actually
quite unique in this ever developing world of holiday hotels
catering for mass tourism, where
so few remain as having been
planned, built and nurtured under
the watchful eye of the original
owners. We, the Talg family, are
very proud of being among this
select few and because of this,
we should like to take you on
a ‘sentimental journey’ through
the history of this hotel which
has become so much a part of us.
Here, we have collected a series
of press-cuttings which will give
you an idea of what motivates us
as hoteliers, and what lies closest
to our hearts.
And don’t forget, if there is
anything at all we can do to make
your stay with us more special, do
not hesitate to make it known to
us, because that is why we are
here - to ensure that you are happy
and feel at home with us.
Welcome!
Enrique Talg Family
How it all began:
1958...
The colour
green
For us, green is a very important colour. Indeed, green in all
its variegated tones, is one of
our island’s particular delights.
To keep it so is a prime objective for our hotel and our management operates with this environmental principle in mind.
The garden, so very green, is
where we hope you will spend
many a restful hour. Select
your own palm tree, because
for every hotel bed at least one
palm tree or possibly more has
been planted.
And today:
...2008
An old “Guanche” legend
In these pages you will be able to find out why the Hotel Tigaiga was so named. Should
you be curious enough to want to know all the details, such as what it means and with
which of the many “Guanche” legends it is connected, just inquire at the reception desk
for the separate leaflet in which all will be revealed. By the way, on the wall of the lobby, you will find an old facsimile which tells the whole tale. Benjamín Afonso Padrón
had it drawn up to give to grandfather Talg Schulz as a Christmas present in 1959.
2
in the Press
Easy strider:
stepping
into the sundrenched south
It’s the perfect time of year
for a continental hike. Vincent Crump presents our
step-by-step guide to four
classic walking weekends.
Northern Tenerife
The whole of Tenerife is essentially one big volcano, and
its evergreen northern uplands
erupt with supercolourful subtropical flora. Spring is flowering time, and the effect, as you
drive the steep-sided coast road
from the airport to Puerto de
la Cruz, is of a giant rockery
exploding with every kind of
shrub, cactus, flower and tree.
Buzzy Puerto makes a perfect base camp, with a relaxed
nightlife founded on strolling
between bars to the rhythm of
the Latin groups who play out
in the squares. Behind, snaking up into the mountains, is
the Orotava Valley, where a
maze of footpaths leads you
into Canarian pine woods, with
4,000ft views down over the
coastal plain.
[…] A helping hand: walking maps of the island are unreliable; much better to pack Noel
Rochford’s book Landscapes
of Tenerife (£9.99, or £11 from
www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk),
which details all of the routes
above.
When to go: spring springs
eternal here, with the temperature hovering near 20C
year-round. In May, Tenerife
is blooming - or why not time
your trip to coincide with the
petal-strewn Corpus Christi
celebrations, held this year
from June 17-20
Where to stay: the fourstar Hotel Tigaiga (00 34-922
383500, www.tigaiga.com) in
Puerto has ocean-view rooms,
its own programme of guided
walks and subtropical gardens
so impressive that they inspired
a former director of Kew Gardens to retire here. Doubles
start at £80, B&B, in April.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
April 25th, 2004
HOTEL
Take in a concert, visit the national park and stay in a small Canarian hotel
Discover another side to Tenerife
Winter getaways
HEADING to Tenerife
this winter? Remember to pack swimming
costumes, a paper-back
thriller or two, sunscreen and a pair of binoculars.
At first glance the
Auditorio de Tenerife,
looks like an ancient warrior’s
helmet. Or perhaps a spaceship,
a Post-Modernist sculpture or
a crashing wave. However you
choose to interpret it the Santiago Calatrava design is stunning.
The new £50 million opera-
house (www.auditoriodetenerife.com) opened
two months ago in the
island’s capital, Santa
Cruz, and has a main
auditorium
seating
more than 1,600. Its
winter programme includes performances
of Mahler, Mozart and
Brahms, as well as the Tenerife
Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Canales dance.
It will be so much easier to
reach Santa Cruz this winter,
with both GB Airways and bmi
British Midland starting services
Hotel Tigaiga, Puerto de la Cruz
The former harbour town of Puerto
de la Cruz is the elder statesmen of
Tenerife tourism - in the 1890s it
was a spa destination. Apart from
a rapidly decreasing patch for the
pint and pie party, it remains the
epitome of graceful tourism.
Situated within the Parque
Taoro on the select upper slopes of
Puerto de la Cruz, the gardens of
the 83 - room Hotel Tigaiga are a
joy. Seated with a good book and
an even better Martini you could
be forgiven for forgetting that you
from London to Tenerife‘s north
airport.
[…] Tellingly for a leisure
route, up to 44 out of 156 seats
on GB Airways are in business
class. The north of the island is
expected to attract busy professionals desperate for a winter
sun break: two thirds of the airline’s passengers are booking independently on the web.
Tour operators have been extending programmes to the north
of Tenerife on the back of the
scheduled flights.
ANNABELLE THORPE
are only four hours from Blighty.
It serves organic food in the restaurant, uses solar power and recycles its well water. Details: 922
383500, www.tigaiga.com. Doubles from £44.
JO CAWLEY
Family friendly
Big breakfasts in parrot fashion
Puerto de la Cruz sums up the contrasts of northern Tenerife. It is a
civilized tourist resort, with good
hotels, beaches protected from
the ocean by hidden breakwaters,
stylish boardwalks, a state-of-theart lido, good cafes and plenty of
T-shirt shops. It is also, however,
a real and quite reserved Canarian
town where most new developments are built in traditional style.
It is a place not just for sunworshippers but for nature lovers of a different sort. Its verdant
parks and gardens are filled with
thousands of spectacular tropical
trees and plants. Our hotel, the Tigaiga, stands amidst the greenery
of the Parque Taoro. The hotel’s
own expansive tropical gardens
create a wonderful atmosphere
and from our top-floor balcony
we could look out in one direction across the town rooftops to
the ocean, in the other across the
park to the peak of Mount Teide,
the ancient volcano that dominates the Tenerife skyline. When
the children were in bed and the
stars and the sangría were out,
the view was even better.
The Tigaiga is proud of its prizewinning conservation record, but it
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
also has the sort of child-friendly
attitude you would expect from a
good hotel in Spain. And it was a
treat to find that the restaurant did
not offer the dreadful international
children’s menu of nuggets and
burgers with chips or chips. Instead,
Stella, 6, and Isabel, 4, enjoyed experimenting with the same wellprepared five-course dinner as us
each evening. When the girls were
not serving themselves breakfast
from the big buffet, playing with
the giant chess set (the kick-ass
version, where you have to knock
your opponents’ pieces over) or
trying to charm the lizards in the
gardens, they were lapping up the
goodsized swimming pool.
Puerto de la Cruz’s biggest holiday attraction is the Loro ParqueParrot Park. Almost all animal
life is here, from huge gorillas to
an albino tiger (“his stripes must
have washed off in the water”, decided our girls) and giant penguins,
alongside the ubiquitous parrots.
The terraces of the good
oceanfront restaurants at Garachico were packed with crowds
looking out over huge seafood
platters at La Roque, which
dominates the town’s harbour.
I ate a handsome sea monster
of a local fish, served complete
with teeth and tongue. Down in
the harbour, families gently frolicked in seawater pools, formed
from the volcanic rock with a little help from concrete steps, seawalls and slide.
If you are still hankering after
that beach to sunbathe on, drive to
Playa de las Teresitas, a glorious
expanse of white sand imported
from the Sahara desert. Although
Tenerife sits off the coast of Saharan Africa, that sand was the only
hint of Africa we encountered. Our
daughters certainly preferred it to
the volcanic black stuff elsewhere.
But then, there was so much else
going on that they never once
whinged about wanting buckets
and spades.
MICK HUME
THE TIMES
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2003
Parque Taoro 28 • E-38400 Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife
3
in the Press:
One of the glories of Puerto de la Cruz’s Parque de Taoro has been restored to exactly that - its former glory - at a cost of
1.8 million euros after many years of discussion and promises
The Sortija garden blooms - at last
The sector of the park known as
the “Parque de La Sortija” covers an area of 1,100 square metres […]. The name parque La
Sortija goes back to the early
1900s, when horse races would
take place down the park’s avenue.
The jockeys would hold a spiked
stick and, galloping at full speed
towards the line, try to collect as
many rings with coloured ribbons
that were strung across the path,
onto it, making for a very enjoyable and pretty spectacle. This
went on until the 1950s, and was
re-enacted once in the late 1990s.
(Sortija means ring in Spanish).
Its tarmac covering, laid only a
few years back, has been torn up
and the surface restored to its natural beaten earth state, as it would
the new trees that have also been
planted.
Work will continue, however,
to provide a children’s play area,
a bar and cafeteria as well as a
shady plaza space with benches.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cabildo president Ricardo Melchior reminded everyone
present that the restoration of the
park had been one of the dearest
wishes of veteran hotelier Enrique Talg, who died last month.
“In his memory it is now up to us
to look after this area and conserve
it to the best of our ability,” he said.
The lighting system will be
have been originally. There is a cluding the installation of proper
large pond, complete with orna- irrigation, construction of the gar- switched on December 2, allowmental fish, surrounded by grassy dens and paths around the beauti- ing night and day use of the park.
banks and ground level lighting ful old trees that have been there
AM TENERIFE NEWS
has been cunningly installed, in- for time immemorial, as well as
11.2006
A rest area in honour of Enrique Talg, founder of the Hotel Tigaiga (Puerto de la Cruz) and a big
defender of Tenerife’s natural values, was inaugurated on the sunny morning of May 9th
Cabildo pays tribute to
Enrique Talg Wyss
The place chosen for this rest area
is located on the Tigaiga slope,
close to the Chanajiga recreative
area in Los Realejos. One of the
reasons this particular spot was
chosen was because of the breathtaking view of almost the whole of
the north of Tenerife that can be
seen from there. A path for people who enjoy nature hikes called
GR-133 will be established soon
and this will give them a place
to rest and enjoy the wonderful
view before they get back to hiking. […]
The cost of the works came to
30.000 euros, and the design consists of a stone hut with a table
and benches inside, and a tap for
drinking water outside. It has been
designed to adapt to the environment, thus avoiding any negative
impact on the existing flora and
fauna in the area.
A plaque in Talg’s honour was
uncovered during the act, and all
the dignitaries attending agreed
that this was a well deserved commemoration of this man who had
done so much for Tenerife and
From left to right: Jorge Bonnet, director of “paisaje y medio urbano”, Ursula, Irene
and Enrique Talg, Ricardo Melchior, president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Oswaldo Brito,
mayor of Los Realejos and Wladimiro Rodríguez, environmental councillor.
whose heirs are now carrying on
his great work. […]
He was linked to the island of
Tenerife from youth, was always
preoccupied with environmental
issues and was a staunch nature
lover. This is why this beautiful
place was chosen to remember
him. […]
More importantly, he was a
well loved and respected man by
Tel.: (+34) 922 383 500 • Fax: (+34) 922 384 055
all who knew him; I overheard
many of the people attending this
act sharing lovely anecdotes about
him.
[…] Getting up to the area of
Chanajiga is not easy, but well
worth it. If you love hiking and
nature, you must see this spectacular part of Tenerife.
June 2008
AM TENERIFE NEWS
23.05.2008
HOTEL
From San Juan de la Rambla
to Santa Ursula on foot
Coastal walk
is being
renovated
Tenerifes local government
has picked up an old project
of tourism pioneer, the late
Enrique Talg Wyss, founder of
Hotel Tigaiga in Puerto de la
Cruz, to be put into action as
soon as possible.
During a meeting held on
December 12th, Jorge Bonnet, island landscaping official,
agreed together with representatives from communities of
San Juan de la Rambla, Santa
Ursula, Los Realejos, La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz as
well as with members of the
CIT of Puerto de la Cruz, Centre for Tourism Initiative, to
renovate the coastal footpath
between San Juan de la Rambla and Santa Ursula.
This route, officially known
as PR-TF-30, is 17 kms long
and winds along parallel with
the coast. Part of the track
leads through a protected natural landscape, in parts through
urbanized areas and some is
beside roads.
WOCHENBLATT
23.12.2007
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
4
in the Press
Ecology in hotel management at the Hotel Tigaiga in Tenerife
“and the penny suddenly dropped”
Spain means to persevere in its quest for improvement in tourism. Increasingly hotel management has applied
directives from Madrid. The 4-Star Hotel Tigaiga on Tenerife is a length ahead of the others. It has already been
certified under the EU and Spanish legislation.
When Irene Talg was at boarding
school in Germany, the ‘Green Party’ was beginning to make itself felt
in Parliament. She and her fellow
pupils all used to wear T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Atomic
Energy - NO THANKS!” At this
point, the penny suddenly dropped,
says the manageress of the 4 - star
Hotel Tigaiga on Tenerife.
Miss Talg has made a name for
herself beyond her island home,
even as far as the European Community.
The Tigaiga is one of the first
hotels in the Canaries to have
been certified by EMAS (since
April 2004) in other words the hotel fulfilled the European norm for
ecological practices. In August of
the same year, Miss Talg had the
opportunity of presenting her operative model to EU experts.
Hotel Tigaiga was in
the vanguard in its
use of solar energy
It was mother Talg who had the
green fingers for the garden. Father had always shown a leaning
towards “energy saving”, so that
as early as 1982 he had the solar
panels system installed for heating the hotel’s hot water system
and the swimming pool. It was
Irene who returned from her professional education in Germany
with the firm decision to promote
environmental protection on Tenerife. She was there as one on the
first to be active, when four years
ago the local hotel association,
Ashotel, established the island’s
environmental commission.
“At the time, we sent a questionnaire to 250 regional hotels in order to research how much energy
Examples of the environment friendly hotel management: cooking oil is disposed of with due care. Precise separation of refuse
they were using and the amount of
waste matter they were disposing
of. Exactly five hotels responded,
saying they had never found this
a matter for consideration and
were, therefore, unable to furnish
any details!” In the meantime this
has changed: a more recent survey
showed that sixty establishments
had information to offer. “One has
always to begin with one’s own
business” said Miss Talg.
Together with hotels in Granada, Benidorm and the Canaries,
the Hotel Tigaiga has joined a pilot scheme for eco-management in
which, together with the Spanish
ecology foundation, “Fundación
Entorno”, special criteria are being formed for the hotel industry.
The target: environment-friendly
use of energy and other resources which would call for a whole
package of measures.
part of a group of hotel pioneers
who started to lay down criteria
for quality standards in the hotel
business; initially for Tenerife,
they were later adopted by the
Spanish Institute for Quality in
Tourism (ICTE) in Madrid. Since
then, Irene has been in charge of
monitoring these standards at the
Tigaiga. “Of course this all costs
money. One cannot think as an
accountant. Eventually the investment brings dividends, but
of course much later: an island,
which continues to be habitable
and useful for tourism”.
In the short term, as a marketing strategy these labels are of little use: “They are not known well
enough”. But Irene Talg can still
not complain of missing feedback:
for the eighth time the Tigaiga has
The Tigaiga
been awarded a TUI Holly. This
participated in the
award is given, according to the
guests’ vote, to the world’s best
“Q”Quality
label
A darker coloured pool
hotels. In addition, the Tigaiga has
saves energy costs
The Tigaiga, apart from the Emas, already obtained the TUI EnvironNot everything was as expensive also has the Spanish Quality La- mental prize five times.
as the rehousing of the hotel of- bel “Q”. At the beginning of the
MAREN KÖSTER-HETZENDORF
fice space from the windowless 90s, Irene’s sister Ursula was
FVW 6.9.2002
cellar to the ground floor. For example, the swimming pool was
just given a slightly darker colour
tone, so that now, its water heats
faster with the sun shining on the
surface and in consequence electricity costs are down. Also cardboard, glass, and garden refuse
are separated. Each category is
weighed and registered. “Really,
it is just like losing weight” says
Irene Talg, “first one stands on the
scales and decides how many kilos one wants to lose; there is no
point in just saying one wants to
be slimmer!” The saving obtained
through such measures can be
substantial, for example, in 2001
the average water consumption
per overnight stay was reduced by
as much as 81 litres!
Sound & bites
In the whole world I know of no other hotel apart from the Tigaiga to have survived at the top since the pioneer days of tourism, managing to
remain a constant favourite. At first sight, the hotel does not appear special in any way, but it is a hotel, the pride of it‘s owners, which turns
other hoteliers green with envy, with its legions of satisfied customers. When asked, why they always return to the Tigaiga, they tend to say, that
in part, it is the quiet surrounding, the beautiful garden and its palms, and the knowledge that they are enjoying the benefits of a real “family
hotel“. They say that they feel at home, and often return three or four times a year to this charming little 4 - star hotel in Puerto de la Cruz.
PILAR ASCHENBACH touristikaktuell, 37/03
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
5
in the Press:
In Puerto de la Cruz awarded with the golden TUI-Environmental champion 2002
Hotel Tigaiga brought the Environmental-Gold to Tenerife
Applause and recognition were
shown at a double celebration in
the Hotel Tigaiga to congratulate
the hotel for receiving the coveted
international Golden TUI environment award and for meeting the
very demanding requirements of
the EMAS scheme.
Many local dignitaries were
present at the celebration to congratulate Hotel Tigaiga for these
two outstanding environmental
achievements. In his speech, TUI’s
environment director, Dr. Wolf
Michael Iwand, highly praised the
hotel and congratulated Hotel Tigaiga’s proprietors, the Talg family, and hotel staff for achieving
and maintaining the highest possible standards of environmental
management. He also mentioned
that Hotel Tigaiga had always
been TUI environment champions
ever since the award was created
a few years ago, and this year, for
the first time, had achieved the
highest place, just beating the
Iberotel Sarigerme Park in Dalaman, Turkey.
Dr. Iwand also stressed that
today’s European visitors not only
require high standards of comfort
and service in their holiday hotel,
but they are also very concerned
about environmental issues and
are especially sensitive to the way
in which such matters are treated
by their hosts. He continued to
stress that Hoteliers cannot afford
to disregard environmental issues,
those that do will have to reckon
with a decline in bookings, something which the Canary Tourist
Industry cannot afford in view of
the strong competition to other
destinations.
EMAS
But; is it possible for guests to look
behind the scenes of their holiday
hotel to form for themselves a
valid opinion about its environ-
Handing over the TUI-Environmental Gold
Diploma: Irene Talg and Dr. Wolf-Michael
Iwand. In the background Cabildo-President
Ricardo Melchior and the Canarian ViceEnvironment-Minister Milagros Luis Brito
mental policies? The answer must
be a resounding Yes! The fact that
Tigaiga justly obtained first place
in the TUI environment champions award 2002 is proven by the
EMAS certificate award. In order
to receive the EMAS certificate,
the hotel was tested upside down
and inside out by environment
specialists, no stone was left unturned, the verdict being that Hotel Tigaiga fulfils and maintains all
of the strict EMAS requirements.
Milagros Luis Brito, the Canarian Vice-Environment Minister,
urged other hoteliers on the Canary Islands to follow the EMAS
certificate goals in order to offer
a higher quality to their hotels as
well as to enable the islands to develop further.
WOCHENSPIEGEL
24.10.2002
This distinction will be awarded annually
Ashotel introduces the
“ENRIQUE TALG” Tourism
and environment prize
Paying homage to the late hotelier
and conservationist, Enrique Talg
Wyss, Tenerife’s hotelier association, ASHOTEL, together with
the ministry for tourism and the
environment have created a new
annual award - the “Enrique Talg”
prize - for businesses, associations, private persons or public institutions who demonstrate initia-
tives of benefit to the environment,
tourism re-development and technological innovations throughout
the province of Tenerife.
This honour is in memory of
Enrique Talg Wyss, a visionary
and pioneer within the Canary Island tourist sector, founder of the
Hotel Tigaiga, Puerto de la Cruz,
whose concern and action for environmental protection brought
about many changes, benefiting
our natural surroundings aswell
as making huge improvements for
visitors to the island.
The winner of this newly createdaward will be determined by a panel
of judges made up of ASHOTEL
and regional tourism and environment representatives, University professor Wolfredo Wildpret, President
of ASHOTEL’s environment department, Irene Talg, his daughter, and
TUI’s director for environment management, Dr. Wolf Michael Iwand.
ASHOTEL 37, 2007
Environmental friendly champions 2007
The coveted TUI award for environmentally friendly hotels was
once again awarded to several
Canary Island hotels for World
Tourism Day on September 27th.
In the province of Tenerife, Hotels
Tigaiga and Botanico in Puerto de
la Cruz both received the prestigious award, as well as Jardines de
Nivaria in Costa de Adeje and HoSince 1996 TUI have made this
tel Gran Rey in La Gomera.
prestigious award to hotels that
[email protected] • www.tigaiga.com
not only offer the highest standard
of quality but who also actively
demonstrate their commitment to
nature and the environment. In
2004 TUI altered the criteria by
implementing a complex scoring
system, that took into account
both the opinions of guests and
other factors, such as the international environment management
systems ISO 14001 & EMAS, as
June 2008
HOTEL
well as water, energy and waste
management. Each year winners
undergo a rigorous process of selection considering the measures
that have been taken to create and
maintain an environmental policy
that ensures the comfort of guests
and demonstrates care for our natural world.
WOCHENBLATT 05.10.07
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
6
in the Press
The subtropical gardens of the Tigaiga were conceived in order to offer an oasis of peace and tranquillity. It is inconceivable that
there was a time, before the hotel existed, when these 5000 square metres of lush gardens with unspoiled views of Puerto and
the ocean were just part of an arid scrub - covered hill of volcanic ash. Over the years... total metamorphosis! A miniature botanical gardens has evolved, and as early as 1977, by popular demand from the hotel guests, the first brochure was published.
... and the gardens are constantly in bloom…
Westernlook 1975
All smart with
laces and frills
was the Western
fashion à la Doris
Day’ 30 years ago
- nothing to do with
the sloppy look of
Western fashion in
2005.
(FOTO: MEYERS
MODEBLATT/
ZÜRICH 1975, THE
PICTURE WAS
TAKEN IN THE
GARDEN PAVILLON
OF THE TIGAIGA.)
His wife’s brainchild
Hibiscus (rosa-sinensis) belonging to the malvaceae family For garden tours in English
please inquire at the reception.
“In your father’s days these gardens looked better cared for”!
This dry observation had to be endured by Enrique Talg Wyss in the
early sixties. A criticism directed
to the new young hotelier by well
meaning ‘regulars’. In 1961, the
then 4000 square metre garden
had won for itself one of the first
prizes to have been established by
the budding tourist initiative: ‘Por
un Tenerife más bello, limpio, alegre y optimista’ covering a project
to promote Tenerife’s plethora
of beautiful and sometimes rare
flora.
Enrique Talg Schulz however,
had been a botany enthusiast all
HOTEL
his life, his special interest being
blossoming trees. During the years
of the Spanish Civil War, followed
by World War II starting only a
few months later, hotels were few
and far between, and while he was
running the Gran Hotel Taoro his
particular pride and joy were its
elegant gardens. This pride would
be transferred with equal enthusiasm to the new gardens of his own
Hotel Tigaiga. True to his original
plan, in the corner under the Tinguaro Terrace, stands a tulip tree,
his particular favourite. However
his son’s interest lay elsewhere
following the tourist boom of the
swinging sixties.
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
“ ...with botanical matters I have
never had a very close relationship” admits the 80-year old in
retrospect, (surprisingly contrary
to his lifelong love of mother nature). Gardening itself, however,
was not his own particular passion. On the other hand, however, his wife, Dr. Gisela Reineke
de Talg, had originally planned
to study pharmacy and her interest for plant life remained with
her. It was soon apparent that
she posessed truly ‘green fingers’
and it was with evident enthusiasm that she became involved
with ‘garden landscaping’. It
soon followed that under her
tutelage, her brainchild became
reality. Mr Gerry Sanders, fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society and a member of the
Malayan Orchid Society, was
invited to take part in its development. Today, the gardens still
retain her basic flower and plant
layout which are so consistently
admired by guests and visitors,
amateurs or botanists alike.
By the 1970s the fame of
this extraordinary work of floral
opulence and beauty with plants
from the world’s most exotic
places, had been published in
the international press as a photographic report, including an interview with Enrique Talg. The
publicity soon brought guests to
the hotel who expected to enjoy
the gardens and see them for
themselves. This in turn gave
birth to the idea of offering guided tours of the gardens led by Mr.
Sanders.
Understandably, some guests
found the botanical names difficult to decipher, so each species
was numbered. In addition, in
1977, with the help of Mr Gerald
Harrison, a man of great experience in tropical botany and formally on the staff of the Royal
Botanical Gardens at Kew, she
compiled the first garden brochure in English, to enable the
guests themselves to find their
way around without specialist
guidance.
With the Garden design prize
awarded by the “Amigos del
Puerto de la Cruz” Gisela Reineke
de Talg’s work found official recognition.
in the Press:
7
Winner of the “Top Hotels“-competition
One of the loveliest hotel gardens
Shortly before her death in 1995,
Dr. Gisela Reineke de Talg entrusted the care of her beloved
gardens to her daughter Ursula
who stood before her, speechless...... “But I don’t know a thing
about gardens” she stammered.
This was no time for argument,
her mother gently took her by
the hand and led her purposefully around the garden, where she
carefully explained the plants
and their individualities to her,
at the same time putting her in
charge of the latest edition of the
garden catalogue, as its second
edition was fast dwindling.
After this crash course, Ursula
found herself with a mass of hastily scribbled notes she had taken
during her mother’s explanations,
very garbled they were, as some
involved the species’ names in
botanists’ latin which she had taken down by ear, and for the most
part were misspelt.
“I was completely out of my
depth” she admits today. Following the care of the gardens in her
mother’s footsteps was no easy
task, but Ursula stayed the course Relax under a glorious canopy of tropical trees in the prize-winning gardens.
set to her and threw herself into
the job. Now, she is a well informed plant expert and under her
auspices the garden has upheld its
reputation.
She took special care with the
editing of the new garden catalogue. She wanted it to be a worthy memorial to her mother’s
work in her beloved garden. As
an amateur photographer, she
trained her lens on the colourful landscape and turned what
had been a very dry work-a-day
handbook into a book in which
each plant has its accompanying photo. 2500 of these have
already been sold. A new edition
is being prepared.
In 1992 the garden gained
1000m2 more space thanks to an
approach tunnel to the service
entrance of the hotel. In 1999, as
had her mother before her, Ursula’s work received recognition.
The magazine “Top Hotels” featured the Tigaiga gardens in an
international photography competition called “The Most Beautiful Hotel Gardens” where they
took 10th place.
Picturesque garden views from hotel rooms
The Talg family, owners of the
Hotel Tigaiga, have always had
environmental issues close to their
heart and in particular the wonderful variety of fauna and flora native
to the Canary Islands. The late Enrique Talg Wyss was an enthusiastic
hiker and nature lover. During the
nineteen seventies he began campaigning for improvements to, and
the signposting of, nature trekking
routes so that fellow hikers would
also have the opportunity to know
and experience the many wonders
that the Tenerife countryside offers. His father before him also had
a strong interest in protecting and
maintaining biodiversity. Today
the 3rd generation, who continue
to run the hotel in the same informal style as it has always been
known, carry on their forefathers’
interest and work in protecting the
environment.
Adjacent to the hotel we find
3.300 m2 of picturesque gardens,
“Jardines Carolina”, that serve
as an excellent example of the
family’s environmental concerns
and efforts; this was formerly
land where the Gran Hotel Taoro
had the gardener’s house. Years
later, sadly neglected, it became
an abandoned piece of wasteland. As far back as 1948 Enrique Talg Schulz had requested
the local authorities to allow him
to take over the care and maintenance of this land but without
success. Many years later, in November 2001, his son, Enrique
Talg Wyss, finally achieved success. An agreement was reached
Tel.: (+34) 922 384 055 • Fax: (+34) 922 384 055
and giving the whole area a complete face lift. The gardens have
been planted with native plant
species amongst which are found
Dragon Trees, Canarian Palm
Trees and medicinal plants, giving
hotel guests the pleasure of picturesque garden views from all of
their hotel rooms.
Today this new garden area receives its visitors as a well cared
between the Island Government for oasis where people are able to
and the Hotel Tigaiga that would sit on comfortable banks and conallow the Hotel to look after template nature. There is a special
the ground. The agreement was experience offered in the “paseo
renewed annually, but later, in de cosquillas”, a reflexology walk,
2006, the agreement was con- where visitors can walk barefoot
over grass, volcanic stones, wood,
solidated for 10 years.
Since the Hotel Tigaiga were pebbles, etc., to stimulate points
given permission to take over the on the feet. With the completion
responsibility for maintaining this of the “Jardines Carolina” the
area of Taoro Park ground, they whole area of the Hotel Tigaiga
have completely transformed it. is now surrounded by beautifully
First of all a huge cleaning opera- maintained gardens; an idyllic settion took place and water saving ting for rest and relaxation.
irrigation equipment was installed,
HELEN AUSTIN
turning it into a beautiful garden
05.2008
June 2008
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
8
in the Press
The “TUI-Holly ‘95” awards in Hanover
TUI-guests chose the Tigaiga on Tenerife as
their “world-favourite” hotel
Enrique Talg Wyss was in Hanover recently to collect an unusual
award for his hotel: the “TUIHolly '95”. TUI guests had chosen
the Tigaiga as their favourite hotel worldwide. Why is this when
there is such an enormous choice?
What is so exceptional that there
is a “regular customer” who has
clocked up 53 visits? Another
guest in particular has gone even
one further because after adding
together all his long term visits, he
could have been living in the hotel for 4 whole years! Or, the two
families who figure in the annals
of Tigaiga History, as having been
“regulars” over four generations!
The secret of this extraordinary success? Reliable, professional management, an immaculately run house, together with
that particular “family flair”. Enrique Talg Wyss - hotelier body
and soul, with a warm heart, a
gent of the old school from top
to toe. A rare bird to find whenever one has the pleasure of
meeting him, yet he has never
failed to notice the changing
world around him, and has been
ready to adapt and modify whenever he considered it relevant.
When the Tigaiga first opened
for example, it was the only hotel to have a telex, the first with
its own glossy brochure, the first
to offer a heated swimming pool,
and, always environmentally
aware, and the first in the Canary
Islands to install solar energy
panels to heat the hotel water
and the pool.
Pioneers from
the very Start
In 1958 the building work finally
began. Although actually the
story begins much earlier, that is,
after the first World War. It was
then that Heinz Talg Schulz from
Lüneburg set off for points south
to seek his fortune. Madrid‘s Hotel Palace was the first stop on this
long journey through life. The
next goal was to be Mondariz, not
far from Vigo in north western
Spain, a much favoured spa specializing in the treatment of diabetes before the discovery of insulin.
It was during his time here, that he
was approached by the Hotel Quisisana in Tenerife. He made the
long sea voyage across the Atlantic regularly, as he was able to do
the summer season in Mondariz
followed by the winter in Tenerife.
Because of these circumstances
it so happened that young Enrique Talg Wyss came to be born
in Vigo. Heinz Talg Schulz had
changed his name in the meantime. The Spanish found “Heinz“
a terrible tongue twister, moreover
in Spain it is common practice to
use the maternal surname after the
paternal.
A travelling companion and
fellow hotelier was Karl (Carlos)
Gleixner, who also used to make the
bi-seasonal run between Mondariz
and Tenerife, (fast forward to the
present day), whose son Gerardo
Gleixner is the owner of the Hotel
Monopol, opposite the main church
in Puerto de la Cruz.
1995: 1st Place
Celebrating the success: (from the left) Enrique Talg jr.,
“Tigaiga” boss Enrique Talg, Gerhard Schröder, TUI-Board
of Directors Dr. Ralf Corsten
HOTEL
In 1922, the Swiss Gustavo
Wildpret, manager of the Hotel
Taoro, offered its administration
to Enrique Talg Schulz. Years
later, when he felt it was time to
retire and the next Wildpret generation had chosen pharmacy as a
profession, he suggested that Enrique take the rudder of that noble
establishment. Here was a great
opportunity for him. He accepted,
but he could not foresee that the
business was soon to be faced with
lean years. The Civil War soon
broke out and the flow of guests
became a trickle. Food was scarce
- they were hard times for all. Of
course, the noble hotel Taoro was
not exactly cheap, full board was
the princely sum of 12.50 pesetas.
This was about 8 cents! When this
was increased to 13 Pts. a regular
guest was horrified, considering
this exorbitant, suggesting that he
could build his own house for this
amount. This, he promptly did.
Today, this stately pile still stands
in the Taoro Park housing the Lutheran Parish Community Centre.
Back to the Wildpret family.
Grandson Juan Topham Wildpret
treads in his grandfather‘s footsteps working in tourism. Today
he is the president of the CIT
(Central Tourist Organisation) of
Puerto de la Cruz.
the post-war military dictatorship,
his powers stretched beyond the
military to civilian life. Thus the
General functioned as Chancellor
of the Treasury dealing with anything from ration books to rates
and taxes.
“He was a great man” remembers Enrique Talg Wyss. “The revenues levied by his various departments, he invested in public works
such as the construction of social
housing developments in Santa
Cruz. He died poor as a church
The general and
mouse and his widow was regaled
the hotel
with a lottery kiosk with which
At the end of the Civil War Gen- to make ends meet.” The same
eral García Escamez was the García Escamez was obviously a
senior military governor of the man with foresight, as one of his
Canary Islands. In the days of primary objectives was the pro-
1997: 2nd Place
2000: 2nd Place
And again among the Top Ten: Enrique Talg with TUIBoard of Directors Karl Born and Irene Talg receiving
the award.
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
Proud moment for the Talg Family and the whole Tigai
On the picture starting on the left: Enrique Talg jr. Ursu
Ottmann, Irene Talg and Enrique Talg, senior - not to fo
sisters for the photo, the first in a long series. PHOTO:
Again a Holly: TUI-Board of Directors Dr. Volker Böttcher
congratulates Ursula Talg and Enrique Talg on their
continuing success.
9
in the Press:
motion of tourism on the island.
In direct connection with this was
his aspiration to play host in grand
style to the Head of State General
Francisco Franco.
Unfortunately, there was no
hotel of sufficient “standing” to
meet his requirements, so he set
about having one built. The Hotel
Mencey, in Santa Cruz none less.
Once the work was finished,
iga: worldwide number one in guest preference!
ula Talg, theTUI-Chef on Tenerife at the time, Fritz
orget the coloured winged Holly, presented by both
WS
Garcia Escamez approached the
leading Spanish hotel chain HUSA
offering the administration of his
fine hotel. HUSA was indeed interested but was concerned about
taking over so large an establishment on its own so far away from
the mainland. There was a provision, that in addition, they would
require the management of two
further hotels in the islands. The
Hotel Taoro in Puerto de la Cruz
together with the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas. Relieved to
be free of the management of the
Mencey, the general agreed. Enrique Talg Schulz however was in
no way happy with the decision,
because he now found himself
without a job, albeit accompanied
by a more than generous compen-
sation and a sackful of hotel silver
engraved “HT“ which he himself
had acquired for the Hotel Taoro,
and which was now useless.
We now find Enrique Talg
Schulz running the Hotel Martiánez having taken it over from the
German family Trenkel.
How the Tigaiga
came by its name
In the meantime he had acquired
some land in the Taoro Park,
which he used for growing plants
and flowers. Later he switched to
bananas, because the plot was really too large for an amateur gardener. After one hurricane following another he really felt he had
had enough agricultural disasters,
deciding that the time had come
to build a hotel. His son Enrique
Talg Wyss had just returned from
his “apprentice years” in Madrid
(Hotel Palace of course!), Stockholm, London, Suvretta Haus in
St. Moritz, Grand Hotel Montreux and the Reina Cristina in
Algeciras. His father gave him a
completely free hand to build the
future hotel according to his own
concept of how it should be, giving his imagination free wings.
Father Talg attended to the
finances and supply of building
materials, a scarce commodity in
those days. Then they put their
heads together to decide on a
suitable name for their hotel. Of
course the engraved silverware
was already to hand: “HT”. That
could give Hotel Tenerife, or perhaps Hotel Teide? Why not Hotel
Talg or better still Hotel Tigaiga,
or maybe Hotel Turístico, no, definitely Hotel Tigaiga had a certain
something; when saying it, there
was a rhythmic musicality to the
name, and so it remained.
The Hotel opened its doors to
guests in late 1958 with 24 double rooms with bath, but as the
kitchens were not yet finished
the first Tigaiga guests had to go
over to the Hotel Martianez for
their meals! In the winter season
of 60/61 the hotel was at last
able to offer full board. Sadly
father Talg never lived to see
the completed hotel, he died of
a heart attack in 1962.
Nevertheless, the story has a
happy ending, because the hotel
tradition has stayed in the family.
A third generation of Talgs is at
the helm. Both the daughters Ursula and Irene have had excellent
grounding and training in the hotel
trade - such a demanding occupation. Ursula at the Hotel Training
School in Luceme and Irene in
Münster, Madrid, Brussels, Prague,
and the Hotel Training School in
Bad Reichenhall. Similary, the son,
Enrique Talg Reineke, having just
finished his apprenticeship at the
Hyatt in Cologne (instead of the
Madrid Palace), went to the Hotel
Training School in Luceme, followed by a period at the Bellevue
Palace in Berne. He received his
Master’s Degree in Hotel Management in Dortmund and became
fully qualified as a hotelier. Thus,
the future of this charming family
hotel stands on firm foundations.
However a link with the past was
forged when the Corporation of
Puerto de la Cruz remembered
the man who came as a stranger
and died here a much loved friend,
by naming a street in his honour
“Calle Enrique Talg”.
WOCHENSPIEGEL 5.1.96
Sound & bites
[...] so much so that he was
able to inspire all three of his
children to feel the same passion for their Hotel and the island of Tenerife.
Each of them has a very different character, but they don’t
step on each others toes as the
are all in charge of different areas of the hotel.
TENERIFE NEWS
06.2005
500.000 holidaymakers decide
This is regarded as the “Oscars” of the holiday hotel trade; the TUI Holly accolade is awarded to only the
most excellent 100 holiday hotels in the world. Around half a million TUI holiday guests decide through a
detailed questionnaire in the largest annual tourism customer survey carried out in Germany, guaranteeing
complete customer satisfaction in the hotels receiving this prestigious award.
The Hotel Tigaiga, run by the Talg family in Puerto de la Cruz, is a TUI Holly veteran. Once again, in
2007, proving its immense popularity with clients, it has again won the status of being one of the top 100
holiday hotels in the world. It is the only hotel in Spain to have been honoured with a TUI Holly every year
since 1995! [...] A fantastic achievement that demonstrates that Hotel Tigaiga offer guests exactly what
they are looking for in a holiday hotel.
WOCHENBLATT 20.10.2007
June 2008
HOTEL
Awarded with the
Tourism Oscar - 14
consecutive times
Holly Parade at
the Tigaiga
Enrique Talg is known as “Mr
Holly” within TUI-internal
circles, and this rightfully, due
to the fact that his hotel is a
“laster” in the Holly Awards.
Amongst the worldwide 15.000
TUI-holiday hotels, the TUIguests vote their favourites and only 100 receive the much
valued recognition. Out of these
100 hotels, only the 10 best are
awarded the Holly sculpture and an impressive number of
these are displayed in the corridor of the Salón Atlántico in
the Hotel Tigaiga. The other
winners are presented with a
large diploma. Due to this, the
Tigaiga is an absolute record
holder, as since the introduction
of this coveted award, it has
been voted seven times among
the “Top Ten” - and is still to be
found year after year amongst
the 100 best TUI-addresses, already fourteen times in a row!
Considering its one 1st position
and four 2nd positions, no one
can catch up with the Tigaiga
that quickly!
TUI-Guests awarded amongst
the holiday hotels worldwide the
Hotel Tigaiga:
Holly ‘95: 1. Place
Holly ‘02: Diploma
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
10
in the Press
Old - timer parade through
the Orotava Valley
A very special outing for Tigaiga guests
drove via El Ramal to Orotava,
passing the Casa de los Balcones
and on to La Perdoma. The first
halt was called at the wine cellars of Valleoro, where the
guests could enjoy a wine tasting and join in a tour of the bodega. They continued via Los Realejos, El Toscal and then back
to Puerto de la Cruz. There, the
participants exchanged impressions and commented on their
Quite a few pedestrians stopped in their tracks, whipping out their cameras: so many
unforgettable experience.
smart old-timers are not often to be seen in one go.
It was a shame, that this year
For the fifth consecutive year, the as the first outing had been such the weather did not behave as it
Tigaiga delighted its guests on the an enormous success and all par- should have. The abrupt change
23rd November with a very spe- ticipants were so delighted, he ar- to the winter season made some
cial novelty. A drive in old-timers ranged for this to become a tradi- proprietors of these ‘elderly cars’
reluctant, so that only 21 particithrough the Orotava Valley is an tion.
They started this Sunday at pated. In previous years, up to 35
unforgettable experience. The
original idea came to Enrique Talg, 12:45, from the Hotel parking vintage and classic cars joined the
the youngest, some years ago, and area. From there, the parade parade.
The public’s favourites this
year were three very attractive
cars: A model ‘T’ Ford belonging to Cándido Martín Sánchez, a
Wipper owned by Cándido Martín
González and Juan González Diaz’
Pontiac.
Once again, the Talg Family
expressed its gratitude to the oldtimer proprietors who had offered
their cars for the guests to enjoy,
as well as to the police for having
escorted the convoy. Next year the
Hotel Tigaiga old-timer rally will
take place on the 21st November.
(This tradition is still being continued, on the Sunday before the
first of Advent. The Hotel guests can
therefore look forward to the 10th
Parade which is planned to start on
the 23rd November 2008.)
Luis Pérez has been the eternal chief receptionist at the Tigaiga Hotel for as long as one can remember and he recently received well deserved
recognition for his service to the tourism industry in Puerto de la Cruz.
The man at reception
of the hotel because a little dog
called Francisca had a tendency
to do her business there. He progressed to cleaning windows, going to the post office to collect
the padlocked mailbag, keeping
the brass doorknob shining and
eventually to carrying luggage.
Luis was presented with a plaque
marking his “50 years of professionalism and dedication” to a job
he obviously loves. The CIT local tourism initiative board also
awarded Luis a ‘diploma’ “for being an exemplary worker” in his
Receptionist supreme, Luis Pérez, with his family, marking his fifty years with the
many years working and living
Talgs, now the third generation
in the area, and the local council
In what was a surprise ceremony at mains “the master of friendliness awarded him an insignia marking
the hotel, fellow staff and clients, and courtesy”. There is no doubt the quality of his work over his
accompanied by local authorities in anyone’s mind that he has had many years in the post, adding
and the Talg family, owners of a good deal to do with the hotel’s this it was his kind dedication that
the prestigious hotel paid Luis a excellent reputation and with the was the secret of Puerto’s success
warm tribute for his fifty years of numerous prizes it has won over as a tourist destination.
Luis, accompanied by his wife
the years as one of the finest-run
service.
Leonides, his children and grandHe began in 1957 as a nine year hotels in the world.
At the ceremony Luis could children was visibly overcome by
old porter at the old Martiánez Hotel, in those days run by Enrique not hide a beaming smile as he re- the event, and all he could manage was a tearful “Thank you to
Talg Schulz. In 1963 he moved to called earlier times.
He gave a fond account of his everyone”.
the Tigaiga where he has spent the
last 30 years as chief receptionist. first task as that boy porter. He
ISLAND CONNECTIONS
He is now in his sixties and re- had to water down the front steps
17.03.2007
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
10 great
boozy
breaks
Drink wine from the barrel in
Tenerife: Hire a car, buy a map
and head for the Orotava wine
valley in the island’s lush north,
to discover the guachinches
(gwa-CHEEN-chays).
These
makeshift rural bars open seasonally to sell the latest harvest
of country wine. With it they
dish up home-made goats cheese
and fantastic rural dishes such
as rabbit stew. Stay at Hotel Tigaiga in Puerto de la Cruz: frontdesk manager Luis is a seasoned
guachinchero, and will make
recommendations (…).
The Guardian
16.02.2008
11
in the Press:
A quite unique specimen
A palm tree for loyal guests
“When an employee has remained
loyal to his place of work, he is
given a fountain pen. After forty
years of faithful service, there‘s a
gold watch for that, and after sixty,
there’s a Mercedes!” says Enrique
Talg, director of the Hotel Tigaiga
with a twinkle. He was having a
palm tree planted to mark the
loyalty of three particularly faithful hotel guests: Dr. E. Zieschank,
who had been a guest in the days
of the directorship of Enrique Talg
Senior at the Hotel Martiánez, during the time he was negotiating the
purchase of land on which to build
the Hotel Tigaiga. Herr Vieth was
there for the 56th time and lastly,
Herr Neumann had managed to
tot up no less than one thousand
eighthundred and three nights!
Such loyalty is truly unusual,
and for this reason these guests
were to be honoured in an unusual way, by being the sponsors
of a magnificent palm tree which
now stands right at the entrance
to the Hotel and which will grow
to be enormous. Those who mistakenly believe that it is just an
ordinary “fan palm” should take
another look. In fact, they are beholding the “Bismarckia Nobilis”
an exceedingly rare species from
Madagascar, which had been
named after Bismarck himself,
as he had done some enthusiastic
research on this particular species.
Later, when efforts were made to
give the tree a more “scientific
title”, they were unsuccessful, as
popular choice won the day. In
Loyal guests Mr. W. Vieth, Dr. E. Zieschank and Mr. H. Neumann were honoured in a
special way. Photographed with hotel proprietor Enrique Talg and his daughters Ursula
and Irene after the planting of the palmtree.
consequence, this rare palm is
the only botanical species to be
named after a politician.
WOCHENSPIEGEL, 20.03.1997
A special ceremony took place on April 17 at the Hotel Tigaiga (Parque Taoro) in Puerto de la Cruz, in which the Centre for Tourism Initiative
(CIT) honoured various guests for their fidelity; some received an award for fifteen visits to Puerto de la Cruz, and one of the ladies was given
an award for coming twenty-five times. All these guests have been faithfully returning to the same hotel, the Hotel Tigaiga.
And they keep returning…
I was curious to know exactly what
it was that made all these guests return to the same hotel, so I arranged
to interview Mr. and Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Edwards and Mr. and
Mrs. Irwing, all British. The first
couple mentioned was not receiving an award this time, as they have
already received some; this is their
38th visit! Mrs. Edwards and Mr.
and Mrs. Irwing were being awarded for their fifteenth visit, as well
the following German guests; Mrs.
Drexler (eighteen visits), whose
husband was hospitalised, Mrs. Gebhardt (eighteen) and Mrs. Muehlenbrock (twenty-five)!
Mr. and Mrs. Washington stayed
at another hotel the first time they
came to Tenerife, and happened to
see the Canary folklore show which
took place at the Hotel Tigaiga on
Sundays. There was something
about the hotel which really appealed to them, so they decided to
try it out the next time they came
to Tenerife. Since then they have
visited the Tigaiga 38 times; always
staying there for three weeks in October and two weeks in springtime.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards met Mr.
and Mrs. Washington in 1992 during
a visit of the latter to Wales, and de-
cided to come to try out the Tigaiga
thanks to the recommendation of
the Washingtons. The first time they
came was with their son, who was 13
years old at the time, and again, came
every year in October. Unfortunately
her husband passed away three years
ago, yet Mrs. Edwards still decided
to return again to the hotel, this time
with her daughter, and in springtime. Mr. and Mrs. Irwing first heard
of the hotel through a brochure, and
decided to give it a try, as it sounded
like a nice place to relax and they
had just retired. Fifteen visits later
they are here again and with the in-
Tel.: (+34) 922 384 055 • Fax: (+34) 922 384 055
tention to return always.
When I asked them why this
hotel, why Puerto de la Cruz, they
all had the same answers; they felt
completely at home from the first
visit. The staff, from the Talg family down to the cleaning staff, is
welcoming and friendly. Nothing
is ever too much for them; all the
staff does everything to make them
feel at home. And most importantly,
they all remember them. The quality is excellent in every aspect.
However, what I understood was
the main factor that has made them
return time after time is the sense of
June 2008
HOTEL
“home away from home” that they
always have experienced. Not only
that, but all the visitors know each
other very well, there is a family atmosphere; this is an oasis of peace
which they all agreed they had
rarely experienced elsewhere. Mrs.
Edwards also said that she felt very
safe, both at the hotel and in Puerto
de la Cruz, and the rest agreed with
this too. They all said that they love
the town for the “old-fashioned feel”
it has always had.
Mr. Irwing also mentioned that
he was happy to see how the Taoro
Park was nowadays. [...]
All of them mentioned that
they missed the late Enrique Talg
Sr., who would greet each guest at
breakfast time on Sunday mornings; however they are happy with
his heirs, Ursula, Irene and Enrique,
who run the hotel beautifully, and
again, make them feel completely
at home.
Mrs. Irwing summarised it all by
saying “I wish I could live here!” It would be wonderful if all the
hotels, restaurants etc. on the island took this philosophy and put
it into practice. AM, Tenerife News
25.04.2008
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
12
Such loyalty is precious these days
A small tribute to all
employees, who have
been with us so long:
Cristóbal Hernández has been
at the Tigaiga as gardener for 46
years, and many others from the
early days now live in well-earned
retirement. Of course the regular
guests, who over the years have
looked forward to being greeted
by familiar faces because it gave
them that feeling of “coming
home”, are a little disappointed. In
their eyes, there are increasingly
more ‘youngsters’, who in reality have long been employed at
1964
the Tigaiga (some already twenty
years - but as they were the young1964: Tigaiga-Family photograph: On the far right, with rolled-up sleeves, gardener
sters so long, they were not taken
Cristóbal; standing in the first row, the sixth from the left, Luis, the Chief of Reception
into account)!
as hotel-boy; to the right of the cook, Enrique Talg Wyss FOTO: BAEZA
Such loyalty to one’s employer is uncommon in these
fast-moving days of change and
can only stem from a contented
worker, happy in his or her environment. This is the way it is at
the Tigaiga.
Gregorio Camejo belonged to
the “old guard” of the hotel. In the
early years, Enrique Talg Wyss
would frequently take his guests
hiking on the mountain paths.
Gregorio, Luis and dog would
go with him. When he could no
2005
longer find time for these sorties,
he handed the job over to Grego“Without our employees we would senger boy for grandfather Talg at rio who accepted willingly. So
that in the day-time, he would ennot find ourselves where we are the Hotel Martiánez.”
“In those days things were very thusiastically march off with his
today” says Ursula Talg.
“It is they who are responsible different” Luis tells us proudly. band of hotel guests, and in the
for bringing that special quality to “My mother sent me off in search evenings he was back at his real
the guest which we envisage. The of work at the age of nine, she job as barman! In the meantime
fact that they take pleasure in their had no money to buy shoes for he has become a pensioner, but
work shows clearly by the length my five brothers and sisters. I felt undaunted, he carries on coming
of time they have spent with us. very grown up though, being able to the hotel to advise walking enAhead of everybody in the rank- to contribute with my earnings, in thusiasts on any details they may
ings is now our Head of Recep- spite of having to go to school in need to know about hiking in the
tion, who actually worked as mes- the evening from 5 pm until 9 pm”. mountains - just ask for him.
Luis Pérez,
Reception 51 years
Cristóbal Hernández,
Garden 47 years
Angel Regalado,
Reception 40 years
Emilio Padilla,
Taxi 36 years
Luis Méndez,
Rooms division 34 years
Francisco Batista,
Reception 33 years
Vicente Hernández,
Accounting 23 years
Lucas Salcedo,
Restaurant 21 years
José Luis González,
Restaurant 19 years
Damián Pérez,
Kitchen 18 years
Fermina López,
Amelia Yanes,
Manolo Cruz,
Purchasing 16 years
Miguel García,
Restaurant 16 years
Marian García,
Secretary 12 years
Damián Guitiérrez,
Reception 10 years
Juan González,
Kitchen 10 years
1994
The big “Tigaiga-Family” 1994: in the front row in the middle Enrique Talg Wyss and his wife Gisela, behind the two daughters, Irene and Ursula and in the middle of the third row,
son Enrique. A whole bunch of the hotel’s employees on the photo now retired after clocking up many years of work. Some are still there and are proud to be Tigaiga veterans.
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
13
Heinz “Enrique” Talg Schulz
A truly ‘self-made’ man. Born in Horndorf near
Lüneburg. He began his career as an apprentice
waiter at the hotel “Weisser Ross” in Lüneburg.
After the Great War he felt the urge to spread
his wings and this brought him to the Hotel Palace
in Madrid. Later he was manager and leaseholder
of the restaurant of the Gran Hotel Peinador in the
Galician spa town of Mondariz, at that time a favourite for those suffering from diabetes. The hotel was only open during the summer months so he took on enthusiastically the offer of leasing the Hotel Quisisana in Santa Cruz, Tenerife,
as it was only open during the winter season in those days.
From 1934 to 1952 he was Director of the Hotel Taoro, when Gustavo Wildpret was in charge. After the latter‘s death, he acquired the
hotel on lease until it was taken over by the HUSA hotel chain. From
1952 to 1963, he was Director and leaseholder of the old Hotel Martiánez. Over the same period, he was involved together with his son
in the building of the Hotel Tigaiga, which opened in late 1958.
He married the Swissborn Ida Wyss, who died in 1932 and their
son Enrique came into the world the summer of 1924 in Vigo (northern Spain). Later he married Helene Wichmann Graf of Hamburg.
In 1950 he took Spanish nationality. After his death in 1962 he was
honoured by the town authorities of Puerto de la Cruz naming a street
after him.
Enrique Talg Wyss
was born in Vigo, son of Heinz (Enrique) Talg
Shulz, from Lüneburg, whose first wife had been
Ida Wyss. After the early death of his mother, he
lived and grew up in Olten, Switzerland with her
family, to return to Tenerife at the end of the Civil
War. He began his experience in hotel management at the Gran Hotel Taoro in Puerto de la Cruz,
continuing his training period at Madrid’s Hotel Palace. Later he travelled to the Grand Hotel
Stockholm, continuing on to London, Montreux, the Suvretta Haus in
St. Moritz, and finally the Hotel Reina Cristina in Algeciras.
From 1957 he was assistant Director of the Hotel Martiánez in Puerto
de la Cruz, and at the same time he was in charge of the planning and
building of the Hotel Tigaiga, where he has remained in charge since its
opening in 1959. In 1964 he married Gisela Reineke from Paderborn. 3
children were born of this union: Ursula, Irene and Enrique.
He was the co-founder of several local, regional and national tourist
associations. Apart from the numerous prizes won by his hotel, in 1980
he was awarded the golden HUSA star as ‘Hotel Director of the Year’.
He is particularly remembered for his contribution to the planning
of the hiking trails of Tenerife,
On his 80th birthday he handed over the ownership and management of the hotel to his 3 children. Shortly before his 83rd birthday
he died on 27th September 2006.
Ursula Talg Reineke
was born in Puerto de la Cruz, visited the British Yeoward School, where she did her ‘O’ levels, and completed her secondary education (Abitur) in Wald, on
Lake Constance. In 1990 she graduated from the Swiss
Hotelmanagement School in Luceme. A period as
trainee followed at the Inselhotel, Constance, then to
Switzerland in Weggis, Twann, Klosters, the Four Season in Hamburg, and finally the Westin ANA Hotel in
Washington D.C. In 1993, she gained an International
Hotel Association Scholarship for the in PDP at Cornell
University in the US, and in the same year was nominated “Young Hotelier
of the Year 1993” by the IHA and ‘Hotels‘ Magazine.
She has been working at the Hotel Tigaiga since 1990. She is the
president of the quality association “Excelencia Turística de Tenerife”,
which was “born” in 1993 in Puerto de la Cruz. She also teaches at
the Escuela Superior de Turismo Iriarte in Puerto de la Cruz. She has
2 daughters and runs the Hotel Tigaiga together with her brother and
sister, her principle task being customer services, the supervision of the
hotel gardens and the entertainment. Due to family commitments she
works only half time at the hotel.
Irene Talg Reineke
Her primary education was at the British Yeoward
School, in Puerto de la Cruz, where she did her ‘O’ levels. After finishing her secondary education (Abitur), in
1985 she graduated from the Steingenberger professional hotel training school, at Bad Reichenhall. She studied
in the European Business Programme at the Technical
High schools of Münster and Madrid, graduating with a
degree in business management. After practical training
in Germany, Brussels, at the EU, in Prague, at the commercial department of the Spanish Embassy, a period
with Andersen Consulting in Madrid added the finishing touch to her qualifications. She returned to the Hotel Tigaiga in 1993. Here, as codirector, her
work lays emphasis on quality and ecological management. She is founder
member of the environment commission of ASHOTEL, Tenerife‘s hotel
association. It is to her credit that the Tigaiga gained the sought after EU environmental certificate, one of the first enterprises to obtain it in the Canary
lslands. The ISO 9001 certification for quality management was also gained
thanks to her involvement. She continues to carry out her responsibility for
finance and floor service, reception, and, of course, also for the personal
well-being of the guests.
Enrique Talg Reineke
He also obtained his ‘O’ levels at the British Yeoward School in Puerto de la Cruz. After graduation
with ‘Abitur’ from St. Blasien College in the Black
Forest, he did his apprenticeship and qualified as a
hotel keeper at the ‘Hyatt Regency‘ in Cologne. In
Switzerland at the SHL in Luceme he passed the cuisine course, and gained the official title of Hotelier at
the WIHOGA in Dortmund. He gathered experience
in the Food and Beverage department of “Kaufhof” Warehouse in Cologne, at the “Hyatt La Manga” in
Murcia, and finally at the “Bellevue Palace“ in Bem, until his return to
Tenerife and the Tigaiga in 1996.
In 1999, he won the CIT prize awarded as young businessman of
the year. He now sits on the committee of Tenerife‘s Hotel Association,
ASHOTEL, and has been a member of the Management Committee of
the Tenerife Association of Young Empresarios since 2005.
He is married and has two daughters. He runs the Hotel Tigaiga together with his 2 sisters. His particular areas being Head of safety, the
restaurants, kitchens, and maintenance services. He is also of course,
responsible for the well-being of the Hotel guests.
June 2008
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
14
in the Press
“And yet another prize for the Hotel Tigaiga“ were the succinct
headlines of the 23rd May edition of the Canary German language newspaper “Wochenspiegel”, on the occasion of the
bestowal of awards by Tenerife’s hotel association ASHOTEL.
Small wonder then, considering the impressive list of prizewinning ceremonies covered and archived by this newspaper.
Yet another prize...!
Wholeheartedly celebrating Tigaiga-crew, whose hotel swept the board winning the
prize for Quality and Environment on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the
Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Tenerife.
It is true actually, that as far as
winning prizes is concerned, the
Tigaiga is at the forefront. The
Salón Atlantico’s display cabinets
are resplendent with a staggering number of “Hollys”, (the Oscars of the holiday-hotel industry
awarded by TUI). These, together
with many other trophies, are so
numerous that it would be going
too far to enumerate them all.
A particularly moving and expressive testimony to the hotel’s
cachet is simply a plain metal
plaque bearing the legend: “This
plaque is presented by the employees of the Tigaiga Hotel as a
sign of their affection for the Talg
family and in gratitude for having
such a pleasant environment in
which to work“
This is unusual indeed and
worth far more than all the official
awards in the world. Yet, as we
are on the subject of these famous
prizes, where are they all? No use
looking in the hotel foyer, as they
can only be tracked down in the
basement. There they are, along
the walls of the corridor, and it is a
long corridor. Is this false modesty? “In no way” Irene Talg makes
this quite clear. “Environmental
protection is only possible, when
everybody works together with resolve. This is why the trophies are
displayed down here, where, every where they can be seen by employees and suppliers alike which
in turn motivates them anew”.
Apart from being good tactics,
the results speak for themselves.
The Hotel Tigaiga’s material success comes first, followed by the
prize, although an award is always
gladly received. “Credit where
credit is due” being the catchphrase. Yes, there are prizes and
plenty of them from a variety of
sources - but they all show that Tigaiga is ‘on the ball’.
The Eco-Auditors
The EMAS certification bestowed
by the EU, has particularly to do
with global ecology management.
This involves a ruthlessly detailed
inspection from cellar to roof.
The Tigaiga received this soughtafter certification in 2002, when
the ECO Auditors first presented
themselves, although not only for
ecomatters. Management quality is also evaluated and certified.
The EU ISO-9001 examination
was passed by the Tigaiga in 2003
for the first time.
In the following years, TUI-Guests voted the Hotel Tigaiga as one
of the 10 best holiday hotels worldwide in view of their actions
toward preserving the environment.
1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001
2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2006 • 2007
Since 2005 the TUI-Award “Umwelt-Champion” is no longer selected
from ten, but from 100 hotels, needless to say, the Tigaiga was also
present in 2005.
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
Prize-list
If one thinks of a hotel price-list, one tends to think of what a night
with bed and breakfast or half board may cost. This also differs at the
Tigaiga: Here, in chronological order, you will find the prizes which
the hotel has been awarded.
1961 Prize for a more beautiful, cleaner, happier and optimistic Tenerife.
Island Government Tenerife (Cabildo)
1980 Golden Husa Star “Hotel director of the Year”. Spanish Hotel Chain HUSA
1984 Gold medal for the opening and mapping out of the hiking paths for tourism.
Tourism authority CIT of Puerto de la Cruz
1985 Engraved plaque for the help in organizing the Royal Visit in the Casino Taoro
• Silver medal on the World Tourism Day - Canary Government
1986 Prize for its amenities, garden and the opening to tourism of the hiking paths.
Pedro Rovira
1990 Culinary Award for best Hotel Cuisine. Diario de Avisos
1994 Entrepreneur Excellence Award in the Tourism Industry - Canary Government
1995 TUI Holly: 1st place worldwide
• Prize for garden design. Amigos del Puerto de la Cruz
1996 “Q” label for hotel quality from the Island’s Association
• TUI Holly: 2nd place worldwide
1997 Environmental award. Hotel Association ASHOTEL
• TUI Environmental Champion: 2nd place worldwide
1998 “Q” label for hotel quality
1st edition of the Spanish Institute for Hotel Quality, ICHE, Madrid
• TUI Environmental Champion: 3rd place worldwide
1999 TUI Holly: 3rd place worldwide
• TUI Environmental Champion: 5th place worldwide
2000 Environmental Green Planet Award. Kuoni, Switzerland
• TUI-Holly: 2nd place worldwide
• TUI Environmental Champion: 2nd place worldwide
2001 Acknowledgment of the professional career of Enrique Talg Wyss.
Association of Spanish Hotel Directors. AEDH
• Best Hotel Cuisine. Diario de Avisos
• TUI-Holly: 8th place worldwide
2002 TUI Environment Champion: 1st place worldwide
• EMAS certification for environmental management according to EC standards
• ISO 14001 Certification for environmental management
• Environmental Prize from the hotel association ASHOTEL: 1st place
• TUI-Holly: amongst the 100 preferred hotels worldwide
2003 Prize for Quality and Environment: Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Tenerife.
• ISO 9001 Certification for Quality management.
• TUI Environmental Champion: 3rd place worldwide
2004 TUI-Holly: amongst the 100 preferred hotels worldwide
2005 “Order of Hotel Merit” for Enrique Talg Wyss. Spanish Hotel Association
• Recognition for internationalizing the name “Tigaiga”
Barrio de Tigaiga, Los Realejos
• Enviromental Award: Esco/Hotelplan, Switzerland
• TUI Environmental Champion
2006 ISO 9001 Certification for Quality management.
• ISO 14001 Certification for Environmental management.
• EMAS Certification for environmental management
• Prize for Management by procedures (EFQM). Island government & Applus+.
• TUI-Hommage “Golden Laurel” for Enrique Talg Wyss
• Enrique Talg Wyss receives the Tourism prize 2007 of the Island Government
in the Press:
2.500 Firms are proud to have
been awarded this distinction and
3.3 million firms have it in their
sights
Enrique Talg and
The Tigaiga win
a merited prize
At the end of April, Don Enrique Talg, hotel impresario
extraordinary of Puerto de la
Cruz, went to Málaga to receive an important prize during
the First Congress of Hotel Impresarios. The award is named
“Order of Hotel Merit” and is
bestowed for the first time by
the Spanish Federation of Hotels and Tourist Lodgings, in
recognition of the excellence
of the recipient’s hotel administration.
Enrique Talg (originally hailing from Switzerland) has always
been a visionary within the Canary tourist business, as was his
father before him. Experience,
innovation, loyalty, cleanliness
are demanded by today’s hotel
clients, and the Tigaiga, situated
in the beauties of the Taoro Park,
has these in spadefuls.
But Enrique is also known
for his strength, endurance and
great human qualities - qualities
which he has inculcated in his
own family, that will enable this
third generation to perpetuate
the high standards that their father inherited from his father.
TENERIFE NEWS
27.05.2005
Want some adventure?
Just build a pool
“Building a hotel in those pioneering days of the 50s and 60s days
was quite something” reminisces
Enrique Talg Wyss. On the site
where the hotel now stands there
was pure volcanic ash, so that
laying the foundations guzzled
an enormous amount of the costs.
“Then, when we wanted to build
the pool, we were confronted by a
surface of hard rock which would
have been ideal for the hotel foun-
dations! We had entered into this
project with the light hearted illusion of just having to shovel away
the volcanic ash. In fact we had to
blast our way through again and
again”. The neighbours were not
exactly enchanted; “Howevermuch
longer shall we have to put up with
this” they asked. Nevertheless the
pool was eventually finished, and
entered into the annals of Puerto’s
history as the first heated pool.
15
Tigaiga over the years
1958 Construction and opening of the hotel with 24 double rooms in
December.
1959-2006 The Canary folk dancing performance, started by Enrique
Talg Schulz at the Taoro Hotel, come to the Tigaiga gardens.
1960 Completion of the kitchens
1963 Building of the extension: 48 double rooms, 8 single rooms as
well as the dining room.
1964 Building of swimming-pool.
1968 Telex connection (first hotel in the Canary Islands to have it)
1982 The first hotel in the Canary Islands to use solar energy
1982-1996 Every year during the summer the hotel closed for refurbishing.
1992 Tennis court and underpass for suppliers
Re-landscaping of the garden with transplanting of mature palm
trees.
TV connection to all rooms.
1993 The suites are modernised.
1994 The laundry is modernised.
1995 Installation of new emergency electricity unit.
Adaptation of kitchen to the latest technologies.
1998 The dining room is moved to garden level with breakfast terrace
in the garden.
New suites installed on entire top floor.
1st floor rooms specially modified for the disabled.
Hairdressers‘ salon.
The Kiosk is modernised.
Conversion and refitting of administrative offices on lower floor.
Further modernisation and refitting of kitchen.
2000 Air-conditioning to all rooms, bathrooms renovated
2001 New reception area
2002 EMAS certifícation for environment-friendly hotel management.
The swimming pool is retiled.
Uso fructae over 3 years negotiated for the neighbouring land.
2003 ISO 9001 Quality Certification.
New amenities: Mini spa, and massage area with sea view
2004 Modernisation of fire prevention equipment in accordance with
latest specifications
2005 Second part of the fire safety installation.
State of the art computer technology in all areas: Internet for
guests.
2006 Lobby is redecorated; cosyness in bedrooms achieved with new
curtains, bedspreads and pillows.
The last Canary folk dancing performance took place in may.
2007 Adjacent grounds are transformed to be Jardín Carolina
Rooms receive soundproof panorama windows.
Swimmingpool area tiled and equipped with new sunbeds
2008 Visit our blog: http://en.tigaiga50.com
June 2008
HOTEL
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
In Memoriam: Enrique Talg Wyss
One of the quaint tricks of fate
was that this wonderful gentleman died on the World Day of
Tourism, on 27th September, and
when he was about to set off to
Santa Cruz to receive yet another
award for his excellent contribution to high standards in the hotel industry. His family run hotel,
the Tigaiga in Puerto de la Cruz,
is renowned throughout the
world for its very high standards
and friendliness.
Talg was a founding member
of the Tourism Initiatives Centre
in Puerto de la Cruz and one of
the most influential figures in the
industry in north Tenerife. News
of his death was given by a griefstricken Puerto de la Cruz Mayor
Marcos Brito at the annual TUI
tourism awards ceremony held to
coincide with World Tourism Day.
Enrique Talg was not only a perfectionist but dearly loved and respected by everyone who had the
pleasure of knowing or working
for him. He was simply a charming man who took great pleasure
in listening to others and to making worthwhile things happen. Indeed Puerto de la Cruz, and a good
many of its local population, have
lost not only a standard bearer but
a good friend.
He was born in Vigo in 1924.
His mother was Swiss and his
father was German. Nevertheless Don Enrique always considered himself a tinerfeño and
especially a man of Puerto, having spent most of his life here
with his late wife Gisela and
his three children. There is no
doubt in anybody’s minds that
his children, Enrique, Irene
and Ursula have inherited their
father’s remarkable qualities.
Enrique Talg’s father was one
of the founders of the tourist
industry in Puerto de la Cruz,
having worked at the Taoro and
Martiánez Hotels before building the Tigaiga in 1959. But it
was Enrique who turned the hotel into much more than a small
family run concern.
He also had a quiet but considerable influence in the development of the less visible but necessary high standards needed to
take the local industry forwards.
Nevertheless the tributes being
echoed throughout Puerto de la
Cruz speak of his humanity, of his
His portrait painted by Kokoscha-disciple
Vicky Penfold, now hangs as a homage
in the Salón Atlántico, beside the portrait
of his father and truly reflects his distinct
personality
kindness and generosity and of his
exemplary good manners. As they
say, a piece of history has departed with Enrique Talg and they are
not mistaken.
Island Connections, 10.2006
The recently restored Taoro Park, home to the Anglican All Saints church, has once again become a popular spot for people to take a leisurely stroll and for joggers. It also lies alongside the Tigaiga, a family run hotel so often distinguished for
its quality of service.
Enrique Talg bust unveiled
So it is fitting that the regional authorities chose this park to erect
a bust of the late Enrique Talg,
whose family owns the Tigaiga
and who did so much for the tourism industry and for the environment in Tenerife. Hundreds of people turned up
to remember this great man; including representatives of the Canary Government, Ricardo Melchior (Tenerife Cabildo President),
dignitaries and religious leaders.
His son Enrique and his daughters Ursula and Irene were visibly
moved by the wonderful things
that were said about their father
during the ceremony; Ricardo
Melchior, who was a very close
friend of Enrique, spoke about
how he would always bring things
back for him from the countries
and places he had visited, always
trying to improve the island that
he loved so much.
The Mayoress of Puerto de la
Cruz, Dolores Padrón, also paid
HOTEL
tribute emphasising how significantly Enrique Talg’s work had
benefitted Puerto de la Cruz and
tourism in Tenerife. One of the most emotive
moments of the ceremony was
when Enrique Talg Jr. spoke,
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
thanking the Cabildo of Tenerife, and especially Ricardo
Melchior for the moving homage and for the bust which was
sculpted by Canary artist Felipe
Hodgson for future generations
to see. Finally the bust was unveiled
and tears flowed freely down
many cheeks watching Enrique
Talg Wyss’s children and grandchildren admire the sculpture.
AM Tenerife News edition 344
& Island Connections 23.04.2008
Tel.: (+34) 922 383 500 • Fax: (+34) 922 384 055

in the Press - Hotel Tigaiga

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