The Most Family-Friendly Hotels in Tenerife

The Ritz-Carlton, Abama, is one of Tenerife’s only true luxury hotels, catering to well-heeled couples and families. Highlights here include seven swimming pools, one of which is adults only, nearly a dozen restaurants – among them an oceanfront grill and a family-favourite Italian spot – and a private beach, accessed by a train funicular, that’s very safe for swimming because of its breakwaters. Daily entertainment for kids is dreamed up by the superb Ritz Kids, a club that hosts games, activities and tournaments, and also provides a babysitting service.

A massive pool area with a seven-tier waterfall forms the heart of this family-friendly compound. In addition to the heated pool and snack bar, the hotel offers a kids’ club, a mini disco and an international animation team leading water polo, ping-pong and other daytime games. At night, entertainment shifts to events such as magic and exotic bird shows. The hotel is under a 10-minute walk from Playa Fañabé and all of its adjacent restaurants, shops and beach clubs, and about a 10-minute drive from Siam Park, Siam Mall and Jungle Park.

The main hotel of the Mare Nostrum Resort complex, Mediterranean Palace, is a big, busy hotel with an equally large pool area and is geared especially towards families. Cleopatra Palace Hotel and Hotel Sir Anthony, also part of the complex, are more suited to couples. The beach is a three-minute walk away and on-site there’s a giant pool and kids’ club – the biggest on the island – complete with ball pits, arts and crafts and mini golf.

Meliá Jardines del Teide is about a mile inland from Playa del Duque, the best beach in the area. A lovely meandering pool and three acres of pretty gardens dominate the hotel grounds, and there are several food and drink options including a themed buffet with plenty of options for picky eaters. With kids’ activities led in a shallow pool or the kids’ club, and a family-friendly party atmosphere at night, the experience at Meliá can be as relaxed or as amped-up as you want.

The family-favourite Catalonia Oro Negro delivers simple apartment-style accommodation just across from the Golf Las Américas golf course and a 10-minute walk from the beach. Nothing about the place is fashionable, but it’s earned the devotion of its repeat clientele with its unpretentious setting, fun vibe and all-day entertainment line-up that includes nightly shows. The pool area – with a separate kids’ pool, playground and sundeck – forms the centre point between the three room towers. Between pool sessions, kids can partake in organised activities such as mini golf and face painting.

Ideally located on Playa La Pinta Puerto Colón, casual aparthotel Hovima La Pinta is in a hotbed of eateries, ice-cream shops and tour operators for adventures such as kayaking, sailing and diving. The calm, clear waters of the fine-sand beach are like an extension of the hotel’s pool area, which has two dedicated for kids, one equipped with a spiral slide. Rooms have kitchenettes and balconies for self-catering and taking in the beautiful views.

One of the best-bet Playa de las Américas hotels for families, the beachfront H10 Conquistador is a mega-hotel with a serious pulse. Its buildings wrap around a palm-filled deck with undulating pools – one for infants and toddlers – islands, bridges and areas for group games and lounging. If kids need a break from the pools or the beach, which is just past the hotel gate, there are indoor/outdoor clubs for various age groups, featuring everything from a ball pit and playground to PlayStations and a jukebox.

Bahia Principe Sunlight is an elegant hillside property made to look like an ideal version of a Spanish village, lining one side of a vast pool. Pleasantly old-fashioned rooms and suites have terracotta tile flooring, ceiling fans and balconies, plus bathroom counters with double sinks. Mexican and Asian à la carte restaurants, plus Italian and Brazilian barbecue at the sister hotel, offer a change from the buffet.

For families wanting to swap the wild scene of Playa de las Américas for the serenity of Golf del Sur, the relaxed condo-style Select Sunningdale is a no-brainer. Two-storey, tile-roofed villas come in studio and one-bedroom configurations, all with full kitchens and balconies for al fresco dining. There’s an on-site shop for stocking up, as well as an à la carte restaurant and a snack bar. The nearby coastal village of Los Abrigos has many delicious seafood restaurants.