There’s something wonderfully indulgent about a swim-up room. Pre-breakfast dips are a doddle when you can dive into a pool just a few steps from your bed, while families can keep an easy eye on splashing kids from the terrace, sipping something cool. Thanks to the island’s year-round sunshine, every day is a pool day and in Tenerife you’ll really feel the value of a swim-up room. They are most commonly found in the island’s sun-basking south, with many hotels scattered around the popular resorts of Costa Adeje and Playa de las Americas. These are luxurious stays, no doubt, but swim-up rooms that give direct access onto a shared pool can offer even better value, while if you’re happy to blow the budget, some properties offer suites and villas with private pools.
Main photo: Royal Hideaway Corales Suites, La Caleta
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1. Royal River Luxury Hotel, Costa Adeje
£££ | 3 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for a blissful retreat
For all-out opulence in Tenerife, this exclusive all-villa hotel is hard to beat. Book a River villa and you can swim out from your private plunge pool into the communal connecting river, while the thatched Lagoon villas cluster around a shared pool you can dive straight into from your expansive terrace. Both types of accommodation can be booked with one bedroom or two and cater only for adults. For dinner, there’s Asian cuisine at Kokoro and French at Flamingo, while The Top serves a brasserie-style menu on the rooftop. The hotel can also organise wine tastings and sailing trips.
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2. Los Jardines de Abama Suites, Guia de Isora
£££ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for laid-back families
This is the perfect spot to relax as a family in total seclusion. Book a Villa del Tenis at this tranquil hotel and you’ll find a private heated pool in your garden, accessed directly from a vast terrace with views of the Atlantic and surrounding golf course. The two and three-bedroom villas are spacious and can sleep up to six, and if you can rouse yourselves to leave there are five further communal pools, courts for tennis and padel, and a restaurant under the direction of Martin Berasategui, who runs a three Michelin-star restaurant in the Basque Country.
3. Flamingo Suites Boutique Hotel, Playa de las Americas
££ | 0 RESTAURANTS | Best for being in the heart of the action
Located just back from the sandy Playa de la Pinta and only a few minutes’ walk from Puerto Colón (for whale-watching boat trips) this four-star hotel is well-located for getting out and about. Book the Deluxe Suite and you’ll get a small private pool on your terrace, where you’ll also find comfy loungers and an alfresco dining space. The decor is a little dated but there’s a well-equipped kitchenette and a larger communal pool with sunbeds, as well as a Jacuzzi and sauna.
4. Gran Tacande Wellness & Relax, Costa Adeje
££ | 3 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for spa stays
With both swim-up rooms and swim-up suites on offer, couples and families alike are catered for at this mid-size hotel at the upmarket end of Costa Adeje. Gold Level rooms come with extra benefits, including an exclusive area with an infinity pool, Bali-style daybeds and complimentary snacks and drinks. You’ll also have access to the opulent spa, with its thermal circuit, sauna, salt cabin and Turkish bath, plus a wide range of treatments. It’s usually reserved for over-12s, but younger children are allowed access for a couple of hours each day.
5. Coral Ocean View, Playa de las Americas
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£ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for adult-only breaks
The swim-up suites at this adult-only hotel all have direct access from their terraces to a long, shared swimming pool, so you can bake on a lounger and cool off again without even needing to find your room key. If you do venture out, you’ll find plenty of places to relax, including the main pool, a rooftop sundeck and a chill-out terrace. This four-star is a quiet haven in the heart of bustling Playa de las Americas, close to plenty of restaurants and a five-minute walk from the beach.
6. Royal Garden Villas & Spa, La Caleta
£££ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for a boutique feel
With just 28 sprawling villas all equipped with private, heated pools, this tranquil resort overlooking a golf course is all about space and serenity. The decor — think bamboo and Buddhas — references Asia more than the Canary Islands, but the smart main restaurant is all about elevating local produce and flavours. The villas feel self-contained, but there’s also a main infinity pool with a bar, plus a spa, gym and squash court. It’s a five-minute drive from the pretty coastal town of La Caleta, and unless you plan a totally lazy stay you will need a car — parking is free.
• Best family hotels in Tenerife
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7. Baobab Suites, Costa Adeje
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£££ | 3 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for large group gatherings
Featuring one, two and three-bedroom suites with private pools, this cool, contemporary hotel suits both families and groups of friends who want to stay together. There’s an onsite kids’ club, and just across the road is the hotel’s sports club, providing a wide range of classes and a large gym. You’ll also find a main pool plus a sandy beach area with hammocks and a playground. The real deal — the nearest is Playa del Duque beach — is a ten-minute walk away, but there’s a shuttle service if you’re feeling lazy.
8. H10 Atlantic Sunset, Playa Paraiso
££ | 6 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for family facilities
Some hotels won’t allow children to stay in their swim-up rooms; happily, not this one. Swim-up suites at this modern new-build can sleep families of four, so everyone can pile into the pool at a moment’s notice. Around the wider hotel there’s plenty for younger guests too, with a kids’ club, children’s pool and splash park. A 24-hour all-inclusive programme will keep the budget under control, and with meals at the speciality restaurants part of the package, you won’t get bored of the same buffet every day. An entertainment team gets the place buzzing, day and night.
9. Green Garden Eco Resort & Villas, Playa de las Americas
£ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for bang for your buck
You’ll find excellent value for money at this friendly hotel featuring both one and two-bedroom villas with private pools set in lush gardens. Facilities are extensive — from an outdoor gym and a spa to a kids’ club and playground — and there is one buffet restaurant on site that rings the changes with themed dinners. The compromise is the area; rather a quiet spot on the Las Americas golf course, a 20-minute walk or five-minute drive from the resort centre and beach.
10. Ritz-Carlton Abama, Guia de Isora
£££ | 8 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for deluxe dining
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With not one but two Michelin-starred restaurants — Basque cuisine and Japanese fusion — plus another six less formal options, this hotel will spoil you for culinary choice. Set in a large private estate on the southwest coast, it’s pricey, particularly if you want a true swim-up room, as the only option with a private pool is the Imperial Suite — but the less-astronomical Villa Club rooms and suites come with access to a semi-private pool just metres away. There’s every facility you could dream of, including a spa, golf course, tennis centre, huge kids’ club and a beach accessed by private funicular railway.
• Read our full review of the Ritz-Carlton Abama
• Ritz-Carlton Abama Tenerife full hotel review
11. Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife, Golf del Sur
££ | 5 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for all-inclusive action
Just ten minutes from the airport, this big, boisterous behemoth of a hotel on the south coast has every bell and whistle you could think of: seven pools and a water park, five restaurants, a spa and gym, clubs for kids and teens plus a playground, and a full-size theatre for shows. The all-inclusive package covers most things bar the spa, but it’s worth noting that the swim-up rooms are for over-18s only. If you’re travelling without children, you may want to avoid school-holiday stays, when the hotel is overwhelmingly family-orientated.
12. Hotel Suite Villa Maria, La Caleta
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££ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for chilling out with children
The three-bedroom villas at this low-key, village-style property on a hilltop outside La Caleta have private pools, giving families the best of both worlds — the space and privacy of their own self-contained stay, plus the extra facilities of a hotel. There’s a kids’ club, children’s playground and mini-disco to keep youngsters entertained, plus a spa, gym and squash courts for parents. Eat at the restaurant or more relaxed pool bar; otherwise, a complimentary shuttle runs to the Plaza del Duque shopping centre, so you can sample the dining options of Costa Adeje.
13. Mynd Adjede, Callao Salvaje
£ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for great value
With live bands at the bar in the evening, plus yoga and mindfulness workshops, this hotel in a laid-back village on the west coast a few miles north of the main resorts is designed to appeal to a youthful market. The swim-up suites, like all the others at the hotel, have two single beds — perfect for friends staying together — and direct access to a shared pool from the outdoor seating area. There are hammocks by the main pool, a rooftop sundeck, and two restaurants with a focus on healthy, local cuisine.
14. Bahia del Duque, Costa Adeje
£££ | 9 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for beachside indulgence
With an enviable location next to one of Tenerife’s best beaches, at the sophisticated, northern end of Costa Adeje, Bahia del Duque is a large, luxurious hotel with an enclave of sleek, volcanic-stone pool villas. These involve four-poster beds, pillow menus, butlers and round-the-clock room service — you can even order a “floating brunch” to enjoy while you bask in your private pool. Venture out into the wider hotel, and you’ll find a host of high-end restaurants, kids’ and teens’ clubs, a large spa, gym, tennis courts and a pitch-and-putt golf course.
• Read our full review of Bahia del Duque
• Hotel Bahia del Duque Tenerife full review
15. Hotel Sir Anthony, Playa de las Americas
££ | 2 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for a lively location
This established boutique hotel is an oasis right in the heart of Tenerife’s busiest resort, with a dedicated clientele of well-heeled, mostly British couples. Some first-floor superior rooms come with private pools, and other ground-floor options have direct access to the main pool via a few steps. From the pool deck, a gate leads straight onto Playa del Camison beach, and within a stone’s throw of the hotel you’ll find restaurants, shopping and nightclubs. There’s an à la carte restaurant and a spa on site.
16. Royal Hideaway Corales Suites, La Caleta
£££ | 5 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for entertainment for all ages
This curvaceous, modern hotel is a sleek number, with plenty of one and two-bedroom suites attached to private pools, all with expansive sea views over La Caleta bay. Despite its relatively modest size — just 114 suites — amenities are extensive, including a clutch of restaurants, one with two Michelin stars, plus a kids’ club, a teens’ club and even a range of activities for adults, from fitness classes to cocktail mixology and tastings of local produce.
17. Gran Melia Palacio de Isora, Alcala
£££ | 8 RESTAURANTS | SPA | Best for layers of luxury
You can’t get much further from the harsh realities of the wider world than a stay in one of this hotel’s villas. First, you’re cocooned in your own private paradise — a palatial villa with its own heated pool and garden. Leave this sanctum, and you’ll still be within the Red Level, a boutique hotel-within-a-hotel with an exclusive pool, two restaurants, lounge area and butler service. And if you do venture into the full-scale hotel proper, well, you can enjoy Europe’s largest saltwater infinity pool, a Clarins spa, a further six eateries, tennis courts, gym and a kids’ club.
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