For most families, Tenerife means the south-west. Costa Adeje's beaches are sandy and lifeguarded, one flat promenade links them, and Torviscas sits behind a breakwater, so its water is usually calm. Three of our four family hotels are big resorts, which is what buys the pools, kids' clubs and restaurants for every age; it also means February half term and Christmas are busy at breakfast and around the pools, so get to both early.
Choose by how often you want to leave the hotel. On the Costa Adeje front you can walk to the beach, the shops and dinner, and Siam Park is 9 minutes by car from Playa del Duque. The two west-coast resorts are built to keep you inside, with a hire car for days out. In the north, pools and gardens take the place of sand, which suits older children.
Built for families who want everything inside the gates. Deluxe rooms start at 54 square metres, and the Deluxe Family is sold with a king and two single beds. Around the vast saltwater infinity pool sit a separate family pool and a children's pool with a pirate ship and a splash park. Two clubs split the ages: The Farm Caretakers takes children from 8 months to 4 years, with a supervised session from 10:00 to 13:00 at extra cost and a free Stay & Play from 14:30 to 17:30, and The Ocean Navigators runs activities for ages 5 to 11.
It is the one hotel of our ten that sells all-inclusive weeks, though Dúo, the steakhouse, sits outside every plan. The shore is rocky, with a small black-sand beach across the road, so the pools are where the days happen. Tenerife South is 35 kilometres away: book a transfer or hire a car.
The room to book
Deluxe Family
54 m²
A king and two single beds in 54 square metres, with a rain shower and a bath: room for four without paying for a suite.
For small children, the beach decides it. Playa del Duque, a calm Blue Flag beach, is across the promenade, and Upalupa, the hotel's restaurant beside it, is open daily from 12.30 to 11pm with a children's menu. The Mini Club takes ages 3 to 12 every day from 10:00 to 17:45 and is part of the rate, as is the Teen Club for older children. Six pools include a heated one for children, and the gardens run to six hectares.
Fañabé's lifeguarded beach is 14 minutes along the flat promenade, and Siam Park 9 minutes by car. Dinner has house rules: Nub admits no one under 10, nor does Kensei after 6pm, and most dinners ask men over 16 for long trousers, so Upalupa, where smart shorts are fine, is the easy family evening.
The room to book
Junior Suite
45 to 55 m²
More floor than the Casas Ducales version, 45 to 55 square metres, and it sleeps two adults and two children; add the sea-view supplement for the beach in the window.
A resort big enough for three generations to spread out. Ritz Kids runs a daily programme for ages 4 to 12, with supervised sessions booked at least 24 hours ahead, and there is a new Splash Park. The Lagoon, Persian Garden and Serenity pools are all heated, with a lifeguard on duty, and the Retreat's four pools include family and adults-only options, its casitas sold in separate family and adults-only lanes. The cove below is 100 metres of sand, reached by the resort's beach train, with complimentary sunbeds and umbrellas, subject to availability.
For space, the Retreat Deluxe Family Room sleeps four in 60 square metres, and the Citadel Family Rooms sleep six in two bedrooms. Teenagers have the Serenity pool from 13. Parking is complimentary, which matters, because everything off the estate is a drive.
The room to book
Retreat Deluxe Family Room, Garden View
60 m²
Two doubles and a sofa bed for four in 60 square metres, a garden terrace for the children, and the Retreat's family pools.
The north's family choice, best for older children who would rather have pools and gardens than sand. Its three freshwater pools, one of them for children, are held at 27 degrees every day of the year, Teide is the view from the pool, and the 25,000 square metres of garden have black swans, koi and a bonsai corner to explore.
In school holidays the hotel usually runs Botánico Kinder Aventura, with workshops on animals and ecology and supervised visits to Loro Parque, which belongs to the same group as the hotel; ask whether it runs on your dates. A free minibus runs into the centre of Puerto de la Cruz, and babysitting is available on request. The Oriental Spa Garden is for 16 and over.
The room to book
Deluxe Teide View
€271 a night
For a family of four, take two and ask for a connecting pair, which is how the hotel makes its family rooms, with Teide in view from both.
Royal Garden Villas & Spa sells its two-bedroom villas for family holidays, each with a heated private pool and a kitchen, and babysitting is on offer. The Royal Princess has the longest pool in the two-bedroom group, at 7.17 by 2.7 metres.
Once the youngest is 14, Royal River Luxury Hotel works for a family too: the three-bedroom Grand Pool Villa is a duplex for up to seven, with a heated pool of its own.
From about €350 a night
The best things to do in Tenerife, hand-picked
Hand-picked: only the best, one version of each, researched so you don’t have to.
Which hotels in Tenerife have a kids club, and for what ages?
Bahía del Duque's Mini Club takes ages 3 to 12, daily from 10:00 to 17:45, and is included in the rate, as is its Teen Club. The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama runs Ritz Kids for ages 4 to 12, with supervised sessions booked at least 24 hours ahead. Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora has two clubs: The Farm Caretakers for 8 months to 4 years, with a supervised morning session at extra cost and a free afternoon Stay & Play, and The Ocean Navigators for ages 5 to 11. Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden usually runs a children's programme in school holidays; check that it runs on your dates.
Where should families stay in Tenerife?
Most families are happiest in Costa Adeje, on the south-west coast, where one flat promenade links sandy, lifeguarded beaches: Fañabé has sunbeds and kiosks, and the breakwater at Torviscas keeps the water calm on most days. Bahía del Duque faces Playa del Duque on the same promenade, 9 minutes by car from Siam Park. On the west coast, Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora and The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama suit families happy to stay put, with a car for days out. In the north, Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden suits older children who prefer pools and gardens to sand.
Which Tenerife hotels have family rooms for four?
All four on this list can sleep a family of four. At Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora the Deluxe Family is 54 square metres with a king and two single beds. Bahía del Duque's Junior Suite, 45 to 55 square metres, sleeps two adults and two children. The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama has Retreat Family Rooms for four and Citadel Family Rooms for six. At Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden, families take two connecting Deluxe rooms, about 60 square metres in all, for two adults, two children and a cot.
Are Tenerife's family hotels good for teenagers?
Bahía del Duque is the easiest fit, with a Teen Club alongside the Mini Club, both in the rate. At The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama, Ritz Kids stops at 12, but the Serenity pool welcomes guests of 13 and over and the gym opens at 16, with spa treatments from 18. The spas at Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden and at Bahía del Duque both start at 16. Once the youngest is 14, the adults-only Royal River Luxury Hotel, with a heated pool at every villa, becomes an option as well.
How far are Siam Park and Loro Parque from these hotels?
Siam Park is 9 minutes by car from Playa del Duque, where Bahía del Duque sits. Loro Parque is in Puerto de la Cruz, 29 minutes' walk from Plaza del Charco, and belongs to the same group as Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden, whose school-holiday children's programme includes supervised visits there; the hotel's free minibus runs into town. From Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora and The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama on the west coast, both parks are a drive, so hire a car; The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama parks guests free, and Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora has parking on site.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
The big resort
