Tenerife

Located off of the north-west coast of Africa, Tenerife is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands and is referred to by some as “The Land of Eternal Spring”, thanks to its moderate climate and temperatures that rarely drop below 15°C at any time during the day or year (highs typically range from 17 in the winter to 28 in the summer)!  And if the pleasant weather isn’t enough to entice you, I think it’s safe to say that there’s a little something for everyone, in Tenerife.  It’s home to Mt. Teide (a dormant volcano that’s also the tallest peak in all of Spain) and its surrounding national park, fellow UNESCO World Heritage site San Cristobal of La Laguna, wildlife and water parks, quaint villages, museums, beaches, and countless vacationing Brits! 😉     

Getting there and around: 

Tenerife has 2 main international airports – Tenerife North (TFN) and Tenerife South – a.k.a Aeropuerto Reina Sofia (TFS).  And like most small, island countries, your only way of getting around is by road.  So, if you’ve booked a vacation package, you’ll likely have a bus picking you up (again – let them know ahead of time, if you have any mobility issues).  But failing that, there’s always taxis and private car rentals.  

If you’re staying at a resort, I believe the majority are located in the southern and western portions of the island.  You may want to confirm the location of yours and see if you can save some time by flying into whichever airport is closest, as the island’s topography and relatively central location of Mt. Teide National Park prevents the highways from traversing the island.  The only option is to go around the coast, via the east side of the island, which means you’re looking at about a 1 hour drive from TFN to the west coast.  

 

Where I stayed (year):

Bahia Principe (BP) Costa Adeje (2016) – This beautiful and intuitively-named all-inclusive resort is located on the island’s west coast in – you guessed it – Costa Adeje (…was it the ‘intuitively’ that tipped you off? ;).  Along with its sister resort, Bahia Principe Tenerife, there are 7 restaurants, 5 bars, and of course the obligatory shopping and nightlife square.  This is where you’ll find the nightly stage shows/entertainment, disco, karaoke, sports bar, and 24 hr snack bar.  But unlike it’s Caribbean counterparts, this square goes quiet after midnight (save a few die-hards that take their beverages out to the tables in the courtyard).  However, this place does make up for it by letting you help yourself to various alcoholic beverages at the lounge and pool bars!  It’s definitely the first resort I’ve been to where they have sangria and wines on tap (red, white, and rosé!), along side the beer.

Another major difference:  There’s no beach!  Well, at least not in the traditional sense.  The coastline is rocky, on this part of the island, so the resort has compensated with pools on multiple levels – including an infinite pool at the bottom – so it looks like you’re connected to the ocean (if you ignore the plexiglass barrier ;)!  And if you do want to touch the ocean, there’s a path behind the buildings that leads you down to a neighbouring rocky cove…though, as you might imagine, the destination isn’t exactly wheelchair friendly.  So, the pathway or top of the ramp is likely your best view, if you’re not physically able to make it all the way down (…or convince enough people to carry you down and back ;).  But access to the ocean aside, there is a benefit to being situated on the west coast:  You’re in a great position to watch the sun set!  🙂 

Size wise, the resort isn’t very big, so distance really isn’t an issue*.  It’s the fact that everything’s built on a hillside that makes getting around a bit tricky!  The resort slopes downhill from the main lobby, so the residential buildings essentially cascade in “staircase formation” (i.e. each neighbouring one is built one level down from the next, so it looks like they’re taking a step down).  This is also reflected in the courtyard/terrace, where there’s a lovely garden path with some stairs that runs all the way down to the pools, on the lower levels.  Luckily, for those of us who can’t take the stairs, all of the buildings are connected and each has an elevator!  The fun part is trying to figure out which one will get you to the portion of the path that you need (e.g. to reach an a la carte restaurant), as each building has a different ground floor. And if you’d like to get to the bottom of the resort quickly, there is a faster alternative than taking 2-3 different elevators:  There’s a rather steep service road that runs behind the residential buildings, which leads you directly to the infinity pool, snack bar, and ramp down to the rocky cove.  To access it, you just need to take the elevator down to the bottom level of whichever building you’re in and then access the ramp to the road.  If you’re looking to burn off a few calories, from all of the delicious food and drinks, you can also head back up this way too!  Just be careful, as it is really is steep in parts! 

* Note:  If you’re somebody who likes to explore the entire property, when you go away, but has trouble walking for an extended period, it’s probably a good idea to bring or rent a mobility device.  Again, this is a smaller resort with several elevators, but it’s always best to err on the side of caution, if you think you’ll be walking a lot.

Overall, the accommodations and resort are quite nice!  The rooms are either standard or junior suites, with the choice of 1 or 2 beds. You’ll have the usual table and chairs on your balcony, but only the junior suites will have the space to accommodate a sitting area & dining table inside.  Accessibility was pretty good too, though you will have the odd ramp or slope to contend with – along with the aforementioned game of “which building’s elevator will lead me to that portion of the path?” 🙂  Restaurants and buffets were also accessible, once you figured out how to get to each of them.  The buffet was mostly split-level or elevated seating, but there were some accessible tables (with signs on them!) located right beside the entrance and the food.

I stayed in room 1703 – an adapted standard room that was located close to the main lobby – pretty much at the bottom of its exit ramp.  There were grab bars by the toilet and in the shower too, which was hand-held and height-adjustable.  The only challenges that I encountered, were finding a good position for my shower bench, as there was a partial (shower) wall to negotiate, and trying to get close to the sinks, which didn’t have a counter cut in the facade for my legs to go under.  In both cases, the solution was to turn sideways.  Not ideal, design wise, but also not that big of a deal, once you figure it out and have gone through the routine a couple of times. 😉 Rating: 4/5