Infinity pool hotels in Tenerife

Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora is a beachfront resort at Alcalá, on the west coast of Tenerife, at the foot of Teide. Its saltwater infinity pool is open to all guests. It sits by the sea at the bottom of the terraced resort, and its edge meets the Atlantic, with views of La Gomera on the horizon. The hotel bills it as the largest saltwater infinity pool in a hotel in Europe.

The resort is set up for families. Besides the infinity pool there are a family pool, a children's pool with a pirate ship and a splash park, and kids' clubs for ages 8 months to 11 years. The main pool is shared by everyone, children included. RedLevel, the hotel's premium level, adds its own lounge, a separate pool and reserved areas at the main pools.

Rooms and suites have terraces with ocean or garden views, and dogs are welcome. The RedLevel Villa with Private Pool and the RedLevel 2 Villas with Private Pool come with a garden and a heated private plunge pool. A large Clarins spa completes the resort.

Best for: families who want kids' clubs and a large infinity pool, and couples who book RedLevel.

The rooftop infinity pool at Royal River is open to all guests and looks out over the Atlantic Ocean in a wide panorama. The hotel is adults-only, for guests aged 14 and over, and stands in the south of Tenerife, opposite the Costa Adeje Golf Course. It is not on the beach: it faces the golf course, with the ocean in the distance.

Royal River is an all-villa hotel, and most of its 50 villas have their own pool. Some villas connect directly to an 80 meter (260 foot) river-style pool that runs through tropical vegetation, while others, thatched and styled on traditional African architecture, open onto a separate lagoon pool.

The Top, a rooftop brasserie with panoramic views, is one of four restaurants, and the Serenity Spa offers massages and facials in an intimate setting. Best for: couples who want a villa with its own pool, and golfers.

At Buenavista del Norte, in the quiet northwest of Tenerife, Hacienda del Conde is a colonial-style resort set between the Atlantic and the Teno mountains. It is adults-only, for guests aged 16 and over. The infinity pool is open to all guests and looks out over the ocean and the hotel gardens.

Around 120 rooms and suites have colonial decor and terraces. Depending on the category, they face the gardens, the Buenavista golf course next to the hotel or the sea, so travelers who want the Atlantic from their terrace should book a Sea View category.

The ALQVIMIA Spa has a water circuit with a heated indoor pool. In the summer months, guests can also swim at the Ocean's Club, a seasonal pool shaped into the lava cliff above the sea, when sea conditions allow. The setting is rural, with cliffs and volcanic coves around it, well away from the busy resort towns of the south. Best for: couples who want a quiet retreat, and golfers.

Las Terrazas de Abama Suites is an all-suite hotel in Abama Resort, in Guía de Isora on the southwest coast of Tenerife, surrounded by 25,000 palm trees and an 18-hole golf course. Its infinity pools overlook the Atlantic and are open to all guests: every reservation includes access. The water is heated year-round to about 27 C (81 F), and the Pool Bar Sunway serves light dishes, juices and cocktails by the main infinity pool.

The views reach across the ocean to the island of La Gomera. The 151 suites range from one to four bedrooms, and each has a private terrace or garden and a kitchen. Two categories, the 2 Bedroom Suite with Jacuzzi and the 3 Bedroom Suite with Jacuzzi, add a private outdoor hot tub.

Melvin, the hotel's signature restaurant, serves cuisine by Basque chef Martín Berasategui. The resort's Kids Camp, for children aged 4 to 14, is inside the hotel. The hotel sits on the golf course, away from the sea, and its guests use the resort's semi-private beach on the coast.

Best for: families who want a spacious suite and a kids' program, and golfers.

From outside, Royal Hideaway Corales Beach looks like a large ship, a design by Tenerife-born architect Leonardo Omar, with interiors inspired by the marine corals of the island's coast. On its roof, a heated infinity pool with its own bar faces the Atlantic, and it is open to all guests. The hotel stands in La Enramada, next to the village of La Caleta in Costa Adeje, and is reserved for adults.

All 121 rooms are Junior Suites. Two categories add a hot tub on the terrace: the Junior Suite with Outdoor Hot Tub, which looks over the gardens, and the Junior Suite Ocean Front View with hot tub, facing the sea. Dining is the other draw: El Rincón de Juan Carlos and San Hô hold Michelin stars, and Corales bills itself as the hotel with the most Michelin stars in Spain.

The hotel shares its complex with Royal Hideaway Corales Suites, a family-friendly sister hotel next door, and some of the restaurants are on the Suites side.

Best for: couples and friends who want a quiet stay among adults, built around fine dining.

Open to all guests, the two freshwater infinity pools of Roca Nivaria GH sit on the seafront of Playa Paraíso, in Costa Adeje, with the Atlantic straight ahead. One is a heated infinity pool kept at about 29 C (84 F) all year; the other stays at the natural temperature. Gardens, sun loungers and an outdoor hot tub surround the water.

The hotel is so close to the sea that an elevator takes guests straight to a small cove, and there is direct access to the coastal promenade. All rooms have a balcony or terrace with sun loungers and a parasol. The sea-view categories include rooms on the upper floors and suites for up to four guests. The Azules de Nivaria spa looks out over the ocean and the island of La Gomera.

This is a family hotel, so the infinity pools are shared with children. Next to the main pool there is a separate children's pool, and the RoniAventura area has wet and dry play zones, with a mini club for ages 4 to 12. Four restaurants and four bars, including Italian and Spanish themed restaurants, keep dining varied over a longer stay.

Best for: families with young children, and winter-sun travelers who want a heated infinity pool facing the ocean.

On the roof of this adults-only hotel in central Playa de las Américas, an infinity pool looks out over the town to the Atlantic. The hotel accepts guests aged 18 and over only, and the rooftop pool is open to all of them. In winter it is heated to about 22-26 C (72-79 F). A whirlpool, a sun terrace with sunbeds and Bali beds, and the Café del Mar bar share the roof.

Café del Mar has a resident DJ, and the rooftop hosts theme parties and DJ sessions, so it can get lively. Guests who want more privacy can rent one of the VIP areas, and by day part of the roof is a nudist zone, opened by having reception activate the room key. A second pool sits in the center of the hotel, surrounded by sun loungers.

Romance rooms have an open-plan layout with a hydromassage bathtub for two. Romance rooms and Suites include the Half Board Exclusive, which adds access to the Exclusive Lounge and a sunbed reservation on the roof. The hotel stands in the middle of town, among shops, restaurants and nightlife, rather than on the seafront.

Best for: couples and friends looking for an adults-only stay with music and parties on the roof.

The island of La Gomera and the Los Gigantes cliffs fill the view from Barceló Santiago, a 4-star hotel in Puerto de Santiago, on the west coast of Tenerife. Of its three outdoor pools, one is an infinity pool with views of the Atlantic, and it is open to all guests. Another of the three, not the infinity pool, is heated. The hotel is adults-only, for guests aged 18 and over, so there are no children around the pools.

Loungers and Balinese beds line the large sun terrace around the pools. Most rooms have a private terrace facing the ocean or the garden, and the sea-view categories look toward La Gomera or the cliffs. Three categories add a hot tub: Deluxe Garden View with Hot Tub, Deluxe Sea View with Hot Tub and Junior Suite with Hot Tub.

The Wellness & Fitness area has a spa with a hydrotherapy circuit, a sauna and a Turkish bath, and a gym. Meals range from a buffet to a Mediterranean restaurant and a gastropool bar, and guests can choose an all-inclusive plan. With about 400 rooms, this is a large hotel rather than a small retreat.

Best for: couples looking for a quiet, adults-only stay with views of the Atlantic.

Hotel Riu Palace Tenerife stands on the Costa Adeje seafront, with direct access to Playa del Duque. Its infinity pool with ocean views is open to all guests: the water runs out toward the Atlantic horizon, and Balinese beds line the sun deck beside it. Cocktails are served there as the sun sets. Two other outdoor pools sit in spacious gardens and are heated in winter.

Built in 1999 and fully refurbished in 2015, the hotel welcomes families as well as couples. Every room has a balcony or terrace. Choices range from Large Double Rooms with sea or partial sea views to Junior Suites with sea views and two-bedroom Family Rooms.

Stays are on half board rather than all-inclusive. The main buffet has live cooking, and dinner can also be a la carte at the Krystal fusion restaurant or at the themed restaurant by the pool. The Body Love wellness center has a steam bath and massage rooms; the gym is free, while spa treatments cost extra. Shows and live music fill the evenings.

Best for: couples and families who want a beachfront hotel with sunset views on half board.

Inspired by Bali, with natural stone, hand-carved statues and Balinese furniture, Regency Country Club is an apartment hotel in Chayofa, in the Arona area of south Tenerife. Its large heated infinity pool is open to all guests and looks out over the Atlantic Ocean to the island of La Gomera. Gardens, sun terraces and an outdoor hot tub surround it, and the pool has direct access to the bar.

The hotel stands inland, in a quiet setting, rather than on a beach: the closest beaches are in Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas. The reception, in the same Balinese style, has a library and a lounge with panoramic ocean views.

All 70 apartment suites have a kitchen or kitchenette, from studios to a four-bedroom suite with a private sauna. Some one-bedroom suites add a private Jacuzzi and solarium, and the two-bedroom duplexes with pool access open directly onto the pool area. For children there is a kids' club, a playground and mini-golf; massages and beauty treatments are booked at reception.

Best for: couples looking for a quiet base with ocean views, and families who want apartment space and a kids' club.

Palm trees surround the pools of Hotel Riu Arecas, an adults-only hotel in the Playa del Duque area of Costa Adeje, on the south coast of Tenerife. The hotel publishes no minimum age. Its infinity pool with ocean views is open to all guests: it sits beside a sand terrace, and its water line runs out toward the Atlantic horizon.

The pool areas also have in-water sun loungers, and sun loungers and parasols are free for guests. Two outdoor pools are heated in winter. The Spa & Wellness center adds a Jacuzzi, a steam bath, a gym and treatments.

Every room has a private balcony or terrace, and some rooms look over the pool gardens. Meals are served at a buffet restaurant with live cooking stations and at a Spanish themed restaurant. There are three bars and live music and shows in the evening, and guests can join the RIU Party nights held at Hotel Riu Buenavista, a sister hotel.

Best for: couples and friends who want quiet days by the pool and live entertainment at night.

H10 Costa Adeje Palace has three infinity pools, and one of them is open to all guests aged 12 and over. The other two belong to Privilege, the hotel's level of exclusive rooms and services: a second infinity pool in the Chill-Out area, also for ages 12 and over, and a rooftop infinity pool with sea views, reserved for adults. To use them, book a Privilege room.

The resort stands on the seafront at La Caleta, in Costa Adeje, with direct access to La Enramada beach and Canary Island gardens around the buildings. Rooms face the gardens or the sea. Junior Suites add a living area and a large terrace, and Family Rooms sleep two adults and two children.

Children aged 4 to 12 have the Daisy Club and a children's water park with slides. The children's pool is heated in winter. In the evening there are shows and live music. The compromise is that children under 12 cannot use the infinity pools. Stays can be booked all inclusive or on other meal plans, and visitors who are not staying can book a day pass with lunch.

Best for: families with children, and couples who book Privilege for the rooftop.

A city hotel rather than a beach resort, INNSiDE by Meliá Tenerife Santa Cruz stands in central Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital, close to the Plaza del Príncipe de Asturias. Its rooftop infinity pool is open to all guests, so any room gives access. The pool has glass sides and looks out over the city and the Atlantic Ocean.

The pool is part of 13 Cielos, the rooftop bar, where cocktails and snacks are served around the water. It is a compact pool, better suited to a quick dip with a view than to swimming laps.

The hotel has 83 rooms in a modern style. The Loft adds a private terrace facing the city and the Atlantic, and the Studio has a lounge with a sofa bed. At street level, Raza serves traditional cuisine with a modern twist. Dogs are welcome, up to two per room, with no weight limit.

Best for: travelers who want a city base in Tenerife, and guests traveling with their dog.

The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama reserves its infinity pool for guests staying at The Retreat. The Del Mar Infinity Pool sits in this quieter area of two-story casitas and subtropical gardens, raised above the clifftop gardens with its own sunbeds, and it faces the sunset over the bay.

Guests in other rooms use the resort's other pools. The largest is the Lagoon Pool in the Citadel, the lively center with restaurants, shops and live music. The Persian Garden Pool looks over Abama bay, and the Serenity Pool, for teens and adults, overlooks the golf course. The Lagoon, Serenity and Persian Garden pools are heated.

Pink Moorish-inspired buildings and tropical gardens spread over a large estate on the southwest coast, framed by the Atlantic and Mount Teide. Below the cliffs, Abama Beach has dedicated facilities for resort guests, with La Gomera island on the horizon. Dining includes the Michelin-starred M.B., run under chef Martín Berasategui's vision, and families have the Ritz Kids club and a splash park.

Best for: couples who book The Retreat for the sunset pool, and families who want a kids' club and a choice of pools.

Landmar Playa La Arena is an oceanfront resort in Puerto de Santiago, on the west coast of Tenerife, next to the black volcanic sand of La Arena beach. Its heated infinity pool is reserved for guests who book Platinum, a category open only to guests aged 16 and over. The pool faces the Atlantic, with views of La Gomera and the coast of Tenerife.

Platinum guests also have a hot tub next to the pool, The View, a snack bar serving light food and premium drinks through the day, a VIP lounge and reserved sections in the restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Platinum rooms look out over the ocean and La Gomera and add a coffee maker, a pillow menu, bathrobes and slippers. Once a week, Platinum by Night brings live music and cocktails.

The rest of the resort welcomes guests of all ages. Guests in the other rooms swim in two large central pools with gentle entertainment or in the open-air thalasso area, not in the infinity pool. Every room has a private terrace, and all-inclusive is available as an option.

Best for: couples who book Platinum for its infinity pool and sea views, and travelers who want a calm base on the west coast.

At Gran Tacande, access to the infinity pool depends on the room you book. It sits in San Sebastian Exclusive Plaza, the private area for guests of the Gold Level rooms and the Imperial Suite, where the saltwater pool faces the Atlantic and the sunset. The infinity pool is heated year-round and sits beside a hydromassage pool, with loungers and Bali beds around them. Guests in the Deluxe rooms and Suites can ask at reception about a daily pass to the area.

The hotel stands on the Costa Adeje seafront, with Playa del Duque directly behind the pool area. Every guest can use the large Playa Pool, a saltwater pool set in gardens, and families have a shallow children's pool next to it and a kids' club for ages 4 to 7.

Rooms have Canarian-style decor and terraces, and several categories face the Atlantic; Gold Level rooms come with access to the plaza. Haydée by Víctor Suárez, the hotel's tasting-menu restaurant, holds one MICHELIN star for its Canarian and Gomeran cooking, and the Vitanova Thalasso Spa offers a thermal circuit and massages.

Best for: couples ready to book Gold Level for the infinity pool, and families who want a hotel right on Playa del Duque.

Booking a Star Prestige room is the way into the rooftop infinity pool at Iberostar Selection Sábila, a 5-star hotel on the Costa Adeje beachfront, by Playa de Fañabé. The pool is semi-private, kept for a limited number of guests in the Sky Lounge on the sixth floor, a sun terrace with sea views, Balinese beds, sun loungers, a hot tub and an open bar. The hotel is designed for adults, and its bright, minimalist interiors are meant for a calm stay.

Star Prestige rooms are on the fifth and sixth floors and include check-in at a private reception desk. Guests in the other rooms use the main outdoor pool, with Balinese beds and a pool bar. All rooms have a balcony or a terrace, and the sea-view rooms look out over Playa de Fañabé.

The spa has a heated outdoor pool, a Turkish bath, a sauna and treatments based on aloe vera. The signature restaurant is the Gourmet Market, a food market with seven stalls, from ham and cheese to fish and desserts, with live music and ocean views. Stays are offered with breakfast, half board or all-inclusive.

Best for: couples who want a quiet beach holiday and plan to book Star Prestige for the rooftop.

On the seventh-floor rooftop of Spring Arona Gran Hotel, the UP! Terrace holds a heated infinity pool that looks out over the Atlantic, the bay of Los Cristianos and the island of La Gomera. The terrace is reserved for guests staying in an UP! Room or an UP! Suite; other guests can ask at reception to pay a supplement for access when space allows. The whole hotel is adults-only, for guests aged 16 and over.

The rooftop also has a second pool with a glass front over the facade, an outdoor jacuzzi, Balinese beds and a bar with snacks and premium drinks included for UP! guests, each with a guaranteed sunbed. UP! rooms are on the upper floors, with terraces facing the ocean and the pools, and the UP! Suite adds a large private terrace.

Guests in the other room categories use two outdoor pools and a jacuzzi on the ground-floor sun terrace. The hotel opens onto the seafront promenade of Los Cristianos, in the south of Tenerife, and has a Thalasso Spa at an extra charge and a cycling center where guests can store and wash their bikes. Meal plans are bed and breakfast or half board.

Best for: couples who book an UP! category for the rooftop pool, and cyclists who want a seafront base.

The rooftop of Spring Hotel Vulcano, a 4-star hotel in the middle of Playa de las Américas, is a separate area called UP!, with an infinity pool facing the Atlantic, a glass-fronted pool and two jacuzzis. UP! is for guests aged 18 and over staying in an UP! Room, an XL Room or a Room XL Terrace; guests in other rooms can ask at reception whether there is space and at what price.

These rooms come with the UP! service: a reserved sun lounger on the roof, plus drinks and snacks such as soft drinks, cava, cocktails and spirits. The UP! Room is on the upper floors with ocean views, the XL Room is more spacious, and the Room XL Terrace adds a private terrace.

Below, the central pool area has two main pools, one of them heated in winter, and a children's pool. The Double Pool View rooms include the Balance Terrace, a second area for guests aged 18 and over with its own infinity pool. Children are welcome, but the hotel is not an entertainment resort: the mood is quiet, with yoga, pilates and meditation classes and an indoor spa at an extra charge. It stands in town rather than on the seafront.

Best for: couples who book an UP! room for the rooftop, and travelers who want a quiet, wellness-focused base in Playa de las Américas.

Glass walls and a glass bottom set the Infinity Sky Pool at GF Victoria apart: this rooftop infinity pool on the fifth floor hangs out from the facade, with wide views of the Atlantic. It sits in the Zambra SkyBar, a terrace reserved for adults. Staying guests have complimentary access.

GF Victoria is a five-star resort in Costa Adeje, close to Playa del Duque beach, with separate areas for families and adults. Every room is a suite with a private terrace and views of the sea, the pools or the garden square; the Harmony suites add an outdoor jacuzzi. Children have kids' clubs by age and a water park with slides and a surf pool. Adults have a quiet solarium pool with Balinese beds and a naturist terrace with a pool and jacuzzi on the seventh floor.

The Zambra SkyBar serves signature cocktails, with live DJs and sunset views. The terrace has limited capacity, and the hanging pool is not accessible to people with reduced mobility. Best for: families who want a water park, and couples looking for a rooftop cocktail scene.