Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to spend a week in Tenerife in the Canary Islands and were impressed with all that the island had to offer. We live in Paris and the main reason why we chose Tenerife was because it’s the warmest resort destination in Europe, with temperatures ranging from 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in January, and we didn’t want to take a long flight to Africa, Asia, or Mexico for sun and beach weather.
Tenerife is the largest and most populous of the eight Canary Islands, which are part of Spain. It is also the closest to West Africa. Its versatile and contrasting landscapes include beaches, mountains, volcanoes, and forests, all surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures can range from 35 degrees in the mountains to 85 degrees on the beaches and the south of the island is arid with only 10 days a year of average rainfall. The island has a wide variety of activities, including scuba diving, parasailing, cycling, surfing, windsurfing, hiking and trekking. Culture wise, there are historic villages on the north of the island and there’s a rich diversity of gastronomy and cuisine along with centuries-old winemaking regions.
There are two airports in Tenerife, and we took a direct, four-and-a-half-hour Easyjet flight to the South airport, the larger of the two and closer to the south coast of the island, Adeje, where the largest concentration of resort hotels is located.
Our first stay was at the Mynd Adeje, a new hotel that just opened in November 2021, which is part of Canarian Hospitality, a newly launched hotel consortium based in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Canarian Hospitality is founded on four pillars: innovation, differentiation, sustainability and transformation.Managing partner Alejandro Paez ([email protected]) says, “The Mynd brand is a new concept of vacations and leisure, focused mainly on the LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) and the millennial segment.”M
The millennial aspect of the hotel was quite apparent upon arrival, as we had to enter all our personal information on a screen at the front desk and also scan our passports. We were offered a welcome drink at check-in from the full bar in the lobby by the congenial staff person.
To reach out the concierge, contact Aaron Pestana ([email protected]).
Our double room with a side sea view was on the fourth floor and had a generous size terrace with a table and two chairs with a combination mountain/city/sea view. The 300-square-foot room was spacious and comfortable. Another "Millennial touch," which we liked was a set of outlets on both sides of the bed, which had a USB port for our iPhone and a plug. Other room amenities included a rain shower, an ample size desk, 50-inch TV, air conditioning, and in an attempt to be eco-responsible, hand soap and the shampoo were dispensed from large bottles, instead of the usual, small individual containers. The odd things missing from the room were bottles of water and any kind of coffee or tea service or machine.
One of the things we liked best about Mynd Adeje was the restaurant and breakfast service. The dining area on the pool level has a pleasing, contemporary and an airy design with indoor and outdoor tables intermixed. The health-based cuisine, which has a good number of vegan and vegetarian options, has a mix of local and Spanish dishes plus menu staples such as bowls and burgers. One dish we enjoyed was local grown, new potatoes served with a spicy sauce and a green herb sauce.
The highlight of the hotel is the sprawling rooftop lounge and bar. Chaise lounges and sunbeds line one part of the rooftop along with an infinity pond. On the other side are cushy booths and tables, all with views of Teide Mountain, the Atlantic Ocean, and La Gomera Island. We enjoyed a glass of local Rioja wine and a delicious small plate of chicken fingers while admiring the sunset.
The expansive pool area has chaises that are safely distanced apart and there’s also a small beach area with sand and a volleyball court. Mynd Adeje has 165 rooms, including seven suites, and six rooms with private swimming pools plus three bars, a gym, and SpaWellPlus wellness area with facials and massages. A public beach is a seven-minute walk from the hotel.
Spa director is Elba Leandro Marrero and can be contacted at [email protected]
Another big attraction about Mynd Adeje is its value for the money. Basic double rooms start at €120 in the high season, November through May, and include a full buffet breakfast. The entrées at the restaurant were no higher than €15 and the huge salmon and fresh tuna poke bowls, which were so big we couldn’t finish them, were €9.
We decided to take a break from lounging at the pool and took a day to explore the island. We hired John Reid, owner of Tenerife Private Tours, to give us a six-hour tour. It was difficult to select one tour since there were so many appealing choices on their list but we finally decided on Teide National Park. John picked us up at the hotel at 9:30 a.m. with his car and he took us through small, scenic towns while relating the history and geography of the island in great and entertaining detail. About an hour later, we started our climb up the winding roads to Mount Teide (the temperature started to drop; John had smartly advised us to bring jackets) and because it had snowed the day before, the mountains were beautifully snowcapped. We stopped at key sites and viewing points along the way to take in the dramatic landscapes and rock formations, which were similar to the national parks in the American west such as Zion, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. After we left the park, John took us to his favorite restaurant, El Rancho, which has been open for over 30 years. Perched on a cliff, we had an enjoyable lunch outdoors of authentic Canarian specialties, including a traditional soup with chickpeas, chorizo, and tomatoes, local wine, and a codfish stew. Tenerife Private Tours also offers mountain rock hikes, volcanic landscape tours, wine and banana tours (Tenerife is famous for its locally grown bananas), sunset tours, and vineyard and wine tours.
Our second hotel, the five-star Iberostar Grand El Mirador, was on the opposite hotel spectrum from the low-keyed and laid-back Mynd Adeje. Owned and operated by the Iberostar Group, the Iberostar Grand El Mirador opened in 1995 and was the first luxury resort hotel in the former fishing village. Located on Playa del Duque, rated one of the best beaches in Tenerife, Iberostar Grand El Mirador accommodates adults only, and is more like a sophisticated Las Vegas-style hotel but on a smaller scale with 124 rooms.
We were booked into a junior suite in the Star Prestige La Balconada, a privileged area on the top two floors with a handful of rooms with complimentary butler service, two open bars and food stations with unlimited drinks and snacks during the day and early evening, and its own private pool and sunbathing area with chaises and canopied sunbeds. Our sea view suite, close to 500 square feet, was lavishly decorated in a contemporary, Mediterranean style with a king canopy bed, a living room suite with wicker and upholstered furniture, and a marble bathroom with a bathtub and separate shower room. There was also a private terrace with two chaises and a café table with two chairs.
General Manager Marc Clement ([email protected]) was kind enough to give us a personal tour of the hotel, imparting important information and also insider tips. We asked him what makes Tenerife a special destination and he said, “Tenerife is a special island because of its different microclimates, ranging from snow on top of the volcano Teide, the highest mountain in Spain, to warmth in the South, to the windy East part of the island or the green North with forests, plantations and cliffs. Also being the Canary Islands, it was a very important point in the route to America and the Spanish colonization. There’s an important cultural heritage in La Laguna and Garachico and many common cultural aspects in connection to Hispanic-American culture (music, gastronomy, etc.). Moreover, Tenerife is a very popular tourist destination so you can find all services you may require with excellent weather all year round, that is why the Canary Islands are called the Fortunate islands.” Clement also told us that although most of the clientele is from Great Britain and Germany, he was expecting a large influx of U.S. visitors because United Airlines recently announced its first non-stop flights from Newark to Tenerife starting in June 2022.
The head concierge is Tiziana Gómez, who can be contacted at [email protected].
La Pergola is the main restaurant with indoor dining and an outdoor terrace surrounded by lush greenery and palm trees. The versatile menu has Mediterranean and Spanish cuisine with everything from tapas and sandwiches to lobster salad, gazpacho, and paella. The more intimate El Cenador restaurant offers an haute cuisine tasting menu focusing on Canarian gastronomy and locally sourced foods and produce.
We had a super relaxing, deep tissue massage at the spa, which also has an extensive list of services and activities including an indoor pool, customized facials and massages, four treatment rooms, thermal circuit, steam room, sauna, gym, Pilates room, and group exercise classes.
Contact Spa Manager Ana Amador at [email protected]
There are two public beaches in front of the hotel that have chaise, umbrella, and towel rentals.
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