GF Isabel

Built in 2001, this family-friendly, upper-middle-range resort is laid out like a small colonial village, with outdoor plazas, fountains, stone stairways, and cobbled streets that are named after the Canary Islands. Villas and bungalows are housed in white cube buildings with stones peeping through their plaster exteriors, and apartments and common areas (like the massive reception, cavernous lobby bar, and dining hall) inhabit heavy-wood buildings modeled after traditional Canarian structures. The labyrinthine layout is disorienting at first, but the hotel staff provides maps at check-in and escorts guests to their rooms by foot or by buggy.

A heated freshwater pool with a sloped entry is at the heart of this cloistered compound, and fanning off in every direction are nooks and crannies with other fun diversions, like mini-golf, basketball, ping-pong, billiards, and climbing equipment. This makes Hotel Isabel especially popular with families, who value its contained setting, liberal kids' amenities, apartment-style accommodations, and payment plans ranging from self-catering to all-inclusive, which covers all meals (there are fees for certain items), plus snacks and drinks all day. Guests come from all over the U.K. and European Union as well as Russia, though sun-seeking Scandinavians dominate in the winters and British students on the all-inclusive plan surge the place during their school breaks. The hotel brand -- GF Hotels -- has two other properties on the same street, and is opening a fourth one nearby in 2017.

From the hotel's front door, it is under a 10-minute walk slightly down hill to Playa Fanabe, and all of the restaurants, shops, bars, and hotels along the shore. The Plaza del Duque shopping center can be reached in roughly the same amount of time; here, there are clothing and jewelry stores, perfumeries, a pharmacy, a liquor store, and a supermarket. Playa del Duque, the best beach in the area, and its El Duque Castle, are about a 15-minute walk away. To get to the main Playa de las Americas trip would take nearly 50 minutes walking south along the beach path. Siam Park, Siam Mall, and Jungle Park are all about a 10-minute drive away. It takes about 15 minutes to reach Tenerife South Airport.

Hotel Isabel's 389 rooms are divided into 181 apartments (five of which are wheelchair-friendly), 188 bungalows, 10 one-bedroom villas, and 10 two-bedroom villas. Apartments are located in the main building (those on the upper floors have sea views) and can accommodate up to four guests, bungalows are located around the pool and are appropriate for up to five, and the two-floor villas are scattered along side streets and can handle up to five guests in the one-bedrooms or seven people in the two-bedrooms. Both connecting apartments and bungalows are available.

All units have similarly warm color schemes, with ceramic tile floors, wood-frame sleeper sofas with burnt sienna cushions, and yellow and orange floral-print drapes. Every room has a kitchen (with a mini-fridge, microwave, stovetop, coffeemaker, and kettle) and some form of outdoor space; apartments have balconies, while bungalows and villas have yards or terraces. Some villas have hot tubs in their private backyards. All rooms feature air-conditioning, wood dressers, double closets with full-length mirrors, and LG flat-screen TVs with Spanish and English channels (plus a few German and Italian).

Though the grounds are not ideal for those with mobility issues, there are elevators in the apartment buildings, where five units have been adapted to be wheelchair-friendly. Accessible rooms have walk-in showers. One- and two-bedroom villas are two stories, and have child gates at the top and bottom of staircases. There are extra fees for Wi-Fi and using the in-room safe. Ironing equipment is available for a fee. Housekeeping is provided daily.

Hotel Isabel takes the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" quite literally -- the village-style property is packed with features for kids. Its heated freshwater main pool, located at the property's center, has a sloped entry and a shallow end, but there is also a separate kids' pool and a small enclosed play area nearby. The kids' pool is partially covered on one end (a nice break from the relentless sunshine), and has an in-water playground on the other. The free kids' club features games, painting, and a ball pit, and is staffed by multi-lingual supervisors. Another larger playground is located behind the kids' club, and features a climbing frame, slides, basketball, and mini-golf. The second pool is a quieter scene, less oriented to kids, but the two main pools both have lifeguards. Each pool has a snack bar, as well, offering ice cream, sandwiches, cocktails, and smoothies (which cost an extra fee). There is also a small buffet by the main pool for all-inclusive guests. Outdoor billiards and ping-pong tables are set up between the main pool and the kids' pool, and there is an outdoor whirlpool -- though guests often point out that its water is not very hot. There is also a fourth-floor solarium for adults only.

The one full restaurant has show-cooking stations and an immense dining hall with a wood-beam ceiling. Its breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets routinely draw enthusiastic reviews. The large lobby bar has a wood cathedral-like ceiling and long lounge area with several clusters of couches, armchairs, and coffee tables. There is a stage in the outdoor courtyard, where the 10-person animation team puts on kid and adult entertainment nightly (the festivities move to an indoor salon in the rare case of bad weather). Across from the salon is a small store selling liquor, soda, dairy, and candy. 

Fitness addicts won't find much to write home about at the gym; there is one treadmill, one cross trainer, one multi-trainer, one bench press, and two bikes -- and no air-conditioning. A small spa is located next to the gym and offers facials, massages, children's treatments (massage and reiki), and sauna access, all for a fee. An outside company runs a dive shop on Hotel Isabel's premises. For a fee, guests can use the laundry machines or computers, which are set up in the lobby -- the one place in the hotel where Wi-Fi is free. Popular Tenerife excursions can be booked in Hotel Isabel's lobby. Because there are so many packages, guests on the all-inclusive plan must wear a wristband at all times.