Parque Santiago III

Parque Santiago appears to be the quintessential Canaries mid-range beach resort, except for one crucial difference: no non-stop animation or all-inclusive packages. But considering its exuberant and family-friendly vibe, you'd think both common-on-the-island features were on offer here. Santiago III's heartbeat is largely due to its position in the middle of the Santiago complex (which includes the on-site Santiago III shopping arcade and Santiago IV and V hotels across the street). The Santiago brand's dozen-plus dining/drinking options are concentrated at Santiago III, many of them near the pool courtyard, which serves as a public throughway connecting the street, the shopping center, and the beach.Santiago's terra-cotta-tile-topped towers and terraced buildings look traditionally Canarian, with a cheery yellow, blue, and white color scheme present on the inside and outside, mostly in the form of classic tile work. The room blocks wrap around the vast freeform pool and supervised kids' splash park. Parque Santiago III has a year-round British clientele -- many of them Santiago III diehards -- who stay for a week or two in the summer. The 1988 hotel makes a constant effort to update and improve, which can translate to extra maintenance noise.

Santiago III's back gate opens directly onto southern Tenerife's famous beach walk. The shoreline directly in front of the hotel is rocky and narrow (depending on the tide), but the sandy, cove-shaped Playa del Camison is immediately to the south. A little farther down the shore (about a 10-minute walk from the hotel) is Playa de las Vistas, the largest beach in the area. Santiago III is built directly above and around its own T-shaped shopping complex, which has camera stores, perfumeries, gift shops, and coffee bars. A hotel-run grocery store is right across the street, and the Safari Shopping Center is a two-minute walk away. Tenerife South Airport is 17 minutes away by car.

From the Studios to the Three-Bedroom Villas, all rooms at Santiago III are traditional and homey Canarian-style apartments, with separate bedrooms (or bed alcoves, in the Studios), living areas, and kitchens. Studios start at 320 square feet (30 square meters) of space and are on one level, but note that many of the apartments and villas are bi-level units. One-, Two-, and Three-Bedroom Apartments offer between 485 and 860 square feet of floor space, and Three-Bedroom Villas top out at 1,300 square feet.Kitchens have backsplashes of classic blue-painted tiles, as well as full oven/stoves, mini-fridges, kettles, coffeemakers, toasters, and all necessary cookware and tableware. There is no air-conditioning, but there are ceiling fans above the beds, plus rooms can get a breeze from their private patios or balconies with wood-slatted doors and white plastic tables and chairs. Beachfront units' patios and balconies are right on the beach promenade.Rooms have gray marble floors and white stucco walls, with wood and tile accents everywhere. Most of the furniture is traditional-looking and made of wood, with the exception of the white-leather sofa beds and chairs in the living rooms. The flat-screen TVs range from 32- to 40-inch, and get free satellite channels. Bathrooms have a vintage style (hello, peach sinks, toilets, bidets, tubs, and tiles) that charms some guests, and has others pleading for the hotel to renovate. Two bars of soap are the only toiletries provided.Rooms are cleaned six days a week, and sheets are swapped once a week. Guests must pay a fee to use the safes, and free cots and high chairs are available on request. The hotel plans refurbish all rooms by early 2019. 

The beauty of Santiago III's setup is that guests who want peace and quiet can easily find it on their personal gardens or balconies. But when social interaction is in order, there's the enormous pool area, dominated by a vast freeform saltwater pool that's crossed by an arched rope-handle bridge leading directly to the beach. Non-hotel guests can walk through Santiago's on-site shopping arcade and across the bridge to get to the beach, so the area is always pulsing with action (though fortunately only hotel guests can use the pool). The surrounding pool deck, which is set to be re-tiled in 2017, has rows and rows of blue-cushioned sun loungers and canary-yellow umbrellas, and a heated and supervised kids' splash park with six slides and an adjacent playground take up a big section. There's a hot tub, but it is comically small, especially considering the massive size of the pool.The pool area is where many of the hotel's dining/drinking options are found (there are more across the street at Santiago IV and V). Happy Stable is a rustic, wood-framed poolside grill with outdoor barbecues, plus terra-cotta floors, blue-tile accents, decorative ceramics, and potted plants. Other options include Atlantico, a buffet restaurant, Vitaminas, an ice cream and smoothie stand, and Pub Scarlet, a sleek black-and-white lounge. On the far side of the pool bridge is a beachside cafe serving light fare, slushies, and ice cream.Santiago III's fitness center is located in a glassed-in, two-floor gazebo in the garden. Massage appointments are available three days a week. Computers in the lobby can be used for a fee, and there is free Wi-Fi in the lobby and in the rooms. A laundry room is located on the lower level, by the shops. Note that at the time of our visit in fall 2016, the hotel was in the process of installing elevators.