Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa

Upscale and businesslike, Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa appeals to a huge variety of traveler types, attracting families during school holidays, couples during quieter times, golfers wanting access to nearby courses (the hotel also offers golf packages), and some wedding groups. Most come from the UK, though there are many other European guests throughout the year. The resort is located on a slope that leads down to the coast (but there's no direct beach access) and rooms and facilities are spread across a u-shaped, rust-red building surrounded by foliage, with lots of song birds. Guests enter into a big marble lobby with a dark chandelier and some shops tucked away off to one side. Guests can either descend a flight of stairs to the lower level where the main restaurant and pools are located or walk straight outside to La Glorieta bar, with a huge patio and basket-style wicker chairs and heaters for cooler evenings. The overall vibe is a tad more formal and business-oriented than most of the area's resorts, at least in the common areas, especially outside of school holidays when there are fewer kids around.

Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa is located in Costa Adeje, just northwest along the coast from the busy boardwalk and town center. Playa la Enramada is a three-minute walk from the hotel, while Playa del Duque -- with sun beds and parasols for rent -- takes about eight minutes to reach on foot. The hotel is located right next to San Sebastian church, where there are celebrations every May 30th, for Canarian Day, that feature an open-air craft market and food booths. The hotel is located near five of the island's seven golf courses, including the famous 18-hole Golf Costa Adeje, which is a six-minute drive away. Playa de la Americas is a 10-minute drive south of the hotel (or about 25 minutes on bus 467), while Los Cristianos is about 12 minutes away by road or bus. The Tenerife South airport takes around 20 minutes to reach by car.

Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa offers three types of rooms plus four types of suites, all with a streamlined contemporary decor scheme featuring polished marble floors, neutral walls, and upholstery paired with light- or medium-wood furniture. Terraces or balconies come standard and all rooms have coffee- and tea-making facilities, mini-fridges with minbar packs that can be ordered for a fee, safes, robes, and irons with ironing boards. Note that the beds consist of two single beds pushed together. Bathrooms are big, with separate tubs and walk-in non-rainfall showers, plus separate rooms for the toilets. Magnifying mirrors, hairdryers, and quality toiletries are provided.All rooms measure 35 square meters (376-square-feet) and are primarily differentiated by their locations in the hotel. Deluxe Rooms are located on the ground floor and have garden views, but no lounge chairs on their balconies. Premium Rooms are on middle floors. Club Rooms are on the fourth and fifth floors and have great pool and sea views. Suites are located on the corners and range from 75 square meters (807-square-feet) to 130 square meters (just shy of 1400- square-feet) and all have separate living and sleeping areas, with sofa beds for up to two guests in the living rooms. Five wheelchair-friendly rooms are also available with wide doors and adapted bathrooms.

Sheraton La Caleta is unusual in that it offers a decent range of facilities for business travelers (some of which double up as wedding venues) along with a ton of leisure facilities. There's a free business center with computers with large monitors, printers, and some books, plus a Club Lounge with a private terrace and a meeting room. Oddly, Club Rooms do not include access to the lounge, but there is a Club package (for a daily per-person fee) that includes newspapers, a separate breakfast area in the hotel's Vivace restaurant, and free newspapers. The hotel also offers a huge Gran Pelinor plenary room for up to 420 guests that can be divided into three smaller rooms, the pool-facing Caney meeting room that's often used for weddings and dinners, and six small breakout rooms. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel (upgraded high-speed access is available for a fee.) Underground parking costs extra, but there's usually a fair bit of free street parking in the area. Leisure facilities include tennis courts, nine-hole mini-golf, a modern fitness center with weight machines and free weights, and three outdoor swimming pools. On the upper level of the hotel's sloping grounds is a freshwater pool with a separate kids' pool and birdcage-shaped poolside showers. The saltwater pool with a whirlpool hot tub at its center is found further down the slope of the property, towards the coast (this area is sometimes used for weddings).There's also a tiny kids' pool in the El Guanchito kids' club (for kids aged 2 to 12) along with a bouldering wall and football pitch. There's also a second indoor mini-club with video games and a club for teens with video games and events that's open during school holidays. Spa Eutonos offers all sorts of massage and health treatments, with 10 treatment rooms (six of which have outdoor terraces), a couples' room with a whirlpool hot tub, and a thalassotherapy circuit that's included in some bookings.  Dining options include El Parador, the main restaurant, where breakfast and themed dinners are served buffet-style either indoors or out on the restaurant's pool-facing terrace. La Venta serves Spanish food a la carte at dinnertime, while Kamakura offers teppanyaki and sushi, also a la carte, at dinner. Lunch options are limited to the a la carte, Mediterranean Vivace pool restaurant, while drinks and light snacks are available at El Coral pool bar and at La Glorieta lobby bar -- the latter offers nightly entertainment and a huge outdoor terrace. Note that there's no all-inclusive option, but the hotel does offer breakfast-only, half-board, and full-board packages.