Hotel Sensatori Tenerife

7 / 10

Alcalá is a quiet fishing village. There is a public boulevard running between the hotel and the beachfront, and a small road at the front of the hotel. Los Gigantes, a good base for watersports, is just along the coast. Excellent access for Mount Teide, and good views of the setting sun over La Gomera.

Style & character

6 / 10

The hotel is spread over five floors and built around a spacious central atrium with fountains that light up at night to the sound of Tchaikovsky. The Italian furniture includes silver sofas in the foyer. Hotel rooms can feel a bit dark - there is a lot of brown - but the bathrooms are bright and modern. Wooden, four-poster Bali daybeds are dotted around the infinity pool.

Service & facilities

The small team of British Sensatori staff operate from a desk off the main foyer and are noticeably more friendly and helpful than the Gran Melia personnel. There are a lot of daily activities, which change each week, all of which can be booked through the Sensatori desk. The staff are very knowledgeable about resort activities and hotel trips, but don’t expect inspiration for off-the-beaten-track ideas for exploring the island. Local Gran Melia personnel place a hand on their heart when they greet guests, which is well intended but can mask a certain brusqueness.

Bar
Fitness centre
Kids' club
Laundry
Pool
Restaurant
Room service
Spa
Wi-Fi

Rooms

5 / 10

The entry level twin rooms sleep up to four (double bed with two singles for children) but work best as an ordinary double. Bathrooms are spacious, clean and include a rain shower, bath and twin basins. Deluxe Garden Rooms have their own small outside sitting area and a private Bali daybed overlooking an ornamental pond (not suitable for very young children). Definitely worth the extra money to reduce a sense of claustrophobia. Beds in the room are comfortable, but the “double” is two singles pushed together. The satellite TV service is intermittent. Free Wi-Fi zones throughout the hotel. Rooms are more practical than indulgent: guests tend to spend their time elsewhere in the resort. Red level rooms are in the premium priced, child-free red zone, which is not accessible to other guests. They have their own pool and restaurant.