Bahía del Duque

Bahía del Duque opened on the sand at Costa Adeje in 1993, the first luxury hotel in the area. It is laid out as a colonial village, low pastel houses trimmed in terracotta and the odd turret capped in red tile, stepped down through palm gardens to Playa del Duque, with La Gomera across the water. Casas Ducales, the grandest part, is modelled on two Santa Cruz houses of 1912 and 1926 and keeps its own entrance and breakfast terrace. Afternoon tea is laid on under dark beams, and one four-poster faces the sea through arched windows. The staff, by the inspector's account, wear traditional dress, so the period detail goes all the way to the front desk.

Recommended for families who want a beach and a kids' club at the same address, and ten restaurants to save anyone driving out for dinner. There are six heated pools, one of them for children, and the Mini Club takes over-threes from ten until a quarter to six, which is most of a beach day. Sua does Basque beef, but the table to book is Nub, where Fernanda Fuentes and Andrea Bernardi cook between Europe and Latin America under a Michelin star; the half-board rate does not stretch to it. The hotel runs boats along the coast and trips up to Teide, an hour and ten minutes inland, and keeps its own observatory for a look at the planets. Its tennis courts are the ones ATP players come to for the mild weather, which raises the stakes on a family doubles.