9 amazing hotels for the best all-inclusive holidays to the Canary Islands

Please note our writers visited the Canary Islands prior to the coronavirus pandemic

An expert guide to the best all-inclusive hotels in the Canary Islands, including the best for beach access, sports facilities, swimming pools, spas and family holidays to the Canaries, in locations including Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

GRAN CANARIA

Seaside Sandy Beach, Playa del Inglés

Playa del Inglés, one of Gran Canaria’s sandiest beaches, is situated 200 metres below this four-star, all-inclusive, family-friendly hotel. From here you can explore the island’s coastline or interior on the Free Motion bikes available to rent from the hotel. A spa offers a circuit of steam room, sauna, and external hot tub, the main swimming pool has a waterfall feature and, at ground level, an astroturf tennis court has floodlights for nocturnal games. This is a nude-friendly hotel so expect naked people in the spa and the terraces on higher floors.

Read the full review: Seaside Sandy Beach

• The best Canary Islands hotels

Gloria Palace San Agustín Thalasso & Hotel, San Agustín

Hotels dominate the skyline in San Agustín. And none more so than the four-star Gloria Palace San Agustín Thalasso & Hotel. It’s as much spa as it is a hotel and has tapped into the market of tourists travelling to the island for health reasons. There’s a rooftop chill-out pool and naturist solarium, along with two adult pools and one for children in the hotel gardens. Nightly shows tend to be of the acrobatic, magical, or musical variety. In terms of cusine there are restaurants to suit all tastes.

Read the full review: Gloria Palace San Agustín Thalasso & Hotel

• The best family-friendly hotels in Gran Canaria

Hotel Riu Gran Canaria, Maspalomas

Exclusive Meloneras in the sultry south of the island is the setting for this four-star all-inclusive. It’s perfectly placed above Gran Canaria’s glitziest seafront making it easy to head out for a stroll along the promenade connecting the Faro de Maspalomas to Meloneras beach. There’s an adults-only infinity pool overlooking the Atlantic Ocean while activities including pilates and water aerobics take place in the main pool. Those of a more sporting persuasion may prefer to take advantage of the football pitch and volleyball courts, or the more leisurely pétanque boulodrome.

Read the full review: Hotel Riu Gran Canaria

• The best family-friendly hotels in the Canary Islands

TENERIFE

Iberostar Anthelia, Costa Adeje

This luxurious, five-star, ocean-front hotel in upmarket Costa Adeje combines elegant sophistication with a family-friendly vibe. It’s great value for what you’re getting: a surprising sense of peace that is often hard to find in large family-focused hotels, three outdoor pools, and exceptional food. Rooms are located in five storey blocks and have either garden view, partial sea view or full sea view. Salomé suites offer a higher level of luxury and considerably more floor space, they also have their own exclusive entrance, butler service, swimming pool and dining terrace.

Read the full review: Iberostar Anthelia

• The best five-star hotels in Tenerife

Roca Nivaría Gran Hotel, Costa Adeje

A chic, luxurious and family-focused hotel on a spectacular headland in Playa Paraiso. It’s great for all ages thanks to the huge multi-sports recreation area, a tennis school and a fitness centre, plus a full-service spa, two freshwater infinity pools (one heated) and landscaped gardens offering more than enough sunbeds to avoid any morning squabbles. A lift takes guests down to the base of the cliffs where there’s a small, sandy cove with sun loungers, though it’s more of a token gesture than the real McCoy. All but a dozen rooms provide in-your-face ocean views from furnished balconies or terraces, and all come with minibars and 24-hour room service. 

Read the full review: Roca Nivaría Gran Hotel

• The best beach hotels in the Canary Islands

Costa Adeje Gran Hotel, Costa Adeje

The Costa Adeje Gran hotel is an immensely popular, five-star hotel in upmarket Costa Adeje offering superb customer service and excellent value for money, particularly if you opt for all-inclusive. A striking oasis of swimming pools meanders under bridges, bordered by expansive sun terraces and palm trees. A further pool on the top floor offers a nudist area and 360 degree views over Costa Adeje. The hotel also offers a plethora of activities including tennis, crazy golf, a billiards hall, spa and a well-equipped gym.

Read the full review: Costa Adeje Gran Hotel

• The best all-inclusive Gran Canaria hotels

FUERTEVENTURA

Barceló Castillo Beach Resort, Caleta De Fuste

This Caleta de Fuste hotel is a resort within a resort. It adds some glitz and glamour to the east of Fuerteventura’s most popular destination, masquerading as an authentic-looking Canarian fishing village in the process. Gardens house 83 plant species from a (Acacia saligna) to z (Zamia furfuracea). The U-Spa has a thermal circuit and five treatment rooms. There are six outdoor pools (three for adults and three for children). Wi-Fi is free but only available in the lobby. For epic views at dawn or dusk head to the Barceló Club Royal Level’s buffet restaurant, El Ancla, located next to the lighthouse.

Read the full review: Barceló Castillo Beach Resort

• The best Canary Islands and where to stay when there

LANZAROTE

Seaside Los Jameos Playa, Puerto del Carmen

Los Jameos, a collection of charming Spanish haciendas surrounding a palm-strewn pool complex, is timelessly elegant. From free cava on arrival to knockout Iberian feasts, this primly positioned four-star resort ensures a thoroughly Spanish welcome to all its guests. Borrow playing cards, pétanque balls and golf putters from the clubhouse. Or, inside the glorious timber-beamed central building, score a green baize bridge table, watch a live performance in the piano bar or tour the on-site museum dedicated to Lanzarote folklore. Adults and teens may also partake in daily sessions of pilates, aquafit, volleyball and shuffleboard.

Read the full review: Seaside Los Jameos Playa

• The best all-inclusive Tenerife hotels

Sandos Papagayo Beach Resort, Playa Blanca

All-inclusive specialist Sandos maintains a vast pleasure complex dedicated to unadulterated fun. A wealth of dining opportunities promise Italian pizza at lunch and Spanish feasts in the early hours. Think pétanque, volleyball and archery, to name just a few, for grown-ups; nature hikes, shuffleboard and ping pong tournaments for little ones. Combined with nightly discos, theatre and magic shows, plus bike delivery on demand, and Papagayo becomes a never-get-bored playground. The Papagayo has a two-night minimum booking.

Read the full review: Sandos Papagayo Beach Resort

Contributions by Matthew Hirtes, Andrea Montgomery, Tristan Rutherford & Joe Cawley

Rates above are guide prices per person per night, please note that all-inclusive packages can differ across hotels. Owing to the current coronavirus pandemic, these rates may change. Please check the hotel’s websites for further information on what’s included.