Overall: An environmentally-aware, stylish, tranquil and relaxing hotel set above the coast at the quiet end of Costa Adeje with a plethora of spa facilities, good food and a sophisticated, Colonial feel. A real favourite with its loyal returners.
Where is the hotel La Plantación del Sur?
The Vincci Selección La Plantación del Sur is at the posh end of Costa Adeje, set on a hillside above Playa Del Duque and the El Mirador and Bahía Del Duque Hotels, on the other side of the road. The hotel offers a free shuttle bus to the Del Duque beach or you can walk, around 10mins, and 20mins to La Caleta. You’re a long way from night life here.
What’s the hotel La Plantación del Sur like?
Hard though it is to imagine, the area where the La Plantación del Sur is, and all the surrounding area, were once banana plantations, hence the hotel name. In deference to its roots (pun intended), the hotel has been styled using only natural materials relevant to the area – volcanic stone, wood, cane and of course, the occasional banana leaves. The end result is a lot of wide open space showcasing the occasional antique as signature pieces, with minimalist, cane and wood furniture and lots of cream, billowing curtains; a calm, sophisticated, feng shui environment in muted earth tones of cream, oat and beige.
The style of the hotel is pure Colonial with wooden balconies adorning the outside, wood covered walkways, ceramic tiled floors and lush tropical gardens filling the spaces between swimming pools and sun decking areas. As it’s set on the hillside, the panoramic views spread right along the coastline and are a huge feature of the hotel being showcased from the lobby, the walkways and the outside dining and bar terraces. You see amazing sunsets over La Gomera from here.
The hotel does have family rooms and a kid’s club which looks well equipped but families are not the main target. Instead, it’s more of a couples hotel and everywhere exudes a tranquillity and calm. It’s a very relaxing environment, not least in the extensive spa facilities which includes the ‘Canario’ lava cave where you can have mineral rich treatments followed by a banana facial. As well as the extensive menu of circuits, treatments and spa experiences on offer, guest have free access to an impressive range of fitness facilities that include a fully equipped gym, pilates, yoga and aquazumba sessions.
Outside, six pools, two heated and one adults only, make their way down the hillside from the Thalasso circuit pool, wending through small cascades and alongside Balinese style beds and comfy sun loungers scattered around the extensive wooden decking and lawned areas. Filling every space in between are an exotic collection of plants and palms including banana plants.
The staff were some of the smiliest and friendliest of any hotel we’ve stayed at, a not-inconsiderable number now. Everyone was keen to be as helpful as they possibly could. There is free wifi everywhere but we found the signal to be very weak in some areas.
What are the bedrooms like?
All the rooms are more or less the same in terms of interior design and décor but the view differs from garden, to partial sea view, side sea view and full sea view. Floor space and exteriors are the other main thing that differentiates each category of rooms.
Bright, fresh and airy with lots of room to breathe, the standard double bedrooms are in keeping with the rest of the hotel in terms of their minimalist, Colonial style and their muted cream and beige décor and beige and mahogany soft furnishings. Furniture is cane and wood and there’s plenty of storage space and a good sized en suite with a large bath and a walk-in shower with rain head and body massage showers.
Junior suites have considerably more floor space, a very nice, four-poster bed in Colonial style, a separate lounge area and a larger bathroom while Villas have slightly less floor space than Junior Suites but are more than adequately compensated for by having their own garden or roof terrace, complete with Jacuzzi.
How good is the food?
Breakfast and dinner are served in the main buffet restaurant and there’s an à la carte restaurant alongside, and a tapas restaurant by one of the pools for which half board guests pay a supplement. We only used the main buffet restaurant when we were there and found it to offer a very good choice for both breakfast and dinner.
Breakfast was particularly impressive with a great choice of cereals, fruit, hot dishes, healthy and allergy-sensitive choices, freshly made smoothies and mouth-watering cakes and pastries. Enjoyed on the large, outside terrace with its expansive views, this is a really nice start to the day. When we stayed the dinner was having a themed buffet and the theme was…Canarian. Perhaps not such a treat for us as it was for the other guests but the choices available were very impressive, particularly the cold starters which we could probably have filled up on without anything else.
The hotel boasts that it has 300 types of dishes in its buffet restaurant, a claim that I certainly wouldn’t want to argue with based on our short visit.
What’s the best thing about the hotel La Plantación del Sur ?
The peace, relaxation and tranquillity along with its hillside location with those sweeping views and fab sunsets.
Who would it suit best?
Couples, families with very small children possibly and anyone who wants a complete de-stress getaway in beautiful surroundings.
Vincci Selección La Plantación del Sur; Calle del Roque Nublo 1, 38670 Costa Adeje, Tenerife; (+34) 922 71 77 73; double rooms start from €172 (£125) a night in low season and €212 (£154) in peak season; garden villas start from €285 (£208) and Junior Suites from €375 (£273) in high season. The price includes breakfast and tax.
Andrea (Andy) Montgomery is a freelance travel writer and co-owner of Buzz Trips and The Real Tenerife series of travel websites. Published in The Telegraph, The Independent, Wexas Traveller, Thomas Cook Travel Magazine, EasyJet Traveller Magazine, you can read her latest content on Google+
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