In the midst of cold and stormy weather, a last-minute fly-and-flop holiday to Tenerife, is very appealing for a dose of that winter sun. The Ritz-Carlton Abama, a short 25-minute drive from Tenerife South Airport, is a vast terracotta-coloured palatial golf and spa cliff-top resort, built in the style of a Moroccan citadel. With an 18-hole golf course, seven swimming pools, a sandy beach, eight restaurants, including a two-Michelin-star Spanish restaurant, a large ‘Ritz Kids’ kids club and a 2,500m2 spa and fitness centre, ‘The Abama’ – as the locals know it – is worth booking now.
Rooms, Suites & The Retreat
The resort comprises of a main hotel building (the Citadel) and two-storey rows of rooms and suites (the Villas), which are part of ‘The Retreat’ – a new ‘resort within a resort’ concept, which offer guests an elevated, exclusive experience.
The Retreat features four avenues of two-storey “casitas” or villas, with a total of 144 rooms and suites. The design somehow provides an intimate boutique hotel feel within this 400+ room property. Each lane has its own temperature-controlled swimming pool, reserved exclusively for guests staying in that specific lane.
Guests staying in these rooms enjoy a wide range of additional benefits and services, including a dedicated team of ‘Retreat Ambassadors’, access to the new Club – which offers complimentary food and drink four times a day, a bar, an infinity pool and breakfast at the El Mirador restaurant. Expect free cava, beer, wine and snacks by the pool, plus a cocktail of the day at 5pm.
Though The Retreat is great for families, one genius touch is the separate adults-only and family villa areas, each with pools – allowing guests who want to opt-out of the hullabaloo to enjoy a drink and a good book. Being a Ritz-Carlton, all the rooms come with luxurious frills such as cosy white bathrobes, bottled water, tea, coffee and Chromecast-equipped TVs. Guests staying in the villa suites even have their own buggy to navigate the resort.
Food and Drink
With eight restaurants, guests can dine at a different restaurant every day of the week. Dining options include M.B, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant by Martin Berasategui, a relaxed Basque grill, Txoko, in a pretty poolside location; an Italian bistro, Verona; a beachfront bar serving salads and wraps; and a relaxed vegetable-first zero-kilometre concept restaurant, Verde Mar, with all dishes (except the truffle) sourced locally from the island. Additionally, Akira Back, a modern Japanese restaurant near the golf course, serves sushi with elevated views, and El Mirador offers the finest rice and seafood dishes for both lunch and dinner.
Spa & Wellness
The hotel offers several wellness and fitness experiences tailored to guests’ personal requirements. The 24-hour Fitness Centre is fully equipped with state-of-the-art exercise machines, including spinning bikes on the terrace. The Ritz-Carlton Spa provides a range of restorative and transformative treatments inspired by the natural world and local traditions.
Guests staying in The Retreat villas have complimentary access for one person to the Hydrotherapy wellness circuit, which otherwise costs €25 per person. A treatment worth booking is the signature El Teide hot stone massage, inspired by the island’s imposing volcano. It begins with a full body exfoliation using local sand, followed by a relaxing hot stone massage. There’s also a dedicated menu of treatments for men.
For more active guests, the resort features an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis and paddle courts, and watersports, including diving and scuba diving, available from the Abama Beach, which is accessible via a complimentary train transfer.
Ritz Kids
The hotel boasts the largest Ritz Kids club in Europe, catering to children aged four to 12 years old. The programme, developed with four pillars in mind – culture, nature, exploration and responsibility – includes activities such as stargazing in a planetarium room, karoke, cookery fun, and educational nature workshops complete with microscopes. There are also several play parks, as well as dedicated children’s menus at most restaurants.
Rooms start from €325 + taxes per double room per night for The Citadel, and €505 + taxes per double room per night at The Retreat including breakfast.
To book, visit ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/tfsrz-the-ritz-carlton-abama.
Calle María Zambrano 2, Carretera General, TF-47, Km 9, 38687, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
