Best Hotels in Tenerife North

Tenerife North is where the island's tourism industry actually began, decades before Costa Adeje existed as anything more than scrubland, and it still offers a fundamentally different kind of stay from the resort belt in the south. Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, Garachico and Santa Cruz form a string of real towns rather than a purpose-built strip, set against a backdrop of banana plantations, laurel forest and the greener, cloud-catching side of Mount Teide. That history is a genuine strength for anyone booking a hotel here: instead of a single design template repeated along a beachfront, the north gives you grand 19th-century garden hotels, restored colonial mansions, and family resorts built decades before "all-inclusive" became a marketing term — each with a personality the south's newer developments simply haven't had time to grow. This guide skips the area-by-area breakdown, which we cover in full in our Tenerife South vs North comparison, and goes straight to the point: our top recommendation in each of the six categories that matter most, from best overall to best budget, followed by a quick decision guide so you can book with confidence in minutes rather than hours. If you're still deciding between islands entirely, our guide to the best island in the Canary Islands is worth reading first, and if the south coast's resort style is what you're actually after, see our companion guide to the best hotels in Tenerife South.

One thing worth knowing before you book: Tenerife North's towns sit further apart and feel more distinct from one another than the south's near-continuous resort strip. Puerto de la Cruz, on the coast, is the region's tourism capital, with the widest choice of hotels, restaurants and things to do within walking distance. La Orotava, just a short drive inland and uphill, is a genuine historic town with cobbled streets and grand colonial mansions, offering a quieter, more local base. Garachico, further west, is the most romantic and photogenic town on the entire island, rebuilt in volcanic stone after a 1706 eruption buried its original harbour. Santa Cruz, the island's capital at the eastern end, suits travellers wanting a real working city with excellent transport links. None of these are wrong choices, but they suit very different trips, which is exactly why this guide is organised by category of traveller rather than by geography alone.

Why Tenerife North's Hotels Feel Different From the South Coast

Tenerife North's defining feature is the flip side of the same geography that makes the south so reliably sunny. Mount Teide and the island's central mountain spine sit directly between the two coasts, and the moisture carried in by the north-easterly trade winds is blocked before it can reach Costa Adeje, falling instead — or lingering as cloud — over the north. That's the entire reason Puerto de la Cruz and La Orotava are noticeably greener, lusher and cooler than the south, with proper banana plantations and laurel forest rather than the dry, cactus-studded landscape further south. It also explains why the north became Tenerife's original tourism hub back in the 1960s: European visitors of that era were drawn to the region's grand botanical gardens, spa culture and colonial-era architecture, long before the south's beach-resort model took over. Keep this history in mind when comparing photos between hotels: a "grand" hotel in Puerto de la Cruz often has genuinely mature, decades-old gardens and architecture that no amount of investment could recreate overnight in a newer resort development.

The other thing that sets the north apart is value. Because the region sees less peak-season demand than the south's resort belt, room rates here are consistently gentler across every category, from budget aparthotels to five-star spa hotels. That doesn't mean lower quality — several of the north's grandest properties would comfortably hold their own against the south's best — but it does mean the same standard of hotel typically costs noticeably less once you're away from Costa Adeje's high season pricing. For travellers happy to trade a few degrees of sunshine and a proper sandy beach for history, gardens and better value, the north is a genuinely compelling alternative rather than a consolation prize.

Best Overall: Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden

If you only read one section of this guide, make it this one. Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden, set within its own 25-acre botanical garden on the edge of Puerto de la Cruz, is the hotel most repeat visitors and travel professionals point to when asked for a single all-round recommendation for Tenerife North. It manages a rare combination: genuine five-star grandeur and one of the most respected spas in the Canary Islands, without ever feeling stuffy or impersonal.

The hotel's gardens alone are worth the stay — mature palms, ponds and pathways that have been growing since the property opened in the 1970s — and The Oriental Spa Garden consistently ranks among the very best spas in Spain, staffed largely by therapists trained in Thailand. It works equally well for couples, wellness travellers and families with slightly older children, which is precisely why it earns the "best overall" tag — nobody leaves disappointed, and the garden setting means it never feels as exposed to passing tourist traffic as a seafront hotel would. Landing at Tenerife North Airport (or the south airport, roughly 50 minutes away) and heading straight here is straightforward with a pre-booked private transfer, which avoids the taxi queue after a long flight.

Runner-Up: Hotel Taoro Garden

Set within the historic Taoro Park a short walk above Puerto de la Cruz's old town, Hotel Taoro Garden offers a similarly leafy, all-round dependability at a noticeably gentler price point than Hotel Botánico. It's the pick if you want the same general sense of garden calm but a more central, walkable base with easy access to the town's restaurants.

Best Luxury: Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey

For a completely different flavour of luxury, Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the north's standout choice — a grand 1950s hotel in the island's capital that has hosted royalty, film stars and heads of state, and still carries the formal elegance to prove it. For the island's wider luxury tier beyond this single pick, see our dedicated luxury hotels in Tenerife guide.

Unlike almost every other luxury hotel on this island, the Mencey is a proper city hotel rather than a resort — walk out of the lobby and you're immediately among Santa Cruz's museums, shops and restaurants, with the excellent Museum of Nature and Man and the Auditorio de Tenerife concert hall both within easy reach. The rooms are large and classically furnished, the gardens are genuinely mature, and the sense of occasion is closer to a grand European city hotel than anything else on the island. It's the safest luxury pick for travellers who want five-star polish paired with a real urban experience rather than a beach view.

Santa Cruz as a whole also has the island's best transport links — the ferry terminal, the main inter-island bus station, and easy access to both airports make it a genuinely practical base for combining a Tenerife stay with trips to other islands, which our island hopping guide covers in more detail.

Best for Families: Hotel Maga

Families chasing a genuine kids' club, big pools and an entertainment programme that actually runs every night should look at Hotel Maga, a large resort-style hotel in Puerto de la Cruz built around exactly that kind of family holiday. For a deeper dive into planning a Tenerife trip specifically with children, see our full Tenerife with kids guide.

Rooms are straightforward but spacious, and the pool areas are genuinely large by north-coast standards, which matters here since the region's natural beaches are more limited than the south's. The real draw is how little you need to organise yourself — between the kids' club, the pools and the evening shows, most families find they barely leave the grounds for the first couple of days, with Puerto de la Cruz's restaurants and Lago Martiánez a short walk away once the evening programme winds down.

Since the north has fewer swimmable sandy beaches than the south, hotel pool facilities matter more here for families with young children — our full best beaches in Tenerife guide covers exactly which northern beaches are genuinely swimmable versus which are better admired than swum at. If you'd rather skip the sand for an afternoon, the volcanic natural pools of Tenerife, including Puerto de la Cruz's own Lago Martiánez complex, are a memorable and safer alternative to open sea swimming for families.

Best Adults-Only: Bull Reina Isabel & Spa

For couples wanting a quiet, adults-recommended stay right on the seafront, Bull Reina Isabel & Spa in Puerto de la Cruz is the north's standout address. Recently renovated, it sits directly on the town's oceanfront promenade with genuinely dramatic Atlantic views from most rooms.

There's no kids' club noise to compete with here, and the seafront position means the crash of the Atlantic against the rocks below is a constant, calming backdrop rather than something you have to travel to find. It's a short walk from the old town's restaurants and Lago Martiánez, which makes it a good match for couples who want quiet evenings but easy access to Puerto de la Cruz's restaurant scene when they want it.

Adults-recommended in this context genuinely means the atmosphere shifts, not just a suggestion on the booking page — the pool areas stay noticeably quieter than at the town's family resorts, and the overall pace of the hotel is built around couples and older travellers rather than group activities. Compared with the south's adults-only design hotels, the style here leans more classic and traditional than boutique-modern, which suits travellers who prefer a grander, more established feel over minimalist design.

Best Budget: Apartamentos Los Geranios

For travellers prioritising value over amenities, Apartamentos Los Geranios in Puerto de la Cruz delivers self-catering apartments at a genuinely low price, without sacrificing a decent pool or a walkable position in the town itself.

Apartments come with a proper kitchenette, which makes a real difference to the total trip cost over a week or two — cutting the restaurant bill down without cutting out Puerto de la Cruz's excellent food scene entirely. It's a short walk from the old town and the seafront, so you get a genuinely central location at a fraction of the price of the town's grander hotels. For a full breakdown of what a trip like this actually costs beyond the room rate, see how much a Canary Islands holiday costs.

Self-catering also tends to suit longer stays better than a standard hotel package, since it gives you the flexibility to eat out on some nights and cook simply on others — genuinely useful if you're travelling for two weeks rather than a long weekend. Puerto de la Cruz's daily market, Mercado Municipal, and its supermarkets make stocking a kitchenette straightforward without needing a car, though having one hire car for the trip still makes day trips to Garachico or La Orotava considerably easier.

Runner-Up: Hotel El Tope

If self-catering isn't for you, Hotel El Tope offers a step up to full hotel service — breakfast included, daily housekeeping — at a still-reasonable price, with an easy walk into central Puerto de la Cruz.

Best Boutique & Historic Charm: Hotel San Roque

For travellers who care as much about architecture and atmosphere as facilities, Hotel San Roque in Garachico is the standout — a restored 17th-century mansion in the most beautifully preserved town on the whole island, and a genuine departure from every other hotel style covered in this guide.

Every room is different, arranged around a series of interior courtyards typical of traditional Canarian architecture, with original wooden balconies, antique furnishings and a small heated pool tucked into the garden. Garachico itself is the most photogenic town on the island — rebuilt almost entirely in volcanic stone after a 1706 eruption destroyed its original harbour, it now has the kind of preserved, low-rise streetscape that simply doesn't exist anywhere in the south's resort belt. It's a genuinely different aesthetic proposition to every other hotel in this guide, and it suits travellers who want intimacy and history over resort-scale facilities.

Runner-Up: Hotel Aguere

Hotel Aguere offers a similarly restored colonial-building experience in La Laguna, Tenerife's former capital and a UNESCO World Heritage town, at a more affordable price point than Hotel San Roque — a strong pick for travellers who want historic character combined with easy access to the island's best university-town restaurant scene.

Quick Decision Guide

Short on time? Here's the fastest route to the right hotel — match your priority on the left to our pick on the right.

Quick Comparison: All Hotels in This Guide

Prices are approximate low-to-mid-season starting rates. Always confirm current rates and availability directly with the hotel or booking platform before travelling.

How to Choose Where to Stay in Tenerife North

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Honest Verdict

There's no single "best hotel in Tenerife North" because this half of the island genuinely rewards matching your hotel to the kind of trip you want rather than chasing star ratings alone. Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden remains our top overall pick for its rare combination of grand gardens and a genuinely world-class spa, while Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey stands apart from every other luxury hotel on this island by offering a real city-luxury stay in Santa Cruz rather than a resort experience. Families should look to Hotel Maga for a genuine resort programme, couples wanting quiet seafront calm have Bull Reina Isabel & Spa, and history lovers get something no south-coast hotel can match in Hotel San Roque's restored 17th-century mansion in Garachico.

If you're weighing up the north against the south before committing to a hotel at all, our Tenerife South vs North comparison lays out exactly how the two halves of the island differ in climate, atmosphere and price, and our companion guide to the best hotels in Tenerife South covers the resort-belt alternative in full. If Tenerife itself is still an open question, our guide to the best island in the Canary Islands is worth reading before you book anything at all.

For everything else you need to plan the rest of your trip, from a day at Teide to which beaches actually suit your travel style, our practical grid above links out to every guide you'll need — and if you're combining Tenerife with another island in the same trip, our island hopping guide shows how to structure that kind of itinerary without wasting a day on transfers.