Tenerife Hotels: Finding Affordable Rooms & Apartments Online
Considering a flat or apartment rental in Tenerife? Here’s what you should know.
Accommodation on Tenerife
Tenerife, for most, conjures images of tourism, holidays, year-round summer, sun-kissed skin, swaying palms, the vast ocean, warm temperatures, and beautiful memories. This stunning island thrives primarily on tourism and its extensive hospitality sector. When you arrive, whether by air or sea, visitors have a wide array of choices: you can rent a hotel room, an apartment, a flat, a private room, a hostel bed, or even park your campervan in a designated area.
Tenerife Hotels – The island boasts approximately 500 hotels, catering to every conceivable standard. Those at the pinnacle, often offering All-Inclusive holidays, come with extensive dining facilities, luxurious rooms, state-of-the-art gyms, rejuvenating spas, jacuzzis, and expansive swimming pools. Even if you're not booking a package, it's always worth contacting such hotels directly to inquire about individual room rentals.
Apartments – These are predominantly found within newer, often gated, residential communities. Renters typically have access to multiple rooms, a living area, a separate bedroom, a terrace (frequently offering stunning ocean views), a kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate toilet. Tourist apartments are usually fully equipped with everything you might need for your holiday: furniture, beds, sofas, tables, chairs, wardrobes, armchairs, a television, cable TV, and internet access. Additionally, underground or communal parking is often available. These apartments range in size from 50 to 150 square meters, with the larger options often being terraced properties (similar to twin houses) spanning two or three levels. This choice tends to appeal to travellers with a more generous budget.
Flats (Mieszkania) – Offering a slightly more modest standard compared to dedicated apartments, these are typically residential flats where local families have lived. You might even find children's rooms complete with bunk beds. The furnishings are just like any lived-in home: furniture, beds, sofas, tables, chairs, wardrobes, armchairs, a television, cable TV, and internet. Similarly, underground or community parking might also be provided.
Rooms – For budget-conscious travellers, renting a single room within a larger, shared flat is a popular option. These are most often single occupancy rooms. Depending on the size of the flat, one, two, or three rooms might be available for rent. You might even find yourself with the entire flat to yourself! Each room typically has a lockable door, and guests share a communal kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. This represents the most affordable and often the most basic form of accommodation.
Hostels – Hostels strike a balance, offering a setup that’s somewhere between a hotel and a private room rental within a flat. Rooms are typically multi-person, and guests have access to a TV, internet, kitchen, and shared bathrooms and toilets. It's common for tourists in hostels to sleep on bunk beds.
Smart Booking Tips: When searching for rooms, flats, apartments, or hotels, I highly recommend sticking to well-established and trusted online portals and offers that have been active for a considerable time. While fake listings do occasionally appear, reputable platforms are quick to verify and remove them. Always take the time to check how long an offer has been on the market and for how long reviews have been accumulating under the apartment, flat, or room listing. Personally, when I rented a flat, the listing had several years' worth of positive reviews, which gave me confidence. The owner requested a scan of my ID, then sent me a contract and bank account details. I was required to pay 50% upfront, with the remaining balance due upon entry. This included a security deposit, which I happily received back when I vacated the property.