El Marques Palace

This mid-range apartment hotel lacks many of the bells and whistles of some of the other area resorts -- there's no animation and not much in terms of amenities beyond the pool -- so a stay here feels very much like being in an apartment complex. Reception is in a small 24-hour lobby, and a secure gate leads to the main complex, where rooms are spread out over a series of interconnected pale-yellow buildings with white railings and small elevators. The hotel draws visitors from across Europe, many of whom are families on longish-term vacations. 

El Marques Palace is located in quiet Puerto de Santiago, across the street from a Lidl supermarket. There are lots of small restaurants and a few boutiques within walking distance, but not a whole lot in terms of nightlife. Playa de los Gigantes is a 20-minute walk from the hotel, as is Playa la Arena. It's about a 30-minute drive to Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos. Getting to Mount Teide takes about an hour by car, while Masca, the starting point of the popular Masca Valley hike, is about 35 minutes away by car. Factor in a good 45 minutes to get to Tenerife South Airport, though it may take a bit less time to reach depending on traffic.

El Marques Palace offers One-, Two-, and Three-Bedroom Apartments. All have large balconies with lounge chairs and views of the street and sea beyond or over the pool or central courtyard. Decor is simple and not unattractive, but the overall look is a dated. There's oak-finished furniture and a vaguely nautical motif, with blue-and-white-striped sofa beds and matching chairs in living rooms, and a subtle peach-and-magenta palette in the bedrooms. Unusually for Tenerife, master bedrooms have real double beds as opposed to two singles pushed together, while additional bedrooms have two separate twins. Kitchens are well stocked with large fridges, stoves, ovens, kettles, coffeemakers, and extras such as citrus juicers and washing machines. Note that laundry detergent is not provided, but dish soap and sponges come standard. Welcome fruit platters and bottles of wine are a nice touch. 

Units have one small bathroom per bedroom, each with a shower/tub combo. Sachets of shower gel and shampoo are provided, as are hairdryers, fluffy towels, and bar soap. Wi-Fi is free in rooms and throughout the hotel, and living rooms come with flat-screen TVs with cable and -- in a most peculiar throwback -- cassette boomboxes (but no tapes to play on them). Air-conditioning is available for a fee (guests have to use a special key to turn it on) and safes are provided (again for a fee), but they're too small to fit laptops. Units are kept tidy and they're generally well-maintained, but we did notice quite a lot of tiny ants during our visit, apparently a common problem on the island. Thick walls keep noise at bay, but units nearest to the pool may still get some ambient noise during the day, especially on the balconies. 

The hotel's biggest feature is its central courtyard pool area, with a medium-sized, lagoon-style main pool and a second smaller kids' pool. Inflatable rafts and toys are only allowed in the main pool for one hour in morning and one hour in the afternoon. Towels are available to borrow with a deposit, and reserving lounge chairs is not allowed. Next to the pool is an inexpensive snack bar that serves sandwiches and other light meals, but that's it for on-site dining options. 

Other amenities include free and usually reliable hotel-wide Wi-Fi, and there's a computer with a printer in the lobby. A small kids' play room is located off the lobby, with a chalkboard and coloring books with markers, and a lending library full of a multilingual selection of left-behind paperbacks. There's also a tiny massage parlor on the ground floor run by a husband-and-wife team. There are no fitness facilities, but guests can use the facilities at the Santiago Sporting Club across the street for a daily fee. The hotel also offers limited on-site parking in a secure garage for a daily or weekly fee; note that a security deposit is required for the remote that opens the garage door.